Best unlocked phones 2024

An unlocked smartphone gives you the freedom and flexibility to use it with any supporting carrier you want without being locked into a lengthy installment plan or be bogged down by some confusing contract. You might even save some money in the process! It's your phone, so you should be in the driver's seat and not some big carrier company.

In our opinion, the Google Pixel 8 Pro is the best Android phone to buy unlocked, thanks to excellent band support for sub-6 5G, superb software, and one of the best camera systems ever put in a phone. But if the Pro doesn't do it for you, there are plenty of outstanding options to consider. Keep reading for our top picks.

Patrick Farmer

Patrick is a no-nonsense deal hunter with over 10 years of experience in the eCommerce space. Whether you’re interested in a new wireless carrier, smart home device, or Android phone, Patrick combines hands-on research with practical shopping advice to get you the answers you need. 

At a glance

Best overall

While the Pixel 8 Pro looks a lot like the Pixel 7 Pro that preceded it, quite a lot has changed. It has a brighter screen with 2400 nits (peak) brightness making it easier to use in the bright sunlight. While the resolution is slightly lower at 1344x2992, it still has a high pixel count of at 489ppi, so content still looks sharp. You can get the phone in hazel, obsidian, and rose, with metal rails to match.

Under that glass, a Tensor G3 SoC offers enough power for most apps to run buttery smooth, but as our Pixel 8 Pro review notes, it can struggle with high-end games. Still, for most people, it has plenty of power to run Android 14 with some new software features added to boot. For example, Best Take is perfect for group photos, since it allows you to pick the best face for each person, so if one person blinked in the best shot, you don't need to take another.

Speaking of cameras, Google has included a massive 50MP main camera, 48MP ultrawide camera, and 48MP telephoto camera under the hump on the back. With Google's camera software, you can get some of the best photos of any smartphone  in a wide range of lighting conditions.

Google has committed to seven years of Pixel updates for this phone, which is excellent for an unlocked phone since it will be worth more if you want to sell it, and can be updated without waiting for a carrier to issue an update. The Pixel 9 Pro is here for the same starting price in the U.S. as the 8 Pro, but the 8 Pro's true replacement would be the 9 Pro XL. There's no doubt that the faster processor and quicker charging give the Pixel 9 Pro series an edge, but we'll know if that edge is worth the premium after we're done reviewing the phones. 

Best premium option

The Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra succeeds the S23 Ultra with the usual improvements to processing power, cameras, and software. The Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy SoC and the titanium frame are some of the highlights. 

With a starting price of around $1,300, the unlocked Galaxy S24 Ultra is certianly expensive, but we feel you get what you pay for in terms of reliability and premium features. You get seven years of software and security updates making it on par with the Pixel 8 series, while the Gorilla Glass Armor for the display ensures the toughest protection against falls. 

Samsung is heavily pushing Galaxy AI with the S24 series, which allows you do things like instant slow-motion with any video, get edit suggestions for photos, live translation features, and lots more. 

Like its predecessor, the Galaxy S24 Ultra comes with an S Pen stored securely inside the phone, which means you can quickly jot down notes or sketch your ideas as they come to you, and then just slip it into its silo when you’re done. As we mentioned in our Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra camera review, this phone still has one of the best snappers out there (except for when it comes to taking motion shots). Samsung dropped the telephoto range from 10x to 5x on the S24 Ultra, which got us worried initially, but the new 50MP sensor totally makes up for it. 

Best compact phone

If you want high-end features without the massive size of a Pixel 8 Pro or Galaxy S24 Ultra, the Pixel 8 is a great choice. It's powered by the same Tensor G3 SoC as the bigger model with 8GB of RAM. While the screen is smaller, at 6.2 inches, it's still vibrant with an OLED panel and a 120Hz refresh rate. It also looks better outdoors or  under bright lighting thanks to a brigher panel with 2000 peak nits.

When it comes to cameras, it's not as resplendent as the Pro model with only a 50MP main camera and 12MP ultrawide camera, but still takes great pictures thanks to Google's software. It's simply one of the best camera systems on a compact Android phone.

Google also found room inside for a large 4575mAh battery that should make it to the end of a work day on a single charge. It charges fairly quickly at 27 watts and also offers reverse wireless charging for your earbuds or smartwatch. With support for mmWave 5G and even Wi-Fi 7, this is a great phone to bring with you to a new carrier. With seven years of software updates promised by Google, there's a good chance this phone will be up to date longer than you want to use it.

The Pixel 9 has just launched with a faster processor and larger battery for $100 more. We think the 8 still has a lot of life in it left, not to mention it has software support for the next six years. Plus, you should be able to find a better deal on the Pixel 8 too. 

Best flagship

OnePlus' number series have rarely failed to impress, but there's always something that it tends to miss out on. Not this time though. The OnePlus 12 is possibly its most complete phone yet, and can easily stare other flagships like the Galaxy S24, dead in the eyes. Short of any AI wizardry in the software, the 12 is every bit as good, if not better in many areas, as the best from Samsung and Google. 

