Not everyone is onboard with the Pixel 3XL. Given the issues that plagued the 2XL along with complaints that there is a drop in performance, the 3XL may not be enough of an upgrade for some if it has just 4 GBs of RAM. So people who want that Pixel goodness of swift updates and near stock performance may have to look elsewhere or sit out on this year’s Pixel.
But if you are wanting to scratch that itch to get a new phone here are a list of options.
1: One Plus 6
This phone has been getting a lot of love. The performance, look, and price are all just right. Add in that it is one of the phones eligible for the Google P beta, and it may be the next best option.
It does lack the camera quality that the Pixel 2 is known for, but most people will not care as the differences are not a drastic one. In fact if you check out MKB’s blind camera test you may find yourself preferring the One Plus 6’s camera.
2: Samsung Galaxy Note 9
Samsung phones are why some of us turned to Google phones like the Pixel. We were tired of the bloat, poor performance, and slow updates. But hear me out for a minute.
True, Samsung hasn’t improved on the criticism of their slow updates and is almost defiant not to. But they have stepped up on the security patches and with a near stock launcher like Nova you may be able to overlook that. In return you will be getting a better screen, all new S Pen, Samsung Pay (which is still the best Pay app on a phone), and if they copied what they did from the S9+ a smoother performing phone with the best antennas.
So if you can manage to suck up the fact that you will not be getting Android P any time soon then you will have a solid device.
3: Go adventurist and check out a gaming phone
If these gaming phones come out with similar to better performances than last year’s Razer phone then you are getting a treat. What kept the Razer phone from being phone of the year last year was the camera. Hopefully these companies avoid skimping out on a good camera this year. If so then it may be worth giving it a look.
4: Apple
I know this option is going to garner the glaring eye. But if you can step back for a second and just hear me out it may be for you.
You know you’re going to get one of the best pieces of hardware from a phone being it is Apple and they have a solid reputation for updating their phones. Their App store have all of your Google apps that you had on your Pixel. So it would be a matter of just downloading those apps and removing the Apple versions.
Yes I know you will be without widgets, the settings menu in the app itself, and the Google now page, so for a lot of people that is enough to skip this option. But for others it may be a viable option. There are several former Android users who enjoyed the switch to the iPhone.
