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Aneres11

macrumors 601
Oct 2, 2011
4,353
9,551
Quick impression it feels lightweight and sort of cheap compared to my Pixel 4XL which definitely has somewhat of a premium feel and deal to it.
Yeah this was one of my complaints with the 4a. It just felt a bit... cheap. I know it was cheap compared to other phones haha, and I'm not expecting a premium build or anything, but a little more weight would have definitely helped.
 

jamezr

macrumors P6
Original poster
Aug 7, 2011
16,073
19,070
US
Yeah this was one of my complaints with the 4a. It just felt a bit... cheap. I know it was cheap compared to other phones haha, and I'm not expecting a premium build or anything, but a little more weight would have definitely helped.
Let me get this straight...so heavy means more premium? :)
Personally I never understood this complaint from people. imho heavier doesn't equate to better or premium.
 

Aneres11

macrumors 601
Oct 2, 2011
4,353
9,551
Let me get this straight...so heavy means more premium? :)
Personally I never understood this complaint from people. imho heavier doesn't equate to better or premium.

No i am not saying that weight instantly makes a phone premium. I'm saying the phone felt cheap because it was so light. So an extra bit of heft would have helped. I never anywhere said adding weight to this device will make it premium. You came to that conclusion. :)
 
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noobinator

macrumors 604
Jun 19, 2009
7,335
6,998
Los Angeles, CA
Extra heft would have helped what though? Make it feel better? Maybe a bit more like it was built better/more solid or maybe more premium? :)
 
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Bkdodger

macrumors 68040
Jun 6, 2019
3,624
6,055
I think it's a combination.. I think the P5 will be fine especially if placing in a case.. Sitting next to the 4a and 4a 5G other than the sizes which are closer than most think.. They look and feel the same..
 
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Tig Bitties

macrumors 603
Sep 6, 2012
5,517
5,692
Curious does everybody use dark theme all the time anybody like the old school light theme or or does anyone set it up for light theme on a daytime dark theme on a night time?
 

mi7chy

macrumors G4
Oct 24, 2014
10,625
11,298
Let me get this straight...so heavy means more premium? :)
Personally I never understood this complaint from people. imho heavier doesn't equate to better or premium.

General public is weird at times. I know when it comes to a lot things like bikes/cars, heavy is associated with cheap metal and more expensive is made of carbon fiber. From cheap to expensive metal < aluminum alloy < titanium < carbon fiber. Personally, for phones I want strong, durable but light so it doesn't pull my pants or shorts down on one side. Also, scratch proof.

After 12 days
ElrV9q6XUAMfJtV.jpg
 

Tig Bitties

macrumors 603
Sep 6, 2012
5,517
5,692
I wish there was a way to hide the status bar and get more screen real estate. Especially in browsers. There was an old version of the Samsung Internet Browser that allowed the status bar to be hidden, but no idea which version that was.

I know if I root I can use the System Tuner app that has those options, but probably won't root just for that.
 

Bkdodger

macrumors 68040
Jun 6, 2019
3,624
6,055
Exactly... If you going into store them bad boys are scratched up beyond... At my local place the P5 was out of juice... I'm calling the sales guy over.. Hey how's this phone? Do you know if it's bright screen compared to previous models ? He's like hmmm it just came in and I didn't get a chance to view.. I'm like yeah me either since it's not charged... Mind finding one I can take a look at?
 
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Bkdodger

macrumors 68040
Jun 6, 2019
3,624
6,055
I wish there was a way to hide the status bar and get more screen real estate. Especially in browsers. There was an old version of the Samsung Internet Browser that allowed the status bar to be hidden, but no idea which version that was.

I know if I root I can use the System Tuner app that has those options, but probably won't root just for that.
Try Lawnchair launcher.. It's stock like with more options.. Test it and see if you have any issues with gestures and all... You can get same feel of stock launcher
 
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jamezr

macrumors P6
Original poster
Aug 7, 2011
16,073
19,070
US
No i am not saying that weight instantly makes a phone premium. I'm saying the phone felt cheap because it was so light. So an extra bit of heft would have helped. I never anywhere said adding weight to this device will make it premium. You came to that conclusion. :)
Well you kinda did hint at weight meaning premium :)

You said:
"I'm not expecting a premium build or anything, but a little more weight would have definitely helped."
 

Awesomesince86

macrumors 68020
Sep 18, 2016
2,482
3,302
Just got my Pixel 5 and already I'm having a problem. When I turn on 4k60 video recording the videos have no video, only sound. Tried everything I could think of and nothing fixes it.

Besides that, the phone feels smooth and performance is fine. It's seriously small though. Oh and haptics and speakers are bad.
 

Aneres11

macrumors 601
Oct 2, 2011
4,353
9,551
Well you kinda did hint at weight meaning premium :)

You said:
"I'm not expecting a premium build or anything, but a little more weight would have definitely helped."
Nah I think it was more you reading it that way.
I admit, my post was ambiguous and I can see how it can be taken that way. But I personally don't agree with the sentiment of more weight meaning more premium, so I know that isn't what I meant.

