As much as we love playing with and testing the latest and greatest phones here at AC, there is something we can universally agree on that we aren’t fans of — paying full price for flagship devices. If you’re in the market for a quality Android phone but don’t want to spend a thousand dollars, refurbished models offer a great experience at a fraction of what you’d typically spend. Here are our favorite options!
Best camera ever
Google Pixel 3
Staff pick
The Google Pixel 3 debuted in October 2018, and soon after its release, we easily determined it was one of the best Android phones you can buy. It has the best camera currently on a smartphone, a great AMOLED display, and a phenomenal software experience that’s always up-to-date. The best part? It’s already available for way cheaper than its MSRP when you buy refurbished.
From $468 at Amazon
Enter the Galaxy
Samsung Galaxy S9
This may not be the newest Samsung Galaxy phone on the market, but it’s one heck of a smartphone here in 2019. From a hardware standpoint, the S9’s design still stands out as a thing of beauty. The AMOLED display is one of the best around, the glass back supports wireless charging, and there’s a headphone jack. The S9 is a flagship through and through, just without the flagship price.
From $390 at Amazon
Great all around
LG G7
LG’s G7 didn’t receive a lot of attention when it was released last year, and that’s honestly a shame. While it isn’t the best Android phone ever created, it’s a really solid device in just about every regard. The LCD screen is solid, the metal + glass design looks great, the external speakers are insanely loud, and it has one of the highest-quality headphone jacks around.
From $348 at Amazon
Livin’ the stylus life
Samsung Galaxy Note 9
For years now, Samsung’s Galaxy Note phones have been iconic as some of the most powerful and capable handsets on the market. The Note 9 is the newest Note phone at this time, but you can already pick it up at a big discount when buying refurbished. Its AMOLED display is stunning, it’s fast enough to handle just about anything, and the utility you get with the S Pen is unmatched.
From $609 at Amazon
Pixel on the cheap
Google Pixel 2 XL
If you really like what the Pixel 3 brings to the table but can’t justify spending that much money, a refurbished Pixel 2 XL may be right up your alley. Despite having been released in 2017, its camera remains better than a lot of phones that were released in 2018 and even 2019. It’s also still receiving fast software updates, has a timeless design, and offers stereo front-facing speakers.
From $325 at Amazon
Ultra-wide camera
LG V30
Last on this list, we have the LG V30. The V30 is starting to show its age a little bit in 2019, but not by much. Its AMOLED display is good, it has a modern design, and its headphone jack is one of the best you’ll find. There are two cameras on the back, one of which is an ultra-wide sensor — allowing you to capture some truly unique photographs. Other things we like is the snappy performance and expandable storage.
From $249 at Amazon
The refurbished Pixel 3 is a ridiculously good deal
We’ve raved a lot about how great the Pixel 3 is quite a bit here on AC. It’s easily the best smartphone Google’s released to-date, featuring a solid design, a clean software experience, and guaranteed updates/security patches.
All of that’s great, but if there’s something that stands out with this phone, it’s the camera. We’re still trying to figure out what kind of wizardry Google used to make the Pixel 3’s camera so damn good, so if you care at all about picture/video quality, this should be at the very top of your list. Add that together with stereo speakers, a super-fast Qualcomm processor, and everything else mentioned above, and it’s kind of amazing you can pick up the Pixel 3 for this little money.
Want to spend less? Check out the Pixel 2 XL or Galaxy S9
If a refurbished Pixel 3 is still too rich for your blood, the Pixel 2 XL is definitely worth a look. It’s not as powerful as the Pixel 3 and the quality of the display isn’t nearly as good, but it costs considerably less, the camera is seriously impressive, and the software experience is pretty much identical.
The Pixel 2 XL also lacks wireless charging and has a metal + glass design as opposed to an all-glass one, but for this much of a difference in price, we think these are perfectly reasonable compromises.
Alternatively, the Galaxy S9 is another great pick. It’s since been updated to Android 9/Samsung One UI, making the software cleaner and faster than ever before. Its AMOLED display also remains as one of the best you can get, and with things like expandable storage and a headphone jack, it offers a lot of utility.
Battery life isn’t amazing and the single rear camera isn’t the best you’ll find, but this is an overall great phone that brings way more to the table than it should at this price.
