T-Mobile is one of the big three here in the US. It is up there with AT&T and Verizon as the major carriers that Americans can use their smartphones on. It acquired Sprint a few years ago, and also US Cellular more recently. Which brought the big four carriers down to just three. However, T-Mobile is now much closer in size to AT&T and Verizon, than Sprint and T-Mobile were before the merger.
T-Mobile likes to cater more to the tech nerds out there. So you’ll find a lot of phones that are only available on T-Mobile here, like the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra and iPhone 16 Pro, Google Pixel 9 Pro, among others. So you’ll see some here that are not on our other lists.
Best Smartphone: Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra
To no one’s surprise, the best smartphone you can buy at T-Mobile right now is the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra. Samsung announced the Galaxy S25 series back in January of 2025, and it quickly became one of the best phones ever released.
The Galaxy S24 Ultra isn’t cheap; in fact, it starts at $1,299, that’s a $100 increase over its predecessor. But with that price, you are getting a phone with a 6.9-inch QHD+ 120Hz AMOLED display, the Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy, 12GB of RAM, and 256GB of storage. All are powered by a 5,000mAh capacity battery. On top of all of that, Samsung is promising seven years of updates too.
One of the more controversial changes that Samsung made this year with the Galaxy S25 Ultra is with the S Pen. Samsung removed the Bluetooth connectivity from the S Pen, meaning that you can’t use Air Actions now. This was used as a remote shutter for the camera, and also a slew of gestures for controlling your phone. Samsung says that less than 1% of users used this feature, so they were able to remove it.
Finally, let’s talk AI. Samsung added Galaxy AI to the Galaxy S25 series. This is a suite of AI features that are backed by Google’s Gemini and includes some really useful features. Some of the new features include Now Brief, and Audio Eraser.
Samsung’s Galaxy S25 Ultra is available in four colors: Titanium Black, Titanium Gray, Titanium SilverBlue, and Titanium WhiteSilver. However, if you purchase from Samsung.com, you can choose from Titanium JetBlack, Titanium JadeGreen and Titanium Pinkgold.
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Best Small Phone: Samsung Galaxy S25
When it comes to small phones, you really can’t get anything better than the Galaxy S25, at least from T-Mobile. The Samsung Galaxy S25 comes in with a 6.2-inch display, and measures 146.9 x 70.5 x 7.2 mm, so it’s pretty small, especially when compared to things like the Galaxy S25 Ultra or the OnePlus 13. Even though most people wouldn’t really call this a “small” smartphone, it is about as small as you’re going to get in 2025.
Internally, the Galaxy S25 sports the Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy, with 12GB of RAM and 128GB of storage onboard. Samsung has also equipped the Galaxy S25 with a triple-camera setup, including a 50-megapixel main sensor, a 10-megapixel 3x optical zoom lens, and a 12-megapixel ultrawide sensor. All are powered by a 4,000mAh capacity battery that can charge at 25W wired or 15W wireless.
Much like the Galaxy S25 Ultra, the Galaxy S25 has all of the same Galaxy AI features too. With the exception of some camera features due to the difference in hardware. But things like Chat Assist, Live Translate, and more are available. And they are actually really useful.
Finally, the Galaxy S25 comes in four colors: Navy, Mint, Icyblue, and SilverShadow. Of course you can get even more from Samsung’s website, which includes BlueBlack, CoralRed, and Pinkgold.
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Best iPhone: Apple iPhone 16 Pro
While some might argue that the iPhone 16 is the best iPhone to buy, I’d argue that it’s the iPhone 16 Pro. Especially if you’re planning to keep it for a few years. The iPhone 16 Pro is more future-proof and has more upgrades than the standard iPhone 16, like the titanium sides. Some might think the titanium is a gimmick, but it does help with durability while making the phone lighter. And that’s something we can all appreciate after years of Apple’s stainless steel frames.
