The Google Pixel 5 chipset may dial it backtrack to the Snapdragon 765
If the recent Google Pixel 5 price leak made it seem dramatically cheap for a 2020 smartphone, there seems to be an Explanation: it’s going to use the slower Snapdragon 765 chipset, not the top-tier Snapdragon 865, consistent with a fresh leak.
Google Pixel 5 Updates
In fact, no Google Pixel 5 phone released this year will have the Snapdragon 865 a source told Android Police’s David Ruddock, who relayed the knowledge during a tweet.
This seems to elucidate why we’ve seen rumours that claim the Pixel 5 price are going to be cheaper than the Google Pixel 4: rather than increasing the unit price to incorporate a 2020’s best chipset, Google’s next flagship might be its most affordable in years. That’s a factor Google’s Nexus (predecessor of a pixel) smartphones were known for.
It does qualify Google’s bid to make the Pixel range competition with another flagship smartphones, it’s have always featured each year’s top chipset – but if the new pixel doesn’t pack the Snapdragon 865, it doesn’t necessarily mean it’ll be less competitive. So long because it doesn’t impair the Pixel’s prime selling points – camera capability and a pure Android experience – fans won’t mind any lower performance.
That performance won’t be too noticeable given what percentage smartphones have begun this year packing the Snapdragon 865 – handsets just like the Motorola Edge and Nokia 8.3, as well as upcoming phones just like the OnePlus Z and LG Velvet, which are priced and specced above mid-range devices but below leading flagships.
• Google Pixel 5: all we all know about subsequent Google flagship
• Best Android phones: many run on the Snapdragon 865 chipset, but not all
• Motorola Razr 2019: a flawed phone, but not disappointed by its Snapdragon 765 chipset
Why cut chipset corners? One word: cost
Many have been telling for months that companies have hesitated to incorporate the new Snapdragon 865 for its high cost – and Google and LG were among the companies who planned to skip the chipset in favour of a less expensive one, consistent with an ArsTechnica report in March.
In fact, we’ve been hearing a few Pixel phones running the Snapdragon 765 since January, but we weren’t sure if that might find yourself being the mid-range Google Pixel 4a or the Pixel 5.
Snapdragon 865
It’s not just price, either: the Snapdragon 865 features a built-in 5G modem, practically requiring phones packing it to attach to the next-gen 5G cell networks. That’s required phones to urge bigger and run hotter to accommodate all that power.
It’s fairly possible that the Pixel 5 could run on the recently-announced Snapdragon 768G chipset, which can be a beefed-up version of the 765 built for 5G connectivity with an external modem that connects to both mmWave and sub-6 5G networks, therefore the Google Pixel 5 being a 5G phone isn’t out of the question.
