AT&T has superb nationwide network coverage, so it's naturally one of the most popular carriers. That's good news for those of you who are itching to upgrade phones because AT&T has a large selection of devices with plenty of deals also on offer. Whether you're looking for the latest bleeding-edge flagship, a good value mid-tier device, or a budget phone, AT&T has something for you. To ensure carrier compatibility, every phone listed here is directly available through AT&T. If you're not necessarily tied to the carrier, you can check out our selection of the best phones of 2023 for devices that aren't available on AT&T.
Our favorite AT&T Phones of 2023
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra
The most feature-packed phone you can find on AT&T
The Galaxy S23 Ultra is one of the best phones on the market, packing an all-new 200MP sensor, a refined design, a custom Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy chipset, and One UI 5.1.
- 200MP camera captures more details
- Excellent display
- Large battery
- A bit too big and boxy to hold comfortably
- Not a huge upgrade over the Galaxy S22 Ultra
The Galaxy S23 Ultra has our vote for the best slab smartphone one can get right now on AT&T and anywhere in the U.S. market, for that matter. It has the best screen, the newest Qualcomm SoC, the most versatile camera system with the best zoom lenses, and one of the largest batteries around. The star of the show this year is the new 200MP camera that can shoot pixel-binned images or full-resolution large photos. There are other phones that are slightly better in some areas, but the Galaxy S23 Ultra is the best overall phone.
Powering everything is Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, and while Americans will have already been used to Qualcomm's SoC goodness. For other regions, this is also major news because previous Samsung phones in some regions, like Europe, used Samsung's inferior Exynos chip. For Americans know that this chip is going to be the best possible chip in Android until Qualcomm's next update.
There's also the S-Pen stylus, now included as part of the phone free of charge, and is housed in a silo slot inside the phone. This means you can sketch or annotate documents easier than with any other phone. Throw in all-day battery life thanks to the 5,000 mAh cell, 5G support, wireless charging, and the ability to output a computer-like UI to an external display (Samsung DeX), and you have a phone that can just do more than any other smartphone on the market. There is nothing another phone can do that this phone can't do — other than fold in half. Plus, when you have one of the most popular phones on the planet, you have the benefit of plenty of great accessories and cases to go with it.
Apple iPhone 14 Pro
Polished, powerful, with the best app ecosystem
The iPhone 14 Pro brings a new front design, upgraded cameras, and a new all-powerful Apple silicon for the most premium iPhone yet.
- It's the best iPhone out and that alone is enough for most Americans
- The brightest display in the smartphone space right now
- Excellent Apple ecosystem
- The cameras aren't as versatile nor reach as high a ceiling as the Pixel 7 Pro or Galaxy S23 Ultra
- Flat sides make the phone a bit uncomfortable to hold without a case
If you're an iPhone person and want the best Apple has to offer right now, then the Apple iPhone 14 Pro (or the larger Pro Max) is the phone for you. While the backside of the new iPhone 14 Pro phones look similar to last year's model, the front has a new eye-grabbing feature — the notch is gone, in favor of a pill-shaped cutout that Apple calls the Dynamic Island. This fancy moniker is not exactly unearned because Apple has designed a new notification system that plays nicely with the cutout. By using a black color, it blends into the cutout, allowing it to visually expand or even branch out into parts.
Is this a groundbreaking change that alters how you use the iPhone? No, but it does look very cool. The iPhone 14 Pro also got the processor upgrade to A16 Bionic, and it is the most powerful SoC by some distance again. The cameras also got a big upgrade — for the first time ever. The iPhone 14 Pro uses a 48MP main camera that then applies pixel-binning technology to produce 12MP photos with larger pixels. This, combined with new computational photography methods known as "Photonic Engine," greatly improves low-light performance.
So you may be wondering: why is the iPhone 14 Pro a runner-up? We think the Galaxy S23 Ultra has a more versatile camera system and a main camera that reaches a higher ceiling in terms of what it can do. And honestly — the person writing this list prefers Android to iOS. But if you're an iOS person, then disregard our opinion and consider the iPhone 14 Pro the best overall phone.
Google Pixel 7a
An almost flagship at a mid-range price
Google's latest mid-ranger, the Pixel 7a, is a significant upgrade over last year's model. It brings performance, display, camera, and more improvements, putting it almost on par with the flagship Pixel 7. That, combined with its affordable price, makes it the best phone for most people.