T-Mobile does offer the iPhone 16 Pro in all four colors: Desert Titanium, White Titanium, Black Titanium, and Natural Titanium. I personally prefer the Desert Titanium, as that is my personal iPhone 16 Pro color. But many do like that natural look, which does look really great on this phone.
Of course, one of the big selling points of the iPhone 16 series this year is Apple Intelligence, which hasn’t really shown up yet. It will be coming in the future with future updates, but as of right now, it’s not a good reason to get the iPhone 16 Pro. It does have some pretty cool features, though like notification summaries, priority notifications and writing tools. But some of the more useful features like the new Siri, have been delayed by quite a bit.
Apple did outfit the iPhone 16 Pro with a new A18 Pro chipset, which has some incredible performance. With single-core scores still beating the Snapdragon 8 Elite which is clocked at 4.32GHz. It also has 8GB of RAM, which still performs pretty great even with all of this AI.
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Best Large iPhone: Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max
If price were no option, the iPhone 16 Pro Max would be the best iPhone you can buy. It has the latest and greatest everything you could want in an iPhone. Except maybe battery life. If you prefer battery life over things like a telephoto camera, a 120Hz display, titanium build, and a few other things, then you might want the iPhone 16 Plus, which is $300 less.
With the iPhone 16 Pro Max, you’re getting good battery life, just not the God-like battery life we’ve seen on past Pro Max phones like the iPhone 13 Pro Max which would literally last me 2-3 days on a charge. The iPhone 16 Pro Max doesn’t quite last that long for me these days. But it does get me through a day with ease. Sometimes, it takes a day and a half, depending on how much I’m using it.
This year, Apple made some pretty big upgrades to the iPhone 15 Pro Max, including a new telephoto camera. The zoom camera now does 5x optical zoom, it’s the only iPhone that has this feature, so far. If you’re one that takes a lot of zoom shots, then this might be worth the money. Since the iPhone 15 Pro does 3x, and the non-Pro iPhone 16 models do only 2x optical zoom.
It is using a titanium frame this year, which is a nice upgrade, primarily because it makes the phone lighter than its predecessor. Stainless Steel, while strong, was pretty heavy and shiny. Titanium is neither one of those. In fact, it’s even stronger, while being lighter and having a matte finish. This is one of the first times in a long time I’ve used an iPhone without a case, it just feels so great in the hand.
Now let’s talk updates. Apple doesn’t guarantee a certain number of updates, so we don’t know if they’ll do seven years like Google and Samsung are starting to do. But if we look at recent history, Apple does typically do six or seven years of updates. So if you buy this phone in 2024, it’ll be supported for quite some time.
Finally, yes there is a new iPhone on the horizon. It’s going to come out in September as it does every year. But we don’t expect it to be a huge upgrade. It’ll be another incremental upgrade, as we’ve seen for basically the past decade with the iPhone. And that’s because Apple knows you won’t be upgrading every single year.
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Best Cheap Phone: Samsung Galaxy S24 FE
The Galaxy S24 FE is actually not all that cheap of a phone, with an MSRP of $649, or you can get it for $25/month for 24 months at T-Mobile. But typically, when you start getting into the cheaper phones that are cheaper than this, they leave you with a pretty bad experience. The Galaxy S23 FE is able to provide a happy medium here, with a pretty good experience at a pretty good price.
Samsung’s Galaxy S24 FE does have some older specs, with the Exynos 2400e, powered by 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. It also has a 6.7-inch FHD+ 120Hz display powered by a 4700mAh capacity battery. When Samsung announced the Galaxy S24 FE, I asked them why. What’s the point of this phone? Well, basically, Samsung wants something between the Galaxy S24 and S24+ but at a lower price. This time around, the Galaxy S24 FE has the same size display as the S24+, unlike previous years, but at a much lower price.
