Google’s Pixel 4 and 5-series phones are discounted today at Woot
The Pixel 5 in its Sorta Sage color. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The VergeThere’s been a lot of talk about new Pixel phones lately, with last week’s Google I/O showing off not just a new Pixel...
There’s been a lot of talk about new Pixel phones lately, with last week’s Google I/O showing off not just a new Pixel 6A but a brief glimpse of the upcoming Pixel 7 and 7 Pro. But Woot is showing love for some slightly older Pixels with a sale event that’ll end later today. Somehow, Woot got its hands on phones that are all still new in the box with full one-year warranties.
This includes the soon-to-be-replaced Pixel 5A for $429.99, 2020’s Pixel 5 for $449.99, and 2019’s Pixel 4 and Pixel 4 XL for $329.99 and $349.99, respectively. Now, yes, the Pixel 5A is not that old and it’s still available for sale from Google. But who would expect that in 2022 there would still be Pixel 4 available new-in-box?
Now, if you are tempted by that Pixel 4, be warned that it’s not guaranteed to receive security updates after October 2022. So, while you may be tempted to pick that up to tinker with Google’s one-off foray into face unlock and hand gestures with its Soli radar chip, the best value here is the Pixel 5.
Despite being the best of the bunch, the Pixel 5 is an oddity. Google scaled it back from being a full-tilt flagship phone like in years past to more of a midrange-plus device. It has a modestly powerful Snapdragon 765G processor, along with some nice features like a six-inch OLED screen with a 90Hz refresh rate and wireless charging. It also came in the best color — sage green — which Woot has today for $449.99. That’s $250 off the original selling price, and it should still receive security updates until October 2023. Perhaps waiting two months for the Pixel 6A may be the better move for some people, but this is certainly not a bad value. Read our review.
Google Pixel 5A
The Pixel 5A may not pack a display with a high refresh rate or tons of bells and whistles, but the midrange phone does the basics very well. It also comes with IP67 water resistance, a great camera, and timely software updates.
The Pixel 5A is, in many ways, a reskin of the Pixel 5 rehoused in a bigger form factor (with a few features lopped off to keep the price lower). It has a slightly larger 6.34-inch OLED screen, but only a 60Hz refresh rate and no wireless charging. It has the same Snapdragon CPU as the Pixel 5 and the same dual-camera system that supplements the standard lens with an ultra-wide lens. Also, that bigger size helps with better battery life. Woot has the 5A in its one color — a greenish-black— for $429.99. That’s only about $20 off the regular price, so it’s not a tremendous deal.
Compared to the Pixel 5, opting for a Pixel 5A instead gets you a headphone jack and security updates until August 2024. But again, waiting for the $449 Pixel 6A to release in July will get you a phone with the faster Google Tensor CPU and a promise of five years of security updates (not to be confused with feature updates). Decisions, decisions. Read our review.
The Pixel 4 was a charming device (it was even offered in orange) at the time of its release, but its lackluster battery life makes it the least appealing phone in today’s sale. Woot is selling the Pixel 4 for just $329.99 and the 4 XL for $349.99. Those are good prices, but keep in mind that these phones are only promised to get five more months of security updates. Google will cut them both off in October 2022, so we only recommend it if you have a really specific use case for it, like matching your phone to your Dutch national team jersey for the World Cup (yes, we mean that specific). Read our review from 2019.