Unbelievable! $200 Pixel 6 and $300 Pixel 6 Pro: Google kills Samsung, Apple in old flagship race
“To buy a new mid-range phone or to buy last year’s flagship phone” has been one of the longest-standing questions in the smartphone industry… ever.
Take Samsung’s new Galaxy A54 mid-ranger and last year’s Galaxy S22 flagship – both will set you back some $400-500 if you’re in the US (or a bit more if you’re in Europe). Of course, one is going to be a brand new phone, and the old flagship might be “renewed”, “refurbished” or simply used. However, only one of them is going to give you the best value.Still, while some people are perfectly fine with buying refurbished/used phones, others aren’t as adventurous. Usually, the concern is with the condition of the used device and whether it’s going to “work like a new one”. But despite that, every now and then comes along a deal that simply can’t be ignored, and it just so happens that the new champion on the resale market might be none other than Google!In somewhat of a logical turn of events, Google doesn’t undercut Apple and Samsungonly in the pricing of brand new phones, but also runs away with a massive price advantage when it comes to the price of old flagships. The deals are so good that they might make mid-range Android phones somewhat obsolete.
Let’s see why…
Unbelievable deals! Google’s Pixel 6 for just over $200; Pixel 6 Pro for $300 – no need to pay a full price for an Android flagship ever again?
The Renewed Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro cost just over $200 and $300!
Now, this story hits different for me because I’m one of the “lucky” ones, who paid the full $900 asking price for a brand new Pixel 6 Pro at launch.
The problem there was that, thanks to (perhaps), the most disappointing experience with bugs ever, both the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro were a set of problematic phones for the first 10-12 months of their lifecycle. No exaggerations. Respectively, what happened is that the resale price of Google’s phones quickly started to plummet, thanks to the fact that they are Android phones, but also because they had a reputation of unreliable devices. Fair enough. And too bad for me.But then, about a year after the launch of the Pixel 6 series, Google released Android 13. The new version of the beloved OS gradually started addressing pretty much all bugs and issues associated with the Pixel 6 series, and an entire year after their original launch they finally turned into phones I felt comfortable recommending. Too late? Sure. But hold on…
An old Pixel flagship or a mid-range Pixel 6a for the same price? Don’t get fooled – the best deal is clear!
Who needs a mid-range phone when you can get a premium flagship with all the extra features in the world?
Many will prefer to play it safe and invest in a brand new mid-range phone like the Pixel 6a, Galaxy A54 or even the iPhone SE – all of those sell quite well each and every year. And I get it! Buying a brand new phone is always the “safest bet”, but it’s also a guaranteed way to miss out on the best “old flagship” deals out there.
Take the Pixel 6a and the Renewed Pixel 6 Pro, which go for the same price now. The only real incentive (apart from buy a brand new phone) to get the mid-range Pixel 6a here would be the compact screen size, which judging by today’s trends is more of a dealbreaker than a selling point – today, people tend to buy phones with larger displays.
The Pixel 6 Pro is a much better phone than the Pixel 6a because it gives you:
- A 6.7-inch, 120Hz variable refresh rate OLED display – the biggest reason to choose the Pixel 6 Pro over the Pixel 6a, which has a mediocre 60Hz screen
- A 50MP primary camera with a much larger sensor, plus an additional 48MP 4x optical zoom lens with excellent zoom even at 10x – the second biggest reason to choose the Pixel 6 Pro over the Pixel 6a
- An 11MP, 4K selfie camera, which (you guessed it) lets you record 4K videos, as opposed to 1080p on the Pixel 6a
- 12GB of RAM versus 6GB on the Pixel 6a – RAM can make a big performance difference on Android phones, so don’t take this advantage lightly
- Ultra Wideband (UWB) support, which can come in handy if you want to use digital keys
- More comprehensive IP68 dust/water resistance (up to 1.5m for 30 min)
- A Gorilla Glass back (over plastic on the Pixel 6a)
- For what it’s worth the Pixel 6 Pro also has a larger battery and faster charging compared to the Pixe 6a, but battery life on the two phones is about on par, so I can’t look at this as an advantage
Google has nothing to lose, which makes it the most dangerous threat to iPhone and Galaxy in the long-term; the Pixel takeover has only just begun?
The Pixel 7a is shaping up as the best mid-range phone ever as Google is competing with itself.
In the end, while Apple’s iPhone goes down in price by some 20-30% and Samsung’s Galaxy can become 50% less expensive 12-18 months after its original release, Google has Apple and Samsung beat by a huge margin here. The difference today is that Google’s amazing deals don’t come with compromises such as a bag full of bugs. The Pixel 6 launched at a price of $600 while the price of the Pixel 6 Pro was $900. Now, both cost almost a third of that, which make them:
- The best old flagship deals around
- Some of the best Android deals around
- The best mid-range phone alternative around
- Some of the easiest Android phones to recommend
With that in mind, Google’s war on expensive Android phones and iPhones has only just begun! The mid-range Pixel 7a is also on the way, promising to bring a decent case against the Pixel 6 series, with the newer Tensor G2 chip, a 90Hz display, rumored wireless charging and a compact size. This one would also give you an extra year of software updates.Furthermore, it’s pretty safe to assume that the Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro will be the new best old flagship deals around once they hit the 12-18 month mark of their lifecycle, making it very hard for me to recommend a mid-range phone over a proper flagship. I mean… with the deal above, the Pixel 6 is literally half the price of the Galaxy A54 right now, and it’s easily the better phone (software updates aside).
You see, Google doesn’t really make money out of selling phones, which makes it a more dangerous competitor to Samsung and Apple than one might realize. This might not show now, but give it another few years, and my guess is that the Pixel lineup will either properly shake up the phone market, or… join Apple and Samsung with higher prices.
But, right now, Google is in a league of its own when it comes to sheer value, and Sundar Pichai & Co give no sign of stopping!
