You're probably not buying the best smartphone that you actually want

If Americans weren't so willing to spend close to $1,000 on a new smartphone – and if they didn't buy from their carriers as often as they do – I'd estimate that you'd see a lot more people walking on the street using OnePlus smartphones.

OnePlus smartphones are the smartphone to buy if you value sleek looks, stock Android, astounding and unbeatable performance, and a value-driven price tag. On several levels, OnePlus devices are better than Samsung phones. They have better performance and they're significantly cheaper, too, costing in the $500 range.

To top it off, OnePlus devices also run a very clean version of Android that looks and works almost identically to the "pure" version of the operating system, meaning a bare minimum of annoying pre-installed aps. I personally prefer that over the heavily modified version of Android running on Samsung and LG devices.

OnePlus actually ran out of supply of its latest phone, the OnePlus 5T. However, the company is said to release its new device – the OnePlus 6 – soon.

The Essential Phone is one of the prettiest Android devices you can buy. In fact, the latest Ocean Depths Essential Phone is the most beautiful smartphone I've ever seen. It's also a great performer that runs on stock Android. And that's not to mention that at $500, it's also less expensive than the latest iPhone and Samsung devices.

You can actually find the Essential Phone in Sprint and Telus stores, so those customers will be aware of the Essential Phone's existence. But that leaves out a large chunk of customers that use Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile. You should know, though, that the Essential Phone will work on those networks, too.

You can buy the Essential Phone from the company's website.

Chinese telecom giant Huawei is a relative newcomer to the US market, and it makes some truly great devices that are insanely popular around the world.

You can buy the phones directly from Huawei, and they'll work just fine with US carriers that use the GSM standard, like AT&T and T-Mobile. Huawei's latest Mate 10 devices have limited support for carriers that use the CDMA standard, like Verizon and Sprint.

Verizon customers will actually find Google's Pixel 2 phones at Verizon stores because Google has an agreement with Verizon.

But despite the fact that the Pixel 2 is also compatible with all the other carriers, you won't find it in AT&T, T-Mobile, or Sprint stores, nor will you find it in smaller regional carriers, either.

You can buy Google's Pixel 2 smartphones from Google's Store online.

Some phones might simply not work on certain carriers. They might be built with the GSM network in mind, which most carriers around the world use. In turn, they may not include the CDMA network standard used by Verizon and Sprint.

Some companies don't actually want their phones to be featured in carrier stores, as it would mean adding carrier bloatware apps, or following certain rules set by the carrier they may not agree with.

And then the are exclusive partnerships, which is entirely up to the phone maker and carriers. That's why the only brick-and-mortar stores to carry the Google Pixel 2 are Verizon's.

In Huawei's case, specifically, the US government is actively dissuading US carriers and retailers from offering the company's phones. According to the certain branches of the US government and officials, there are security concerns over Huawei and its alleged ties with the Chinese government. Huawei's CEO Richard Yu told Cnet in an interview that these accusations are "groundless."