Is the Pixel 6 the only true affordable flagship now?

Jimmy Westenberg / Android Authority

Looks like we were spoiled for choice many years ago when shopping for affordable flagship smartphones. The industry was replete with handsets from Honor, OnePlus, Xiaomi and others that offered you much more than a premium experience, but without the hefty price tag. $700, and often even less, would have given you a lot of good options in the late 10s to choose from. Asus Zenfone 6, OnePlus 7 Pro, and Xiaomi Mi 9T Pro are some of the rock-solid phones launched in 2019 below this price.

Read more: Best affordable phones you can buy

The success of these non-flagship handsets helped Apple and Samsung launch their own more affordable alternatives. The $400 iPhone SE and $699 Galaxy S20 FE of 2020 offered exceptional value for money and were very well reviewed. However, Apple’s model is probably more of a classic mid-ranger than an affordable flagship, and the iPhone SE 2022 model is built in the same vein.

Also read: Should I buy the Google Pixel 6 or wait for the Pixel 7?

Eric Zeman / Android Authority

Fast forward to 2022 and the industry is comparatively devoid of options. Samsung’s Galaxy S21 FE was a while to market and ended up in the shadow of the marginally more expensive Galaxy S22. The $100 difference isn’t enough to make the latest FE as compelling as its predecessor, but the Galaxy S22 still isn’t cheap enough to be truly affordable. This is not the first time Samsung has bridged this gap as well.

Traditionally affordable brands have left the gap to affordable flagships to chase the budget or premium segment.

Samsung isn’t the only company making a mark here, Chinese brands that have kickstarted this entire product segment are missing the form they got over the years. For example, there’s no sign of the OnePlus 10, with only the more expensive Pro option unveiled so far. This leaves last year’s OnePlus 9 as the only affordable flagship from the company. It’s a good enough phone, if not a bit gimmicky, but buying a handset that’s a year old with only two more scheduled OS upgrades isn’t a great value. Not to mention that OnePlus’ soaring prices have been well documented, so the 10 may not even be a steal when it arrives. Also, the company is re-prioritizing towards the budget end of the market with the So-So Nord series.

See all: How OnePlus prices have changed over the years

Likewise, the new Xiaomi 12 costs $749 and, while it charges super-fast, that arguably comes at the cost of more useful water resistance. The Xiaomi 12X is cheaper at $649 but you’ll have to settle for Android 11 and a weaker processor. This is not a good trade-off, especially when Xiaomi is concerned about software updates. When it comes to Honor, the Magic 4 Pro is very expensive while the Honor 50 compromises a lot on its budget focus. Meanwhile, Realme seems more interested in the affordable market these days, although the 2021 Realme GT was a decent if not a slightly flawed attempt at a value flagship. Not to say that there aren’t good phones out there, but amazing affordable flagships aren’t.

There are plenty of good $600-700 phones out there, but none promise an amazingly affordable flagship-like experience.

Part of the reason these phones aren’t as flashy as they might have been with the Google Pixel 6 in the past – arguably the only true affordable flagship worth your money so far in 2022.

pixel-perfect package

Robert Triggs / Android Authority

Google’s Pixel 6 certainly doesn’t have it all for $599. It’s not the fastest to charge nor does it have the 120Hz display, for example, that you’ll find on the Xiaomi 12. And the less said about the fingerprint scanner, the better. Although the phone doesn’t tinker with gimmicks and tricks, it nails the flagship experience where it matters. Although lacking a telephoto lens, the camera is much better than pretty much every other phone in its price bracket. Everyone demands beautiful pictures these days; This is one of the few features that continues to set the ultra-premium flagship apart from the rest of the market. Google’s software smarts and custom silicon allow it to play with the best without spending on expensive camera hardware.

Read more: google pixel 6 review – value for money

Likewise, the phone has an IP68 rating and wireless charging, two hardware features that are staples of the $1,000 crowd. Getting an IP rating isn’t cheap, so OnePlus and Xiaomi often spend with official certification in favor of the usual “splash resistance”. But peace of mind is an often overlooked aspect of the premium shopping experience and something major and increasingly mid-range consumers expect from their purchases.

No pranks. No tricks. The Pixel 6 does what you want at a price you can’t beat.

Equally important, the phone is not running fast with bloatware and ads. Google’s software experience may not be completely polished, but its Pixel skin is still built to be useful rather than selling ad space. Perhaps most importantly, the Pixel 6 isn’t just another throwback smartphone – it’s built to last. Google promises three years of OS and five years of security updates, similar to its more expensive Pro models. How many times have we seen brands forget to bring quick updates to their non-Pro models? The phone will still be good to use in 2026, a good commitment. Only Samsung rivals Google’s update pledge for affordable Android smartphones. The rest of the industry needs to catch up, stop flooding the market with cheap models that are quickly forgotten, and embrace that even affordable handsets must remain.

The only problem with the Pixel 6 is availability. Although the Western audience is well geared towards (chip constraints permitting), Google may do better at diversifying its retail channels into markets where the Pixel 6’s affordable nature will certainly shine. With that in mind, there is definitely room for competitors to give the Pixel 6 a run for its money. But, at the moment it is difficult to see which manufacturer can compete with it.

So far in 2022, the Google Pixel 6 is the only obvious buy for those in the market for an affordable flagship smartphone. There are no gimmicks or tricks, just a robust hardware package, excellent camera experience and an updated commitment that ensures you won’t regret buying after just a few years. This is something that no one else is currently offering for a very reasonable $599 price tag, wouldn’t you agree?