AT&T’s many forms of « 5G » mean you need to be smart about which phone you choose. We help cut through the noise to pick the right one.
Now that you’ve chosen AT&T as your carrier, it’s time to pick a phone. Choices are broader than ever, as AT&T has largely gotten rid of phone subsidies. Most people still buy their phones from their carrier with the help of monthly payment plans or fast-upgrade plans such as AT&T Next Up. But there’s no overall cost penalty to buying an unlocked phone anymore, and AT&T supports more unlocked devices than any other US carrier. That puts a lot of choices at your fingertips, so we’re here to help narrow them down. AT&T placed second in our Fastest Mobile Networks tests in 2021, with an excellent 4G network held back a bit by a muddled 5G situation. AT&T customers are getting excellent LTE performance, as long as they ignore the icon in the status bar: AT&T sells its 4G network as 5G Evolution or « 5GE » (though it isn’t 5G) and also runs a « nationwide 5G » network that is, in general, no faster than its 4G network. We were also impressed by AT&T’s performance in rural areas. Even though AT&T lacks good 5G, you still need a relatively recent phone to take advantage of AT&T’s high-quality 4G.
