Question Are you getting a Pixel 5a?

[lightuser]

Aside from the Google annoyances I knew I'd have to fight with, mine seems fine. I came from a lower budget phone so this feels pretty snappy by comparison. Mine is not running hot, and in fact has great battery life so far, but I am a light user. Mine has been on in standby for about 44 hrs with 2 hrs screen-on time, and is at 70% charge still.

I am a little surprisd by the display, with fonts sometimes looking a little fuzzier than I'd expect. I need to compare to my wife's phone which is also 1080 pixels wide, but I think this might be OLED vs LCD... I vaguely remember feeling this way with an OLED screen I had many years ago too.

 

[Zorachus]

So I put my SIM card in the 5a yesterday and truly started using it, and went to the Zac Brown Band concert last night took some great photos.

I'm a lifelong Nexus / Pixel guy, but the past 8 months been using a iPhone 12 Pro Max, my first iPhone in many years.

I have to say using stock Android again is such a pleasure and joy over iOS, just everything's better in using the phone. The gesture system is way batter on the Pixel than the iPhone, I like being able to also swipe back when taping and sliding on the right side of the screen. Just navigating around the phone is so much faster and more streamlined and just better on a Pixel vs iPhone in regards to gesture navigation. And of course swiping down on the screen drops down the notification shade which is always best, on the iPhone when you swipe down this strange weird search screen pops up, I just never understood what that's for.

No notch is great The little pin hole camera in the top corner is barely even noticeable, and looks so much better than the large hideous notch on my 12 Pro Max.

AoD ( Always on Display ) My goodness this is such a useful important feature all smartphones should have. iPhone absolutely needs to have it already.

Voice to text. Holy cow LOL. The Pixel does it ten million times better than the iPhone. I use voice to text a lot for texting and stuff, and the iPhone was pretty bad in getting my conversation accurate or correct, where the Pixel gets darn near perfect every time. Just seems Pixel phones handle voice command stuff way better. And thank the lord, back to saying " Hey Google" to search something or ask a question and it's instant fast and gets me an answer on anything.

Set default apps, yep no problem on the Pixel.

Drag an app icon and place it anywhere I feel like it on the screen. Uh hello Apple.


But...I still have my iPhone 12 Pro Max obviously and the one thing I can't argue is the design and build quality, this 12 Pro Max is built like a tank, and everything is so high quality, the screen tech is amazing such a perfect display, and the flat no curved edge is best. Speakers are great. Haptic vibration is great. The large size screen on the 12PM is amazing. Holding it in hand feels so hefty and the flat backs feels solid. Overall the iPhone 12 Pro Max phone is just a very well built high quality smartphone. But...it runs iOS ugh, it's just not my cup of tea, and feels so outdated and not well designed, but the iPhone hardware and quality is so great though.


I really like this iPhone 12 Pro Max size, the display is gorgeous, the flat screen the best. The quality high end build of this phone is superb and nothing I’ve seen Google produce with their Nexus / Pixel line has ever match the quality of this 12 PM. So yes I prefer stock Android far more, but I have to admit the quality and build, and beautiful display on the 12 Pro Max is hard to beat.

But iOS. Ugh.

I wish I could install a Pixel ROM on the iPhone 12 Pro Max LOL

 

[rochrunner]

Thinking about it but getting annoyed with the general "size creep" of smartphones in general. Each one I get is "only" a millimeter or two or three taller, but after a number of phones I end up with a phablet in my pocket!

 

[Gon Rouge]

I would like to get the Pixel 5a because I have heard good things about the Pixel 4a. My main concern with this phone other than the "Overheating issue" is how the phone is limited to the US & Japan market and I hope that does not mean even though the 5a is technically has the same specs as the 4a, 4a 5G, and the Pixel 5 but what if something is slightly different and like for example we can't install custom roms and stuff. I'm not sure if I should get this phone or just wait till prices come down on the 4a if it is the "better" phone for stuff like custom roms. But I what I really like about the 5a is and I gotten spoiled with is water/dust resistance smartphones and one that is brand new for only $449 with that feature and is not a flagship is really nice and will save you A TON OF MONEY overtime! Also I personally am not willing to pay $1100 for a smartphone. I am currently using my LG G6 and have been for the last several years but my battery is worn out and updates are no more and support with custom roms and stuff are limited. Especially because I got my phone through a carrier so I can't unlock the bootloader. Plus even though the 5a doe's have the "overheating issue" right now that is OK with me because my LG phone has a good camera for videos in 1080p 60fps but not the best for taking still shot photos on that phone. So what if the 5a might not be able to record 4k 60fps I don't use that anyway I just record in 1080p 60fps plus this phone is ONLY $449. Overall I have considered about getting this phone I just hope that Graphene OS and maybe some other cool custom roms and such will roll out as the phone is around, but I'm afraid that like I said this phone will not be the same as the 4a, and 4a 5g and be overshadowed by the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro when they come out later on this year and become forgotten.

