Best Metro by T-Mobile phones 2024

 best metro by t-mobile phones
(Image credit: Tom's Guide)

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 A54 front display with bezels

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

Specifications

Display: 6.4-inch OLED (2340 x 1080)
CPU: Exynos 1380
RAM: 6GB, 8GB
Storage / Expandable: 128GB, 256GB / Yes
Rear cameras: 50MP main (f/1.8), 12MP ultrawide (f/2.2), 5MP macro (f/2.4)
Front camera: 32MP (f/2.2)
Weight: 7.1 ounces
Battery life (Hrs:Mins): 10:20 (adaptive); 11:46 (60Hz)

Reasons to buy

+
Excellent 50MP main camera
+
Bright, colorful display with adaptive refresh rate
+
Better-than-average battery life

Reasons to avoid

-
No telephoto lens
-
No wireless charging

Samsung has followed up last year's Galaxy A53 — which is still available at Metro — with an even better midrange device. The Galaxy A54 features a much improved rear camera featuring the same 50MP lens that Samsung used for the pricier Galaxy S23 flagship. That helps the Galaxy A54 take pictures that measure up well against most camera phones, particularly budget models.

The Exynos 1380 chipset powering the Galaxy A54 doesn't turn in blazing performance, but it manages power well enough to help the A54 beat the average smartphone on our battery test. You also get a bright, colorful display capable of a 120Hz refresh rate when the action on the screen would benefit from smoother scrolling. Add all those features together, and you get quite a value-packed phone for under $500.

Read our full Samsung Galaxy A54 review.

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 15 Pro Max shown in hand

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

Specifications

Display: 6.7-inch OLED (2796 x1290)
CPU: A17 Pro
RAM: 8GB
Storage / Expandable: 256GB, 512GB, 1TB / No
Rear camera: 48MP main (f/1.78), 12MP ultrawide (f2.2), 12MP telephoto w/ 5x zoom (f/2.8)
Front camera: 12MP TrueDepth (f/1.9)
Weight: 7.8 ounces
Battery life (Hrs:Mins): 14:02

Reasons to buy

+
Lighter titanium frame design
+
Boosted 5x zoom camera
+
Utility of the Action button
+
Superior A17 Pro performance

Reasons to avoid

-
More expensive
-
Slower charging speeds

Apple’s latest and greatest smartphone, the iPhone 15 Pro Max, wowed people everywhere with just how impressive it is. It’s big, it’s beautiful, and it does everything you could possibly want it to do. Apple increased the telephoto range to an even longer 5x zoom, getting you closer to subjects than before. Battery life is stellar and the performance is incredibly impressive. 

If anything, the biggest complaint you could leverage against the iPhone 15 Pro Max is its $100 price hike over the previous version. 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 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max reviews. 

Apple iPhone 15 review.

(Image credit: Future)
Still a great option

Specifications

Display: 6.1-inch OLED (2556 x 1179)
CPU: A16 Bionic
RAM: 6GB
Storage / Expandable: 128GB, 256GB, 512GB / No
Rear cameras: 48MP (f/1.6), 12MP (f/2.4)
Front camera: 12MP (f/1.9)
Weight: 6 ounces
Battery life (Hrs:Mins): 11:05

Reasons to buy

+
Excellent battery life
+
Main camera delivers sharp photos
+
Much brighter Super Retina XDR display
+
Color options to choose

Reasons to avoid

-
Slower charging than rivals

It's the iPhone 15 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 14 Pro, delivering sharp details and good low light performance. It's also incredibly snappy thanks to the powerful A16 Bionic 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 11 hours of endurance, which is an improvement of over 1.5 hours from the iPhone 14. Add in a base 128GB of storage for your $799 and you can’t go wrong with this iPhone. 

Read our full iPhone 15 review.

Samsung galaxy s21 fe review

(Image credit: Tom's Guide)
Samsung’s killer value

Specifications

Display: 6.4-inch OLED (2400x1080)
CPU: Snapdragon 888
RAM: 6GB
Storage / Expandable: 128GB / No
Rear camera: 12MP main (ƒ/1.8), 12MP ultrawide (ƒ/2.2), 8MP 3X telephoto (ƒ/2.4)
Front camera: 32MP (ƒ/2.2)
Weight: 6.2 ounces
Battery life (Hrs:Mins): 7:46 (120Hz); 9:15 (60Hz)

Reasons to buy

+
Big 120Hz display
+
Powerful triple-camera system
+
Solid performance
+
Affordable price

Reasons to avoid

-
Battery life bit shorter than expected

We can't find the latest Galaxy S flagships at Metro as of this writing, but the carrier does offer the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE, a lower-cost version of some earlier Galaxy S models. You get a beautiful 6.4-inch 120Hz display, the Snapdragon 888 CPU,  and great camera performance with the triple lens setup. 

One complaint about the Galaxy S21 FE is that the battery life doesn't quite live up to expectations. The plastic body also 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 S21 FE 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. 

Jordan Palmer
Phones Editor

Jordan is the Phones Editor for Tom's Guide, covering all things phone-related. He's written about phones for over six years and plans to continue for a long while to come. He loves nothing more than relaxing in his home with a book, game, or his latest personal writing project. Jordan likes finding new things to dive into, from books and games to new mechanical keyboard switches and fun keycap sets. Outside of work, you can find him poring over open-source software and his studies.