Google Event Sept 30th

[Ravynmagi]

Google had a quick 30 minute online event to announce a few products.

Pixel 4A 5GB and Pixel 5
Pixel 4A 5G and Pixel 5 are official now. First off, Google still sucks at branding. Pixel 4A, 4A 5G, and 5 are all obviously the same generation of device, very similar processors and design language. Why are they calling some 4A and one a 5? Wouldn't Pixel 5, Pixel 5A XL and Pixel 5A been simpler?

Anyway, Pixel 5 for $700 and 4A 5G is $500. The differences are very few. Both have 90Hz 1080p OLED displays, Snapdragon 765G processors, same primary and wide angle cameras on back.
For $200 more the Pixel 5 gives you 8GB of RAM instead of 6GB, wireless charging, water proof and a glass body instead of plastic, but also takes away the audio jack.

Pixel 4A 5G (ugh this name) looks like a pretty good deal, don't think you'd go wrong buying that.
Pixel 5, no, don't buy this! Samsung did what Google should have done when it comes to a $700 phone. Google decided to put a mid range processor into a premium phone body (and it's not that pretty either), while Samsung put a premium flagship process into a midrange phone body. The Galaxy S20 Fan Edition for $700 is a much better looking option. Also One Plus 8 now $600 also looks very good.

Chromecast with Google TV
Basically a Chromecast Ultra that supports 4K, HDR, and Dolby Vision and runs Google TV OS (think this is replacing Android TV) and comes with a remote. I really like this since I don't have to use my phone to always control it. Price is $50 and Google has a bundle with 6 month of Netflix for 6 months for $90. After doing some math, I found I spending $85 over 6 months for Netflix alone, so the Chromecast with tax really only costs me $10 at the end with this bundle. I bought one.

Nest Audio
I didn't pay much attention here. I'm tripping over smart speakers at this point in my home. It's bigger and louder than the Nest Mini for $100.

 

[mnewsham]

The Galaxy S20 Fan Edition for $700 is a much better looking option.

And in the US at least, it's $499 at bestbuy from Verizon and AT&T.
It's $199 with a trade in for Tmobile.

And it's $599 unlocked from bestbuy, B&H, and Amazon.

I just can't see how Google can justify $699 for the Pixel 5.

 

[beginner99]

I just can't see how Google can justify $699 for the Pixel 5.

wireless charging, IP68 rating, long updates. These all have value over the flagship SOC which you don't need unless you game heavily on your phone.
I say this because I got a LG velvet which has similar features at similar price (albeit I paid much less).

 

[rbk123]

The S20 FE has wireless charging and is IP68. Updates are promised for 3 years - more than long enough. I agree with mnewsham - $700 for the Pixel 5 isn't worth it.

 

[Thump553]

I've been debating getting a 4A versus Apple SE for quite a while. From the description above it seems like the 4A 5G (agree really stupid name) adds very little more (besides the dubious value of 5G) for $150 more. Am I missing something?

 

[beginner99]

I've been debating getting a 4A versus Apple SE for quite a while. From the description above it seems like the 4A 5G (agree really stupid name) adds very little more (besides the dubious value of 5G) for $150 more. Am I missing something?

I think that's more of an ecosystem choice than hardware choice. (besides the ugly bezeles of the iphone)

 

[mnewsham]

wireless charging, IP68 rating, long updates

The S20 FE has all 3 of these. 3 years of OS updates and 4 years of security patches counts as long updates in my eyes considering that's about as good as google has been doing.

And things the S20 FE has that the Pixel 5 doesn't is quite the list
SD 865 which is faster CPU and GPU vs the SD765G
120hz display vs 90hz
3x optical zoom telephoto camera (Pixel 5 doesn't have a telephoto)
4500mAh battery vs 4080mAh
Samsung pay with MST (can be used on even older swipe only credit card machines which can be very handy in a pinch)


The S20FE just seems like a lot more hardware for your money.

 

[MrSquished]

The problem with the samsung s20 for me is unless you buy an unlocked phone, you will still be waiting on carrier branded updates to get those promised updates, which will delay them even further behind Samsung's calendar, which is still behind Google's calendar. That's what's pushing me to the Pixel 5. I have to wait until black friday anyways, so I'm thinking the Pixel 5 will be $599. I have to get my phone through AT&T as I'm on their Next upgrade plan.

