Google Customer Survey Points To Pixel 5 Starting Price Of Just $699

Today, that $349 price point was seemingly confirmed by a Google survey sent out to prospective buyers, which was subsequently posted to reddit. The survey makes reference to a “radically helpful phone” – whatever that means – that has a plastic body and a 3.5mm headphone jack. That is almost certainly referencing the Pixel 4a. The phone has a price of $349 unlocked, or $14.54/month.

The survey also references a “premium” Pixel phone with innovative features, best in class camera, and wireless charging. This alleged Pixel 5 phone would be priced at $699, or $29.13/month. Remarkably, that $699 price tag is $100 less than the MSRP of Pixel 4. At $699, that would put the Pixel 5 on even footing with the OnePlus 8, which comes standard with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage.

We find it hard to believe that Google could add the expensive two-chip Snapdragon 865 + Snapdragon X55 5G modem combo and drop the price by $100 at the same time. So that lends some credence to the rumor that Google could go with a Snapdragon 765 with its integrated Snapdragon X52 5G modem (or one of its variants), or a custom chip designed in partnership with Samsung. 

But at the $699 price point, the Pixel 5 might still find itself in troubled waters against the higher-performing OnePlus 8. Google could always rely on its famed camera system to win buyers, and its lengthy support window with respect to OS updates; however, OnePlus is no slouch in either of those areas.

Whatever the case, we’re eager to see what Google has in the product pipeline for Pixel smartphones and if this leaked pricing lines up with reality.