Google’s Pixel 5 Is Made of Recycled Aluminum and Ideas: Review

Taking a less-is-more approach, Google relies on old tech
6-inch phone is an improvement but lags more ambitious rivals

Watch: Bloomberg's Vlad Savov counts down the five most interesting things about the Google Pixel 5 in his review.(Source: QuickTake)

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By Vlad Savov

October 21, 2020 at 5:00 PM EDT

This article is for subscribers only.

In 2010, Google released its first smartphone, the Nexus One built by HTC Corp., which was intended not as a multimillion-unit-selling iPhone rival but as a modest example of what a good Android phone could and should be. A decade later with the Pixel 5, designed by the HTC team that Google since acquired, the Alphabet Inc. unit seems to be returning to its original philosophy.

The Pixel 5 is an assembly of established technologies topped off with 5G wireless connectivity and an important reduction in price to $699. Bowing out of the premium-tier race with Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co. after four Pixel generations, Google also did away with its XL model and refocused on the strengths of its devices: good cameras, utilitarian design and reliable software updates.