Today, Google has officially announced the highly leaked Pixel 5. It’s a beautiful device with a very nice green option, and as a fuzzy Google hardware fan, I’m struggling with the urge to buy it. Honestly, there’s only one thing stopping me: the Samsung Galaxy S20 Fan Edition, which will launch early next month, is priced at જ 699. And on paper, it’s a better value.
Now, yes, the Pixel 5, without a doubt, will take better photos than the S20 FE. But in my experience with FE – I’ve been using it for about a week – it’s no slouch. It also has a telephoto lens, something Google didn’t like to include in the Pixel 5. And other than that, pound for pound, Samsung’s high-mid-range contender is just more phones.
Shot on S20F
Both devices are 5G-capable, but the S20FE has got Qualcomm’s Burley Snapdragon 865 where the Pixel 5 packs less Snapdragon 765G. Both phones also have a high refresh rate 1080P display, but Samsung is much larger, not to mention fast at 120 Hz (90 of pixels). Both have got wireless charging, reverse wireless charging, IP68 water resistance – the list goes on. And as much as I like Google’s funky color this year, it also beat Samsung right there.
💚💙💗❤🧡🤍
To Google’s credit, the Galaxy S20FE’s six gigabytes of RAM is wrongly rubbed off me in 2020 – the Pixel 5 got that front and fair with those eight jigs. But I haven’t experienced such a limit in practice, because I dislike it in theory, and I think Samsung has sharpened the price-to-specs ratio here, especially for mass-market devices. Ask your mom how much RAM her phone has.
Pound for pound, the S20F is just more phones.
Of course, I didn’t use the Pixel 5. I probably like it; Small phone is my jam. And there’s a dedicated cadre of fans, including myself, who adore Google for all its unique Googles: playful industrial industrial design, polished software and enviable unique features. Although the company has always had a tough time competing with more established OEMs in the high-end smartphone space, customers are favoring its more affordable options. In a year when many people are facing financial uncertainty and the most premium phones you can buy at a price of 2,000 can, a well-designed high-mid-range device at $ 699 seems like a home run.
But in the S20F, Samsung had the same idea – and it did so in a way that more people are likely to pay. The S20F doesn’t look like a budget offer, it looks like a bone-chilling fat flagship. People will definitely (absolutely excellent) continue to buy the Pixel 4, but with the Pixel 5, it looks like Google has got a fight on its hands – again.
