Comment: Google Pixel should revive the Nexus 5’s best color

Ben Schoon | Jun 19 2023 - 6:55 am PT

Recently I’ve found myself diving back into a lot of Google’s older devices, and that includes the Nexus 5, which had a brilliant red color option that, really, I want Google to bring back on a Pixel.

The Nexus 5 came out 10 years ago this year, and was the first phone from Google that took an opportunity to stand out. A few months after its debut, Google launched a vibrant red version of the phone that, looking back at it today, is a breath of fresh air.

Modern smartphones have become pretty boring in terms of colors. The highest-priced phones are often only sold in a couple of color options, and when a more unique color option hits the market, it’s usually a pastel-like, subtle color. One of the most vibrant releases in recent memory is the “Viva Magenta” Motorola Razr+, which is a stunner. Further, there’s the “Coral” Pixel 7a, which really stands out from the latest few generations of Pixel phones.

But the red Nexus 5, really, just demands your attention. It’s incredibly bright, incredibly vibrant, and the matte texture of that backplate really lets the color explode.

It’s exactly the kind of thing the Pixel series needs, in my opinion. We haven’t really had a bold Pixel color in quite some time. The “Really Blue” Pixel from 2016 stood out, as did the “Oh So Orange” Pixel 4, but every subsequent generation has focused on just hinting at that color, versus really letting it shine.

Do I expect Google to actually go through with a color remotely like this? Not really, the company has made its stance pretty clear on Pixel colors. But, at the same time, I really didn’t expect what we got from “Coral” this year. So let’s ignore the reality, and just hope for a minute.

Would you buy a super-vibrant Pixel like Google’s red Nexus 5? Let’s talk!