Review: Google Pixel 5A 5G

This is the phone most people should buy.

It's the new Pixel 5A 5G from Google.

For $450, you get the best camera in this price bracket,

smooth performance, almost two days of battery life,

and an OLED screen.

And it can't forget a headphone jack

an FC for Google Pay, and IP67 water resistance.

Now, that's without mentioning

the three years of software support,

something that's not too common

on budget or mid-range phones, and sub-6 5G connectivity,

which, by the way, is still not a huge deal,

since you won't really notice a dramatic difference

over 4G LTE in your day-to-day life.

Seriously, though, the 5A has pretty much everything

most people could want or need in a phone.

Okay, what could have Google included to make it better?

Well, for starters, because of supply chain issues

stemming from the pandemic,

this phone is only being sold in the US and Japan,

and it also only comes in one color, mostly black.

Google has some fun-colored cases though,

so you can spice things up.

More importantly, it only comes in one size.

Now, usually Google releases two size options,

a large and a small phone,

but this year you're stuck with this large one, 6.3 inches.

That's a kind of a shame

if you liked the compact nature of last year's Pixel 4A.

Now, because of the supply chain issues, you're also getting

the same Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G processor,

and six gigs of ram as the Pixel 4A 5G from last fall.

So, there's no real performance game here.

That's okay though, 'cause it runs all

of my apps just fine,

even demanding games like Ninja Impact.

There's also no high-screen refresh rate,

unlike many similarly priced phones,

no micro SD card slot,

so you're stuck with 128 gigs of storage.

And there's no wireless charging,

though that's par for the course on most phones this price.

I'd have liked just to see Google push the needle here

and add something dramatically new,

but it's hard to complain

when this phone still leads its peers.

Its camera system is the same as what you'll find

in the flagship Pixel 5, and it's seriously great.

It trounces pretty much any similarly priced phone,

especially at night, with night sight.

The OLED screen, also not super common on sub 500 old phones

is a visual treat and it gets pretty bright outdoors.

Oh, and battery is the biggest ever in a Pixel.

It comfortably lasts almost two full days

on a single charge.

It's also nice to have this level of water resistance.

It can survive a dip in the pool,

and that's always a comfort.

But my favorite part is all of the software smarts

that are genuinely helpful.

I really use features like call screen,

which lets me screen a call,

so I don't have to answer a robocall;

and now playing, which tells me

what music is playing at the coffee shop

before I even have to ask.

You just can't find parts like this

in phones this affordable.

So it's not as compact as last year's Pixel 4A,

it's not as affordable,

but it's still the most reliable package

you'll find at this price.

And it excels in almost every single category.

So, if you just want a great phone,

but you don't want to spend dizzying amounts of money,

well, get this.

[electronic sign-off music]