Best Metro by T-Mobile phones 2024

Samsung Galaxy S24 FE held in the hand.
(Image credit: Future)

The best Metro by T-Mobile phones offer some decent choices for T-Mobile's pre-paid carrier. You can go for a top notch handset or budget-friendly option, all of which are guaranteed to work on the network.

Metro's performance is comparable to parent network T-Mobile's, making Metro the best performing prepaid carrier we tested. It is definitely one of the best prepaid options on the market.

Many of the same phones offered by the likes of T-Mobile, AT&T, and Verizon are available through Metro by T-Mobile. And some of those happen to be the best phones you can buy right now. Many new models are often offered right at launch, too.

Here are the best phones Metro offers right now.

The best Metro by T-Mobile phones

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Samsung Galaxy A35 back casing in different colors.

(Image credit: Future)
The best Metro by T-Mobile phone overall

Specifications

Display: 6.6-inch AMOLED (2340 x 1080)
CPU: Exynos 1380
RAM: 6GB, 8GB
Storage / Expandable: 128GB, 256GB / Yes
Rear cameras: 50MP f/1.8 main, 8MP f/2.2 ultrawide, 5MP f/2.4 macro
Front camera: 13MP f/2.2 selfie
Weight: 7.34 ounces
Battery life (Hrs:Mins): N/A

Reasons to buy

+
Affordable cost
+
Sharp looking display
+
Ample camera features

Reasons to avoid

-
Generic looking design

Samsung has followed up last year mid-range champ in the Galaxy A54 with the Galaxy A55, but sadly it's not coming stateside. Instead, we get access to the Galaxy A35. Nevertheless, the A35 features a healthy set of rear cameras featuring the same 50MP lens that Samsung used for the pricier Galaxy S24 flagship. That helps the Galaxy A35 take pictures that measure up well against most camera phones, particularly budget models.

The Exynos 1380 chipset powering the Galaxy A35 doesn't turn in blazing performance, but it manages to deliver fluid results navigating around the interface, which helps too that it's packing a 120Hz display refresh rate. Speaking of its display, the Super AMOLED panel delivers outstanding viewing angles and rich colors that make video watching such an entertaining experience. Add all those features together, and you get quite a value-packed phone for under $500.

Read our full Samsung Galaxy A35 hands-on review.

iPhone SE 2022 back of phone

iPhone SE 2022 back of phone (Image credit: Future)
The best iPhone at Metro by T-Mobile

Specifications

Display: 4.7-inch LCD (1344 x 750)
CPU: A15 Bionic
RAM: 4GB
Storage / Expandable: 64GB, 128GB, 256GB / No
Rear camera: 12MP (ƒ/1.8)
Front camera: 7MP (ƒ/2.2)
Weight: 5 ounces

Reasons to buy

+
Fastest performance for the money
+
Very good photo quality
+
More durable design

Reasons to avoid

-
No Night mode for camera
-
Doesn't support mmWave 5G

The iPhone SE is the cheapest iPhone Apple offers, and it packs stellar performance for a very easy-to-stomach $429 price. Buyers receive an A15 Bionic CPU — the very same one that debuted with the iPhone 13 — as well as a 12-megapixel camera system that benefits from the company's latest computational photography tricks. (Well, except for Night mode.)

The iPhone SE surely doesn't have the best battery life of any iPhone, given its relatively tiny battery. You'll probably want to spend an extra $50 and upgrade to 128GB of storage as well, if you can. But for the price, the SE's premium features — like wireless charging and water resistance — make it well worth a look for Metro by T-Mobile customers, especially since it supports sub-6GHz and C-band 5G.

Read our full iPhone SE (2022) review.

OnePlus Nord N30 5G review

(Image credit: Tom's Guide)
A great budget 5G option at Metro

Specifications

Display: 6.72-inch LCD (2400 x 1080)
CPU: Snapdragon 695 5G
RAM: 8GB
Storage / Expandable: 128GB / Yes
Rear camera: 64MP (f/1.8) main, 2MP (f/2.4) monochrome, 2MP (f/2.4) macro
Front camera: 16MP (f/2.4)
Weight: 6.9 ounces
Battery life (Hrs:Mins): 12:30 (120Hz); 12:42 (60Hz)

Reasons to buy

+
Long battery endurance
+
Surprisingly fast wired charging
+
Boasts 120Hz refresh rate

Reasons to avoid

-
Lacks ultrawide camera
-
Camera performance is inconsistent

The OnePlus Nord N30 5G is a reminder that 5G phones don't have to break the bank. Coming in at $279 — a shockingly low price for a device that can connect with T-Mobile's 5G network — the OnePlus Nord N30 5G is one of the best bangs for your buck.

Opt for this phone, and you can expect long battery life — almost eleven and a half hours on our test. The cameras perform okay in daylight, though we found it strange lacking a proper ultrawide camera. And you also get a 6.72-inch AMOLED display on the Nord N30 5G. There are definitely compromises, but this is the best 5G value on Metro.

