A good alternative to the Pixel 5A 5G is the Samsung A52 5G. The processors are very similar, with a slight nod to the Pixel, the screens are similar, with the Samsung being slightly better, Samsung has better cameras and can be had with 8GB RAM. The Samsung is a few dollars more, but, in that range of price, it's only a few %.
As for the guide overall, I think it would be helpful to publish a guide that looked at the Cell carrier featured phones and identify the best available out of their offerings, such as the best free for new lines one, and their best subsidized midrange offering. Also, you have to keep in mind that some of the indicated phones in this list often lack a few bands that are used by certain carriers in the US, and that becomes a big deal in some areas, making an otherwise decent phone near worthless.
Anandtech seems to barely have the time and resources to cover the important stuff. I'd rather not have them make monthly detailed guides on which smartphone to buy if you live in this single country (Out of the 200 that exist).
Just punch the features you want into GSMarena and Kimovil's phone finders and see what comes up.
Came to comment on this. The options listed here aren't very good. Some phones from the list in the article should be avoided as they represent poor value, or bad experience. This includes the Samsung S21 Ultra, Pixel 6 pro, and Samsung A32.
People should instead carefully consider these options:
Samsung A52s-5G (best value here?) Samsung S21+ (meh, discounted) Samsung Galaxy S20 FE version (deep deeps discounts!)
OnePlus 9 Pro (great but imperfect) Pixel 6 (non-pro) Pixel 5a (cheap for USA residents)
It's a damn shame what's happening in the budget market. The moto g power 2022 looks even worse, STILL has a 720p screen, but now larger so you can see the garbage. Oh its 90hz, great! high speed blur! Still a mono speaker, and now with a garbage mediatek chip instead of a snapdragon. Rediculous.
Samsung isnt much better, $279 with a 720p display, mono speaker, mediatek processor? Gross.
Looks like the moto g power, with stereo speakers, 1080p display, snapdragon 600 series chipset, and headphone jack was the peak of budget phones.
I rather enjoyed the 2020 Moto G Stylus. The only reason I'm not still using it is that I changed carriers and got a screaming deal on the Samsung Galaxy A52 5G.
Pixel has numerous issues, even Android Police had them mentioned and Droid life as well, the Finger print scanner is bad, Screen is worse it has banding issues, the stereo speaker is utter trash. Tensor is a big joke, phone internal cooling is horrible. DIY or anything inside the phone is also hard due to infinite glue and USB port is soldered to the main board.
That is a pathetic trash device which should not exist in the Flagship arena. Sony Xperia Mark 3 is the real phone which deserves money as it has In box charger, SD slot, 3.5mm jack, no frills display like no notch no hole, great stereo speakers, solid build quality, good camera esp Pro application. What else anyone needs ? The disadvantages of that phone are - SD888, horrible processor with high heat and that phone cannot contain most of the heat without dropping performance, this is the case with most 888 devices, then the price is uber expensive and availability is poor.
I have a Pixel 6 Pro and I have had no fingerprint issues or screen issues and my battery life has now improved. What is a problem is the poor charging performance coming from a Huawei P30Pro and how hot the phone gets at times. But overall happy as it feels very fast and takes great pictures and video
Now make a list but only phones with 3.5mm headphone jack are eligible. (Hint: Sony will be in the list, while Samsung and Google will drop out of the high end.)
Punch in the sizes you want in the GSMArena and Kimovil phone finders. I'm getting a Xiaomi 11 Lite if my current phone breaks this year. Not the smallest, but pretty light.
I take it there still is no love for small form factor Android phones?
My aging Sony XZ2 Compact could do with a replacement. Apple disappointed with the iPhone 13 Mini not having a fingerprint sensor and I'm waiting to see if an iPhone SE3 will.
I'd like to stay Android, but I'm not aware of any small phones with current OS and hardware. (My Sony is stuck on Android 10.)
I love everything Samsung makes! Ive been on board since the Note 3 and been a note guy every since. Needless to say my hopes are high for the next gen of Samsung devices.
I think that in the upper mid-range category the new smartphone from Xiaomi the 12 X which can be around 500 EUR new !! With the SOC Qualcomm 870 and the first 12 -bit screen on the market is the smartphone of the moment thanks to its SOC 870 it can follow long session of video games and the multimedia experience is at the top
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lightningz71 - Friday, November 19, 2021 - link
A good alternative to the Pixel 5A 5G is the Samsung A52 5G. The processors are very similar, with a slight nod to the Pixel, the screens are similar, with the Samsung being slightly better, Samsung has better cameras and can be had with 8GB RAM. The Samsung is a few dollars more, but, in that range of price, it's only a few %.As for the guide overall, I think it would be helpful to publish a guide that looked at the Cell carrier featured phones and identify the best available out of their offerings, such as the best free for new lines one, and their best subsidized midrange offering. Also, you have to keep in mind that some of the indicated phones in this list often lack a few bands that are used by certain carriers in the US, and that becomes a big deal in some areas, making an otherwise decent phone near worthless.
Wereweeb - Friday, November 19, 2021 - link
Anandtech seems to barely have the time and resources to cover the important stuff. I'd rather not have them make monthly detailed guides on which smartphone to buy if you live in this single country (Out of the 200 that exist).Just punch the features you want into GSMarena and Kimovil's phone finders and see what comes up.
heraldo25 - Saturday, November 20, 2021 - link
The updated Samsung Galaxy A52s 5G uses the Snapdragon 778G.https://www.gsmarena.com/compare.php3?idPhone1=110...
