Pixel 5 and 4A 5G review: Superb cameras, now with 5G

[MUSIC] Google is jumping on the 5G train with the Pixel 5 and the Pixel 4A 5G, priced at $700 and $500 respectively. These phones run the latest Android 11 OS Have a second ultra wide camera and have the biggest batteries than any previous pixel phones. So let's check them both out a little bit closer. [MUSIC] [MUSIC] Let's start with what makes the phones different. My colleague Lexie has an excellent explainer comparing these tool that I encourage you to check out. But really quickly, the more premium pixel five has a 90 hertz display, more RAM, a slightly bigger battery and an aluminum body. That's one reason It also has wireless charging and reverse wireless charging, the pixel for a five G on the other hand is a tad larger has a polycarbonate design that's not water resistant, and it has a headphone jack. Other than that though the phones share the same camera setup, processor and general look and feel Like past years, the pixel phones main selling point is the camera. Google got rid of the telephoto lens that we saw on the pixel four and replaced it with an ultra wide camera. This wider field of view is great for sweeping landscapes or just fitting more buddies in your photos. The cameras low light mode branded as night sight takes great pictures and dim lighting. And now it works in portrait mode, so you can still take those polished dramatic pictures in the dark. Google also added a tool that lets you play around with portrait lighting. It's really easy to use, and it came in handy whenever I took a generally nice image, but the lighting just didn't quite come out right. For video, there are now different types of optimizations you can choose for stabilizing video. One is cinematic pan, which offers a slow, and smooth cinematic look when you're panning during a shot. Keep in mind this mode doesn't capture audio. For you also more fans out there, the phones can also now record 60 frames per second in 4k resolution. In general the cameras are still fantastic. pictures have great dynamic range shots are vibrant and clear and night sight does an excellent job at handling low light. But the delta between it and other phones isn't as wide anymore. Compared to the one plus 80 for example, pitchers look pretty on par with one another. Though when it came to low light, the pixel had better dynamic range and white balance. [MUSIC] The pixel phones run Android 11 and there isn't a huge amount of new software things we haven't already seen since the OS has been rolling out. The devices do preview something called hold for me, which lets assistant take your place when you're on hold. So you don't have to listen to crappy hold music. And it notifies you when a real person is back on the line. The native recorder app also has more tricks up its sleeve since the last time we took a look at it on the pixel 4a, I'm not too sure why Google has really leaned in on this app, but as someone who uses it all the time for taking notes, I'm not complaining. You can now copy or remove chunks of audio and create a cool little graphic if you want to share some quote or audio snippet on social media. The pixel 5 and 4 a 5G features a Snapdragon 765G processor, It's an interesting choice given that a lot of current flagships and last year's pixel four have the more robust Snapdragon 855 chipset. Well, that means the pixels benchmark scores aren't as high as say the one plus eight T or Galaxy S20. The phones are still fast and reliable. During my time with it, I didn't experience any hiccups or lag time throughout my day to day tasks. The pixel 5 has a 4 ampere hour battery and the pixel 4A 5G has a 3.8 ampere hour battery. It's the highest capacity of any pixel phones but keep in mind plenty of other phones like once again the OnePlus 8T and the Galaxy S20. Have batteries that are as big or even bigger than that. From what I've seen so far, the pixel phones are able to go without charging for more than 24 hours with mild usage. I remember last year with the pixel for that phone's battery drained noticeably quickly throughout the day. Unfortunately, I'm not seeing the same thing here. Preliminary battery tests on the pixel 4A 5G, for continuous video playback on airplane mode, yielded an excellent time of 22 hours. But we're still conducting battery tests on both phones. So check back with the written. Reviews for updates. And lastly, Google is introducing a new mode called extreme Battery Saver that severely limits app usage to extend battery life. [MUSIC] So, are either of these new pixel phones worth your money? Well, one important thing to consider is that while these are Google's flagship phones, yes, they aren't ultra premium flagship phones. Software wise the updates are pretty incremental. And when it comes to hardware, there are plenty of phones from Samsung Apple one plus even LG. That boasts faster processors, bigger batteries and more cameras. But Google knows this and that's why the phones are priced the way they are. The pixel five is $100 cheaper than the pixel four when it first launched last year, and the pixel four a five G is relatively affordable at $500. If you're big on mobile gaming, or you need stuff like 8k video recording or three cameras, it's best to look elsewhere. But if you're looking for an incredibly user friendly android phone that gets prompt software and security updates and has an excellent camera. Then I've leaned towards the pixel for a 5G. It's $200 cheaper than the five. It still has 5G and it has a bigger screen. So while I love me a higher refresh rate display, reverse wireless charging and wireless charging, that $200 chunk of change is worth skipping out on, at least for me. And it's my pick among all three new pixel phones this year. That's it for me. for more tech videos, check out the rest of Cnet's channel. And be sure to subscribe, stay safe and be well. I'll see you guys next time.