Google Pixel 5a (2022)
Selection

My existing Sony Xperia XA2 Pioneer (2020) has been a joy to use. But time marches on. My carrier, T-Mobile, is rolling out 5G service, and is obtaining the spectrum to do this by cancelling 2G and 3G service. The Pioneer can do data over LTE, but not voice over LTE (VoLTE). That means it's going to be mute starting 2022-07-01.

Timeline of my pocket computers:

Table of Contents

• Selection Criteria
• What Phones Meet the Criteria?
• Feature Matrix
• Reviews for the Google Pixel 5a Barbet
• Conclusion

Selection Criteria

This time around, my selection criteria for the new pocket computer are (in approximate order of importance):

• The machine must have a CyanogenMod (LineageOS) version available. I'm not going to deal with vendor hacks of doubtful security, nor with usage restrictions that I can't bypass. See this discussion of kernel versions and security updates in recent CyanogenMod images.

• At my house I get decent LTE (4G) service and unknown 5G, but 2G and 3G are being recycled soon for the 5G deployment. The new phone must be fully operational on 4G only. That means it must have VoLTE (voice over LTE) (which the Pioneer doesn't have). This time, unless there are serious problems, I'm going to insist on 5G capability also. Wi-Fi calling would be a big plus. (The Pioneer doesn't have that either.)

• The carrier continues to be T-Mobile (GSM) in the USA. A phone that could do both GSM and CDMA would be rated highly, but of these two, GSM is more important to me, for use when travelling. GSM is widely available both abroad and in the USA.

• The pocket computer must be unlocked, referring to the ability to flash arbitrary software (vs. sabotaging operation with other carriers). I will be putting non-vendor software on it, and I've had unpleasant prior experience jailbreaking locked phones.

• I view HTML content a lot. The phone must have a nice display. It looks like modern phones are 130mm diagonal and 1920x1080px, which is total overkill.

• At times I use the hand computer outdoors in direct sunlight, particularly for map navigation. It is quite important that the display be readable in that situation, even though its color and contrast may be degraded from its performance in artificial light. A transflective display (color) would be rated highly if available; so would flight capability of pigs. The backlighted IPS display of the Pioneer has been pretty good. The OLED display on the Galaxy S5 has been satisfactory but not wonderful, in sunlight.

• I would like fairly long battery life, but assessing the battery life before purchase is hard, and published data often is on tests that don't match my (or any live user's) usage pattern, so the life actually achieved is substantially less than the product hype. The Pioneer's battery has way exceeded expectations. I hope the new phone will do as well.

• The Galaxy S5 and Pioneer have a slot for a user-provided SD card; however, the Android permission system made it very hard for me to put anything useful on this card. I would still like a card slot on the new pocket computer.

• Like most people, I have converted to using the pocket computer for photography rather than a dedicated camera, and I would like a decent camera. The F number, sensor pixel count, and focal length (physical size) are the key dimensions here. Optical zoom would be very nice but I'm not likely to get this. In product reviews the author's nitpicks usually refer to issues, like overall image brightness or color balance, that are controlled by the vendor-provided camera program and they aren't judging the camera itself.

• Here is a list of features that are important, and that every modern cellphone is expected to have.

  • Wired headphones and Bluetooth A2DP are required for music listening. Every phone should have both. A 3.5mm stereo jack is preferred over a proprietary jobbie like on the HTC Dream.

  • I rely on the pocket computer for navigation and mapping. It must have a GPS receiver for this activity. All modern phones have GPS.

  • Photography with a rear-facing camera. Massive resolution is not needed; it's impossible for a cellphone to have optics to match the sensors that go into cellphones these days. Auto focus is important for jobs like reading barcodes, which is one of my major uses of the rear-facing camera. LED flash is a nice addition.

  • USB connection to the host computer, including Android debugging. All Android phones have this. File transfer without unmounting the SD card is desirable, but this is an OS issue.

  • For battery charging, phones (including the Pioneer) are moving away from a micro-USB connector to USB-3.0 type C. My charger is supposed to be able to negotiate fast charging, but it doesn't happen on the Pioneer. It would be nice if the new phone could do this.

