Google has unveiled a number of devices on Wednesday which includes its new product line, the Pixel 5 and also the Pixel 4A 5G which becomes the first Google Pixel device with the 5G network capability and support. The Pixel 5 was released with a price tag of about US$699 which confirmed speculations about the pricing of the device when it finally debuts.

It was surprising when Samsung didn’t include the 5G network support in the previous generation Pixel smartphone last year considering the fact that almost all Android device makers now have support for this including big brands like Samsung, Huawei, Xiaomi, OnePlus, Motorola and so forth.

We await the release of the iPhone 12 series as well later on this month which will join up with the 5G network support but this is still based on speculations though so we wouldn’t know how true this really is in its entirety.

The Pixel 4A 5G is a well upscaled variant of the Pixel 4A which is usually a mid-range device from the company and the fact that it now support 5G network place Google at the right place to also compete with others who are already in the game.

It had been rumored earlier on that Google will try to use some special components including a mid-range chip from Qualcomm to compensate for the inclusion of the 5G network in order to make the pricing competitive. The same had been said of Apple wanting to tweak up the power efficiency of the iPhone 12’s software and processor while reducing the battery capacity in order to make support for a much affordable 5G smartphone but we wouldn’t know how true this is.

As for the pricing of the new Pixel 4A 5G, the device will cost US$499 which puts it at a US$150 price difference over the non-5G model.

The devices were unveiled during the company’s virtual event where it also unveiled the new Chromecast streaming device as well as a new Nest Audio smart speaker.

While the event could have been held in New York City as it used to be, Google had to take things virtual this time around as a result of the current COVID-19 pandemic which has affected more than 30 million people worldwide with more than 1 million fatal cases already reported.

There had been initial leaks about the Pixel 5 and even Google teased the device and there were speculations about the device being 5G-compatible but until the Wednesday’s unveiling, we couldn’t get any official specification of the new device whatsoever.

As for what you’ll be getting with the Pixel 5, there is a moderate 6-inch OLED display with an 8MP hole-punch camera cut-out right at the top left corner of the device while the back houses the device’s primary sensor of 16MP with a 12.2MP ultrawide angle sensor.

The back also house the device’s fingerprint sensor and the device is waterproof and sports the Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G chipset with 128GB of internal storage.

There is also the new “Hold for Me” feature which will prompt someone when a business is ready to take their call so they have to wait and listen to hold music. Then there is also the Night Sight which available for portrait mode allowing for better photographs taken in low light and the color spec comes in just two variations namely: Just Black and Sorta Sage while shipping starts this month.

Even though Google is a really big tech company with lots of influence, the company smartphone business’ inability to really reach its full potential is a serious one which also places the Pixel 5 along with other existing flagship devices in the market.

Even though Android has been widely successful, the Pixel phones aren’t close as giants such as Samsung, Huawei, Xiaomi, OnePlus all dominates the Android market with their expensive to really affordable smartphones.

The challenge of selling its high-end phones led Google to create its midtier line last year. The Pixel 3A helped to lift Google’s smartphone business but was discontinued in July. The Pixel 4A will face stiff competition from budget phones from Apple and Samsung — the iPhone SE and the Galaxy A51 — both going for around $400. 

GOOGLE PIXEL 5 SPECS