The best AT&T phones to buy in 2024: Prepaid and with contract
As a member of the US carrier trifecta, AT&T is responsible for providing wireless services to over 100 million people. Its 4G wireless services cover over two-thirds of the population, enabling anything from staying connected with friends and family to watching TV on the go. AT&T's next-generation 5G network is growing steadily and now covers dozens of markets across the US.
Naturally, AT&T offers some of the best phones you can buy today: the newest iPhones, the latest Samsung Galaxy and Google Pixel phones, and anything in between to fit all needs and budgets. But with dozens of great options available, picking becomes quite a challenge. So, which are the best AT&T phones to get in 2024?
Best AT&T cell phones available right now:
- Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra — The best Android phone of 2024
- Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max — The best iPhone released in 2024
- Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus — A sensible Android flagship phone
- Galaxy Z Fold 6 — The best Samsung foldable phone
- Google Pixel 9 Pro XL — Google's AI experience and unmistakable Pixel experience
- Motorola Razr Plus (2024) — The best flip phone on the market
- AT&T prepaid phone options — Check out the best prepaid phones on AT&T
How to choose the best phone for you?
First up, you have to consider your budget. Nowadays mid-range phones offer quite a similar user experience to high-end flagships. That said, some of the coolest features like more cameras, higher performance, and specialized hardware are all reserved for the premium options.
Next up, make sure to consider your ecosystem preferences. If you've been using iPhones for years and don't feel like leaving the ecosystem, then your options are pretty clear. The same can be said if you have any accessories that are better suited for Samsung or any other Android phone. It's a different story if you are dissatisfied with your usual ecosystem of choice. If that's the case, then the world's your oyster.
Next up, you have to consider your plan options. On AT&T, you can get both prepaid and postpaid plans with regular contracts. AT&T has a pretty limited selection of mostly entry-level and mid-range at best devices, which don't inspire confidence, so our recommendation would be to go against the grain and bring your device if you're interested in AT&T's prepaid service options.
Finally, you have to consider the size. While a rule of thumb is that the largest phones are the most advanced ones, you can still get a capable compact phone, like the iPhone 16 Pro, or a foldable one, like the Galaxy Z Fold 6. Still, the iPhone 16 Pro Max and the Galaxy S24 Ultra are definitely among the best of the best.
Galaxy S24 Ultra
The best Android phone of 2024
The Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra is easily the most complete and versatile Android phone you can consider buying in 2024. Objectively speaking, it's the yardstick that most other flagships have to measure against.
Coming in hot with a 200MP camera, and joined by a 12MP ultra-wide, a 10MP 3X telephoto, and a new 5X periscope camera, the Galaxy S24 Ultra is the phone to beat right now. While it notably dropped the 10X camera of its predecessor, the phone still has superb zooming capabilities.
The Galaxy S24 Ultra also comes equipped with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip, which is top-of-the-line as far as performance goes. Boosting the overall utility of the phone is also the S Pen stylus, which unlocks a whole new array of productivity possibilities.
Currently on AT&T, the Galaxy S24 Ultra is available at up to $1,000 off with an eligible trade-in and a qualifying AT&T Unlimited plan.
Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max
Apple's best large-screen iPhone
The iPhone 16 Pro Max was revealed alongside the rest of the iPhone 16 family on September 9, 2024, and it's the most advanced iPhone ever released. Yep, not an overexaggeration!
The flagship model features a larger display with the thinnest bezels ever on an iPhone and a titanium design with an Action Button. There's more, however, an entire new Camera Control button, which lets you quickly interact with your phone's camera, take pictures or videos, or access Visual Intelligence. Nice, but not a must-have feature.
The iPhone 16 Pro Max ushers in a new level of performance thanks to the second-gen 3nm A18 Pro chip on board, which includes a significantly upgraded Neural Engine designed with Apple Intelligence in mind. Aside from that, it's one of the best-performing chips right now.
Battery life is also great thanks to the efficiency of the chip as well as the 4,676mAh battery on board, which is actually the largest one fitted on an iPhone so far. There is also faster MagSafe charging, which maxes out at 25W, but you will need a new wireless Qi2 charger that supports those speeds.
The flagship model features a larger display with the thinnest bezels ever on an iPhone and a titanium design with an Action Button. There's more, however, an entire new Camera Control button, which lets you quickly interact with your phone's camera, take pictures or videos, or access Visual Intelligence. Nice, but not a must-have feature.
The iPhone 16 Pro Max ushers in a new level of performance thanks to the second-gen 3nm A18 Pro chip on board, which includes a significantly upgraded Neural Engine designed with Apple Intelligence in mind. Aside from that, it's one of the best-performing chips right now.
A slightly upgraded 48MP ultra-wide camera with an f/2.2 aperture is included in the iPhone 16 Pro Max camera lineup. The phone has the same 5X telephoto tetraprism camera as the iPhone 15 Pro Max, which is as capable as before. New photographic styles, enhanced video recording, and a fresh Camera Control complete the camera's functionality.
Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus
A sensible Android flagship phone
Coming in hot with a flat new design, the Galaxy S24 Plus lives in the shadow of the Galaxy S24 Ultra. It also comes with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset, but boasts a slightly smaller 6.7-inch OLED screen. Fortunately, the screen has a QHD+ resolution and also the new here 2,600-nit maximum brightness that's on par with the Galaxy S24 Ultra.
Another major selling point is the seven years of software support that the phone will receive, this means major Android upgrades and security patches until the end of the decade!
However, the camera system is mostly the same as before, and while more than capable, it's getting a bit stale. Fortunately, the image processing has been fixed in comparison with previous generations.
