The end of 2019 is near, so it’s time for our awards. We’ve already published our picks for 2019 awards, in various categories. Well, it’s time to see what you, the reader’s chose in all those categories as well. In this particular case, we’re checking out the best value smartphone of 2019. Our pick was the OnePlus 7T, as you could have seen last week. Android Headlines readers, on the other hand, chose something else entirely, the Google Pixel 3a series.
We’ve published a poll on Twitter, which lasted for a week. We’ve offered four choices for our readers, including the OnePlus 7T, Google Pixel 3a series, Samsung Galaxy S10e, and Galaxy A50. The Google Pixel 3a series won with 40.6-percent of your votes. The OnePlus 7T was a close second with 31.3-percent of your votes, while the Galaxy S10e claimed the third spot with 18.8-percent of votes. Not many people voted for the Galaxy A50, only 9.4-percent.
The results here are not that surprising. We expected either the OnePlus 7T or the Pixel 3a series to take the prize, and the fight was between those devices. There’s much to like about both phones, even though they’re placed differently in the market. Both Pixel 3a devices are mid-range phones, while the OnePlus 7T is more of a flagship. In any case, the Pixel 3a series won here, you voted Google’s mid-rangers for the best value smartphones of 2019.
Solid performance, affordable price tag
The Google Pixel 3a series consists out of two phones, the Pixel 3a and Pixel 3a XL. These two phones are extremely similar, the only differences are in the overall size, display size, and battery size. Everything else is identical when it comes to these two phones, which is why we included both on the list. They both offer really good performance, while you don’t need to spend a lot of money to get them.
Both of these phones are fueled by the Snapdragon 670 64-bit octa-core processor, Qualcomm’s mid-range chip. This is not the company’s latest mid-range chip, nor the most powerful one, but it does the job. That processor works really well with 4GB of RAM that Google included here, and Google’s very own software. Both of these phones come with Android 9 Pie out of the box, but are upgradable to Android 10.
The Google Pixel 3a is currently priced at $399 on Google Store, while the Pixel 3a XL costs $479. If you opt to get them from Amazon, you can save even more cash. The smaller device is discounted to $348.99, while the larger one is on sale for about $90 more on Amazon. We’ll include purchase links below the article, in case you’re interested.
You won’t find better camera experience at this price point
The Google Pixel 3a and 3a XL have the same rear camera as the Pixel 3 series. Both phones also perform the same as Google’s 2018 flagships in that regard. Both phones include a 12.2-megapixel camera which is backed by Google’s software to be able to produce great results. The Pixel 3a’s camera performance has been bested by the Pixel 4 series, but considering the price difference… the Pixel 3a is still a great choice. The Google Pixel 3 series phones were lauded as one of the best camera smartphones of 2018, and that says a lot.
You can get some great shots with the Pixel 3a without messing with the camera app. Just point and shoot, and you’re good to go. That goes unless you’re shooting in the dark, in which you should switch to the ‘Night Sight’ mode in order to get great results. All in all, these two smartphones can provide great pictures in pretty much all lighting conditions, and that’s great considering their price tags.
Stereo speakers, fast updates & more
Both of these phones include stereo speakers. That is yet another addition that is not expected at this price tag. Those speakers are actually quite good, they’re not the best out there, but the sound they’re able to provide will be good enough for the vast majority of people. That’s not all, speaking of audio, it’s worth saying that they offer a 3.5mm headphone jack as well.
Both devices come with Google’s stock Android, and are guaranteed fast updates. These two phones will be amongst the first ones to get new versions of Android, and don’t really ship with bloatware of any kind. That only helps when it comes to performance, as both phones are still holding up really good in that department.
Battery life on both phones is good. It’s not excellent, but it’s more than good enough. The two devices are made mostly out of polycarbonate, and that is not necessarily a bad thing. They both offer really good build quality, and will handle drops much better than phones made out of glass. All in all, there’s much to love when it comes to these two phones, these are just some positives. There you have it, the Google Pixel 3a series represents the best value smartphone, or should we say smartphones, of 2019… according to you, the readers.