At $649, this does make it more expensive than, say, a Pixel 9a or iPhone 16e, but you’re likely getting a much better experience here, especially if you prefer to use Samsung and One UI over a Pixel and its software. And you’re still getting a pretty good camera setup here, with a 50-megapixel main sensor, an 8-megapixel telephoto, and a 12-megapixel ultrawide on-board here.
If you want a good Samsung phone, at a good price, the Galaxy S24 FE is the best way to go. Others like the Galaxy A56 5G will really lack in a few key areas like the display, performance and camera.
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Best Camera Phone: Google Pixel 9 Pro
Since the Google Pixel 9 Pro launched in August, it’s been hard for me to put it down. Firstly, because I was able to snag it in the Bay blue color – the best color; secondly, I absolutely love Google’s Pixel software. And third, the camera. Google, ever since launching the Pixel brand, has taken the cameras very seriously and often times offers the best camera on Android. Though that is now much more of a debate than it had been in recent years, with the AI additions, I think it’s still the best.
Inside the Google Pixel 9 Pro, we’re looking at a Tensor G4 processor, 16GB of RAM, and 128GB of storage. Unfortunately, Google is still providing 128GB of storage at $1,099 (or $45.84/month for 24 months). A bump in base storage would have been nice, especially since T-Mobile is only carrying the 128GB model and not the 256GB, 512GB, or 1TB model. But it is what it is.
Google’s cameras here still take incredible shots. It is still one of the few smartphone cameras that is able to take a great photo of my dog. She’s an American Staffordshire Terrier, so she’s black and brown and some white, making it tough to take photos of her face without it being blurry since she doesn’t sit still for very long. Somehow, the Pixel is able to get it nice and clear; Samsung has come close, but not quite on the same level as the Pixel.
On top of that, Google has also included some really incredible AI features to the camera this year, which has resulted in The Verge asking repeatedly, “What is a photo?” and he’s not wrong. You can really manipulate photos by replacing the sky, removing objects, and a lot more with Magic Editor.
If you’re not sold on buying a Pixel 9 Pro yet, here’s one more thing that might make the decision for you. Google is promising seven years of software updates. This isn’t just security updates, but Android OS, feature drops, and security updates until August 2031. That is pretty incredible and unmatched by basically everyone. Apple typically launches new iOS updates for around seven years on its phones, but it is not a guarantee like Google is doing here.
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Best Foldable Smartphone: Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6
T-Mobile doesn’t actually sell that many foldables surprisingly. It’s basically just three options available at T-Mobile: Galaxy Z Fold 6, Galaxy Z Flip 6 or the Pixel 9 Pro Fold. And we believe that the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 is the best option for most people. It’s not a cheap phone, like most foldables, with a starting price of $1,799, but T-Mobile does typically have promos where you can get it half off or close to half off.
With the Galaxy Z Fold 6, Samsung is including the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy, 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. It also has a 4400mAh capacity battery to boot. Those are some pretty good specs for a foldable phone, and it also sports a 50-megapixel main sensor on the back, a 10-megapixel telephoto for 3x optical zoom, and a 12-megapixel ultrawide. Pretty much identical to what the Galaxy S24 sports right now.
Samsung has a pretty skinny outside display here, which is 6.3 inches. It works, but you’re going to want to open the display a lot more often. That internal display is a 7.6-inch display that is almost square. So it’s great for using two apps side-by-side, but when you’re not using multiple apps at a time, it’s a tougher experience, unfortunately.
These days, there are a lot of apps that are optimized for Foldables, including Instagram surprisingly. Instagram has moved the lower navigation bar to the left side, making it easier to navigate and so that posts don’t take up the entire screen.
When we reviewed the Galaxy Z Fold 6 last year, we really liked it. It ended up being a pretty major upgrade over the Galaxy Z Fold 5, but there are still some better foldables on the market from other companies not in the US. So Samsung does have some catching up to do. The Galaxy Z Fold 6 is available in five colors: Shadow, Pink and Navy.
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