Google Pixel 5 long-term review

Feature Drops keep software fresh

Following the initial release of the Pixel 5, Google has already had one "Feature Drop" in the December update. Before we get into those features, let's touch on what makes the Pixel software experience different from near-stock or heavily customized Android skins like Samsung's One UI.

Google Pixel's UI

Since the hardware comes from Google, the Pixel 5 represents Android in the way that Google intends it. It's sort of a benchmark of how the software should look, feel, and behave. While some OEMs come close to "stock" Android (Nokia, Motorola have minimal, unobtrusive customizations to the software), others have an entirely different view of how Android should look and feel (Samsung, Xiaomi, Oppo).

At first, the Pixel 5 felt a bit janky. Sometimes opening a notification from the lockscreen would result in a long delay that would suggest the Pixel 5 was thinking really hard before opening said notification's app - this would sometimes take upwards of 5 seconds or more. A few updates later and these sporadic delays have been smoothened out.

We sometimes miss the Active Edge feature, which was the squeeziest way to summon Google Assistant. We don't find that swiping up from the corner of the screen is the best way to activate a voice command, but we like the thin bezels much more. Perhaps that double-tap-on-back gesture that was rumored for Android would be nice for this purpose.

Some Pixel-exclusive features like Call Screen, Ambient Now Playing, and Google's Recorder app all make Pixel phones worth keeping around. Along with these features, Google added several more with last December's 'Feature Drop'.

These are periodic updates that add useful features to the Pixel experience. The last update brought Adaptive Sound, new fonts, icons, and colors, the ability to export your Now Playing tags to a YouTube Music playlist. Lens Quick Select lets you select text from anywhere just by opening the Recent apps screen.

We don't have any real grumbles with the software. Google's stock Android 11 runs smoothly and we're seeing more features added over the last several iterations. Google's own services cover all aspects of communication from Android Messages (RCS) to Duo for video calls, and Google Photos for the Gallery app. Perhaps the lack of a traditional "Gallery" app might frustrate some users. The Photos app not only shows photos and videos, but also backs them up for you, and will try to sell you printed photo albums. With Google Play Music gone, YouTube Music remains the de-facto music-listening app. That pretty much everything Google that comes out of the box.

The only things we could wish to see on a future Pixel update is the ability to take scrolling screenshots, maybe add a biometric lock to apps, and we do kind of wish there some way to have two instances of the same app like Samsung's Dual Messenger. While these are features that plenty of other OEMs have implemented into their software for years, the Pixel lineup is a smartphone aimed at the average smartphone user, who may never even know these features exist.

Software has come a long way on the Pixels, and the Pixel 5 has a lower-power chipset, which runs just as smoothly and as quickly as the Pixel 4 did with the Snapdragon 855. The Pixel 5 isn't the fastest phone around, it doesn't have the smoothest 90Hz animations, and it will occasionally frequently drop a frame or two. The general effect of software comes off as predictable and efficient.

Power and battery life

The Google Pixel 5 was set up for success in the battery department. In contrast to its predecessor, this phone is better equipped for extended usage and has potential for two-day battery life. With its 4,080 mAh battery, small 6-inch AMOLED screen and power-efficient Snapdragon 765G chipset, the Pixel 5 scored 95h overall for the review, which impressed us as Google had often lacked in this department.

Battery saving features have improved with the 5. There's a new "Extreme Battery Saver" which only enables "essential" apps. Basically this mode will gray out all your apps except the ones you whitelisted.

Extreme battery saver

With day to day endurance, this particular reviewer does not have a set schedule. For the usage samples we're about to show you the Pixel 5 was unplugged at some point during the day or night, and then kept off the charger until it reached 10% or below. That's why you might see a plateauing of usage that represents when the reviewer was catching some Z's.

On the heaviest day of use, the Pixel 5 lasted just eight hours. This, however, is an unrealistic usage scenario under extreme circumstance. On this particular day, the Pixel 5 was continuously hot spotting to two other devices, streaming Spotify via Bluetooth, using Google Maps to navigate both in car and on foot, and frequent messaging throughout the day. The time spent inside a car was about three hours.

Heaviest day of non-stop use

The Pixel 5 lasts a solid day with moderate to heavy usage using various social apps, YouTube video watching, messaging, occasional Google Maps navigating, and some phone calls. Days would end with between 3-5 hours of on-screen time with location sharing enabled, 5G enabled, Adaptive brightness on, Google Photos backup enabled, Bluetooth always connected to a smartwatch, and Wi-Fi scanning always enabled as well. Even for the heaviest users, the Pixel 5 will last a solid day.

Daily battery use

24 hours of real-world battery life may not seem as impressive to some, but the reality is that previous Pixel flagships were barely able to get through a day unless it was spent in a drawer.

Charging

There's still no support for anything quicker than the standard 18W USB-C PD charging. The Pixel 5 will reach about a 41% charge in a half-hour, which is good enough. It takes a bit more than an hour and half to fully recharge the phone. Putting anything quicker on this phone would have driven up cost for a marginal benefit.

Even with the phone's small size and lower price point, we were surprised to see reverse wireless charging debut on the Pixel. We also love how this feature, called Battery Share, was implemented to automatically come on by default once the phone is plugged into a wired charger.