 

[beginner99]

The S20FE just seems like a lot more hardware for your money.

True, didn't know about it, i think is verynew released here but as always, international version with Exynos which makes it a far less interesting deal.

 

[Ravynmagi]

I've been debating getting a 4A versus Apple SE for quite a while. From the description above it seems like the 4A 5G (agree really stupid name) adds very little more (besides the dubious value of 5G) for $150 more. Am I missing something?

The jump from 4A to 4A 5G might be worth the $150 for some. You do get a slightly better processor that is about 10 to 15% faster, a battery 20% larger, a larger screen, stereo speakers (4A is mono), and one additional color option.

 

[mnewsham]

True, didn't know about it, i think is verynew released here but as always, international version with Exynos which makes it a far less interesting deal.

The 5G version (the only version in the US) is snapdragon in every region. I know Europe has both the 4G and 5G version though, so if you want snapdragon you need the 5G version.

The pixel 5 makes a lot more sense in Europe where it's ~$100 cheaper than in the US, mainly due to the US variant being capable of mmWave 5G which adds ~$100 to the cost of the device.

 

[mnewsham]

The problem with the samsung s20 for me is unless you buy an unlocked phone, you will still be waiting on carrier branded updates to get those promised updates, which will delay them even further behind Samsung's calendar, which is still behind Google's calendar. That's what's pushing me to the Pixel 5. I have to wait until black friday anyways, so I'm thinking the Pixel 5 will be $599. I have to get my phone through AT&T as I'm on their Next upgrade plan.

To be fair, at least in my experience, it's a wait of a few weeks at most for those software updates. And it's already several months after the pixel gets the android update, so an extra couple weeks to get the carrier-specific version isn't really a big deal, especially when the only way to get video calling, wifi-calling, and advanced messaging features is with the carrier-branded versions.

At least that's how it is with AT&T, for example, the G988U carrier-branded S20 Ultra gets access to everything, HD Voice (VoLTE), 5G data, wifi calling, video calling, and advanced messages. But the US unlocked G988U1 S20 Ultra only gets access to HD Voice (VoLTE) and 5G data. Nothing else.

 

[MrSquished]

To be fair, at least in my experience, it's a wait of a few weeks at most for those software updates. And it's already several months after the pixel gets the android update, so an extra couple weeks to get the carrier-specific version isn't really a big deal, especially when the only way to get video calling, wifi-calling, and advanced messaging features is with the carrier-branded versions.

At least that's how it is with AT&T, for example, the G988U carrier-branded S20 Ultra gets access to everything, HD Voice (VoLTE), 5G data, wifi calling, video calling, and advanced messages. But the US unlocked G988U1 S20 Ultra only gets access to HD Voice (VoLTE) and 5G data. Nothing else.


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That's good to know about the carrier phone features. Being stuck in an at&t phone sounds better.

I'll be waiting for reviews of the cameras for both phones. I preferred the pixel 4 images over reviews of the top of the line s20 camera when that came out.

I'm not too concerned about the faster chip. The 5 should be very similar in speed to the 4, which has never let me down, with another 2gb of ram.

The screen size difference is also of interest to me. The 4xl can be cumbersome to use one handed. But the standard 4 was a bit too small. I'll go to the store to see the difference between the 5 and s20FE for sure.

 

[MrSquished]

Turns out the pixel 5 is $699 in the US instead of $599 kind of because of Verizon. Verizon 5g needs an mmwave module in phones to work with the higher frequency bands only they are initially deploying. That adds $100 to the cost of the phone. Google went with one model for the whole country instead of making two. It's 599 euro in Europe

 

[mnewsham]

Turns out the pixel 5 is $699 in the US instead of $599 kind of because of Verizon. Verizon 5g needs an mmwave module in phones to work with the higher frequency bands only they are initially deploying. That adds $100 to the cost of the phone. Google went with one model for the whole country instead of making two. It's 599 euro in Europe

Even worse when you factor in most of Europe ALSO gets the pre-order bonus headphones that are worth like $200. Which the US doesn't get either.

