Google Pixel 5a - A tempting value option or just left over old tech?

[PhiPsi32]

Likewise, coming from a Pixel 2XL the 5a is a vast improvement. I replaced the 2XL battery May of last year. It was doing great. Now I'm lucky to get through the work day without a charge. Plus the handset locks up and randomly restarts. I'm still interested in the 6 Pro, but having a 5a means I can wait a bit and see the real life feedback before buying.

 

[bkdodger2]

You will love the phone ..I recently had the 4a 5G and it performed perfectly..this one adds more battery ..water proof protection and $50 less ..win win win

 

[Matty]

So, I just bought the 5a at the Play Store. $450. Should arrive this wknd or early next week

Congrats! Hope you enjoy it.

I'm warming up the credit card now lol.

 

[J Dubbs]

And the 5a comes with a charger, while the pixel 6 line won't include the new 6 only high speed charger..... that of course will be extra lol.

 

[stevenjb2020]

The 5a 5G at $449, may see the 4a 5G price drop -- $399 ?

 

[anthonium]

Poor Pixel 5A doesn't even get its own forum! Unless it'll be merged with the 5.

Right now I'm on the Pixel 4A and don't see a reason enough to get the 5A. I'm interested in the 6 so I'm waiting until October to see what it offers and if it'll be a good enough reason to finally go for a flagship device.

Back to the 5A, I wish Google could have at least released it in other colors. This release was so quiet and it is so similar a device to the 4A 5G that I feel like this won't sell well in the long run (though I hope I'm proven wrong). Sadly it seems this may be the last Google phone to ship with the charger. Apple setting the trend as usual...

 

[Matty]

The 5a 5G at $449, may see the 4a 5G price drop -- $399 ?

I highly doubt it. The $449 price tag is already too good for the amount of value you getting. I think that is the Black Friday sale price right out the gate lol.

 

[Matty]

Poor Pixel 5A doesn't even get its own forum! Unless it'll be merged with the 5.

Right now I'm on the Pixel 4A and don't see a reason enough to get the 5A. I'm interested in the 6 so I'm waiting until October to see what it offers and if it'll be a good enough reason to finally go for a flagship device.

Back to the 5A, I wish Google could have at least released it in other colors. This release was so quiet and it is so similar a device to the 4A 5G that I feel like this won't sell well in the long run (though I hope I'm proven wrong). Sadly it seems this may be the last Google phone to ship with the charger. Apple setting the trend as usual...

Think of it this way. The iPhone 4 was very similar to the iPhone 4s. It's only a minor design change with improvements made underneath.

We see the same thing happening on the Pixel 5a vs the 4a.

- Water Resistance IP67
- Much larger battery
- Slightly bigger display
- inclusion of a Ultra wide lens.
- Upgraded processor 730G vs 765G

There is definitely some confusion with specs because there is also a Pixel 4a 5G which has different specs but I'm comparing to the base model Pixel 4a.

 

[Morty2264]

So, I just bought the 5a at the Play Store. $450. Should arrive this wknd or early next week

Seriously? That's awesome! Let us know when you get it and how you are liking it!

 

[anthonium]

Think of it this way. The iPhone 4 was very similar to the iPhone 4s. It's only a minor design change with improvements made underneath.

We see the same thing happening on the Pixel 5a vs the 4a.

- Water Resistance IP67
- Much larger battery
- Slightly bigger display
- inclusion of a Ultra wide lens.
- Upgraded processor 730G vs 765G

There is definitely some confusion with specs because there is also a Pixel 4a 5G which has different specs but I'm comparing to the base model Pixel 4a.

I like what you said here.
Today I read this article (https://www.androidcentral.com/forget-fancy-foldables-and-pro-phones-give-me-google-pixel-5a) and I feel I am in that same mindset now. Sometimes it's easy to gear towards the latest and the greatest but in the end, these flagship devices have more features that I honestly don't miss when using mid range phones (particularly the Pixel A series). Now I've done a 180 and looking back at the Pixel 5A as my next upgrade. Just hoping there might be some sort of deals during black Friday or possibly another color choice in the future like Google did with the 4A 5G though that itself isn't that big of a deterrent for me anymore.