• Here is a laundry list of features which would be nice but are not deal-breakers if absent. They are ordered by importance.

  • Water and rain resistance. The Galaxy S5 had IP67 (Intrusion Protection): essentially no ingress of fingers, tools or dust, and immersion 1 meter under (non-salt) water for 30 minutes. The Pioneer, unlike prior Sony models, was unrated. I hope that the phone I get will have a good IP rating like the Galaxy S5.

  • Adjusts the screen brightness according to the ambient light level, saving battery in low light while keeping the display readable as lighting increases. Most modern phones do this.

  • Video chat with a front-facing camera.

A lot of pocket computer activities depend more on operating system support than on hardware components. However, the point here is to pick the hardware. But we need to keep aware whether the operating system uses that hardware effectively.

What Phones Meet the Criteria?

Now I need to intersect the cellphones available on Amazon with the ones that have LineageOS images. First on Amazon. Search keywords: unlocked cell phone 5G. Filter settings: Amazon Prime (implies fulfilled by Amazon). As the seller, both Amazon and associates are allowed. OS: Android. Filtered to a price range in $200-$700 (USD). Filter can't restrict to 5G (only 4G 3G 2G). 131 hits.

Intersected with LOS availability, per the LOS download page. How to operate this page (they changed it since my last campaign): It lists all devices. Click on the hamburger (3 lines) in the upper left corner; you get a list of vendors. Click on one, and it expands to a list of marketing and chassis names. Click on one of those, and you see its builds page. Near the top there are links to device info and installation instructions.

The following list includes those which are fulfilled by Amazon and which have LOS images. All those without LOS are excluded. Some older models are excluded when a newer model has LOS, but I'm fairly sure that every manufacturer is represented that has some model fulfilled by Amazon and that has LOS.

• Google Pixel 3 (128Gb flash), $280. SBSF Amazon. Yes LOS, blueline. Inception 2018-10-xx (hiss, boo). 4G LTE, 3G CDMA2000, 3G UMTS, 2G GSM.

• Google Pixel 3a XL (64Gb flash), $388. SBSF Amazon. Yes LOS, bonito. Inception 2019-04-xx (hiss, boo). 4G LTE, 3G CDMA2000, 3G UMTS, 2G GSM.

• Google Pixel 5, $695. Yes LOS, Redfin. Inception 2020-10-xx. Cell net: 5G, 4G LTE, 3G CDMA2000, 3G UMTS, 2G GSM.

• Google Pixel 5a (128Gb flash 6Gb RAM unlocked, GSM only), $460, SB Mobile Advance FBA. Yes LOS, barbet. Inception 2021-08-xx. Cell net: 5G, 4G LTE, 3G CDMA2000, 3G UMTS, 2G GSM.

• Moto G7 Plus, $249, yes LOS, lake. Inception 2019-02-xx. 4G LTE, 3G UMTS, 2G GSM.

• Samsung Galaxy S10 (128Gb flash), $385, only 1 left in stock. OK, which model is it? 5G? or other variants? There are LOS images for Galaxy S10e S10 S10+ S10-5G. For S10, inception 2019-03-08. Same inception date for the S10-5G beyondx.

• And steroidal Samsung Galaxy phones up to $1995.

Of these, the Google Pixel 5 and 5a look like the best choices. Here are negative comments about the others:

• The Pixel 3's are 3 and 4 years old and don't do 5G.
• Ditto for the Moto G7.
• Which model of Samsung Galaxy S10 is being sold? All variants are in the 2019 model year too. But the beyondx (S10 5G) does do 5G.
• Newness is important, to get hardware improvements (bugfixes) as well as a more recent kernel and corresponding security patches. See this discussion of kernel versions and security updates in recent CyanogenMod images.

Feature Matrix

Most of this information is from the LineageOS Devices List. In the feature column, numbers in parens refer to notes at the end indicating other sources of information.