 

[Viper GTS]

Those of us who only buy Nexus/Pixel devices don't care about the $100 Verizon tax, nor do we care about the superior hardware of the S20FE.

Double the RAM and 20% more battery in a smaller form factor (versus my 3XL) and no facial recognition? I'm in. I pre-ordered a 5, this will be my 3rd PIxel after owning every Nexus since the Galaxy Nexus plus the Galaxy S4 GPE. Also ordered a couple cases, one of which has already arrived. It's quite a bit smaller than the 3XL Not a huge difference in display area but losing the chin cuts the footprint a lot.

Viper GTS

 

[mnewsham]

Those of us who only buy Nexus/Pixel devices don't care about the $100 Verizon tax, nor do we care about the superior hardware of the S20FE.

Double the RAM and 20% more battery in a smaller form factor (versus my 3XL) and no facial recognition? I'm in. I pre-ordered a 5, this will be my 3rd PIxel after owning every Nexus since the Galaxy Nexus plus the Galaxy S4 GPE. Also ordered a couple cases, one of which has already arrived. It's quite a bit smaller than the 3XL Not a huge difference in display area but losing the chin cuts the footprint a lot.

Viper GTS

I mean, if you're a pixel fan, obviously you're buying a pixel either way.

Google aren't going to bring anyone new into the fold with the Pixel 5 though, it's just a bad deal for the hardware.

 

[sze5003]

I was very disappointed with the Google reveal this year. I usually get their latest smart phone but not this year. I like having the latest flagship most of the time.

I wish they had made the pixel 5 and then something like the 5XL where it has the latest chip, 8gb of ram, face unlock, etc. I don't care much for soli although I think it's nice when I reach for my 4XL that the alarm gets quiet or when I reach for my phone the screen lights up so by the time it's near me, it's unlocked and ready to go.

The other soli features I don't care about as I've forgotten about them. I've gotten very used to face unlock and now it's gone from the 5.

Coming from a 4XL the 5 to me feels like a downgrade except for battery. The screen is also 1080p vs qhd.

I think I'll stick with my 4XL another year. The battery on it has started sucking but what am I gonna do?

For once I've considered the iphone 12 Pro in maybe 5+ years since I had an iphone. My buddy had a 2XL since release and it crapped out on him finally. He's getting an iphone 12 Pro max soon.

The only things holding me back are

-No 90hz or 120hz screen
-Not much customization in ios except now you do have app drawer
-No way to just put files on the phone like I can with Android
-No app split screen

And the biggest one of all...
-No youtube picture in picture if you pay for youtube red! I use this a ton, start watching a YouTube video and I'll just go back to another app to check messages or news and I still have my video in a smaller frame available.

Not sure why you can't do that on an iphone.

Regardless, Google basically can not compete in hardware and they have gone back to what the nexus line used to be. They tried, but each year before the 5 came out they made crappy choices in design and didn't offer what other flagships offered in terms of components, but kept the flagship prices.

I also don't like the price of the pixel 5..I mean phones with that processor typically go for less. Just according to my roommate who manages several cell phone stores.

 

[MrSquished]

I was very disappointed with the Google reveal this year. I usually get their latest smart phone but not this year. I like having the latest flagship most of the time.

I wish they had made the pixel 5 and then something like the 5XL where it has the latest chip, 8gb of ram, face unlock, etc. I don't care much for soli although I think it's nice when I reach for my 4XL that the alarm gets quiet or when I reach for my phone the screen lights up so by the time it's near me, it's unlocked and ready to go.

The other soli features I don't care about as I've forgotten about them. I've gotten very used to face unlock and now it's gone from the 5.

Coming from a 4XL the 5 to me feels like a downgrade except for battery. The screen is also 1080p vs qhd.

I think I'll stick with my 4XL another year. The battery on it has started sucking but what am I gonna do?

For once I've considered the iphone 12 Pro in maybe 5+ years since I had an iphone. My buddy had a 2XL since release and it crapped out on him finally. He's getting an iphone 12 Pro max soon.