Kangal - Monday, November 22, 2021 - link
Came to comment on this. The options listed here aren't very good. Some phones from the list in the article should be avoided as they represent poor value, or bad experience. This includes the Samsung S21 Ultra, Pixel 6 pro, and Samsung A32.People should instead carefully consider these options:
Samsung A52s-5G (best value here?)
Samsung S21+ (meh, discounted)
Samsung Galaxy S20 FE version (deep deeps discounts!)
OnePlus 9 Pro (great but imperfect)
Pixel 6 (non-pro)
Pixel 5a (cheap for USA residents)
Sony Xperia 1 mk 3 (best phone overall)
Sony Xperia 5 mk 3 (best phone overall)
Motorola G200 (new, decent value)
ASUS RoG Phone 5 (best gaming)
ASUS Zenfone 7 Pro (best selfie)
ASUS Zenfone 8 (best compact)
Redmi Poco F3 (cheap)
Xiaomi X3 Pro (very cheap)
Redmi Note 10 Pro (stupidly cheap)
TheinsanegamerN - Friday, November 19, 2021 - link
It's a damn shame what's happening in the budget market. The moto g power 2022 looks even worse, STILL has a 720p screen, but now larger so you can see the garbage. Oh its 90hz, great! high speed blur! Still a mono speaker, and now with a garbage mediatek chip instead of a snapdragon. Rediculous.Samsung isnt much better, $279 with a 720p display, mono speaker, mediatek processor? Gross.
Looks like the moto g power, with stereo speakers, 1080p display, snapdragon 600 series chipset, and headphone jack was the peak of budget phones.
TheinsanegamerN - Friday, November 19, 2021 - link
The 2020 moto g power. The 2021 is scrap metal.lightningz71 - Friday, November 19, 2021 - link
I rather enjoyed the 2020 Moto G Stylus. The only reason I'm not still using it is that I changed carriers and got a screaming deal on the Samsung Galaxy A52 5G.Samus - Sunday, November 21, 2021 - link
What's wrong with the 2021? On paper it appears to be an all around improved phone.Silver5urfer - Friday, November 19, 2021 - link
Pixel has numerous issues, even Android Police had them mentioned and Droid life as well, the Finger print scanner is bad, Screen is worse it has banding issues, the stereo speaker is utter trash. Tensor is a big joke, phone internal cooling is horrible. DIY or anything inside the phone is also hard due to infinite glue and USB port is soldered to the main board.That is a pathetic trash device which should not exist in the Flagship arena. Sony Xperia Mark 3 is the real phone which deserves money as it has In box charger, SD slot, 3.5mm jack, no frills display like no notch no hole, great stereo speakers, solid build quality, good camera esp Pro application. What else anyone needs ? The disadvantages of that phone are - SD888, horrible processor with high heat and that phone cannot contain most of the heat without dropping performance, this is the case with most 888 devices, then the price is uber expensive and availability is poor.
Speedfriend - Friday, November 19, 2021 - link
I have a Pixel 6 Pro and I have had no fingerprint issues or screen issues and my battery life has now improved. What is a problem is the poor charging performance coming from a Huawei P30Pro and how hot the phone gets at times. But overall happy as it feels very fast and takes great pictures and videoneothe0ne - Friday, November 19, 2021 - link
Now make a list but only phones with 3.5mm headphone jack are eligible. (Hint: Sony will be in the list, while Samsung and Google will drop out of the high end.)boozed - Friday, November 19, 2021 - link
That and something that normal people can use one-handednicolaim - Saturday, November 20, 2021 - link
Seriously. The recommendations are kind of useless without an extra column of reasonably-sized phones.Not just a question of hands, but pockets too.
Wereweeb - Saturday, November 20, 2021 - link
Punch in the sizes you want in the GSMArena and Kimovil phone finders. I'm getting a Xiaomi 11 Lite if my current phone breaks this year. Not the smallest, but pretty light.yetanotherhuman - Monday, November 22, 2021 - link
It's a wasteland. I want <140mm tall and <70mm wide.yetanotherhuman - Monday, November 22, 2021 - link
Yep. I don't know what happened to the phone market, but there are barely any left, only phablets remain.wpcoe - Saturday, November 20, 2021 - link
I take it there still is no love for small form factor Android phones?My aging Sony XZ2 Compact could do with a replacement. Apple disappointed with the iPhone 13 Mini not having a fingerprint sensor and I'm waiting to see if an iPhone SE3 will.
I'd like to stay Android, but I'm not aware of any small phones with current OS and hardware. (My Sony is stuck on Android 10.)
yetanotherhuman - Monday, November 22, 2021 - link
No, there isn't. Everyone's expected to have a giant brick in their pocket these days, for some reason. I'm tired of it.sharath.naik - Monday, November 22, 2021 - link
S21 Ultra 599$ from google FI. take advantage while it lasts. The best deal I have seen.tuxRoller - Tuesday, November 23, 2021 - link
When did AT review the pixel 6?maxijazz - Sunday, December 5, 2021 - link
+1pharaohfabb - Tuesday, February 8, 2022 - link
I love everything Samsung makes! Ive been on board since the Note 3 and been a note guy every since. Needless to say my hopes are high for the next gen of Samsung devices.Tatar76 - Monday, May 2, 2022 - link
I think that in the upper mid-range category the new smartphone from Xiaomi the 12 X which can be around 500 EUR new !! With the SOC Qualcomm 870 and the first 12 -bit screen on the market is the smartphone of the moment thanks to its SOC 870 it can follow long session of video games and the multimedia experience is at the top