- Great value
- Almost flagship performance
- Impressive cameras
- Extremely slow charging
- 90Hz display isn't the best
This category caters to the average consumer who may not be the most demanding phone enthusiast but still wants a phone that performs well and doesn't feel outdated. Going by these standards, it's hard to beat Google's latest mid-ranger: the Pixel 7a. At roughly $2 per month with an AT&T plan or just $520 outright, the Pixel 7a is priced far more competitively than flagships from Apple and Samsung. However, it still has a flagship chipset, impressive cameras, a great software experience, and much more to offer.
That's because the Pixel 7a shares quite a few things with the flagship Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro while cutting corners in some areas to keep the price low. The device packs Google's second-gen flagship SoC, the Tensor G2, which excels in day-to-day use and at handling machine learning tasks. The phone features a greatly improved camera system with a 64MP primary shooter and a 13MP ultra-wide camera on the back. For selfies and video calls, it features another 13MP sensor on the front. These cameras perform almost as well as the ones on the Pixel 7, and you'd be hard-pressed to find any major differences between images clicked with the two phones.
The Tensor G2 chip, technically speaking, isn't as crazy powerful as the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, but it's a chip designed to run Google's software, and it's a highly intelligent one. Take a photo of someone, for example, and you can add a somewhat realistic motion blur around them to make them appear like they're moving at high speeds. Snapped a shot with unwanted people in the background? You can get rid of them with the Pixel's Magic Eraser. There's also the new Photo Unblur, which allows you to potentially salvage older blurry photos.
The software experience is a strong point, too. The Pixel's UI is whimsical and playful, with lots of helpful features such as passively identifying music playing nearby. The only things missing here are an ultra-high refresh rate display (it's just 90Hz here on the Pixel 7a), a dedicated zoom camera, and faster wired charging capabilities. If these aren't deal breakers for you, you should pick up a Pixel 7a right away.
Apple iPhone 14
The iPhone 14 is compact and powerful
The iPhone 14 is the base model of the 2022 iPhone series, offering a balanced set of features for the average user.
- Excellent software and performance
- Good price
- The notch is really unsightly in 2023
- Uses Apple's 2021 SoC instead of 2022
Compared to the Pro models, the standard iPhone 14 is a bit boring. It keeps the old notch design and doesn't even have Apple's newest and greatest silicon. But the iPhone 14 is still an improved version of a highly polished phone that's one of the most widely used around the world. While the A15 Bionic chip here is from 2021, it's been optimized to run better on the iPhone 14. Plus, if we're going by benchmark numbers, the A15 Bionic is still more powerful than most SoCs on the Android side.
The iPhone 14 cameras got improved over the 13's optics too. The image sensor and pixels are larger for the main and selfie camera, and this is paired with the new Photonic Engine to produce superior low-light photos compared to the iPhone 13 devices. The iPhone 14 also gains a new Action Mode, which uses EIS to crop into the picture for more stable videos. Crowd favorites like Cinematic Mode return from last year, too.
Battery life has also been improved thanks to software improvements. While the iPhone 13's battery life was just OK, the iPhone 14 is being promised by Apple to last all day. Throw in new crucial software features like Crash Detection and the most well-rounded ecosystem around. The iPhone 14 is a great option for someone looking for a new phone and doesn't need all the bells and whistles.
Apple iPhone 13 Mini
One of the last small and powerful phones of its kind
The iPhone 13 Mini is a tiny phone that packs plenty of power. If you dislike big phones, then this is for you.
- Small compared to other phones
- Still fast and powerful even in 2023
- Decent cameras
- The phone is almost a year and half old
If you are someone who really prefers small phones, you may want to snap up the iPhone 13 Mini while it's still on sale because Apple has discontinued the series. There was no iPhone 14 Mini announced at the last Apple event. AT&T still carries the iPhone 13 Mini, but once stock is out, there is a chance that's the last you'll see of this petite iPhone.
The camera system is not going to win any awards in 2023, but it's still capable, with a 12MP main and 12MP ultrawide providing the two most useful focal lengths. With a larger sensor and faster aperture than the iPhone 12 Mini, the iPhone 13 Mini's camera is a good performer at night, sometimes not even needing night mode. If you don't want to settle with the older hardware, the iPhone 14 is the only other phone that comes close to the form factor. But while it's compact compared to most other flagships on the market, it's nowhere as small as the iPhone 13 Mini.
