With a low starting price and affordable unlimited family plans, Google Fi is a better value than ever. Factor in its excellent global roaming, nationwide coverage, and billing feature that credits back whatever data you don't use, and you have an even more appealing purchase. Fi works with almost any unlocked phone, but certain features, like intelligent network switching, are only available for certain phones with "designed for Fi" software. The Google Pixel 7 Pro is the best phone for Google Fi thanks to its excellent network support, powerful hardware, and frequent software updates straight from Google.
Make the most of your Google Fi plan with the right phone
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The Google Pixel 7 Pro is not just the best phone to get on Google Fi, but one of the best Android phones you can get for any carrier. It has the powerful Tensor G2 CPU under the hood keeping Android 13 running along smoothly and a gorgeous 120Hz OLED screen. While unlocking with your face isn't as smooth as we'd like, our Pixel 7 Pro review confirms that the fingerprint sensor works great and is much improved over the Pixel 6 Pro.
Of course, anyone following the Pixel narrative knows that this phone's biggest trick is the cameras. Google's camera software makes the most of the main 50MP camera, the 12MP ultrawide camera, and the 48MP telephoto camera. Producing some of the best images of any phone you can buy right now, Google's software generates sharp images with plenty of contrast that look great on social media.
The Pixel 7 Pro is also first in line with its smaller sibling to get the latest versions of Android so you can be confident you've got all of the latest features for years to come. To add to that, Google Assistant is even more powerful on Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro with some exclusive features like Pixel Call Assist. Naturally, this phone works with Google Fi's full network including 5G and network switching so you should get strong data speeds and coverage as well.
Many of Samsung's Galaxy phones have been fully compatible with Google Fi's network for a few generations and that continues with the excellent Galaxy S22 Ultra. As we saw in our S22 Ultra review, this phone is blazing fast thanks to the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 with included S Pen making the device even more useful. This really is the ultimate Galaxy phone and it works on Google Fi's entire network thanks to its Designed for Fi designation. You can even set it up with an eSIM on Fi.
The cameras on the back are some of the best available with great colors and sharpness on the main 108MP camera with two more cameras for optical zoom and an ultra-wide camera so you're ready for any situation. Of course, this phone supports 5G including C-band and Wi-Fi 6E out of the box.
One of Samsung's biggest strengths with the S22 line is its plans for software updates. Samsung has committed to upgrading this phone through to Android 16 with five years of security updates. While the initial investment is high on this flagship phone, you can rest assured you'll be able to keep using it for years to come.
The Google Pixel 6a lives up to the Pixel name with everything you've come to expect from a cheaper Pixel phone and some features you might not expect. As we saw in our Pixel 6a review, one of those features is the same powerful Google Tensor CPU from the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro. That means this phone has plenty of speed for running just about anything you can download from the Play Store. It also means that you've got support for 5G and Wi-Fi 6E so you can get the best network speeds av available just about anywhere you go.
The Pixel 6a also gets Google's excellent camera software to help get every bit of color data out of the 12MP main and 12MP ultrawide rear cameras. In fact, the Google Pixel 6a did very well on MKBHD's blind camera phone challenge for 2022 confirming that you don't need the very best hardware to take great photos. If you want a camera that you can rely on to get a great shot without fiddling with settings, you can count on the Pixel 6a just as much as any other Pixel.
This affordable Pixel is also at the front of the line for the latest software updates straight from Google and should work great with all of Google Fi's features. With mid-band, 5G support, Wi-Fi 6E, and a large 6.1-inch display, this phone has everything most of us look for in a top-tier flagship, for half the price.
The Pixel 7 is one of the best Android phones you can buy thanks to its powerful Google Tensor G2 CPU, powerful cameras, and excellent software update schedule. Unfortunately, you can say that about every PIxel on sale today so what helps the standard Pixel 7 stand out in one of the most gifted families of phones? One thing we noted in our Pixel 7 review is the flat OLED display on the front which runs at 90Hz. While a curved screen looks great, it can make edge gestures more difficult for some and makes screen protectors pricier as well.
Compared to the Pixel 7 Pro, you give up the telephoto camera but still get the excellent 50MP main shooter for excellent photos in a wide range of conditions. While some people will prefer Samsung's colors, there's no doubt that the Pixel 7 outputs some of the best images ever taken on a mobile phone. If your social media photographer, you won't be disappointed with this phone.
The Samsung Galaxy A53 5G is one of the best mid-range phones money can buy, with a beautiful AMOLED display, a large battery, 5G support, and enough power to handle the majority of apps with ease. Speaking of power, this phone has a 5,000mAh battery which can easily take you to the end of the day with heavy use. The phone can also be charged at 25 watts, though you'll need to provide your own charging brick as there isn't one in the box.
As we saw in our review, the cameras produce nice and sharp images with plenty of contrast for social media and sharing with friends. While it's not quite on the level of the S22 series, not much is. You get IP67 water and dust resistance so you don't need to sweat if you get stuck in the rain.
Finally, the most surprising thing about this phone is its amazing software support. Samsung has promised four major Android updates and with this device starting out on Android 12, you can be sure you'll be up to date for years to come. For phones in this price range and even compared to some flagship phones, Samsung's promised updates are second to none.
The Samsung Galaxy A13 5G is an impressively capable budget phone, with a large 6.5-inch display with a 90Hz refresh rate. With 4GB of RAM and powered by the MediaTek MT6833 Dimensity 700 CPU, this phone has enough power to handle day-to-day takes with sub-6 5G built in so you can use T-Mobile's vast 5G coverage through Google Fi. Not only that but it supports Google Fi's network switching so you can be sure you're on the best connection possible.
This phone has three cameras on the back with a 50MP main camera for most of your photos alongside a 2MP wide-angle camera and a 2MP depth camera. You can also take plenty of photos with 64GB of storage onboard and a microSD card slot. The battery should also last you all day with a 5,000mAh power pack included that can charge at 15 watts.
This phone launched with Android 11 and Samsung has committed to 2 Android OS updates so you won't be stuck with an aging operating system for too long. While two updates don't meet the standard of more expensive Galaxy phones, compared to other budget phones, it's reasonable. Especially when you consider that this phone will get four years of security updates.
Use your Google Fi plan to its fullest
To get the most out of your Google Fi service, it's best to get a phone that has been "designed for Fi." This means that it has the necessary software to automatically switch to the network with the best signal no matter where you are in the country. You can still use any of the best Android phones on the T-Mobile network with Google Fi, but you may not get the same consistency in coverage as other phones.
The Google Pixel 7 Pro is the ultimate Google Fi phone with all of the best features Google offers, including some of the best cameras on any phone and 5G support. The phone comes with a great display running at an ultra-smooth 120Hz, and you can rest assured that Google will keep the phone up to date with the latest version of Android as soon as it's ready.