It all comes down to keeping it simple, with excellent hardware and cohesive software. The design is similar to the 11, but there are enough tweaks like the new shade of green, which help it stand out. The 6.82-inch 2K OLED display is gorgeous and it can get really bright too. There's ample amount of power, RAM, and storage to go about. OxygenOS 14 is not totally bug-free yet, but it's nothing that a few more software updates can't squash. 

Battery life is one of the 12's strong suit. The massive 5400mAh capacity should easily give most users up to two days of runtime on one charge. There's also 100W wired charging, and 50W wireless charging (with the proprietary charger). 

There are massive cameras sensors all around the OnePlus 12, starting with the superb 50MP Sony LYT-808 sensor for the main camera. Image quality is outstanding , no matter if you're shooting during the day or at night. Plus, the Hasselblad filters let you add unique artistic touches to, otherwise, boring shots. 

Best value

For the first time, OnePlus has brought its "flagship killer" smartphone to the global markets, which has dethroned the Pixel 7a from its position on our list. At the same starting price as Google's offering, the 12R features the flagship Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC, and up to 16GB of RAM. You also get all the OnePlus staples like the smooth OxygenOS software, alert slider, and that killer 120Hz AMOLED display. 

As we've noted in our OnePlus 12R review, you can think of it as a OnePlus 11 but with a better display, more refined camera tuning, and a larger battery. And, you get all of this for a starting price of just $500, which is simply tremendous value. 

Of course, there are some mior compromises you'll have to make. The ultrawide camera for instance, isn't as good as the one on the 12 as colors generally looked a bit washed out and there's aggressive smoothening to hide the noise. Games also seem limited to 60fps. Apart from these little things though, it's really hard to complain at this price point. 

The display on the 12R is definitely one of its highlight features. The 6.78-inch 120Hz LTPO AMOLED panel produces rich and vibrant colors, and it can get really bright up to 4500 nits. The phone comes in two striking colors, and the design and build quality is every bit as premium as it looks. 

Best cheap

The Google Pixel 7a finally replaces our OnePlus Nord N30 reccomendation for the best cheap unlocked phone, and that's because the Charcoal variant is often under $350 on Amazon. We realize that phones like the Samsung Galaxy A25 5G are even cheaper, but we think the 7a offers the best balance of premium features and a low price. It's still officially sold by Google and has another six years of sofware support left. 

In our review of the Pixel 7a, we claimed that it was the best cheap phone Google had made, and that sentiment holds true even today. The Pixel 8a adds some improvements, but the 7a is still every bit as good. From the build quality, the haptics, or even the 90Hz OLED display, it looks and functions way better than many other phones under $500. The cameras continue to be the talking point as being a Pixel, you can expect excellent still photos from all the sensors thanks to Google's incredible post-processing. We're also confident that some of the new AI features that debuted with the Pixel 9 series should make their way eventually to the 7a via a Pixel Drop update. 

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How to choose

There you have it — the best unlocked Android phones you can buy in 2024. There's a wide range of great unlocked Android phones available, depending on your needs. In fact, the vast majority of the best Android phones can be purchased unlocked.

When it comes to picking just one, our testing confirms that the Google Pixel 8 Pro ticks every box. It has a higher price than last year, but its improved performance and best-in-class cameras still make it a strong pick. Besides that, you'll be on the latest release of Android with prompt updates directly from Google. Google has even improved night videography with Night Sight.

While the lack of mmWave 5G support on the Google Store unlocked version is a bit of a disappointment, the fact of the matter is that most of us will rarely, if ever, use mmWave on our 5G phones for years to come. The Pixel 8 Pro supports the most important 5G bands on the three major carriers so you should have strong connectivity just about anywhere you go.

Is it best to buy an unlocked phone?

Carriers have all but eliminated contracts but in their places, they've come up with something that can be even worse if you're not sure what you're signing up for. AT&T, Verizon, and even US Cellular have moved to 36-month payment plans for their phones with T-Mobile offering some 24-month and some 36-month plans. These carriers will pull in customers with the promise of free phones, but these customers end up stuck with the carrier or need to pay off the full amount.

This is even worse if you've signed up for a buy one, get one free program as the free phone is made so with monthly payments for 36 months. That means if you want to switch carriers, you could be on the hook for hundreds or even thousands of dollars to get your phones unlocked. Buying these phones on a payment plan can make them seem cheaper than they are. The truth of the matter is that most people don't need a $1,500 phone with so many solid budget options available.

If you buy your phone unlocked, you can bring it with you to a new carrier with a simple SIM swap or eSIM download. That means you can take advantage of new customer promotions with some of the best prepaid carriers for example. That also means if you sign up on a carrier that isn't giving you the coverage you need, you can switch when your month is up instead of waiting for 36 months of payment credits.

Another thing to consider is that you don't have to give up payment plans entirely to buy unlocked. Phones are expensive and not everyone can reasonably cut a multi-hundred dollar check when they need a new phone. If you buy from Samsung's web store, for example, you can choose between a one-time payment, four bi-weekly payments, a 24-month payment plan, or a 36-month payment plan. And with this option, you can take your phone to any carrier you want without paying it off.

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