• 1. Prices as of 2022-04-18 on Amazon; "AZ" means sold by Amazon, "OV" means by Amazon affiliate (outside vendor).
• 2. The product page for the Pixel 5 is from GSMArena; it's no longer on Google's site. GSMArena has a similar page for the 5a, in the likely case that its Google product page also vanishes.
• 3. The mass and camera specs come from the product pages.
• 5. The domestic models work with CDMA carriers like Verizon, as well as GSM carriers like T-Mobile. The international models don't do CDMA, and also there is a mystery incompatibility preventing 5G operation on AT&T (GSM).
• 6. Abbreviations in the Other item:
  • Finger — A fingerprint reader for authentication
  • Accel — Accelerometer, to tell which side of the phone is up
  • Compass — To tell which way the user is facing
  • Gyro — Gyroscope, to tell when the phone (and user) changes direction or is in motion
  • Prox — Proximity sensor, to shut off touch input when the phone is close to the user's face, like during a voice call
  • Light — Ambient light sensor, to find out how bright the display should be
  • GPS — Global Positioning System receiver, for accurate locations. Besides US GPS, both can handle Galileo (EU), GLONASS (Russia), and Chinese providers.
  • NFC — Near Field Communication, used in store payment systems and phone to phone data links
  • Qi — Inductively coupled charging, no plug

General comments: The Pixel 5 and Pixel 5a are very similar and comments apply to both except as noted.

• The phone has an aluminum frame, an aluminum back, and Gorilla Glass front with curved edges.
• The display is described as always on.
• It doesn't have a slot for a SD card. Normally I put one in my phone, but recent Android versions put access controls on the SD card that make it pretty useless.
• The fingerprint sensor is in the back.
• Qi inductive (wireless) charging (Pixel 5 only, not 5a) accepts up to 12W and can export up to 5W to another wireless chargeable device.
• The Octa-core fleet includes 1 at 2.4GHz, 1 at 2.2GHz, 6 at 1.8GHz.

Going through the major selection criteria and comparing the two phones:

• Both have a LOS image and there is a sanitary procedure to install it.
• Both can do 5G and LTE.
• Battery life is expected to be long, even better than the Sony Xperia XA2, which for my usage rarely goes below 80% in a day and never below 70%.
• The cameras look like they'll do a good job.
• All the listed mandatory and optional features are there, except neither one has a SD card slot, and the Pixel 5 lacks a 3.5mm audio jack (the Pixel 5a has one).
• The Pixel 5a is not a flagship phone and costs less, $460, which is not exactly cheap but I think is a fair price for what I would be getting.

Frequency bands (MHz) supported by the phones. See this Wikipedia article about E-UTRA, which is the formal acronym for LTE. It has links to various tables, specifically deployments by region. In particular, here is a table mapping supported LTE bands to regions where they are likely to work for roaming. Europe (ITU region 1) includes Africa; America (ITU region 2) includes both North and South; and Asia (ITU region 3) includes Australia and India. Both Pixels support all the LTE bands listed here and many more.

• Band 17 (700MHz) in North America and a few Caribbean nations
• Band 20 (800MHz) in Europe
• Band 5 (850MHz) in America and Asia, not all nations have it
• Band 4 (1700MHz) in America only
• Band 3 (1800MHz) in Europe, Asia, Brazil
• Band 2 (1900MHz) in America only
• Band 1 (2100MHz) in Europe, Asia, Brazil
• Band 7 (2600MHz) in all regions

Reviews for the Google Pixel 5a Barbet

All hail the king of affordable camera phones by Jordan Palmer on Tom's Guide (2022-03-14)

His summary of good points: spectacular cameras, big bright display, and IP67 intrusion protection. Not so good features: not the latest chipset, sold only in USA and Japan, no inductive charging (which the Pixel 5 has). It would appear that models without the 'a' suffix are flagship phones while the 'a' suffix designates a less fancy and less expensive variant.

