The Google Pixel 5 series is expected to fix a lot of the shortcomings of the Pixel 4 series and we take a look at the rumors, leaks and expectations for Google’s next flagship phone.

The big theme with the Pixel 5 has to fixing the mess that Google itself created with the Pixel 4. The Pixel 4 and the 4 XL were two of the most viciously criticized flagships of 2019, and shortly after the launch, the two phones were discounted sharply, not least because of the constant negativity around the two devices. Most people weren’t at all happy with battery life on the Pixel 4, but other key features were also missing.

Bigger battery

In late 2019, the industry started moving towards bigger phones with bigger batteries, a trend that so many reviewers and users have been wishing for.

Ultra-wide camera

In 2017, Google was again laughing at Apple and saying there was “no need” for a secondary camera on the Pixel, then, in 2019, what do you know, the Pixel 4 launched with a secondary camera and a telephoto one just like what iPhones used for years.

Fast forward to 2019, and Google is now saying it feels there is no need for an ultra-wide angle lens. You know what this means, right? Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me… and we now know better: the Google Pixel 5 will surely have an ultra-wide angle lens. And honestly, we hope it will as that camera is one of our favorite feature on other flagship phones.

No radar gimmicks

For years, Google worked on a secret super sensitive radar idea called Project Soli and in 2019, that super-advanced technology came to a real phone, the Pixel 4. And it was a complete and utter nonsense, just like most such ideas in the past.

The new “Motion Sense” technology that was supposed to change the way we navigate our phones from using swipes and taps to just gestures, turned out to be yet another gimmick that allowed you to weirdly swipe above your phone to skip to the next song and that was about it for functionality. What a waste of space!

And indeed, it did take a lot of space. While most modern smartphones have beautiful designs with minimal bezel, the Pixel 4 has a gigantic bezel at the top for all of that gimmicky tech. Our expectation and sincere hope is that Google realizes the idea does not really make sense and remove it in the Pixel 5, so it has a modern design.

5G and a new processor

It should come as no surprise, but the Pixel 5 series come just in time for 5G. By the time they roll out, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 will be a well-established platform with support for 5G using both mmWave and sub-6GHz frequencies via the new X55 modem.

Put simply, yes, the Pixel 5 will be a 5G phone and it will also be a faster phone than the current Pixel 4 series.

Unfortunately, that increase in speed and productivity is likely to also come with an increase in size as 5G requires more antennas. We expect both the Pixel 5 and Pixel 5 XL to be physically larger phones than before.

Price and Release date

The Pixel 5 series official launch event is expected to happen on Wednesday, October 14th, 2020, with the release date set for eight days later, on Thursday, October 22nd.

The prices for the Pixel 5 series are expected to remain firmly in the premium segment and these are our predictions for prices for the different models:

What are your biggest hopes and wishes for the Google Pixel 5 series?