Software is another area where you'll see benefits by going Apple over Android, as the iPhone gets steady updates longer than most Android devices. Another reason you may want to go for the Mini is Apple's rich and diverse ecosystem of products. If you own a MacBook or iPad, the iPhone 13 Mini plays very nicely with it. Send files back and forth with ease, record a voice memo on one device and have it show up on the other instantaneously, have your AirPods audio seamlessly switch from iPhone to iPad or vice versa, you get the point.
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4
An awesome phone that can double as a tablet
The Galaxy Z Fold 4 brings back all the great things about the Fold 3, plus a much better camera system, a slightly wider outside screen, and smarter software.
- Excellent build quality
- It's both a phone and a small tablet
- A bit thick and heavy
- Pricey compared to other phones listed
If you want the most capable and flashiest phone that's available on AT&T, it’s got to be the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4. A mini tablet that can fold in half to become a pocketable phone, the Galaxy Z Fold 4 is still an exciting form factor four generations in that breaks away from the traditional slab handsets.
In 2021 Samsung made the Galaxy Z Fold 3 more durable by adding IPX8 water resistance and more versatility with S Pen support. Both of these returned in this 2022 model, plus Samsung made further refinements. The first improvement is Samsung shaved the protruding hinge a bit, so it no longer sticks out as much on the Fold 4 as in previous Folds. Then, Samsung gave the space saved to the outside display. While that screen still measures 6.2 inches, it is now slightly wider for a slightly less cramped 23.1:9 aspect ratio. The Fold 4 in folded form is still a tall candy bar shape, but less so than before.
Samsung also shaved another few grams off the weight. At 263g, this is the second-lightest large foldable phone on the market and the lightest one available in North America. The Fold 4 also got much-improved cameras, with a 50MP main camera and a 3X telephoto zoom lens that's much better than the mediocre 2X zoom lens last year. The camera experience of the Fold 4 has definitely leveled up, though it is still not Samsung's best of the best optics.
But if you want this device for fun, you can do so too. The Galaxy Z Fold 4 offers a 7.6-inch large Samsung AMOLED screen with 120Hz that is ideal for gaming and video watching, and Flex Mode (the ability for the hinge to stay halfway folded) allows the Galaxy Z Fold 4 to sit in an L-shape, like a laptop. This means hands-free video calls or group selfies, or time-lapses. The outside Cover Screen, as mentioned, is a bit wider than last year but is still very easy to use one-handed. But if you're not a fan of the tall form factor, you can pick up the Google Pixel Fold instead. It's much more compact in comparison and easier to use with one hand, making it one of the best foldable phones of 2023.
Motorola Razr+ (2023)
The best clamshell foldable on the market
Motorola Razr+ (2023) is a clamshell foldable phone with a large 1:1 3.6-inch outside screen that allows the user to get a lot done without unfolding the phone.
- Large cover screen with app support
- Impressive foldable display with 165Hz refresh rate
- Sleek form factor
- Mediocre camera performance
- Average battery life
Although Motorola has released a couple of clamshell foldables in the last few years, its latest release is the first to give Samsung's Galaxy Z Flip lineup real competition. The Motorola Razr+ (2023) brings several important changes over its predecessors, but its updated cover screen is what makes it the best clamshell foldable current on the market. Not only is it much larger compared to the one on the Galaxy Z Flip 4, but it also offers a 144Hz refresh rate and app support. This means you can do pretty much everything on the device without ever feeling the need to open the main display.
Along with the updated cover screen, the Motorola Razr+ (2023) packs Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chip, 8GB of RAM, 256GB of UFS 3.1 storage, and a massive 6.9-inch main OLED display with a 165Hz refresh rate. The device also features a triple camera setup consisting of a 12MP main camera, a 13MP ultra-wide camera, and a 32MP selfie shooter. Rounding off the hardware is a decent-sized 3,800mAh battery with 30W wired and 5W wireless fast charging support. You also get an IP52 rating for dust and water resistance and a near-stock Android experience on top of Android 13.
The Motorola Razr+ is one of the company's best phones in a while, and while the Galaxy Z Flip 5 is just around the corner, it will likely remain the best clamshell foldable this year. That's because while Samsung's latest flip phone may pack better internals, leaks suggest that its cover screen isn't nearly as large as the one on the Razr+ (2023). As such, we don't expect to see any cover screen functionality improvements in the upcoming model. However, we'll have to wait a while to see how well the Galaxy Z Flip 5 stacks up against the Motorola Razr+ (2023).