The only things holding me back are

-No 90hz or 120hz screen
-Not much customization in ios except now you do have app drawer
-No way to just put files on the phone like I can with Android
-No app split screen

And the biggest one of all...
-No youtube picture in picture if you pay for youtube red! I use this a ton, start watching a YouTube video and I'll just go back to another app to check messages or news and I still have my video in a smaller frame available.

Not sure why you can't do that on an iphone.

Regardless, Google basically can not compete in hardware and they have gone back to what the nexus line used to be. They tried, but each year before the 5 came out they made crappy choices in design and didn't offer what other flagships offered in terms of components, but kept the flagship prices.

I also don't like the price of the pixel 5..I mean phones with that processor typically go for less. Just according to my roommate who manages several cell phone stores.

The pixel 5 is overpriced due to the Verizon tax. It takes extra hardware to work with the higher frequency mmwave bands that Verizon uses for 5G. Google decided instead of making 2 models they'd make 1. This is why in Europe the pixel 5 is only 599 Euros. The pixel 5 on any other carrier than Verizon should be $599.

I'm going to go from the 4XL to the 5. I used to lust after specs but I stopped caring so much. Real world performance matters more.

The three things the 5 has I want is the much better battery life, going back to a fingerprint sensor, and the size while still having a good sized screen. The 4xl was a bit cumbersome using it one handed.

From all reviews the midrange chip in the pixel 5 handles everything one would do just fine with zero or virtually zero noticeable difference. Also you'd have to put your nose to the screen to notice a difference, if even then.

The negatives are paying the stupid Verizon tax if you aren't on Verizon, and it should have a third telephoto lens.

 

[Commodus]

For once I've considered the iphone 12 Pro in maybe 5+ years since I had an iphone. My buddy had a 2XL since release and it crapped out on him finally. He's getting an iphone 12 Pro max soon.

The only things holding me back are

-No 90hz or 120hz screen
-Not much customization in ios except now you do have app drawer
-No way to just put files on the phone like I can with Android
-No app split screen

And the biggest one of all...
-No youtube picture in picture if you pay for youtube red! I use this a ton, start watching a YouTube video and I'll just go back to another app to check messages or news and I still have my video in a smaller frame available.

Not sure why you can't do that on an iphone.

The 60Hz screen isn't spectacular, but at least the iPhone will be highly responsive.

Customization is nice, but I'd say Apple just covered a lot of ground with home screen widget support. Won't dispute that file transfers aren't as easy, even if it's not as needed as it once was.

You can play YouTube videos PiP if you use the web version, but not the app. That's strictly Google's fault — there's nothing stopping the app from doing that for free users. It's a shame, too, as I really like Apple's PiP approach. I use it to watch Twitch streams.

 

[MrSquished]

Should be picking up the pixel 5 tomorrow to switch to from my P4XL. Let's see how it feels

 

[sze5003]

Should be picking up the pixel 5 tomorrow to switch to from my P4XL. Let's see how it feels

I thought about moving from the 4XL to the 5 but I am too used to the face unlock. Don't care much for the soli chip. Having played around with the 5, I didn't like how taking photos now is a bit slower. Not by much but to me it's noticeable. I didn't think I would notice much of a difference in the screen either but I didn't find it as sharp.

I'm sure operation wise you wouldn't notice much with the 765g chip. One thing that I didn't like was that other phones that use the same chip go for less money.

For once I'm sticking with my phone for a second year now. Let's see what they do with the pixel 6. I hope it's more of a reason to upgrade becuause right now my girlfriend got the iphone 12 pro max and for once now her phone's camera finally beats mine.

 

[MrSquished]

I thought about moving from the 4XL to the 5 but I am too used to the face unlock. Don't care much for the soli chip. Having played around with the 5, I didn't like how taking photos now is a bit slower. Not by much but to me it's noticeable. I didn't think I would notice much of a difference in the screen either but I didn't find it as sharp.

I'm sure operation wise you wouldn't notice much with the 765g chip. One thing that I didn't like was that other phones that use the same chip go for less money.

For once I'm sticking with my phone for a second year now. Let's see what they do with the pixel 6. I hope it's more of a reason to upgrade becuause right now my girlfriend got the iphone 12 pro max and for once now her phone's camera finally beats mine.