Snippets from the review:

• The phone can do 5G sub-6 which means that frequencies above 6GHz are allocated but this phone can't use them. He's talking about the 60MHz (5 millimeter) band. Ditto for the Pixel 5.
• Its closest competitor is the iPhone SE 2022.
• The back is polycarbonate. The GSMArena spec sheet says aluminum.
• The fingerprint sensor is capacitive. He never got a false rejection. Whereas jimc's experience on the Sony Xperia XA2 is that the print reader gets dirty very fast and the rejection rate goes way up.
• Speakers are loud, and sound better than most phones in this price range.
• The OLED screen is vibrant and bright. He was impressed by being able to view just taken photos in direct sunlight. Maximum of 501 nit in their testing.
• Battery life is 9.75hr on their test, around the average for 2022 phones, and 30min longer than the iPhone SE.
• Conclusion: you should absolutely consider this phone if you want a top budget handset.

Google Pixel 5a Review by Jimmy Westenberg on Android Authority (2022-02-19)

Summary: The Pixel 5a may not look all that new, but it's an easy-to-recommend smartphone. It takes the winning formula of the Pixel 4a 5G, adds a metal build and water resistance, and drops the price by $50. The only real knock against it is the Pixel 6 is a much better buy for not much more cash.

Likes: killer battery life; IP67; versatile, easy-to-use cameras; three years of updates; solid performance; crisp, bright display. Dislikes: no 90Hz display; processor not future-proofed. (This means that there are newer SoC's that Google could have used with more years of not being outdated.)

Snippets from the review:

• While all other A-series devices have had plastic chassis, the Pixel 5a has a metal unibody design. It has a slightly soft-touch coating to make it grippier than other phones.
• He notices the greater weight vs. the Pixel 5 (183g vs. 168g).
• He did a full day of testing on one charge. On more normal days, he went to bed with the battery 60%-65% full.

Conclusion: While the phone is all-around good, it's that $449 price tag that really makes the Pixel 5a stand out. I've enjoyed using it, and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to anyone looking for a sub-$1,000 phone that just works.

Amazon reviews

5 stars 59%, 4 stars 14%, 3 stars 5%, 2 stars 4%, 1 star 19%. I'm concentrating on the bad reviews. Lots of people say it's awesome, which doesn't really warn me of problems I may encounter.

• James posted a 5* review, but then got a bad update from AT&T…

• Boris Sergeev ended up receiving the Japanese version. It's hard to figure out what aspect of the Japanese version is bugging him. Cap'n Redbeard explained it: some countries have a law that a camera must make a sound when taking a picture, apparently including Japan, and some photographers want to turn off the sound and can't.

• Someone in India was sent the Japanese version, with a NEMA 1-15P power connector on the charger (type A for North America, Japan, etc.), which needs an adapter in India, which gives you 230V 50Hz and uses plug type C (Europlug), D or M.

• A fair number of users dropped their phones, damaged the screens, and then had to deal with atrocious Google customer support. Some report that the phone was in a case. Some report that the Gorilla Glass was not damaged but the screen itself was cracked. Jimc is starting to worry about the fragile screen.

• There are a lot of 1* reviews from people who had the international model, tried and failed to do 5G on AT&T. T-Mobile 5G is fine. There's something weird about AT&T's 5G net. Several people recommend that you buy direct from Google, to get the USA model. I may follow their advice.

Conclusion

I'm getting the Pixel 5a Barbet from the Google Store for USD $449 plus tax (about $42), free shipping.

Accessories: It includes a Google-branded charger with a USB type C connector and NEMA 1-15 AC plug (type A, North America, Andean South America, Japan, unofficially China). Also a 1 meter USB-2.0 cable, type C to C. The charger delivers up to 30W, 3A (limited by power), and 20V (as negotiated, default is 5V). At night I need to charge two devices, and I have a nice charger with two type A connectors, but it doesn't negotiate fast charging with the Pioneer (via a type A to type C cable). Actually, for overnight charging, fast charging is not needed and slow charging is probably easier on the battery. So I'm going to continue to use that charger. When fast charging would be helpful, as when traveling, I'll bring the Google branded charger.

The Barbet is bigger than the Pioneer: 156mm vs. 142mm long. Am I going to have to get a bigger pouch again? The pouch's interior dimensions are 151 x 72 x 15mm (measured). I think there's enough elasticity in the stretchy end fabric to hold the phone. If I'm wrong I can get a new pouch later. Update: the phone fits the pouch perfectly.