 

[edufur]

I ordered the 5a and it was supposed to arrive on August 27th via FedEx home delivery. Here we are on the 31st and no one at FedEx knows where it is. It got lost in the distribution center. The agent at FedEx essentially told me that their "home delivery" service is essentially garbage. Here is my suggestion if you order one... The SECOND you see it get shipped, update the delivery to a pickup center.

 

[edufur]

Update: My pixel 5a has finally arrived and so far, I find it a bit underwhelming. The performance seems similar to my 4a and so far I have not been impressed with 5g service (if and when I can find it). The funny thing is, there is supposed to be 5G service all around me but you would never know it. In addition, the LTE speed tests are consistently ~ 10 MBps slower than my 4a is (in the same exact location). The larger display is nice I guess but it does add a slight awkardness to the phone. Overall, I don't see the value yet.

 

[derausgewanderte]

Got mine today as well. I like it. It's my first experience with a Google phone. Really the only thing I miss is 90Hz refresh rate but I am okay with that.
Looking forward to getting Android 12 hopefully soon.
cheers

 

[musichem]

I was using a OnePlus 6, but switched to Pixel 3a when I was traveling abroad and needed unlimited Google Photos backup. My old eyes and fat thumbs didn't appreciate the smaller size of the 3a.

Snagged a 4a5g (white) in July when they were going out of stock. Kept it in the box in my closet unopened waiting for the 5a to see if it would be a better option.

As soon as 5a was released, I was happy that I had the 4a5g and opened the box.

For me, what's better than the 5a
1) unlimited Google Photos high quality backup - last phone that will ever have this
2) gorgeous white - I use a clear Spigen TPU case

What else sold me:
3) Google Fi option, should I need it
4) Headphone jack
5) Size similar to my OP6
6) GCam still the best
7) Still has great fingerprint scanner on the back where it belongs. I've had this forever (prior to OP6, I had a OP3, and before that, a Nexus 5x.

The only things better about the 5a are the bigger battery and the splash protection. But the 4a5g battery life is great compared to both previous phones, and I've never had a phone with splash protection, so I don't really miss it.

Things I don't care about:
1) wireless charging or fast charging - both of these ruin battery health much faster and I plan to keep the phone for the long term
2) 90+ Hz refresh rate - never had that, only "game" I play on my phone is Duolingo, care more about battery life
3) 5g - the 5g works, but honestly, LTE is fast enough, and is more reliable at my house due to low signal strength. 5g at the Atlanta airport a couple of weeks ago was so bad, I had to switch to LTE. It's great to have the option for future-proofing, though.


Thing that would make this phone even better:
1) Dual SIMs
2) SD card slot
3) and, ok, splash protection would be nice for peace of mind.

If I hadn't scored the new 4a5g, I'd buy one now on Swappa before getting a 5a.

 

[designwebs]

I have had my 5 a for about 3 weeks. Works great with Google Fi and no problems to report at this time.

 

[Dimas saputra arif]

Ya

 

[$cronos_]

I am curious if we can trick Google to recognize a 5a as a 4a 5G, for some free "High quality backup" in Google Photos - as there aren't many differences between the two devices. Same silicon, same RAM and storage configuration, almost the same screen size.

I think maybe you could patch the Google Play Services?

 

[Mokura3rd]

I'm thinking about getting one (moving from p3a) - I need more storage, and Google performance won't be much of a dealbreaker as I plan on using Lineage + minimal gapps. I just wish these had microSD slots, but cloud giants gonna cloud giant I guess