The Google Pixel 5: A Mini-Review - Small Package, Small Value?
by Andrei Frumusanu on January 22, 2021 9:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Smartphones
- Mobile
- Pixel 5
GPU Performance
One larger negative of using a lower-end SoC such as the Snapdragon 765 versus a flagship design, is the fact that Qualcomm’s Adreno GPU here is actually significantly weaker than you’d expect the “one tier” lower status of the SoC. The Adreno 620 is actually significantly smaller and lower performance compared to not only previous generation flagship SoCs, but actually even flagship SoCs even a few generations old. Last year we had seen the LG Velvet perform more like a Snapdragon 845 device, lagging substantially behind the competition. Let’s see how the Pixel 5 performs:
I’m not exactly sure what Google has done here to the Snapdragon 765, but something is definitely very different compared to other devices employing the same chipset. The Pixel 5 here posts significantly lower performance than a comparable LG Velvet or an OPPO Reno3 Pro 5G, with some of the scores even coming in at half performance. When I got the phone I initially thought this must be some firmware issue, but even now in January it’s still the same.
Measuring power consumption of the phone, the SoC barely uses 1W of power under a 3D load (total device power minus idle), which is far less than what we saw of other Snapdragon 765 devices.
I have no idea as to why the Pixel 5 is set up this way, however the end result is that gaming performance is just horrible. If other Snapdragon 765 devices roughly matched the 845 in gaming, the Pixel 5 is only half of that. Playing a modern-AAA title like Genshin Impact on the phone is horrendous unless you set it to the lowest possible settings, and even then, it’s not a good experience.
If you’re looking for a decent gaming smartphone, the Pixel 5 is not it, and I recommend users to give it a wide berth.
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Citypoint725 - Friday, January 22, 2021 - link
Best Pixel phone yet...in my experience. Been a Google phone owner since the G1.drmrzmom - Friday, January 22, 2021 - link
Don't waste your money! I feel like I paid $699 for extra storage, a smaller phone and no measureable upgrades. It sucks.Pixel owner - Friday, January 22, 2021 - link
The selling point for me on the Pixel 5 was the battery life. I owned a Pixel XL, Pixel 3 XL, and now the 5. My only issue is the size. It's kinda small. My vision is getting bad so reading the small print on certain games is difficult. If the games had a way to change the font size it wouldn't be a problem. I like the fact that it's super lightweight. I haven't noticed the performance being slower then the 3 XL. It actually seems faster. I love the calling feature screen call. No other flagship phones have it. That being said overall I'm happy to own a pixel 5 and would recommend getting one. As long as your not one of those I need the best of everything types. If you are then go spend $1300 on a flagship. I bet you won't be as happy.patel21 - Friday, January 22, 2021 - link
The phone would provide a lot more value of they would have just kept telephoto lens from Pixel 4, and added Ultra wide.Spunjji - Monday, January 25, 2021 - link
Yeah, I'm confused by the people who were happy with them removing a lens. My personal preference is for telephoto, though, so I'm biased 😬DocDAT2 - Friday, January 22, 2021 - link
To me the pixel 5 is close to the perfect phone. It's at the maximum size that I want (can't find any comparable phones in the same size. I could easily afford a phone twice the cost but would never buy one of the modern brick sized "super" phones and I can't stand iOS.It has great quality construction, awesome camera and camera software (the best of the android phones IMO), and the battery easily lasts a whole day of heavy usage. It's plenty fast for all I've used it for - I've never understood people who use their phone for 3D gaming, so I couldn't care less about the 3d performance.
Broonsby - Friday, January 22, 2021 - link
Pixel 5 is like a Camry: nothing special to look at, but is a solid daily user. It just works and gets out of the way while being fuel efficient. I manage an average of 2 days usage before charging w/ roughly 40% battery capacity left. If you don't like the package then there are you spoiled for choice right now. But this is the kind of phone you'll have in 3 years & finally upgrade because of the battery finally fading.shady28 - Sunday, January 24, 2021 - link
A Camry that costs the same as a BMW. This is a midrange spec phone with, as far as I can tell, an $680 MSRP price tag and going for $800. For that you can buy an S21 5G, or an iPhone 11 128GB is $30 less, or an iPhone 12 is $70 more. You can get an LG 5G with similar specs for half this price? This phone makes no sense, just like a $60,000 Camry.1_rick - Friday, January 22, 2021 - link
For six hundos you can get a Galaxy S20 FE 5G. I don't remember if it has mmWave or not but isn't that the one that's really only available for a few blocks in the downtown of major cities? But you get super-fast charging, an actual flagship SoC, and a 120Hz display.supdawgwtfd - Friday, January 22, 2021 - link
What's interesting is that in my Country even though they are meant to have the same MSRP the Samsung costs $100 more.Plus who really likes Samsung software....