The Google Pixel 5 is here, and just as rumours have suggested, it’s not quite the flagship smartphone like its predecessor. There is only one new Pixel phone now – there’s no XL variant – and it is only powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G chipset. While this isn’t exactly a flagship-tier processor, at least the Pixel 5 still retains its excellent camera performance.

Compared to the Pixel 4, the Pixel 5 no longer has a telephoto lens. Instead, its primary 12.2MP f/1.7 sensor is now paired with a 16MP f/2.2 ultra-wide angle lens, which should prove to be a more practical setup than the zoom lens previously offered. Now, even though this is not a super sophisticated camera array, we have no doubt it can capture amazing-looking shots; this is essentially the Pixel lineup’s forte.

Besides that, the large forehead of its predecessor is no more, now that the Motion Sense feature has been cut from the Pixel 5. Instead, this latest Pixel phone has a sleeker-looking hole-punch cutout for the 8MP f/2.0 selfie camera. The screen, on the other hand, is a 6-inch 1080p OLED screen with a 90Hz refresh rate; pretty standard affair.

Other specifications of the Pixel 5 include 8GB of RAM, 128GB of internal storage, a rather generous 4,080mAh battery with support for 18W fast charging, an IP68 rating, a rear fingerprint sensor, and of course, 5G connectivity. Judging by these hardware, the Pixel 5 is definitely more of an upper mid-range smartphone than a flagship.

But that also allows Google to price the Pixel 5 more competitively: it is set to retail from $699, which comes up to about RM2,900. Yes, that’s still quite a steep price tag for a device of this calibre, but this has always been the case with Pixel smartphones. As usual, it’s unlikely the Pixel 5 will be officially offered here in Malaysia – Google doesn’t offer its range of smartphones on our shores.