Read our full OnePlus Nord N30 5G review.

iPhone 16 Pro Max shown in hand

(Image credit: Tom's Guide)
Another big leap from Apple

Specifications

Display: 6.9-inch OLED (2868 x 1320)
CPU: A18 Pro
RAM: N/A
Storage / Expandable: 256GB, 512GB, 1TB / No
Rear camera: 48MP main (f/1.78), 48MP ultrawide (f2.2), 12MP telephoto w/ 5x zoom (f/2.8)
Front camera: 12MP TrueDepth (f/1.9)
Weight: 8 ounces
Battery life (Hrs:Mins): 17:38

Reasons to buy

+
Biggest screen yet
+
Obscene battery life
+
Handy Camera Control
+
Impressive Audio Mix for videos
+
Much improved Siri
+
Promising Apple Intelligence features

Reasons to avoid

-
larger design makes it harder to use in one hand
-
Same slow charging speeds (again)
-
Apple Intelligence a work in progress

Apple’s latest and greatest smartphone, the iPhone 16 Pro Max, wowed people everywhere with just how impressive it is. It’s even bigger, more beautiful than ever before, and it does everything you could possibly want it to do. Apple refreshed the ultrawide camera, making it much more equipped for low light and macro photography. Battery life hits a new reocrd for any iPhone and the performance is incredibly impressive.

New this year is a Camera Control button that better gives shutterbugs more control with the camera, along with new Apple Intelligence features that transforms the way it's used for everything.

If anything, the biggest complaint you could leverage against the iPhone 16 Pro Max is that it's still expensive. Otherwise, you have a very good device here and it’s by far one of the best devices that Metro has to offer.

Read our full iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max reviews.

Apple iPhone 16 held in the hand.

(Image credit: Future)
Still a great option

Specifications

Display: 6.1-inch OLED (2556 x 1179)
CPU: A18 Bionic
RAM: N/A
Storage / Expandable: 128GB, 256GB, 512GB / No
Rear cameras: 48MP (f/1.6), 12MP (f/2.2)
Front camera: 12MP (f/1.9)
Weight: 6 ounces
Battery life (Hrs:Mins): 13:19

Reasons to buy

+
Stylish design with bold colors
+
Powerful A18 chip performance
+
Improved ultrawide camera for macro photography
+
Spatial photo and video support

Reasons to avoid

-
-60Hz refresh rate is dated
-
Apple Intelligence features not really innovative

It's the iPhone 16 is the all-around phone for everyone. Apple's standard iPhone delivers a fantastic camera experience in a compact design. That's partly due to how it shares a similar main camera to the iPhone 16 Pro, delivering sharp details and good low light performance. It's also incredibly snappy thanks to the powerful A18 processor.

Other highlights include a brighter 6.1-inch display and a smaller notch up top so you get more screen real estate. The biggest improvement is battery life, as we saw about 13.4 hours of endurance, which is an improvement of over 1.5 hours from the iPhone 15. Add in a base 128GB of storage for your $799 and you can’t go wrong with this iPhone.

Read our full iPhone 16 review.

Samsung Galaxy S24 FE held in the hand.

(Image credit: Future)
Samsung’s killer value

Specifications

Display: 6.7-inch AMOLED (2340 x 1080)
CPU: Exynos 2400e
RAM: 8GB
Storage / Expandable: 128GB, 256GB / No
Rear camera: 50MP main (f/1.8), 12MP ultrawide (f/2.2), 8MP telephoto (f/2.2) with 3x optical zoom
Front camera: 10MP (f/2.4)
Weight: 7.51 ounces
Battery life (Hrs:Mins): 11:25

Reasons to buy

+
Robust software experience
+
A lot more brilliant looking screen
+
Outstanding value
+
7 years of software support

Reasons to avoid

-
Battery life could be better
-
Weak selfie camera

If the latest Galaxy S flagships at Metro are too much for your budget, the carrier does offer the Samsung Galaxy S24 FE, a lower-cost version of some earlier Galaxy S models. You get a beautiful and much larger 6.7-inch 120Hz display, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 CPU, and great camera performance with the triple lens setup.

One complaint about the Galaxy S24 FE is that the front selfie camera performance is a bit underwhelming, but the triple camera arrangement. The phone also feels rather heavy and doesn’t feel as premium as some other phones, but that's a compromise that's more than acceptable given what you get for your money.

Read our full Galaxy S24 FE review.

Motorola Razr 2024 Review.

