Whether you’re completely new to AT&T or looking to upgrade your current device, there are plenty of quality options to fit almost any budget. Even though buying an unlocked device is always the best option, smartphone price tags can be staggering. Because of this, AT&T offers carrier financing options that allow you to spread the cost out over time — instead of paying all at once, you pay monthly over 36 months.
AT&T also offers most of its phone discounts in the form of monthly credits over 36 months. While this is a nice option, please keep in mind that it keeps you locked to AT&T until all the payments for that phone are made. Still, if you’re using one of the best AT&T plans and trade in a phone, you can get up to $1000 off on some devices with current promotions.
The Pixel 8 Pro is one of the best phones running Android that money can buy with a nice display, solid performance with the Tensor G3 SoC, and excellent software support. The battery is large with 5,050mAh of capacity that should make it to the end of the day with a fairly sedate 30W max charging speed. The camera bar is also packed to the gills with a 50MP main camera, 48MP ultrawide shooter, and a 48MP telephoto camera.
As our Pixel 8 Pro review details, Google has packed this phone full of its latest AI features such as the ability to have an article read aloud as well as a tool to summarize the key points. AI has also made its way to the camera app with features like Best Take to help get everyone’s best face in a group photo.
This phone is designed to last for years and Google has promised to bring seven Android OS updates to this phone, so you’ll be up-to-date for years to come. Google has also made sure the Pixel 8 Pro has support for AT&T’s 5G bands, including its mid-band spectrum, so you’re ready for AT&T’s best network speeds for years to come.
Despite being one of the biggest non-folding phones you can buy right now with a 6.8-inch display, it’s still impressive just how much tech Samsung has crammed into the Galaxy S24 Ultra. This phone has the latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 SoC paired with 12GB of RAM which gives it the power to keep up with the incredible 3088×1440 AMOLED display running at 120Hz. Underneath, a 5,000mAh battery has enough power to keep the phone running all day with ease. When the battery does run out, the phone charges at a respectable 45W.
On the back, there is the primary 200MP camera, a 12MP ultrawide camera, a 10MP 3X telephoto camera, and a 50MP 5X telephoto camera. This camera array gives the phone plenty of information to capture excellent images, but our Galaxy S24 Ultra review notes that the system can struggle with images featuring lots of motion.
Samsung has promised to keep the phone up to date for seven years after launch, so you can rest assured that the phone will have a reasonably up-to-date security patch as long as you keep using it. It also means that if the phone is still in decent condition when you’re ready for an upgrade, it should still have decent second-hand value.
As always, Samsung has made sure this is one of the most performant phones you can get, not only in terms of apps, but also with 5G. The Snapdragon X70 5G modem inside is currently the fastest chipset in Ookla’s speedtest index. That also means that this phone supports all of AT&T’s 5G bands, including mid-band and mmWave.
The OnePlus 12R starts at $500, which isn’t necessarily cheap, but the hardware you get for the money is downright impressive. Beneath the 6.78-inch AMOLED display there is a powerful Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 with plenty of power for any app you can find on the Play Store. It comes with either 8GB or 16GB of RAM depending on whether you get the 128GB or 256GB version of the phone. It has a strong multi-day battery life thanks to a 5,500mAh battery inside, and it charges up faster than any other phone at this price at up to 80W on the U.S. model.
As for the rest of the hardware, you lose out on a couple of features you might expect on a budget-oriented handset, like a microSD card slot and a 3.5mm headphone jack as well as flagship features like wireless charging. Still, as a complete package, this phone delivers with Android 14 out of the box.
As we saw in our OnePlus 12R review, this phone doesn’t keep up with the flagships when it comes to camera performance. While the shots are still generally good for the price point, they’re not impressive. Still, we saw good handling of motion and were generally please with the results from the main 50MP sensor.
The OnePlus 12R supports AT&T’s 5G bands including low and mid-band support. There’s no mmWave support, which isn’t a big deal at this price. OnePlus is promised three years of Android OS updates and four years of security updates, which doesn’t quite match the likes of Samsung, but is a welcome addition.
