Is anyone else underwhelmed by the 5?

[Joe Meinhart]

For me the biggest drawback is the small size. A 6.5 screen is the smallest I'd like to see on a phone.

6.5 is the largest I want to see

 

[EMGSM]

Oh, yes! That's where the bulk of my Phone Research comes from. That and AC, of course!

Same here

 

[anon(50597)]

My understanding is you can't even get 5G if you don't pay for it through your provider. I don't use much data because I am usually on wifi so I only have the 2GB single plan. I usually have data to roll over each month..that's how little I use. So I looked at what it would cost me to get 5G and I'd have to get an Unlimited Plan at $75 before taxes and fees plus another $10 for 5G. I am paying $55 now before taxes and fees. Not worth it for me being 2 hours away from any big city in central PA. Maybe down the road but I'm not changing my plan yet.

I didn't realize carriers were charging extra for 5G. What a gimmick!

 

[Mike Dee]

I didn't realize carriers were charging extra for 5G. What a gimmick!

That's not the case in every situation or for every cartier. Verizon only charges extra with certain plans for UWB.

 

[anon(50597)]

That's not the case in every situation or for every cartier. Verizon only charges extra with certain plans for UWB.

Yup, from what i'm reading you can get basic 5g, which might not be much faster than 4g, on basic plans. The
"ultra fast" 5g is only in certain areas and might cost more depending on carrier. I've also read that 5g can be "fragile" and you might have to be outside in a certain area to get it.
I still think it's a gimmick. Phones aren't really improving much so they need something to impress consumers.

 

[Mike Dee]

Yup, from what i'm reading you can get basic 5g, which might not be much faster than 4g, on basic plans. The
"ultra fast" 5g is only in certain areas and might cost more depending on carrier. I've also read that 5g can be "fragile" and you might have to be outside in a certain area to get it.
I still think it's a gimmick. Phones aren't really improving much so they need something to impress consumers.

Well so far the basic 5G is 75 percent slower than my LTE on Verizon and I cant turn it off.

 

[anon(50597)]

Well so far the basic 5G is 75 percent slower than my LTE on Verizon and I cant turn it off.

It's slower?

 

[Mike Dee]

It's slower?

My LTE was averaging between 175 and 200Mbps download. Since I updated my s20 to Android 11 it's picking up 5G and only averaging 40 to 60Mbps download. My Note 20 is still on LTE and maintaining high speeds as I was before.

 

[anon(50597)]

My LTE was averaging between 175 and 200Mbps download. Since I updated my s20 to Android 11 it's picking up 5G and only averaging 40 to 60Mbps download. My Note 20 is still on LTE and maintaining high speeds as I was before.

Wow.

 

[idiotekniques]

I have absolutely zero need for 5G. It's just a marketing gimmick for most of us in real world usage. I mean I literally can't remember a time since I've had good LTE coverage that I've ever thought to myself, I wish this was faster. When I was hosting a lot of open houses as a realtor before Covid, I'd always tether my laptop to my Pixel. Never had a hiccup as long as the signal was decent.

I'm still getting the Pixel 5 for other reasons but will always be pissed I gotta pay the Verizon 5G tax for their dumb mmwave 5G bands that can't even penetrate a tree branch.

 

[neil74]

My P5 arrived yesterday, I like it but I would say that it feels like a slightly better 4a but maybe not £250 better. The in-hand feel is not that different to the 4a really and IMO the 4/4XL do feel more premium.

It really comes down to the extra camera, wireless charging and slightly snappier performance. Biometrics are important to me and I think Face ID is dead in the water (and a pain with masks too) if however you are quite happy with face id I'd say the 4 or 4XL are better even if the 5 is nicer looking from the front.

 

[Chris134]

My P5 arrived yesterday, I like it but I would say that it feels like a slightly better 4a but maybe not £250 better. The in-hand feel is not that different to the 4a really and IMO the 4/4XL do feel more premium.

It really comes down to the extra camera, wireless charging and slightly snappier performance. Biometrics are important to me and I think Face ID is dead in the water (and a pain with masks too) if however you are quite happy with face id I'd say the 4 or 4XL are better even if the 5 is nicer looking from the front.

I think the P5 pricing is off by a $100. I didn't realize its only $50 cheaper than a oneplus 8T where you get a better processor, ridiculous charging speeds, 120hz display etc.. I mean if you really like googles camera, I'd rather get a pixel 4a.

 

[The_Woo]

Cheaper is always better, and we can thank Verizon for the price hike (mm wave). But I've missed my P3XL and can't wait for this phone. Selling my N10+ will offset the price anyhow

 

[Lepa79]

I just cancelled my pre order after watching a few reviews. There's really no reason to upgrade coming from a 4xl besides battery life.

If the camera on the OnePlus 8t were better, I'd probably be pre-ordering that. As it stands, it looks like I'll be be holding off on upgrading for a while.

Zero reasons to ditch 4 xl for pixel 5. I am probably moving to Samsung next year if google follows the same line up for pixel 6 and gives us no XL version.

 

[Morty2264]

My P5 arrived yesterday, I like it but I would say that it feels like a slightly better 4a but maybe not £250 better. The in-hand feel is not that different to the 4a really and IMO the 4/4XL do feel more premium.

It really comes down to the extra camera, wireless charging and slightly snappier performance. Biometrics are important to me and I think Face ID is dead in the water (and a pain with masks too) if however you are quite happy with face id I'd say the 4 or 4XL are better even if the 5 is nicer looking from the front.

It may be too early to tell, but how are you finding the battery performance on your new Pixel 5?

 

[neil74]

It may be too early to tell, but how are you finding the battery performance on your new Pixel 5?

I forgot to add battery as an advantage over the 4a! It seems solid so far.

 

[Deleted member 2609113]

I forgot to add battery as an advantage over the 4a! It seems solid so far.

I will be interested to see reviews on the 5 battery life as my Pixel 4a battery life is excellent.
I'm sure Google has optimized all three of this year's Pixel models battery usage no matter the battery size. There might not be that big of difference between the phones.

 

[Morty2264]

I forgot to add battery as an advantage over the 4a! It seems solid so far.

That's so awesome! Great to hear! Yet another reason for me to consider it. Hmm...

 

[crackcookie]

It's obviously not meant to be a flagship device but should still be a solid phone especially for those who prefer stock Android. I wouldn't worry about the SOC much.

To me flagship just means the best you offer. Obviously a GM car and a GMC/Cadillac have two different flagships because they sell at two different prices ranges.

The Galaxy and Iphone flagship models cost more than a mortgage, so they should be compared to one another aka luxury cars. A Lincoln and Cadillac are both luxury. A Pixel 5 is just a GM Chevy Cruze or whatever with all the features. It's not meant to compare to a Corvette or any luxury car.

So for what it costs, a P5 is a great deal. If you compare things to like things it make sense. Plus who uses all these phone features anymore and who enjoys dropping a stack every year for a phone that does basically the same thing?

 

[anthonium]

My P5 arrived yesterday, I like it but I would say that it feels like a slightly better 4a but maybe not £250 better. The in-hand feel is not that different to the 4a really and IMO the 4/4XL do feel more premium.

It really comes down to the extra camera, wireless charging and slightly snappier performance. Biometrics are important to me and I think Face ID is dead in the water (and a pain with masks too) if however you are quite happy with face id I'd say the 4 or 4XL are better even if the 5 is nicer looking from the front.

Out of curiosity have you been using the phone with a case or without? Wanted to get some feedback as there have been some reports of the paint on the back of the phone rubbing off on the edges leaving a blemish look.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dd9RekpuZKc