Sep 03, 2021 13:00:00

Does the Pixel 5a (5G) with a 15% increased battery capacity really have better battery life? We compared it with the Pixel 5

The official smartphone '

Pixel 5a (5G) ' released by Google is over 20,000 yen cheaper than the higher-end model 'Pixel 5', but it is an inexpensive model that boasts specifications that follow the 'Pixel 5'. In particular, the battery capacity of the 'Pixel 5a (5G)' is 4680mAh, while the 'Pixel 5' is 4080mAh, so the 'Pixel 5a (5G)' is actually 15% more than the 'Pixel 5' at 4680mAh, so we actually measured the battery life.

Google Pixel 5a (5G) - Google Store
https://store.google.com/product/pixel_5a_5g?hl=ja

This time, we checked the battery life by watching the live video ' NASA Live: Official Stream of NASA TV ' posted by NASA on YouTube on the 'Pixel 5a (5G)' and 'Pixel 5' until the battery ran out. The actual comparison video is below, with the 'Pixel 5a (5G)' on the left and the 'Pixel 5' on the right. Both devices have the brightness and volume set to maximum, but since the movie itself was shot in time lapse, there is no sound.

Comparing the battery life of 'Pixel 5a (5G)' and 'Pixel 5' - YouTube


The shooting started just after 1pm.

At first, the playback status on both devices was synchronized, but then something went wrong and the scenes displayed on the screen started to differ halfway through.

The Pixel 5 went down about 8 hours and 40 minutes after shooting began.

About three hours after the Pixel 5 went down, the Pixel 5a (5G) also went down. The total playback time for the Pixel 5a (5G) was about 11 hours and 45 minutes, while the Pixel 5 was 8 hours and 40 minutes.

Here's a look at the battery level measurement using an app. The graph on the left is for the Pixel 5a (5G), and the graph on the right is for the Pixel 5. The remaining battery level is shown as a blue line. The Pixel 5's graph starts to slope more gently when there are only a few percent left, but otherwise both devices consume power at a fairly constant rate. Measurements were started at the same time, but at 6 p.m., about five hours after the measurement, the Pixel 5a (5G) had 51% battery left, and the Pixel 5 had 36%.

Now let's try charging. I used the same 9V / 2.0A USB PD compatible fast charger to charge both devices.

When charging from 0%, after one hour the battery level was 69% for the Pixel 5a (5G) and 78% for the Pixel 5.

The time it took to fully charge the Pixel 5a (5G) was about 1 hour and 50 minutes, while the Pixel 5 took about 1 hour and 40 minutes. Considering the difference in battery capacity, the Pixel 5a (5G) seemed to charge more per hour.