These are the best unlocked Android phones you can buy - Android

In a world where most people in the United States buy smartphones through carriers like Verizon and AT&T, it's important to highlight the market of unlocked phones. When you buy a phone unlocked, you have the freedom to use it on any carrier you want (so long as it's supported) and often save money in the long haul compared to purchasing it on a contract or installment plan. The Samsung Galaxy S20 FE is the best unlocked Android phone you can buy in 2021, but it's not the only one we recommend checking out. Here's a list of our favorites!

Best Overall Unlocked Phone: Samsung Galaxy S20 FE

By now, you've probably seen quite a bit of positive praise for the Samsung Galaxy S20 FE — in fact, we've even gone so far as to name it as the best Android phone of 2020! But why all the accolades? Put simply, there isn't a phone out there right now that offers the balance of high-end specs and affordable pricing.

Released approximately six months after 2020's flagship S20 lineup, the S20 FE brought just about every premium feature from those flagship phones for hundreds less. With the FE, you get a flat 120Hz 6.5-inch display, a high-performance Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 chipset, 6GB of RAM and 128GB of memory, and expandable storage. Not only that, but the S20 FE has outstanding battery life, fantastic cameras, IP68 water resistance, and high speed and wireless charging. What's not to love?

Aside from a few minor (and hardly noticeable) downgrades to its camera, the biggest initial knock on the S20 FE was the plastic — err — glasstic back panel. But after using the device for several months, we can confidently say that the material not only feels and looks great, but it's more durable than the glass on the regular S20 line. Samsung even introduced this material in the regular Galaxy Note 20 and the entry model Galaxy S21. We also love the color options, particularly the Cloud Mint, Cloud Orange, and Cloud Lavender. More of this, please!

Best of all, you can purchase this device unlocked for at least a hundred dollars off the retail price, which means that you can use it to access 5G and LTE networks on AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon. Pretty great!

Pros:

• Gorgeous flat 120Hz display
• Fantastic all-day battery life
• Three years of software updates
• Great durability
• Several exciting color options

Cons:

• Camera app can launch slowly
• Some may not like the plastic back at this price

Best Overall Unlocked Phone

Samsung Galaxy S20 FE (G780F)

• $600 at Amazon
• $600 at Best Buy
• $600 at B&H

The best of the best

The Galaxy S20 FE is an unbelievable value in the smartphone space, offering just about everything you'd want at a fair price.

Best Premium Unlocked Phone: Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra

/samsung-galaxy-s21-ultra-review

In 2020, we gave this prize to the entry-level Galaxy S20 because we felt the premium S20 Ultra had too many flaws to justify its hefty price tag. Now that its successor has been unveiled and we've had time to conduct our Galaxy S21 Ultra review, we can say without reservation that this is the absolute best premium Android device that you can buy right now. And it's available unlocked, compatible with all major networks!

The S21 Ultra makes subtle refinements to the S20 Ultra's design, but they make such a difference. The matte texture of the finishes (um, hello Phantom Black!) and the camera housing integrated into the frame are nice touches. But the real improvements are under the hood, so to speak.

With the S21 Ultra, Samsung improved the size and speed of the ultrasonic fingerprint sensor, which had been a complaint about the past several S generations. Of course, we got upgrades to the processor and ultra-wideband 5G connectivity, but we can now set the screen at Quad HD+ resolution and 120Hz refresh rate! Samsung looks to have corrected the autofocusing issues of the S20 Ultra and has beefed up the S21 Ultra's zoom capabilities with both 10X and 3X optical zoom cameras. Finally, the S21 Ultra is the first phone not named Note that has S Pen support. The S Pen is not built into the phone's casing, though some of the best Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra phone cases will be able to accommodate it.

The S21 Ultra is expensive, though it comes in at several hundred dollars less than the S20 Ultra. You can use those savings on accessories like a fast-charging brick or new phone case, though!

Pros

• Best-in-class Quad HD+ display that supports 120Hz
• Improved cameras and fingerprint sensor
• S Pen support
• Fast chip and support for sub-6 and UWB 5G

Cons

• No getting around that price tag
• No expandable storage
• This phone is big

Best Premium Unlocked Phone

Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra (5G SM-G998B)

• $1,200 at Samsung
• $1,200 at Amazon
• $1,200 at Best Buy

Best of the best

Its high price may keep some buyers at bay, but the Galaxy S21 Ultra is an outstanding Android handset if you can afford it.

Best Unlocked Phone Battery: Moto G Power (2020)

There's no denying the greatness of the Galaxy S20 FE, but at the same time, there's no such thing as a one-size-fits-all smartphone. If you like the idea of the S20 FE, but it's just not clicking for you, check out the Moto G Power.