A very exciting set of features on the software side of things is the so-called Galaxy AI suite, which consists of various AI goodies that aim to improve the user experience.
On AT&T, the Galaxy S24 Plus goes for $999 or $27.78 a month for three years, but you may pay much less if you trade in an eligible device and opt for any of the select AT&T Unlimited plans. Up to $800 can be saved if certain conditions are met.
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6
The best new Samsung foldable phone
The Galaxy Z Fold 6 is Samsung's latest foldable phone to be released in 2024. With a fresh new completely flat design, and a faster chipset, it's the company's most advanced foldable phone. The Galaxy Z Fold 6 is mostly similar to its predecessors, so Samsung isn't reinventing the formula behind the phone.
The Galaxy Z Fold 6 comes with the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset, as well as a much brighter display than before.
However, chief among the new features is the full suite of Galaxy AI features on deck, which enrich the One UI experience.
The camera system, while mostly unchanged in comparison with previous Galaxy Z Fold devices, produces better photos than before.
Google Pixel 9 Pro XL
Google's AI experience and unmistakable Pixel experience
In 2024, the Pixel 9 Pro XL is the phone to get if you're into artificial intelligence, with sensible updates and notable enhancements in most important areas. Google has outfitted its latest top flagship with a fresher design and a decent camera setup.
A major change with the Pixel series this year and the Pixel 9 Pro XL in particular is the fresh new design language, which employs a flat design language similar to the latest iPhones and Galaxies.
The most exciting new feature of the Pixel 9 Pro XL is the Tensor G4 chipset, which allows the Pixel to run Gemini Nano, Google's impressive large-language model that enables all kinds of AI features and functionalities on its new Pixels. The addition of 16GB of RAM also helps with the AI performance of this AI phone.
Another exciting new feature is the 3,000-nit Super Actua display, which improves on the Pixel 8 Pro's 2,400-nit max brightness. Finally, we get a large 5,060mAh battery which should keep the lights on running for a long time.
Motorola Razr Plus (2024)
The best flip phone on the market
The Razr Plus (2024) definitely impressed us during our review! It keeps the classic Razr style we love, but with some major improvements like minimal crease and an improved hinge.
But he big win is the outer screen – it's way bigger and brighter than last the predecessor and even larger than that of the Galaxy Z Flip 6, making it much more usable for everyday tasks without flipping the phone open. The inner display is fantastic too, with a smooth 165Hz refresh rate and super high peak brightness.
Performance is solid, thanks to the new Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 chip. It might not be the absolute top-of-the-line, but for day-to-day use, it delivers the smooth experience you expect.
Battery life was the area that took us by surprise. Foldable phones usually don't do very well in this segment, but the Razr Plus (2024) managed to enter our top ten phones for the best battery life, achieving an estimated 7 hours 51 minutes of battery life based on our tests.
Overall, the Razr Plus (2024) feels like a much more complete foldable phone than its predecessors. It's not perfect – the camera system could be better, and there are some missing Moto AI features we'd like to see. But for the price, it's a compelling option for anyone who wants a stylish and functional foldable phone.
AT&T Prepaid phones
As we mentioned, AT&T doesn't exactly have a diverse selection of prepaid phones, as Verizon does. There are just a handful of devices available as prepaid options on the carrier. The most notable ones include:
- Galaxy A23 5G - With a 6.6-inch display, and quad-camera setup, this Samsung phone is one of the best prepaid offers on AT&T. Usually goes for $300 outright.
- Galaxy A03s - This AT&T prepaid phone comes with a 5,000mAh battery, microSD card slot, triple camera, and a 6.5-inch HD+ display. Usually goes for $140, but regularly dips to $70.
- Moto G Pure - With a 6.5-inch Max Vision HD+ display, very long battery life, and dual-camera system, the Moto G Pure is an affordable device that focuses on the essentials. You can get it for $120.
- Moto G 5G - This one comes along with a 6.5-inch 90Hz display, two-day battery life, and 64GB of storage on board. You can regularly have it for $220, but it's currently going for half that, $110.
Can I get a free phone from AT&T?
Depending on the details of a particular deal or a promotion that's currently going on at AT&T, you could technically get a new phone for a $0.00 down payment. Of course, it's not as easy as it sounds, as the carrier will most often require an eligible trade-in and/or an eligible new cellular line to be opened before you could reap the rewards and score your "free" phone.
Are phones from AT&T sold locked?
Yes, unless otherwise stated, you should presume that all new AT&T phones are sold locked to the carrier's cellular network. They are eligible for unlocking, though.
The eligibility will vary per device and customer, but in the most common case, you will be eligible to get your phone unlocked if you've fully paid off your phone, either via your regular monthly bills or paid off early, don't have a past due account balance, and haven't reported your phone as lost, stolen, or involved with any kind of fraud.
If you have an AT&T Prepaid phone, you need to have six months of service on the AT&T network. To submit an unlock request, you can either use your device's Unlock app (if it has one) or submit your IMEI directly to AT&T's device unlock page right here. To find your IMEI, dial in *#06# in your phone app.
What are the benefits of prepaid phones at AT&T?
As usual with prepaid services, you can bring your phone to AT&T's network and enjoy the awesome affordable plans on one of the most reliable networks in the US. AT&T's prepaid plans also require no credit check, no annual contract of any kind, very easy activation, as well as a pretty good roster of prepaid plans to pick from.
However, as we established earlier, AT&T doesn't have a particularly good selection of prepaid phones, mostly entry-level and mid-range devices that are a far cry from the more appealing flagships other carriers sell as prepaid. However, you can easily bring your device to the carrier and jump on any of its prepaid plans very quickly, so AT&T should be considered as an option for all potential cord-cutters.
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