Samsung Galaxy A54 5G
The Galaxy A54 offers a great experience for the price
The Samsung Galaxy A54 is a great mid-range phone. It offers a sleek design, a beautiful 120Hz display, plenty of power under the hood, and a triple camera setup on the back.
- Premium design and build quality
- Great performance for the price
- Not as fast or smooth as Samsung's flagships
- Cameras are above average at best
The Galaxy A53 was among the best affordable Android phones last year, and its successor, the Galaxy A54, has taken its place this year. Although a minor upgrade, the newer model brings a couple of welcome changes, including an updated SoC, enhanced design, more premium build quality, and a brighter display. But the best part is that it costs the same as the Galaxy A53 at launch despite the upgrades.
The Galaxy A54 packs a relatively small 6.4-inch FHD+ AMOLED panel that refreshes at 120Hz and offers Samsung's trademark punchy, vibrant visuals. Design-wise, it looks virtually indistinguishable from Samsung's flagship Galaxy S23, and now that it has a glass back, it feels equally as premium. On the inside, Samsung has packed the newer Exynos chipset that offers a minor boost in performance. That, coupled with the software improvements, makes the Galaxy A54 feel as smooth as Samsung's flagships in most day-to-day tasks. While you will notice slight hiccups here and there, and performance in demanding tasks won't be as impressive, the Galaxy A54 offers an exceptional experience for its price.
The Galaxy A54 might seem like a downgrade in the camera department as it features one fewer camera and has a 50MP main sensor instead of a 64MP sensor like the Galaxy A53. But the camera performance is better overall, especially in low light, as the Galaxy A54 has a bigger main sensor. While the Galaxy A54 still packs a 5,000mAh battery, it offers slightly better battery life thanks to its more power-efficient chipset and smaller display. The Galaxy A54 won't blow your socks off by any means, but it's a capable mid-range phone for your daily needs.
Samsung Galaxy A14 5G
A great phone for those on a tight budget
The Samsung Galaxy A14 is an affordable smartphone with a beautiful display, plenty of power, and a compact design.
- Affordable
- Large 90Hz refresh rate display
- 50MP camera is great for the price
- Secondary cameras aren't great
- Slow charging
- Don't expect incredible performance
If all the other phones on this list don't fit your budget, you'll have to settle with the Samsung Galaxy A14. It's a budget-friendly 5G phone that offers great value for your money. Although it costs just $200, it packs MediaTek's Dimensity 700 chipset, which blazes through most basic tasks, like browsing the web, watching videos, or sending emails. But don't expect it to offer great performance in demanding games or a smooth multitasking experience, as it only features 4GB RAM.
The Galaxy A14 sports a 6.6-inch FHD+ display that refreshes at 90Hz, which is great for a phone at this price point. But it features a teardrop-style notch to house the selfie shooter, which might be a deal breaker for some. Speaking of cameras, the device features a 50MP main sensor that can capture decent photos in well-lit environments, and it's paired with 2MP macro and depth sensors that don't add much value. Over on the front, you get a passable 13MP selfie camera.
Like the more expensive Galaxy A54, Samsung offers a massive 5,000mAh battery on the Galaxy A14. The large battery, coupled with the Dimensity 7000 chipset and 90Hz display, results in improved endurance, allowing you to use the phone for well over a day on a single charge. Sadly, the phone only offers 15W wired charging support, so it takes quite a while to charge from 0 to 100%.
On the software front, you get One UI 5 based on Android 13, which offers the same features as more pricey phones from Samsung. The phone will receive two platform upgrades and four years of security updates, meaning that you can get great value out of it, provided you keep it safe with a protective case.
Best AT&T Phones: The verdict
At the top of AT&T's list of offerings, we have options from Samsung and Apple that are worth considering if you're looking into phones that look and feel premium and high-end. Then we have options trickling down to everything from compact phones all the way to very affordable devices. All of these phones can be acquired directly through AT&T and can be paid for in monthly installments with trade-in benefits and more. Check out the respective listings for more specific terms and conditions.
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra
The Galaxy S23 Ultra is one of the best phones on the market, packing an all-new 200MP sensor, a refined design, a custom Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy chipset, and One UI 5.1.
If I had to recommend one, I'd say that most users are going to be very happy with the Pixel 7a or iPhone 14. But for the ultimate do-it-all phone, you'll likely want the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra if the price is no issue. The Galaxy Z Fold 4 and Galaxy Z Flip 4 are also great picks if you want to experience a new form factor, but be prepared to shell out big bucks if you plan on buying these phones.