Right off the bat, the G Power is more appealing from a price perspective. The Galaxy S20 FE isn't the most expensive device by any means, but the G Power does help keep a few extra dollars in your wallet. The biggest sacrifice between the two phones is the G Power's camera quality. The 16MP primary camera does not deliver as good of images as you can capture with the Galaxy S20 FE. That said, the Moto G Power also gives you ultra-wide and macro cameras to expand your shooting possibilities.

The Moto G Power's pièce de résistance is its 5,000 mAh battery, which should easily get you between two and three days of continuous use before needing to charge up. Also on board is a solid 1080p display with slim bezels, good performance, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. You don't get NFC for contactless Google Pay payments, but the G Power retains excellent carrier compatibility with support for AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon.

On the software front, it's a mixed bag of good and bad. The Android 10 user interface that's offered out-of-the-box is wonderful, with Motorola giving you a Pixel-esque experience with a few smart additions here and there. Unfortunately, only one update to Android 11 is promised for the phone. Beyond that, you're limited to security patches and nothing more. There is a newer Moto G Power (2021) that has recently been released, but our initial impressions of the device left us wanting more out of it. Head to head, the 2020 version still wins out for us.

Pros

• Large 1080p display
• Up to three-day battery life
• Motorola's excellent software
• 3.5mm headphone jack
• Compatible with all U.S. carriers

Cons

• Doesn't have NFC for Google Pay
• Only promised one software update
• Cameras aren't the best

Best Unlocked Phone Battery

Moto G Power (2020)

• $200 at Amazon
• $250 at Best Buy
• $200 at Walmart

Another great option in the unlocked space

Whether you're interested in its unmatched battery life, good display, or headphone jack, the Moto G Power is a great choice.

Best Unlocked Phone Value: TCL 10L

After offering Android phones through its Alcatel and BlackBerry sub-brands, TCL has finally ventured into the Android landscape with its own self-branded handsets. The TCL 10L is one of the first releases as part of this strategy, and it's one of the best values you can find in 2020.

Despite its low price tag, the TCL 10L is loaded with features and specs that you wouldn't expect for a phone so cheap. This is immediately apparent with the display, a 6.53-inch LCD panel with a Full HD+ resolution. It uses TCL's own NXTVISION screen technology, allowing for more vibrant images and accurate colors. There's a total of four cameras on the back, consisting of a 48MP primary camera, 8MP ultra-wide camera, 2MP macro camera, and 2MP depth camera. Image quality is far from the best we've ever seen, but in that same breath, getting four cameras at this price is outstanding.

Under the hood, the TCL 10L has the Qualcomm Snapdragon 665 processor and 6GB of RAM, along with 64GB of internal storage that can be expanded with a microSD card. Also offered are NFC for Google Pay, a customizable "Smart Key" that can do whatever you want, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. Support for AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon is here, but Sprint customers will need to look elsewhere.

Pros

• Full HD+ display paired with slim bezels
• Generous amounts of RAM and storage
• Has NFC for Google Pay
• Very good fingerprint sensor
• Customizable Smart Key

Cons

• Generic plastic body
• Lackluster cameras

Best Unlocked Phone Value

TCL 10L

• $250 at Amazon
• $250 at Best Buy
• $250 at B&H

Lots of phone, not much money

Looking to get a generous bundle of specs and features for a great price? The TCL 10L is well worth your consideration.

Best Unlocked Phone Underdog: Samsung Galaxy A52

While the Galaxy S21 series may be the 2021 Samsung phones that everyone is talking about, there's another one out there that isn't getting nearly the attention it deserves. It's the Samsung Galaxy A52, and when you look at everything it's packing, you might be tempted to go out and buy one this very second.

Right off the bat, the Galaxy A52 catches your attention with its design. It's technically made out of plastic, but there's a matte finish that feels like glass. We're also digging the pastel colors on the back, which gives the A52 a charmingly distinct aesthetic. On the front of the phone, you'll find a 6.5-inch Super AMOLED display with a crisp resolution of 2400x1080 and a 90Hz refresh rate. Camera-wise, you have four sensors to choose from — a 64MP primary lens, 12MP ultra-wide lens, 5MP macro lens, and 5MP portrait lens.

Taking a look inside of the Galaxy A52, there's just as much to get excited about. You'll find a Qualcomm Snapdragon 720G processor, 6/8GB of RAM, 64/128/256GB of expandable storage, and a massive 4,500 mAh battery. Samsung also kept the 3.5mm headphone jack.

