Google released the Pixel 3a and 3a XL to a ton of fanfare, it's being praised as not only the best camera in a budget phone but the best $400 phone you can buy right now. Hold up people don't get carried away in the hype, there is nothing revolutionary about the Pixel device it self, but the idea of companies like Google making worth while budget phones, now that's revolutionary.
For way too long now the U.S. has been one of those markets highly excluded from having even decent budget phones widely available. Why? Xenophobia? Maybe. It's hard to deny China as the epicenter for budget devices. It's also hard to deny the United States rather not have China as a major player within the market. We see phones such as the PocoPhone F1 from Xiaomi which rivaled some of the best flagships of 2018 yet maintained a price of only about $300 and wonder why it was never introduced to the United States. But even if it had been, unless it was accompanied by the support of a major U.S. carrier it would have gone no where. And that's the case with most of the brands selling budget phone that even attempt to play in the premium loving American market.
In fact the only major budget phones in the U.S that not only work on all 4 major U.S carriers but are also sold by them is Motorola. Of course you can include Samsung and LG in this but most of their budget friendly phones look strength out of 2015 with specs to match. Motorola also just so happens to be making some of the best budget phones sold in the U.S. . Key part of that last sentence being in the United States, like I stated in the beginning so many good phones are simply not available here for purchase by normal consumers. Those who don't know Huawei-s or Imports. And I truly believe the Pixel 3a series is here to change that. Before you stop me and say but Apple released the Xr and Samsung the S10e, those are not budget phones, they are still in the premium $700 market. The 3a brings something "new" to the U.S market that we haven't seen in a long time, a non suck-ish budget phone from a major smartphone manufacture that is available on every US carrier. It's also important to mention that this phone does have one of the best cameras on a budget phone available in the U.S. based off of photos I have seen from countless great #teampixel reviewers. It practically matches the full priced Pixel 3 at about half the cost!
So yes, i'm excited for the Pixel 3a phones, not because they are great budget phones that rival the competition from the major Chinese manufactures, but because I believe this could be the signal of a new era of mobile phones in the U.S., one which will hopefully bring the achievements of great budget devices into major carrier stores. One that leads the way to a future without $1000 price tags.