Review Google Pixel 5a review: All hail the king of affordable camera phones

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Aug 17, 2021
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I'm surprised you did not mention the lack of an SD card reader. Perhaps this is old news by now with Google, but as I am in the market for a new phone, it is top of mind for me. Even with 128 GB of on-device storage, I still want to have the ability to shift items to an SD card if needed. I suppose Google and Apple both want us to store our data in the cloud, but I don't trust that for my photos, downloads, etc. Right now it's a deal-breaker for me.
 

ej1

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Apr 30, 2020
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Thanks for the prompt review, admin, but your score is too high. BTW, I'm not a Google hater or Apple hater, etc. I just think we need to demand more from phone makers. At $449 the Pixel 5a costs a lot! Just because it costs less than crazy expensive flagship phones, that doesn't mean it is inexpensive. Moto budget phones went down in price. I'm not comparing Moto phones and Pixel phones, but my point is that phones (eg Pixel) should be going down in price -- not up! (If Google had to omit 5G in order to offer a much lower price, then so be it. 5G is so overrated!) At least one other Tom's Guide writer (see R Priday's recent article "Pixel 5a price leak makes the phone look like a bad deal") agrees that the 5a is expensive.

Also, the Pixel 5a should lose points for having such a large battery size but disappointing battery test results! Big phones are a pain to handle, but I guess people put up with them in order to have better battery life. What is the point of having a big phone when the battery life is disappointing?! Unless reviewers heavily criticize Google for continually making phones without strong battery life, then Google will not be motivated to improve.
 

ej1

Estimable
Apr 30, 2020
7
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4,510
I'm surprised you did not mention the lack of an SD card reader. Perhaps this is old news by now with Google, but as I am in the market for a new phone, it is top of mind for me. Even with 128 GB of on-device storage, I still want to have the ability to shift items to an SD card if needed. I suppose Google and Apple both want us to store our data in the cloud, but I don't trust that for my photos, downloads, etc. Right now it's a deal-breaker for me.
To piggyback off your point, phones should be penalized/criticized for not having SD card readers!
 
Aug 27, 2021
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Too many reviews these days (including this one) focus on the auxiliary features of phones, such as the camera, the speed of gaming, music quality, etc. While leaving out probably the main reason for getting a phone, which is to communicate! I would like to see more reviews talk about things like signal strength in different areas such as cities, countryside, or mountainous areas, voice quality, perhaps whichs carriers are optimized for the phone, And even things like browser speeds, and Google maps. These aren't sexy things But they are very important!
 
Apr 10, 2022
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The Google Pixel 5a is here and it packs a serious punch. This is the phone to get if you want the best photography experience under $500.

Google Pixel 5a review: All hail the king of affordable camera phones : Read more
Don't get pixel 5a, it's worse than the pixel 3 i traded in to get it.

My 5G mobile data is slower and buggier than LTE, it feels like I'm connect with E service.

My blue tooth often just won't connect to either of my two cars or headphones (one of my cars and headphones are brand new 2022 models, it's not them).

The micrphone sometimes decides not to work so people just cannot hear me while I'm talking, best work around was bluetooth headset, until bluetooth became so unreliable that's not an option.

Maybe I got a one off POS phone, but the other side to this is how bad google's customer service is. I tried to complain about all 3 of these issues the first week I had the phone but after being on hold for over 8 hours I got disconnect, there was no follow up so I had to start the process over again and after 4 hours on hold (both times I use the call me option and that still left me on the phone waiting for these 8 and 4 hour holds) I could not wait any longer. So now my phone is past the 15 days to get a refund. They want to send me refurbished phone replacement, great accept that I have to put a deposit down equal to a new phone and if I don't get this broken phone back to them in 15 days I get stuck paying the full cost for a refurbished phone, that's a lot of trust to have in the mail systems since I've seen multiple week delays randomly over the last couple years since Covid demolished every supply chain.

I would feel bad gifting this brand new 5a phone to someone. I used to love Pixels but that's over I'll be avoiding them from now on.
 
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