I'm pretty impressed with this little phone 1 day in. The front speaker being an issue for some is a non issue for me. Most people think it's fine. So I made several phone calls, navigated and watched a couple videos - absolutely no issues with clarity or volume. Maybe if I wanted to watch a video at a loud bar? I dunno.

I notice absolutely zero speed differences in doing what I normally do with this phone. Mostly read news, social media apps, watch some youtube videos, text, email. Not a gamer where that might come into play although reading many reviews they said the P5 did fine with games as well.

I love the size. Not losing too much screen size vs the 4XL - I mean yes you do lose a little. But while laying in bed and reading my usual sites I never thought I missed the little bit of extra screen real estate. No issues while navigating either. Using this phone while on the go in one hand is much much better. At the grocery store to check my shopping list or while walking the dog. Will be perfect in the city. Also fits in pocket much better. This was a big reason I tried this phone and it seems to be a good one.

Fingerprint vs face unlock. I was always impressed with face unlock. But with a mask on it's a no brainer. Face unlock also rarely worked with my newer larger Ray Ban aviators, which was super annoying. At home I do find myself expecting the phone to be unlocked when I pick it up and forget to scan my fingerprint. But it will become habit again, I had the 2XL for 2 years before the 4XL and it was muscle memory with that phone. I use an app called KinScreen that is amazing so that helps with keeping the screen on when needed too.

Bezel-less design - it just looks amazing. The front hole punch camera is a bit distracting but I suspect it will become background noise eventually. I'd love face unlock AND a FPS at the same time, however, I don't want face unlock if it requires a big forehead bezel. Maybe a notch really is the way to go, or just the thinnest top bezel you could use in order to do face unlock.

Screen resolution. I had the 4xl and the 5 right next to each other and couldn't see the difference in PPI even though I know the 4XL has a higher PPI. I stuck the phones to my face with the exact same wallpaper on and I thought I could see some tiny differences? But then I thought I was seeing things. I don't know how discernable it is.

Have not taken a photo yes with this, but I'll try taking photos the same time while I still have the 4xl. I know the 5 is a tad slower at processing HDR and that is annoying. I know the 5 has no neural chip which was dedicated to photo processing on the 4XL. The 5 really should have that at 699 - but the phone would be 599 if it wasn't for the damn verizon mmwave 5g hardware tax. Fuck you verizon!

Battery life - dunno yet. But everyone reports the 5 has far superior battery life to their previous pixels. That will come in handy. Not so much this winter which will be spent indoors near chargers, but once the weather gets nice again.

At 599 this phone would be a no brainer. As it is on AT&T it's only $15 a month for 30 months, but you just have to have one of their overpriced unlimited plans to get that price. It's also on sale at Best Buy on Verizon for $499. It's a steal at that price.

Build quality felt fine to me too, for the little bit I had it on with no case. I slapped a google fabric case on it.

I have 10 days to ship the 4xl back to AT&T but I can't see why I'd keep it at this point. But I'll use this another few days to be 100%

 

[sze5003]

I'm sure the battery will be better for you on the 5 as it should have a bigger battery.

You're right for normal tasks, the speed will not be noticeable and it still has 90hz display so the smoothness is still there.

As much as I liked playing around with my girlfriend's iphone 12 pro max, I could easily tell the difference between 60hz and 90hz on my Pixel 4xl. I don't understand why they have this on the iPad pro models but not on their top tier phone.

As long as my battery doesn't crap out on me, I'm hanging on to this 4xl until next Google phone release. I really hope google does one day develop their own processor chip.

 

[MrSquished]

I've had this phone a bit longer now, had to get a replacement because the proximity sensor on the first one was busted. The battery life is fantastic, no more having to recharge during the day/evening now like with the 4XL. Definitely pretty anti-bezel now for phones of this size. I really wish google phones took off more but everyone is a Samsung devotee, this way we could have more phones from google, including a top-tier phone, but for right now, I'm not missing the extra $10 a month in payments for what I'm getting, and this would be cheaper if I didn't have to 'upgrade' to AT&T's unlimited plan to get the cheaper phone price. What a rip-off.

I'll see if I miss the telephoto lens when spring comes and I start doing more outdoor activities again. Other than that, this is all the phone I need. And I'm on it a lot, like most of us.