 

[sulla1965]

Bigger battery IP 67 rating and lower price makes it a better buy than a used pixel 4a 5g. Still a great option to get a pixel experience without having to go full flagship with say the pixel 4 5 or 6.

 

[bkeaver]

So is the camera on the A series the same great camera as the rest of the pixel phones, for the most part?

 

[Morty2264]

Bigger battery IP 67 rating and lower price makes it a better buy than a used pixel 4a 5g. Still a great option to get a pixel experience without having to go full flagship with say the pixel 4 5 or 6.

I totally agree with you!

 

[stevenjb2020]

So is the camera on the A series the same great camera as the rest of the pixel phones, for the most part?

My understanding is that the main camera is the same 12MP Sony.

The Pixel 6 and 6 Pro are supposed to have a different main camera.

 

[Jeremy8000]

So is the camera on the A series the same great camera as the rest of the pixel phones, for the most part?

Pixel 5a has same main, ultra-wide, and front camera as the Pixel 5. And same processor. And same storage.
Main differences are:

• 5a drops from 8GB to 6GB ram
• 5a loses mmWave 5G (likely to continue to be a non-issue for next several years for the vast majority of USA)
• 5a has 6.34" display vs 5's 6", but is 60Hz vs 90Hz
• 5a has about 15% greater battery capacity
• 5a has headphone jack

All in all, it's an absolutely tremendous value.

 

[Chuck Finley69]

So I'm a value guy, not cheap, but value. I have a XR and 3a which are more than sufficient on AT&T 15GB family plan that has promotional 45GB of data for the 15GB price grandfathered. We have 8-10 lines for personal and business use and happy to keep the Android/iOS devices as-is. I'm concerned that when 3G shuts down, my 4G LTE and VoLTE coverage won't be as good as now with 3G band frequencies moving to support 5G devices and give better coverage.

Found a great deal on the 5a using Google Fi and heavily discounted. My real intentions are to use the device since factory unlocked and compare AT&T/TMO/VZW 5G coverage swapping out SIMs besides Google Fi service. Thoughts?

 

[stevenjb2020]

So I'm a value guy, not cheap, but value. I have a XR and 3a which are more than sufficient on AT&T 15GB family plan that has promotional 45GB of data for the 15GB price grandfathered. We have 8-10 lines for personal and business use and happy to keep the Android/iOS devices as-is. I'm concerned that when 3G shuts down, my 4G LTE and VoLTE coverage won't be as good as now with 3G band frequencies moving to support 5G devices and give better coverage.

Found a great deal on the 5a using Google Fi and heavily discounted. My real intentions are to use the device since factory unlocked and compare AT&T/TMO/VZW 5G coverage swapping out SIMs besides Google Fi service. Thoughts?

If the 5a has eSim, it might be nice to migrate one of those services over in addition to Fi. I believe Google Fi uses TMOs network.

 

[Deleted member 2609113]

If the 5a has eSim, it might be nice to migrate one of those services over in addition to Fi. I believe Google Fi uses TMOs network.

I have Google Fi on my Pixel 4a and it does use T-MOBILE, and I believe one other (no longer using Sprint of course). I think all if not most Pixel models have eSim capabilities.

 

[Jeremy8000]

Fi uses T-Mobile's network, the Sprint network it acquired, and US Cellular's network, along with automatic connection - secured by vpn - to a pretty broad host of WiFi networks to minimize cellular bandwidth used. It's worth pointing out that phones activated on Fi for the past year and going forward to not support 2g or 3g network connections.

 

[anthonium]

I had forgotten that all Pixel phones after the 5 no longer have unlimited photo backup of any kind of quality. So the 5A and the 6 won't have this perk. Not a deal breaker for me as I don't take an excessive amount of photos but still a bummer.