My post was trying to say, a little more weight would stop the pixel 5 and 4a feeling "less cheap and throwaway" than "more weight would make the 5 and 4a feel premium" which are very different things.
 

jamezr

macrumors P6
Original poster
Aug 7, 2011
16,073
19,070
US
Nah I think it was more you reading it that way.
I admit, my post was ambiguous and I can see how it can be taken that way. But I personally don't agree with the sentiment of more weight meaning more premium, so I know that isn't what I meant.

My post was trying to say, a little more weight would stop the pixel 5 and 4a feeling "less cheap and throwaway" than "more weight would make the 5 and 4a feel premium" which are very different things.
ok....you are definitely not saying more weight means premium.......got it :)
 
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Aneres11

macrumors 601
Oct 2, 2011
4,353
9,551
ok....you are definitely not saying more weight means premium.......got it :)
No I think that that's pretty obvious now I've said it two different ways to clear it up... but even if I was, so what? It would just be an opinion after all. :)
 

Awesomesince86

macrumors 68020
Sep 18, 2016
2,482
3,302
What makes the Pixel 5 seem even smaller is that Google have decided to make the status bar huge to cover the entire camera hole punch. So when you're in apps, the status bar covers a lot of the top. Not great.

Overall, the phone feels like mid range device both in terms of hardware and performance. Stock Android is smooth as ever but it's the same old story here. Software can't completely makeup for average hardware and specs. I still think it's a good phone once there's a discount, but not at this price.
 

Awesomesince86

macrumors 68020
Sep 18, 2016
2,482
3,302
So after a day of use...

Pros:
- Small and very comfortable to use.
- Performance is great for the most part. The only times I've noticed slowdowns are installing apps and after taking pictures.
- Battery is awesome and that's before Google AI has had time to learn battery usage.
- Camera and video are really good. Video is no longer terrible. It still lacks iphone but it's probably on par with Samsung despite the lack of features.
- OS is great. No surprise here.
- Drop from 120 hz to 90 hz goes ksotly unnoticed due to OS smoothness.
- Hardware doesn't feel cheap, just different. The texture feels like paper. The only thing making it feel cheap is that it's so light.

Cons:
- Small. Yes it's comfortable but it's damn small from someone used to xl/plus/max phones.
- Speakers are bad. No way around it. Bottom sounds ok, top is crap.
- Performance. Again, I know this is a pro as well. For most, it will feel flagship processor fast. For those that are used to flagship, top model phones, you'll notice the little extra time it takes to do things and when it gets a little boged down. It's very minimal, but it's there.
- Camera. You'll notice the trend here. It's great, still close to the best of not the best point and shoot. But coming from the S10 plus it doesn't blow me away. And that's a problem, because it used to. Everyone is catching up. This doesn't feel better than the Pixel 4.
- Haptics are noticeably worse than the Pixel 4 which is a bummer.

All in all, this seems like a good phone, potentially great if the price falls to the right spot. I'm going to run it for a couple weeks, but probably not beyond that unless it grows on me. I still like Pixel OS ahead of all others, but I like tech and prefer flagship phones. This doesn't feel like a flagship phone. It feels like a top level midrange device.
 

jdlindsey7

macrumors 6502
Feb 4, 2010
256
193
So after a day of use...

Pros:
- Small and very comfortable to use.
- Performance is great for the most part. The only times I've noticed slowdowns are installing apps and after taking pictures.
- Battery is awesome and that's before Google AI has had time to learn battery usage.
- Camera and video are really good. Video is no longer terrible. It still lacks iphone but it's probably on par with Samsung despite the lack of features.
- OS is great. No surprise here.
- Drop from 120 hz to 90 hz goes ksotly unnoticed due to OS smoothness.
- Hardware doesn't feel cheap, just different. The texture feels like paper. The only thing making it feel cheap is that it's so light.

Cons:
- Small. Yes it's comfortable but it's damn small from someone used to xl/plus/max phones.
- Speakers are bad. No way around it. Bottom sounds ok, top is crap.
- Performance. Again, I know this is a pro as well. For most, it will feel flagship processor fast. For those that are used to flagship, top model phones, you'll notice the little extra time it takes to do things and when it gets a little boged down. It's very minimal, but it's there.
- Camera. You'll notice the trend here. It's great, still close to the best of not the best point and shoot. But coming from the S10 plus it doesn't blow me away. And that's a problem, because it used to. Everyone is catching up. This doesn't feel better than the Pixel 4.
- Haptics are noticeably worse than the Pixel 4 which is a bummer.

All in all, this seems like a good phone, potentially great if the price falls to the right spot. I'm going to run it for a couple weeks, but probably not beyond that unless it grows on me. I still like Pixel OS ahead of all others, but I like tech and prefer flagship phones. This doesn't feel like a flagship phone. It feels like a top level midrange device.
I agree with all of this after one afternoon of use as well. I can't think of any glaring issues other than the top speaker. I've had a few hangups here and there but I they could also be attributed to first day usage and some background processing that's not normal in day-to-day usage.
I still can't decide if I'm going to keep the Pixel 5 or go for an iPhone 12 Pro. I do really enjoy the Pixel OS, camera, and hardware.
 

Aneres11

macrumors 601
Oct 2, 2011
4,353
9,551
I personally liked the haptics on the 4a so presumed they'd be the same on the 5?
Samsung have got really good haptics now too so hoping all other Android manufactures follow suit. No excuse for it in this day and age.
 
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