(Image credit: Future)
An affordable foldable phone

Specifications

Display: 6.9-inch pOLED (2640x1080)
CPU: MediaTek Dimensity 7300X
RAM: 8GB
Storage / Expandable: 256GB
Rear cameras: 50MP main (f/1.7), 13MP ultrawide (f/2.2)
Front camera: 32MP (f/2.4)
Weight: 6.63 ounces
Battery life (Hrs:Mins): 14:37

Reasons to buy

+
Substantially larger outer screen
+
Long lasting battery life
+
Super bright main display
+
Much more affordable than other foldables

Reasons to avoid

-
Camera still struggles in low light
-
Shorter 3 years of major Android updates

Who says foldable phones can't be cheap? Metro by T-Mobile takes the already affordable Motorola Razr 2024 and discounts it down by even more. Since it's a flip-style phone, it does things you can't do with a traditional slate smartphone — like being able to take selfies hands-free by folding it in half.

Even more impressive is that the cameras are quite good, especially for a foldable, since it does decent with low light. And even though it's a slim phone, it offers outstanding long battery life that can easily get you through the day.

Read our full Razr 2024 review.

iPhone 12

(Image credit: Future)
An older iPhone for less

Specifications

Display: 6.1-inch OLED (2532 x 1170)
CPU: A14 Bionic
RAM: 4GB
Storage / Expandable: 64GB, 128GB, 256GB / No
Rear cameras: 12MP (f/1.6), 12MP (f/2.4)
Front camera: 12MP (f/2.4)
Weight: 5.78 ounces
Battery life (Hrs:Mins): 8:25

Reasons to buy

+
Stella dual camera performance
+
Fast A14 Bionic performance
+
Slim, compact design

Reasons to avoid

-
64GB starting storage option
-
Lack optical zoom

The iPhone 12 is the best new iPhone for those looking for an affordable option. For $629, you get improved cameras across the board with better low-light performance (thanks to Photonic Engine), and speedy graphics processing courtesy of the A14 Bionic chip.

While the overall design remains similar to the previous model, it's subtle changes make it easy to handle one handed. The only thing we wish Apple offered is a 120Hz display at this price, but overall the iPhone 12 is a winner.

Read our full iPhone 12 review.

How to choose the best Metro by T-Mobile phone for you

While we regularly update our best Metro by T-Mobile phones page with the carrier's most compelling deals, you'll want to check the network's smartphones store page for the latest and greatest offers — especially if you're interested in switching from a rival carrier. Metro, like all wireless providers, offers the best discounts for new customers who bring their numbers over with them.

Otherwise, Metro offers a complete range of devices across all prices, so prospective buyers should consider those most critical smartphone features — like battery life, performance and camera quality — when choosing a new handset. Cheaper models, like the Galaxy A20 and Moto G7 Power, tend to prioritize battery life above those other factors. In other words, if longevity on a charge is all you need, you could be in an ideal position to save.

However, if premium specs, design and a great camera are really important to you, it's a better idea to look to one of the iPhones or Samsung Galaxy S devices on this list. They are more expensive, but their capabilities far outshine those of the less-expensive models Metro offers. They'll also likely last you a few more years and are sure to be supported with more frequent software updates going forward.

How we test smartphones

In order for a smartphone to make our best phone list, it needs to excel on several tests that we run on every handset. We perform some of these tests in our labs and some in the real world.

When it comes to performance, we rely on such synthetic benchmarks as Geekbench 5 and 3DMark to measure graphics performance. These tests allow us to compare performance across iPhones and Android devices. We also run a real-world video transcoding test on each phone using the Adobe Premiere Rush app and time the result. (We unfortunately have to skip this test on some phones due to app compatibility issues, but we attempt this benchmark with each device we get in to review.)

To measure the quality of a phone's display, we perform lab tests to determine the brightness of the panel (in nits), as well as how colorful each screen is (DCI-P3 color gamut). In these cases, higher numbers are better. We also measure color accuracy of each panel with a Delta-E rating, where lower numbers are better and score of 0 is perfect.

One of the most important tests we run is the Tom's Guide battery test. We run a web surfing test over 5G (or 4G if the phone doesn't have 5G support) at 150 nits of screen brightness until the battery gives out. In general, a phone that lasts 10 hours or more is good, and anything above 11 hours makes our list of the best phone battery life.

Last but not least, we take the best phones out in the field to take photos outdoors, indoors and at night in low light to see how they perform versus their closest competitors. We take shots of landscapes, food, portraits and more, and also allow you to be the judge with side-by-side comparisons in our reviews.

John Velasco
Senior Channel Editor for Phones

John’s a senior editor covering phones for Tom’s Guide. He’s no stranger in this area having covered mobile phones and gadgets since 2008 when he started his career. On top of his editor duties, he’s a seasoned videographer being in front and behind the camera producing YouTube videos. Previously, he held editor roles with PhoneArena, Android Authority, Digital Trends, and SPY. Outside of tech, he enjoys producing mini documentaries and fun social clips for small businesses, enjoying the beach life at the Jersey Shore, and recently becoming a first time homeowner.

With contributions from