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Finally, Google launched the Pixel 5a, its mid-year launch ahead of the much more hotly anticipated Pixel 6 series, coming in a month or two.
Itās a slightly amazing device:Ā
- Google has essentially perfected the Pixel 4a 5G with the release of the 5a. Itās the 4a 5G Plus. 4a 5GS.
- The Pixel 5a sticks with exactly the same chipset, memory, camera setup, and 18W wired charging. But it has switched up the build and other components as follows: A metal unibody design, a slightly bigger display (6.34-inches, up from a 6.2-inch screen), a much, much larger battery, and an IP67 rating for dust and water resistance ā a first for the A-series lineup.
- Google dropped the price by $50, and it now starts at $449.
- Good luck getting one, though, if youāre not in the US or Japan, the only two launch countries.
- And that release availability makes even less sense than ever! Googleās not using a new chipset from Qualcomm, which may have led to constrained supply. Itās using the same one from last year! Google, Google, Google, why isnāt this phone more available?
$ for ?:
- Maybe Google is admitting that this phone is uniquely competitive in the US market.Ā
- A $450 Android phone sticking with a 60Hz display, an older chipset, and a camera setup that hasnāt changed in years, would, in many parts of the world, be a bit of a stinker for those that live for best specs. Youāre paying a high price for features youāre not getting.
- But competition is stifled in the land of the free. The $400-$500 range includes Samsungās A52, (or the just launched A52s) and Appleās iPhone SE. Apple can get away with it because of iOS; Samsungās A52 has a few nicer options and is regularly on sale for cheaper.
- If you look at the UK, Europe, India, and of course China, $450 gets you, at least: a better display, a better SoC, faster wired charging, maybe even wireless charging, and some kind of telephoto option.
- The Poco F3, for example, is about $400, and packs a Snapdragon 870 chipset, 120Hz OLED screen, and 33W charging.
- Even just-as-new sub-$200 phones have 90Hz displays which present smoother, snappier scrolling. Itās not a big thing, but itās the future.
The experience:
- What is crucial though is the software experience. Googleās ageing camera gets by because itās optimized enough to often beat our fancier hardware, though the lack of zoom is getting very tired.Ā
- Google brings to Android its Pixel software, promises of updates, and nice Google add-ons like Google Recorder app, Call Screening for spam calls, and more.
- And where Chinese OEMs crush the Pixel on specs and value, they donāt always deliver when it comes to a better Android experience, which Google mostly gets right.
- The other bonus from Google is Android updates, beta testing of next Android editions, and tighter integrations with Assistant.Ā
- Our Pixel 5a review says: āNo, itās not the most exciting phone youāll see in 2021, but it works, and thatās exactly what itās supposed to do [ā¦] it just works.ā
- Thatās enough for a large part of the market. Other headlines were āboring but better than everā and āitās not broken, so Google didnāt fix it.ā
š We tested Qualcommās Quick Charge 5 against the fastest smartphone charging standards: temperature-aware charging (Android Authority).
š§ New leak spills specs, design of Boseās upcoming Bose QuietComfort 45 flagship headphones (Android Authority).
š Samsungās new Galaxy A52s 5G kicks up the A52ās performance and adds a new color (Android Authority).
š© Google sweetens YouTube Premium with 3 free months of Stadia Pro (Android Authority).
š Report: Apple, Amazon, and Googleās supply chain plans to move production from China to Vietnam āon holdā due to COVID disruptions, meaning AirPods 3 and some Macs/iPads are being made in China, as is the Pixel 6, despite plans for Vietnam-based manufacturing (Nikkei Asia).
š®āāļø Twitter is experimenting with the ability for users to report āpotentially misleading content,ā with users in the US, South Korea, and Australia first to trial (The Guardian).
š¤ Boston Dynamicsā robots latest feature is parkour (Engadget).
š§ NuraNow: You can get earbuds on $5/month subscription, though you donāt actually ever own them (Gizmodo).
š Itās emerged Waymo has to hand-build their āself-drivingā Chrysler vans, which has car people wondering: If Waymo canāt do self-driving cars, can anyone? (Jalopnik).
š³ āMastercard is phasing out magnetic stripes on its cards starting in 2024ā is the headline, but the real story is theyāll still be around until 2033. 2033! (The Verge).
š¤ This AI helps detect wildlife health issues in real time (Wired).
š» German chemists identified over 7,700 different chemical formulas in beers. Prost! (Ars Technica).
š Iām delighted that a dog just like mine was returned to its owners after being allegedly stolen ā what a cutie it is! (Twitter).
š½ āWe are NASA scientists that study Earth systems, how theyāre changing, and how they impact our favorite foods. Ask us anything about agriculture, drought, and food security!ā (r/askscience).
Spotify playlists are being gamed for fun weirdness, with the Twitter account Weird Spotify Playlists doing a lot of work to compile the twisted genius of the internet.
I like the POV playlists such as middle age dad:
![spotify weird memes 1 spotify weird memes 1](https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/spotify-weird-memes-1.jpg)
But the anti-joke ones are pretty great too:
![spotify weird memes 2 spotify weird memes 2](https://www.androidauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/spotify-weird-memes-2.jpg)
Cheers,
Tristan Rayner, Senior Editor
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