With a 6.2-inch display, a smaller 4,575mAh battery, and no telephoto lens, the Pixel 8 lives in the shadow of the Pro model. That being said, if you prefer the smaller screen (and lower price) of the Pixel 8, you’re still getting an excellent phone with plenty of power for your money. The display has a 120Hz refresh rate, so it feels smooth to use, and you can even see it outdoors in the sunshine thanks to an incredible 2,000 nits of peak brightness.
This phone comes with a 50MP main camera and 13MP ultrawide camera setup. With Google’s software, this is still one of the best cameras you can get on a phone. It’s all powered by the Tensor G3 SoC which gives it plenty of power with enough efficiency to easily make it to the end of the day on a single charge. This is nice because charging is a bit slow at just 27W wired.
Like the Pixel 8 Pro, Google has made sure the phone supports AT&T’s most important 5G bands. For most people, low-band and mid-band 5G are more important on AT&T with mmWave helping out in dense areas like sports arenas. The AT&T version supports mmWave while some unlocked versions of the Pixel 8 don’t support it, so make sure you pick the right model.
If you’re looking for a flagship-tier Android phone but Samsung and Google aren’t quite revving your engine, the excellent OnePlus 12 could be the perfect fit. This phone has one of the best displays around with a 6.82-inch AMOLED panel running at 120Hz. The display also supports 4500 nits of peak brightness, which means it looks great when you’re out in the sunlight. It’s powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 SoC with 12GB or 16GB of RAM depending on how much storage you get.
The OnePlus 12 redefines our expectations when it comes to charging with 80W wired charging speeds on U.S. voltage, with up to 50W of wireless charging using a supported dock. If you forget to plug your phone in at night, it’s nice to know you can charge up the 5,400mAh battery in a hurry before leaving for your day.
The OnePlus 12 has a camera bump on the back that can’t be missed with three cameras tucked behind glass. As we saw in our OnePlus 12 review, photos were impressive from the main 50MP camera, 64MP telephoto camera, and 48MP ultrawide camera. No matter which camera you use, the results should be strong on this phone.
Finally, AT&T band support is strong with support for all of AT&T’s 5G bands, excluding mmWave. Even so, you should get fast 5G speeds on the carrier for years to come. The phone should also keep up for years as well with OnePlus offering four years of Android updates and five years of security updates.
Folding phones like the Galaxy Z Fold 5 represent one of the biggest steps forward in the way we think about phones with a large internal display that’s close to the size of a tablet. While other companies have been making folding phones of their own, Samsung’s software gives you one of the most complete experiences with enhancements designed to work with the large 7.6-inch 120Hz OLED inside. You can also quickly check your phone or fire off a text on the 6.2-inch outer display.
This phone is more comfortable to use and hold than the previous generation thanks to a reduced hinge-side gap when folded. That also makes this phone more comfortable in the pocket. The battery life is also solid for a foldable thanks to a 4,400mAh pack that should easily make it to the end of the day.
The Samsung Galaxy S24 feels a little forgotten in the shadow of the S24 Ultra, but it’s still one of the best Android phones you can get with a powerful SoC and an excellent display. The SoC in question is the same Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 found in larger devices like the OnePlus 12 and S24 Ultra, so you know you’ll get excellent performance on the S24’s 6.2-inch 120Hz AMOLED display. That display is also bright with a peak of 2600 nits which helps it stay readable and vibrant, even in bright lighting, such as outside in the sun.
The three cameras on the back feature a 50MP main wide camera, a 10MP ultrawide camera, and a 12MP 3X telephoto camera. While these cameras can take some of the best photos of any phone in the right conditions, our Galaxy S24 review notes that this phone, like the bigger S24 Ultra, can struggle with moving subjects. Still, this averages out to be one of the best cameras you can get on a phone.
