The Pixel 5 could be Google’s first ‘premium’ mid-range smartphone.
What you need to know
- Google may not release a Pixel phone with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 865 chipset this year.
- Instead of the flagship Snapdragon chipset, the Pixel 5 might feature the mid-range Snapdragon 765.
- The Pixel 5 is expected to launch this Fall with a starting price of $699.
In March this year, a teardown of the Google Camera app had suggested the Pixel 5 may not be powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 865 processor. More evidence suggesting the same has now surfaced, courtesy of the folks at XDA Developers.
XDA Developers found a new reference to an upcoming Pixel device in the pre-installed EUICCGoogle APK in Android 11 Developer Preview 4. The reference includes Google’s codename for the Snapdragon 765 chipset, corroborating the evidence found in March. However, the reference doesn’t confirm that it will be the Snapdragon 765 chipset that will power the Pixel 5. The upcoming phone could also be powered by the gaming-focused Snapdragon 765G or 768G chips, both of which are pin and software compatible.
In addition to the new reference found by XDA, David Ruddock, Editor-in-Chief of Android Police has also claimed via his own source that the Pixel 5 will feature the Snapdragon 765 chipset.
Can confirm via my own source that the Pixel 5 will use a Snapdragon 765. No phone with a top tier CPU from Google this year.
— David “bury me with my golden arm” Ruddock (@RDRv3) May 19, 2020
The evidence is certainly not surprising, as a recent Google survey hinted at the possibility of the Pixel 5 undercutting most 2020 Android flagship phones by a few hundred dollars. While the Snapdragon 765 chipset may disappoint a few buyers, the Pixel 5 could still be able to attract some buyers with a $699 price tag and best-in-class camera performance. Whether or not Google will get all the basics right with Pixel 5, however, remains to be seen.
Sadly, Pixel phones remain a tiny piece of Google’s hardware strategy
