I’m all for getting rid of gimmicks on smartphones, first to reduce the price and second because not everyone uses these “features” very often. That’s why I was pretty excited about the Pixel 5, which concentrates on the camera, battery life, software, and most importantly this year, the price. I’ve been using the Pixel 5 for a little while, and frustratingly, Google has gone a little too far in its normalization efforts. Gone are the quirks that made some warm to old Pixels, and while the camera is still a winner, it hasn’t moved the game forward in the way the Pixel 4 did. I’m getting a bit ahead of myself here, so let’s go into detail. Google has never been one for giving the Pixel a wild design, but it is very good at making a sensibly sized phone, and the Pixel 5 is exactly right. The metal body is welcome, as it’s warm to the touch, doesn’t get covered in fingerprints, and should be durable too. The nicely rounded sides make it easy to grip and hold, and the overall size and 8mm ...

Compact and lightweight; Detailed 90Hz screen; Highly capable camera; Two-day battery life;

Dull design; Missing that special quirky Google feature;

Consistent camera quality; Uncluttered take on Android; Gets the essentials right;

Performance only average; Hardware doesn’t excite like previous Pixels; No 3.5mm jack, expandable storage;

Diseño compacto, ligero y manejable; Funciones de cámara excepcionales; Carga inalámbrica y reversible;

Altavoz con sonido mediocre; Carga rápida, algo lenta; Material en acabados mejorables;

The Google Pixel 5 is bucking current smart phone trends and it's truly refreshing. Check out what else we think in our review.

Unique design with bio resin finish; extremely good battery life; great camera quality; handy new video stabilisation modes; rear fingerprint sensor; reverse wireless charging; Pixel software

No microSD card slot, headphone jack, or zoom camera; no XL model; speaker quality is just OK

The Pixel 5 offers more of the same from the Pixel series, keeping the best bits of the Pixel 4 – excellent photo-taking, clean software – and packaging it in a cheaper phone. It's not perfect though, and the competition around this particular price point is getting stronger.

90Hz refresh rate screen, Premium-quality build, Usual excellent camera

No optical zoom, Not much better than the Pixel 4a 5G, Relatively small screen

Google’s budget-friendly approach has changed the competition, but arguably not its place in the pecking order Punchy, clear OLED screen Class-leading camera Ergonomic, waterproof design Lacklustre sound No zoom lens

The Pixel 5 is an excellent Google phone that gets back to the basics of being a good smartphone while adding useful features and nice touches. The battery life is solid, the 90Hz screen is good and smooth, the fingerprint scanner on the back is simple and fast, and the camera is another masterclass...

Pros: great camera, good screen, great software and update support, good battery life, relatively small, fairly inexpensive, recycled aluminium.

Cons: no headphone socket, no flagship processor, no expandable storage.

The Google Pixel 5 is a great smartphone but we've been spoiled with past Pixels and as a result, the Pixel 5 just doesn't have the same 'wow' factor past Pixel smartphones have had.

Price, Compact size, Easy to use camera, Metal casing (no fingerprints), Brilliant camera AI

No telephoto lens, No headphone jack, Not as ground-breaking as Pixel smartphones once were

Google Pixel 5: Cheaper than the Pixel 4 but just as impressive, the Pixel 5 is a class act

Cheaper than last year’s Pixel 4, Substantial battery life boost, Camera continues to impress

Utilitarian design, No face unlock, Lacks ‘XL’ version this year

Google Pixel 5 steadies the ship after a turbulent time last year. There’s certainly a lack of innovation but, at an attractive lower price, the Pixel 5 offers plenty of strong features to delight Android fans.