Google is revealing a telephone this 12 months the place it’s pulling out all of the stops and going large on a cutting-edge, in-house designed SoC, upgraded digital camera specs, and a daring new look.

That telephone is just not the Pixel 5A.

If these sorts of show-stopping enhancements are what you’re in search of, then I’d wish to level you to the Pixel 6, coming this fall. The new Pixel 5A then again, is type of a boring replace by comparability. The display is a bit greater this time round, there’s an IP score for water resistance, and the battery will get a good increase. That’s about it.

Here’s the factor, although: the Pixel 4A and 4A 5G had been already actually good midrange telephones, and reasonably than messing with a successful formulation, Google has made some strategic tweaks to maintain the 5A on the prime of its class. Even higher, the 5A prices $449 — $50 lower than the 4A 5G’s introductory value.

The Pixel 5A is nice, but it surely’s not precisely a slam dunk. There are just a few drawbacks to notice: its safety assist coverage is nice however not class-leading. It’s additionally weirdly lacking software-level assist for C-band 5G frequencies that US carriers will begin utilizing over the subsequent few years. It’s solely being launched within the US and Japan, and even within the US it’s not being offered via the key carriers.

But all issues thought-about, Google has managed to deal with a number of the weak factors in its earlier A-series fashions whereas additionally bringing the worth down. Not dangerous for a boring replace.

Google Pixel 5A display, efficiency, and battery

The Pixel 5A makes use of a 6.34-inch 1080p OLED display, which is a bit greater than the 6.2-inch display on the 4A 5G. That’s not enormous by any means, particularly in comparison with the 6.5-inch-and-beyond panels which can be frequent on funds Android telephones. It additionally makes use of a regular 60Hz refresh charge, so that you don’t get the smoother scrolling expertise of quicker 90 or 120Hz charges. That’s a characteristic that’s been steadily trickling down from the flagship class and is offered in gadgets across the 5A’s value, from the $300 OnePlus N10 5G’s 90Hz display as much as the $500 Galaxy A52 5G’s 120Hz panel.

So the 5A’s display isn’t a standout, however it’s large enough that it doesn’t look fairly as misplaced subsequent to the competitors in comparison with the 4A and 4A 5G. It’s additionally only a good high quality display — the OLED expertise delivers wealthy distinction, and it’s brilliant sufficient to be viewable outdoors in direct solar with out an excessive amount of effort. The similar can’t be stated of a few of its opponents’ screens, large as they might be.

There’s no change to the processing or reminiscence specs from the 4A 5G: the Pixel 5A makes use of the identical Snapdragon 765G chipset with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. Apps open shortly, and I didn’t discover any vital delays or hiccups going about my each day duties and social media scrolling.

Complex picture processing duties are additionally carried out in a second or two, and that occurs within the background so you may preserve taking portrait mode pictures with out having to attend for each body to complete processing. As somebody who takes too many portrait mode pictures of her cat in hopes of getting simply the suitable shot, I really recognize that.

The leap in battery life in comparison with its predecessor is a much bigger story for the Pixel 5A. It will get a 4,680mAh cell in comparison with the 4A 5G’s 3,885mAh. That’s a lot nearer to the 5,000mAh batteries which can be frequent among the many competitors. Google calls it “all day” efficiency, with as much as 48 hours of stamina in case you activate excessive battery saver.

I bought higher leads to my real-world testing — a day of reasonable use together with round three hours of screentime sometimes drained it right down to solely 70 %. Heavy customers ought to comfortably get a day trip of the battery, and in case you’re a lighter person who spends extra time on Wi-Fi, you may count on to get 48 hours even with out battery saver enabled.

Google Pixel 5A IP score and construct high quality

The Pixel 5A consists of an IP67 mud and waterproof score, which means it may be submerged in about three toes of water for as much as half-hour. Official IP rankings are uncommon within the $500-and-under bracket outdoors of the Samsung A52 5G and iPhone SE, so that is one space the place the 5A rises to the highest of the category.

On the entrance panel there’s Gorilla Glass 6 for display safety and beneath, the telephone’s outer plastic shell is a steel unibody. The plastic panel encompasses a matte end that I recognize — it’s much less slippery than a shiny end and doesn’t present smudges as simply.

There’s only one coloration choice this 12 months: black. You can spice issues up with one of many colourful case choices, that are designed for added safety towards drops and bumps. Some are extra impartial, like “black moss” and “maybe moon” (and in addition sound like Neko Case music titles?), however I opted for “likely lime” with my assessment unit and, reader, I don’t prefer it. There’s a delicate 1990’s Nickelodeon vibe about it. Give me the material case again, please.

Google Pixel 5A software program and 5G connectivity

The 5A ships with Android 11 and is backed by Google’s typical three-year OS and safety replace coverage. That’s an extended shelf life than most funds telephones, however Samsung lately began providing 4 years of safety updates with its funds A-series gadgets, and Apple will supply its newest OS improve to the six-year-old iPhone 6S this fall.

