Otter: Portrait of Selen
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Google Pixel 5a (2022)
Selection

Jim Carter, 2022-04-17

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:

Model Purchased Upgrade Reason
To be determined 2022-04-21 (New)
Sony Xperia XA2 2020-02-21 Works, no VoLTE, 2G-3G service gone
Samsung Galaxy S5 2015-04-15 Works, elderly, no kernel updates
Samsung Galaxy S3 2012-10-23 No upgrade to CM-12 (Lollipop)
Motorola Droid 3 2011-11-23 Bit rot (memory failure)
HTC G1 Dream 2009-03-30 Insufficient memory for CM-7 (Gingerbread)

Table of Contents

Selection Criteria

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

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.

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

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.

Feature Pixel 5 Redfin Pixel 5a Barbet
Vendor Google Google
Product Page (2) (Redfin) (Barbet)
Price on Amazon (1) $695 (OV) $460 (OV)
Inception 2020-10-xx 2021-08-xx
Chipset Snapdragon 765G Snapdragon 765G
Architecture arm64 arm64
RAM 8Gb 6Gb
CPU Kryo 475 x8 core Kryo 475 x8 core
GPU Adreno 620 Adreno 620
Internal Flash 128Gb 128Gb
SD Card No slot No slot
SIM size Nano 1x + eSIM Nano 1x + eSIM
Cell Family (5) GSM HSPA CDMA LTE 5G GSM UMTS CDMA2000 LTE 5G
LTE Bands (unknown) B1/2/3/4/5/7/8/12/13/14/17/18/19/20/25/26/28/29/30/32/38/39/40/41/42/46/48/66/71
5G Sub-6 Bands (unknown) n1/2/5/12/25/28/41/66/71/77/78 (no 60Ghz)
Screen 150mm 1080x2340px AMOLED 161mm 1080x2400px AMOLED
Bluetooth 5.x 5.x
Wi-Fi 802.11 abgn,ac 802.11 abgn,ac
Other (6) Finger Accel Compass Gyro Prox Light GPS NFC Qi USB-OTG Finger Accel Barometer Compass Gyro Prox Light GPS NFC USB-OTG
Front Camera(3) 8Mpx; fixed focus, no flash 8Mpx f/2.0 83° fixed focus, no flash
Rear Camera (3) 12Mpx (+flash) 12Mpx f/1.7 77° (+flash)
Rear Camera #2 (3) 16Mpx ultra wide, no flash 16Mpx f/2.2 119° no flash
Battery LiPO 4.08Ah non-rem LiPO 4.68Ah non-rem
Charging Qi 12W or USB-C 18W USB-C 18W
Buttons + Ports Does not have 3.5mm audio jack. USB-3.1 type C, 3.5mm audio, power, volume
Bounding Box 145 x 70 x 8mm 156 x 73 x 8.8mm
Mass (3) 151g 183g
Intrusion Protection IP68 IP67
Available colors Just Black, Sorta Sage Mostly Black
Notes:

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

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

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.

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:

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:

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.

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.

Otter: Portrait of Selen
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