The Galaxy A52 is available unlocked in the U.S. and many other markets, and it is also available in a 5G variant. Depending on where you live in the world, you might also want to consider the similarly-specced Galaxy A72.

Pros

• 6.5-inch AMOLED display
• Four cameras on the back
• Gorgeous design
• Headphone jack and expandable storage
• Ample performance

Cons

• Lot of bloatware
• No 4K 60fps video recording

Best Unlocked Phone Underdog

Samsung Galaxy A52

• From $370 at Amazon
• $370 at B&H

Don't overlook this excellent handset

You may not have previously heard about the Galaxy A52, but everything about the phone makes it well worth considering.

Best Unlocked Phone Software: Nokia 7.2

2018's Nokia 7.1 was one of the best mid-rangers of that year, and following it up is the aptly-named Nokia 7.2. The Nokia 7.2 is a beautiful phone, with a striking glass back, aluminum frame, and a large 6.3-inch LCD that supports native HDR content and converts non-HDR content for a more colorful and vibrant picture no matter what you're doing.

This is another phone that puts a big emphasis on its cameras, with the Nokia 7.2 touting a primary 48-megapixel camera and an 8-megapixel ultra-wide camera. This allows for incredible flexibility with the types of pictures you can take. While it's a different approach than Pixel 4a's single camera, it'll likely be a preference for many people.

Elsewhere, the Nokia 7.2 checks just about every box you could ask for. It has a dedicated Google Assistant button for quickly prompting the AI, a rear-mounted fingerprint sensor, and is estimated to get two days of battery life on one charge. The phone also ships as part of Google's Android One program, meaning it has a clean user interface right out of the box and is guaranteed to get years of updates — specifically, it'll get major OS updates through September 2021 and monthly security patches through September 2022.

With that said, there are a couple of factors to keep in mind. The Snapdragon 660 processor and 4GB of RAM aren't the most powerful combo out there, but they should be perfectly fine for most people for daily use. Lastly, the phone only works on AT&T and T-Mobile in the U.S.

Pros:

• Large HDR display
• Incredible design
• Expandable storage
• Clean software
• Years of guaranteed updates

Cons:

• OK processor and RAM combo
• Doesn't work on Sprint or Verizon

Best Unlocked Phone Software

Nokia 7.2

• $300 at Amazon
• $350 at Best Buy

Android as it should be

Want a lot of bang for your buck? The Nokia 7.2 looks great, has two rear cameras and a gorgeous HDR display.

Best Compact Unlocked Phone: Google Pixel 4a

Small phones are just about an aberration these days, particularly good ones. On the iOS side, Apple fans are lucky enough to have access to smaller handsets like the iPhone SE (2020) and the iPhone 12 mini, but over here in Android land, the last good small phone we had was the Samsung Galaxy S10e, which is now nearly three years old. That was, until the Google Pixel 4a appeared in mid-2020.

It may seem odd to call a 5.81-inch display small to old-school smartphone users, but that's where we are today. The thing is, with edge-to-edge screens, the physical footprint of phones like the Pixel 4a can actually be significantly smaller than previous phones with tinier displays, and we're all the better for it. We're hard-pressed to find a phone that feels better for one-handed use than the Pixel 4a, in fact.

For half the price of its current flagship, the Pixel 5, the 4a delivers a nearly-identical experience. It has a less capable processor, but most folks won't experience any issues in day-to-day use. The primary cameras are the same, as is the imaging software that processes the photos. Plus, you still get all the Pixel-first goodies that you would with the more expensive Pixel 5, as well as three years of OS and security updates. However, you sacrifice a few premium features at this price point, such as 5G support, wireless charging, and official waterproofing.

The Pixel 4a is available unlocked from a wide variety of resellers and is the perfect phone to try out a new carrier or MVNO with. In fact, many carriers have been offering sweetheart deals that take even more off the already low price!

Pros:

• Great for one-handed use
• Google guarantees at least three years of software updates
• Best in class camera
• Insanely affordable

Cons:

• No ultra-wide or optical zoom lenses
• No 5G support
• No wireless charging
• No official IP water resistance

Best Compact Unlocked Phone

Google Pixel 4a

• $349 at Amazon
• $350 at Best Buy
• $349 at B&H

Compact is cool

The Pixel 4a is one of the very best compact phones in 2021, offering near-flagship specs in a smaller footprint.

Best Unlocked Phone Value Flagship: Google Pixel 5

Google issued a major course correction from the Pixel 4 line's mistakes — most notably by improving the battery life, adding in an ultra-wide-angle camera, and dropping the price. Those all sound like big wins to us and are why we say that the Google