It was officially announced on September 30, 2020 at the "Launch Night In" event alongside the Pixel 4a (5G) and released in the United States on October 29, 2020.

The housing has a thick coating of plastic, while the power button is anodized with a metallic finish.

This is enabled through a cutout in the back panel for the wireless charging coil, covered by bio-resin.

[11] The Pixel 5 features a 6-inch (152mm) 1080p OLED display with HDR10+ support, that operates at a refresh rate of up to 90 Hz; it dynamically adjusts depending on content to preserve battery life.

[4] The display has a 19.5:9 aspect ratio, and adopts a design aesthetic similar to the Pixel 4a, with slim uniform bezels and a circular cutout in the upper left hand corner for the front-facing camera.

[12] The Pixel 5 includes dual rear-facing cameras located within a raised square module.