Android 10 is worth a few extra bucks when you're looking for a phone deal

Android 10 can make a phone worth a few extra dollars so be sure to consider it when you're buying.

Black Friday is an awesome time to buy a new phone. You'll find great deals on flagship models, super-low prices on budget models, and everything in between seems to get a nice price slash on the biggest shopping day of the year.

Some of us need a new phone, or are getting a first phone for someone else, or just want that pricey model with all the bells and whistles at a bargain. A smartphone and broadband service is becoming a necessity and its great to see pricing that can help anyone have what they need. No smartphone is a bad smartphone.

Having said that, there is one seemingly minor detail that's worth looking for when you buy a phone on Black Friday or any day for that matter: does it come with Android 10 or will it soon be getting Android 10?

Android 10 isn't some marvelous update that will fix every annoyance you might have with the way a phone works. On its surface, there's not a lot of difference between Android 9 Pie and Android 10, especially since the big names like Samsung have become adept at adding features on top of Android itself. Android 10 isn't going to make you love a phone you didn't love before.

What is special about Android 10 is what it does behind the scenes when it comes to your security and privacy. There are over 50 changes in the way your personal information is being handled, and a couple of them are things that should have been there from the beginning.

More: Project Mainline for Android 10: What it is, what it isn't, and how it works

The biggest two are Project Mainline — a system where Google can push critical patches to your phone without a complete over the air update — and granular location access. you can decide if an app can track your location all the time, none of the time, or only when you're using it. These are two very important features when it comes to your online privacy.

Nothing will ever keep Google from doing its data collection when you use an Android phone, but things like this can keep the bad guys at bay. Maybe, just maybe, when it comes to choosing between a $200 Moto G7 or a Pixel 3a for $300, Android 10 is worth the extra Benjamin. And if you're shopping for one of those flagship models? OnePlus and Samsung are either already using Android 10 or will be before the end of the year. You do have options.

The best Android phone deals for Black Friday 2019