The battery isn’t huge at 4,000mAh, but should make it to the end of the day for most users. Unfortunately, charging isn’t quick by modern standards, topping out at just 25W wired. At least the 15W wireless charging speeds are still reasonably quick. One other place the base S24 falls short of its bretheren is with Wi-Fi, which is only supports Wi-Fi 6E, as compared to Wi-Fi 7 on the S24 Ultra and OnePlus 12.
On AT&T, 5G support is excellent with the Galaxy S24. This phone supports all of AT&T’s bands inlcuding mid-band and mmWave coverage. With seven years of updates planned for this phone, it’s nice to know you’ll get AT&T’s best speeds as it continues to expand its 5G footprint.
The Samsung Galaxy A54 is a worthwhile option if you’re looking for all the benefits of OneUI without the flagship price. Its 6.4-inch display is stunning with an AMOLED panel that runs at 120Hz. The Exynos 1380 SoC under the hood is nothing special, but gets the job done with plenty of speed for most apps on Android. This includes 3D games, with our Galaxy A54 review noting playable performance in games like Genshin Impact and Asphalt 9 as long as you knock down a couple of settings.
This phone has a fairly large battery at 5,000mAh that should easily make it through a day without dying. When it does die, 25W charging is supported, which isn’t impressive on the more expensive Galaxy s24, but feels like a good speed for this mid-range device. While this phone lacks a 3.5mm headphone jack, it still comes with microSD storage expansion.
On AT&T, this phone supports most of AT&T’s 5G band with mmWave support absent. For most people, this is a nonissue with mid-band 5G offering plenty of speed for most of what we do on our phones. Samsung continues to lead the field in software updates with four years of OS updates and five years of secruity updates for this platform.
With a folding display, a company can either make a phone larger, like the Z Fold 5, or smaller like the Moto Razr+. This phone has a tall 6.9-inch display when its open and a 3.6-inch display on the outside. The internal display is impressive with an AMOLED panel running at up to 165Hz and up to 1400 nits of peak brightness. The phone is powered by the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1, which is still quick enough for just about any task you can throw at it with 8GB of RAM helping out.
The cameras aren’t anything special for the cost of the device, but our Moto Razr+ review was happy with how much fun it can be to use them. The phone is powered by a middle-of-the-road 3,000mAh batter with reasonably quick 30W charging supported. When it comes to software, this phone ships with Android 13 with custom software to help apps run on the external display. It must be noted that we weren’t terribly impressed with the variety on this external screen, but it’s a nice feature to have.
An Android 14 update is planned for this phone, though it hasn’t arrived yet. Still, AT&T band support is strong, with support for both the low and mid-band spectrum. There is no support for for mmWave 5G, but for most people that’s not a big deal.
Buying a budget phone isn’t about finding the cheapest possible handset, but finding a phone that’s going last for a couple of years without breaking the bank. This $200 Galaxy A15 5G stands apart from many of its competitors right away by running Android 14 with OneUI 6. On top of that, Samsung has promised up to four OS updates and up to five years of security updates for this device. Many budget phones are rarely updated, so it’s nice to see Samsung offering extended software support, even on one of its cheapest phones.
The hardware in this phone is fairly basic, but there are some nice additions, such as using an AMOLED panel with a 90Hz refresh rate. It’s powered by a Mediatek Dimensity 6100+ SoC, which isn’t anything special, but should have no trouble keeping up with Android 14 and basic apps. You also get a long-lasting 5,000mAh battery with support for 25W charging, which is as fast as the Galaxy A54 5G and the Galaxy S24.
While plenty of great options exist, the Google Pixel 8 Pro is hard to beat when everything is added up. It features a fantastic Google camera, some of the best software support, a premium build, and even some new AI features. Google has also decided to offer seven OS updates for this model, so it will be on the latest Android build for years to come. Finally, it works perfectly on the AT&T network, so you will be able to enjoy 5G speeds in a package that won’t break the bank.
Maybe if we start telling people the brain is an app they will start using it!
