Google Pixel 5a Review: Midrange Smartphone Champion Style

There should be a minimum.

Recommended for such people. I usually use an iPhone, but I often need Android for software translation work, so I use the Pixel 3 as a sub machine. I like it because it is very easy to use. In particular, the fingerprint authentication on the back is easy to reach with your fingers and has a good response. The basic part is also very nice. As a successor model, I translated the latest Pixel 5a review sent by Sam Rutherford of Gizmodo.

Google has been serious about mid-range smartphone sales since the release of Pixel 3a. There is a feeling that you have acquired a position that is synonymous with low-priced smartphones. The performance of the essential terminal is improving steadily. In addition to software that can only be used with the Pixel, a larger screen, improved durability, water resistance guarantee, and other nice additional features are included in the Pixel 5a. This is also spurring on Google, and it is neither Motorola nor OnePlus, it is a model that goes the royal road of midrange smartphones. The price is also suppressed to 450 dollars (Japanese domestic price: 51,700 yen ~), and the Pixel 5a is likely to be the most valuable model among the smartphones that Google has developed so far.

Design: Basic in a good way

No other smartphone in the Pixel A series has been as simple as the Pixel 5a. With a 2400 x 1080 OLED display and stereo speakers, the camera is a punchhole SELPHY camera with two rear cameras, a USB-C port, and a fingerprint sensor located on the back. All the functions expected of the current smartphone are included. Notably, the Pixel 5a has his 3.5mm headphone jack (unfortunately no microSD card slot).

Google Pixel 5a

What is this? : Midrange smartphone released by Google in 2021.

Price: 450 dollars (Japanese domestic price: 51,700 yen ~)

Favorite place: Cheap. Amazing battery life. Camera quality. New waterproof function. Simple design. Software only for Google Pixel. There is a headphone jack.

What I don't like: No wireless charging. The size has increased. It does not support millimeter waves.

That doesn't mean there are no upgrades at all. In the Pixel 5a, Google has a very smart strategy in this semiconductor shortage. The 6.34 inch diagonal Pixel 5a is the largest Pixel A series smartphone. In the test environment, it also boasts a brightness of 800 nits. I'm sorry for those who like small smartphones, but the Pixel with a large screen and spaciousness is not bad.

The housing has also been redesigned, and the appearance of the metal chassis with the matte black plastic shell is comfortable with a soft touch, but the strength is also improved. In addition, it is equipped with the first waterproof standard "IP-67" for Pixel A series smartphones. You can use your smartphone generously even when you use water in your daily life, and you can drop it in the bathroom. In addition, the two rear cameras on the Pixel 5a seem to be the same model as the Pixel 5 (more on this later). In other words, it can be said that it is a mid-range smartphone that has all the functions you want or need. However, it doesn't come with wireless charging (I hope it's there, but it's functionally reasonable without it).

One thing to note is that the Pixel 5a comes with a charging adapter. The following models may not include the charging adapter. Like other smartphone manufacturers, Google plans to reduce its packaging to reduce e-waste. Many people already own a USB-C cable, so the inclusions are more likely to be useless. It can be said that it is the flow of the times. This may be the last time the adapter is included.

Performance: One year old tip is enough

It was the processor that was fueled by the global shortage of semiconductors. So instead of upgrading to a new SoC, I'm still using the Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G I used for the Pixel 5. Functionally this is enough. Because it's midrange, it doesn't have to be a powerhouse, and 765G (6GB of memory and 128GB of storage) is enough to support the benchmark. The content is comparable to other midranges such as the TCL 20 Pro 5G. Unless you're a maniac gamer, it's good enough to use apps and games smoothly. That's all you can expect from the midrange.

The only difficulty is that millimeter waves cannot be used. The Pixel 5 supported both mmWave and sub 6GHz 5G. Despite using the same chip, the Pixel 5a only supports sub 6GHz. It's nice to be able to use sub 6GHz, but it doesn't benefit from the 1000Mbps + download speed that can be used in millimeter waves.

Camera: worth more than the price

The place where Google's Pixel A series surpasses other mid-range smartphones is the camera. Despite the fact that the camera layout is almost the same as the Pixel 5, the Pixel 5a's camera is superior to other more expensive smartphones. I hope Google puts more effort into developing zoom lenses, but Google's "Super-Res Zoom" can be used reasonably well because it allows you to zoom without degrading the image quality.

When there's too much light, the Pixel 5a's 12-megapixel wide-angle lens and 16-megapixel ultra-wide-angle lens can consistently capture rich, high-exposure images that work with Samsung's Galaxy S21. It was not inferior when compared. I took a test shot at a nearby restaurant, and both the Pixel 5a and S21 were able to take lively pictures of vibrant colors. However, when zoomed in, the Pixel 5a's photo captures more sharp details, as you can see in the French fries photo below. But what impressed me was the pictures of the flowers taken in direct sunlight. The picture of S21 is not bad either. However, the saturation is overemphasized and the details are not captured.

Also, when it gets dark, the Pixel 5a's Night Sight processing works. This function is an excellent function among many smartphones, and it shows its true value especially in an environment where there is not much light. When I took a picture of the city at night, the pictures of the Pixel 5a and S21 were both hard to beat. One of the things that caught my eye was a photo taken in a nearby garden. In an environment where it's difficult for even the human eye to discern the details, the Pixel 5a has sharp, surprisingly colorful details. In S21, the part that has turned yellow is well suppressed.

So what about the soft side of Pixel?

So what about software? Usually when I write about Android phones, I don't really touch the soft side. Because nowadays, the basics of any smartphone are firmly suppressed. However, Google is different. There are many features that can only be used with the Pixel. "Personal Safety" apps, "Call Screener", "Live Captions" and more. Looking at this alone, Pixel can be said to be a smartphone that provides all the cutting-edge AI power. Over the last three years, the OS and security have been updated repeatedly. Many companies stop updating after a few years, so support is sufficient.

Battery life: Great word

To be honest, the Pixel 5a's battery life is staggeringly long. When I tested the video, I thought it was broken. So I did the same test three times and finally admired the greatness of the feature. The average battery life is 18 hours and 18 minutes. The Pixel 5a is the smartphone with the longest battery life of all the smartphones I've seen so far. It's at least the longest time I've seen on a smartphone this year. Larger screens aren't what everyone likes, but the overall larger size means more space for batteries. In Pixel 5a, this specification change seems to have come out as a good thing.

Midrange price range, what to buy without buying this?

Actually, there is something I definitely want to try in comparisons that I haven't done before. It is a specification comparison between Pixel 5a and high-spec smartphones made in China such as Xiaomi and Oppo. But the reason why I didn't come is clear. These smartphones are not in the same category. There are certainly high-spec smartphones that you can buy for less than 50,000 yen, but these Chinese-made smartphones are not officially available in the United States. So it's nonsense to compare with Gizmodo in the US.

Due to continued concerns about global semiconductor shortages, the Pixel 5a will only be available in two markets: the US and Japan (SoftBank). This means that the Pixel 5a's rivals are neither Vivo nor Realme in China (these two brands are not officially sold in Japan either). However, a little comparison shows that Chinese smartphones focus on the processor and memory, while the Pixel 5a focuses on simplicity and operability.

The Pixel 5a has the most important foundations that a smartphone should have. Excellent screen, straightforward design (waterproof from 5a), well-thought-out software, and the longest battery life of any smartphone these days. Rather, I just want to know the reason for buying another smartphone.

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