There’s additionally, after all, 5G connectivity on the Pixel 5A. It helps sub-6GHz 5G on the entire main US carriers, and in contrast to the 4A 5G, gained’t be offered in a mmWave-compatible variant. Verizon insists on promoting telephones that may join with its super-fast, hard-to-find mmWave 5G community so, like many different machine producers, Google got here up with a costlier model of the 4A 5G suitable with the community for Verizon’s retail cabinets. That’s not occurring this time round and no one will miss it.

mmWave 5G isn’t any nice loss, however the 5A’s lack of C-band assist at launch is extra worrisome. C-band is the nice mid-band stuff that carriers will step by step start including on the finish of this 12 months and over the subsequent few years. The Pixel 5A has the {hardware} assist and FCC certification to make use of C-band, however Google hasn’t enabled software-level assist for these frequencies. It may add assist sooner or later, however isn’t committing to doing so.

There are quite a few funds and midrange telephones on sale proper now that absolutely assist C-band, beginning as little as the $279 Galaxy A32, so it’s odd that Google gained’t decide to supporting it. T-Mobile prospects don’t want to fret as a lot because it gained’t be relying a lot on C-band. But in case you’re on Verizon or AT&T and you propose to maintain utilizing your telephone for the subsequent two to a few years, this might turn into an actual disadvantage as these carriers allow C-band and (in idea) strengthen their 5G networks.

Google Pixel 5A digital camera

The 5A’s digital camera {hardware} is one other place the place it doesn’t look particularly thrilling on paper, but it surely provides as much as far more than the sum of its specs. The 12.2-megapixel principal rear digital camera consists of optical picture stabilization, which is difficult to seek out below $500. This type of lens-based stabilization helps guarantee extra of your pictures are sharp, which is very useful in dimmer mild situations.

That digital camera is accompanied by a 16-megapixel ultrawide, and there’s an 8-megapixel selfie digital camera. This won’t appear to be a lot subsequent to the triple- and quad- rear digital camera arrays on different telephones, however these third and fourth cameras are normally low-quality macro and depth sensors that aren’t really very helpful anyway.

Grid View

If these specs sound acquainted, that’s as a result of it’s the identical {hardware} because the Pixel 5 and Pixel 4A 5G, and that’s really effective for this mannequin. Even with out new sensors or lenses, the 5A nonetheless presents one of the best picture high quality within the midrange class, thanks largely after all to Google’s sensible picture processing. Plenty of the Pixel 5A’s opponents can take good pictures in brilliant out of doors mild, however Google remains to be the low mild champion within the funds class.

Unsurprisingly, what was true of the 4A and 5’s picture capabilities can be true of the 5A. It handles excessive distinction scenes properly, and colours are rendered a bit extra naturally than you’ll get from a Samsung telephone. Portrait and evening mode pictures are among the many greatest you will get from a midrange telephone, although you may actually spot their limitations with trickier topics. Google has extra work minimize out for itself in equipping the Pixel 6 to remain aggressive with the Samsung and Apple flagships of the world. In the funds class, it could actually afford to face nonetheless for one more 12 months simply because it bought such an excellent operating begin.

There are $400 and $500 telephones with flashier standout options than the Google Pixel 5A. The Samsung Galaxy A52 5G encompasses a large 6.5-inch display with 120Hz refresh charge. The TCL 20 Pro presents a flagship-esque curved show and wi-fi charging. The Motorola Moto G Stylus consists of an enormous show and (after all) a stylus.

But the Pixel 5A is only a good all-arounder with an important UI, speedy software program updates, and the entire fundamentals lined at an affordable value. The 4A 5G was already an excellent telephone, and the 5A’s sensible enhancements like waterproofing and a much bigger battery make it simpler than ever to suggest this telephone to a variety of individuals.

There’s the unlucky case of C-band 5G and whether or not Google will add assist for it sooner or later. It’s exhausting to think about the corporate refusing to assist it as soon as the frequencies are in vast use, however we’re agency believers that you just shouldn’t purchase a gadget immediately based mostly on a possible replace tomorrow. Verizon and AT&T prospects ought to take that into consideration.

It’s a disgrace that the Pixel 5A will see such a restricted launch, each when it comes to nations the place will probably be out there and the place it should (and gained’t) be offered within the US, as a result of it’s a telephone I’d suggest to lots of people. It exceeds the competitors in just a few methods, like its class-leading digital camera and waterproofing, and meets it in others, like its just-big-enough display and improved battery life.

With its extra restricted availability, it appears prone to turn into an “if you know you know” type of machine reasonably than the telephone you inform your uncle to purchase when he asks you what to get together with his two-year provider improve deal. That’s too dangerous, as a result of this can be a very boring, superb telephone that I believe lots of people would really like.

Photography by Allison Johnson / The Verge