Best 5G phones in 2024

While LTE can be pretty fast, it pales in comparison to what the highest levels of 5G connectivity offer. This nascent technology boasts it could even someday replace Wi-Fi, and while that may be a bit of a pipe dream now, the speeds it can achieve are borderline ridiculous even today.

It’s fair to point out that even many budget Android phones support 5G networks these days, but not all 5G is the same. Separate carriers’ 5G networks don’t always use the same frequency bands, so make sure you’re close enough to a tower and looking at phones that support the appropriate bands. We’ve scoured frequency support across carriers and today’s best Android phones overall to give you the best choices for ultra-high-speed network access in most parts of the country.

The top 5G-compatible phones

Google worked hard to ensure the Pixel 8 improved in the most noticeable areas where its predecessor faltered just a little. The upgraded Tensor G3 chipset performs significantly better, drains less battery, and enables more powerful AI tools than the G2 in last year’s model. The results include a smoother experience, more effective photography, and better battery life. It also sports a jaw-droppingly bright, colorful display that’s arguably the best on the scene. And while it has plenty of screen space, it’s not unwieldy to hold.

Its design closely resembles the Pixel 7’s but includes some minor updates that make it feel even more refined. The more rounded corners and slimmer bezels make it more comfortable to use (even one-handed) and maximize the display. Google also introduced the Hazel and Rose colors, which don’t exactly pop but do emit the kind of class you’d expect from a trendy, high-end phone.

Of course, no phone is perfect, and Google’s in-house Tensor G3 chipset still doesn’t quite compete with the big guns from Qualcomm and Mediatek in either efficiency or sheer power. The smooth glass back, dust-prone camera visor, and $100 price increase are also shortcomings. But those represent some of the very few flaws with this reasonably priced flagship, and the seven years of new Android versions make it hard to pass up.

Read our full Google Pixel 8 review.

Anyone looking for the most premium smartphone with outstanding 5G performance should definitely consider the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra. The phone may not have completely reinvented the wheel this year, but it’s hard to argue with the results, especially with a huge camera upgrade.

It’s the only one in the S23 lineup that features the company’s flagship 200MP ISOCELL HP2 camera sensor, which offers a ton of versatility and can help you capture some incredible shots. Plus, those shots will look as sharp as possible on the 6.8-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2x display that features a truly adaptive refresh rate between 1 and 120Hz.

And who can forget about all the note-taking features and the added convenience the S Pen brings? The stylus is included in the phone, conveniently tucked away for when you need it. There’s no better phone for getting stuff done, with a specialty, overclocked version of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 and up to 12GB of RAM, making multitasking a breeze.

Read our full Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra review.

You’d be forgiven if you mistook the Google Pixel 7a for its more expensive counterpart, as the software experience and hardware it runs on match pretty closely. So, it’s an easy recommendation if you’re looking for something with high-end performance but a mid-range price.

Pretty much everything about the Pixel 7a ranges from good to excellent. Even its cons, like middling battery life, aren’t quite fatal — and in the case of battery efficiency, continued Android updates can do a lot to mitigate them. And while its Tensor G2 SoC isn’t exactly top of the line, it does still provide a nearly seamless experience (although it does tend to run a little hot). Upgrades over the Pixel 6a, like a smaller size, 90Hz refresh rate, and matte aluminum camera visor finish, make it a more premium option than its predecessor.

What else is there to say about the Pixel camera experience? Well, in this case, there’s something. The 7a’s 64MP sensor takes in more data than most of its competitors and continues Google’s recent tradition of taking fantastic pictures with as little hassle as possible. Once you snap those pictures, you can then use Google’s AI-like software features to make subtle and drastic edits, ensuring the final image is exactly what you’re looking for. If you’re looking for the complete package and don’t want to splurge on the latest top-shelf model, you can’t ignore the Pixel 7a.

Read our full Google Pixel 7a review.

The Asus Zenfone 10 stands out from other smartphone manufacturers by offering a compact phone that fits perfectly in your pocket without sacrificing performance. It boasts a powerful Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 2, ensuring you can run any game you desire without any issues. And the Android operating system is user-friendly thanks to its numerous gesture controls, making navigation on the Zenfone 9 a breeze.

Despite its small size, the Asus Zenfone 10 impressively offers excellent battery life with its 4,300mAh battery. Its 5.92-inch OLED display is stunning, displaying vibrant colors and deep blacks as expected while providing a refresh rate of up to 120Hz for a smooth and sharp viewing experience.

While the phone lacks any mmWave compatibility, sub-6 5G support is here, but carrier support can be a little tricky if you’re a U.S. customer. If you’re on T-Mobile, you shouldn’t run into any big issues, and AT&T should work just fine, too. Verizon customers get the short end of the stick, though, as the Zenfone 10 is unlikely to work on their network. Overall, just be aware that the Zenfone 10 may have a few quirks with your network, so check with your carrier first. But despite the carrier connectivity annoyances, the small form factor makes the Asus Zenfone 10 a unique and worthy offering.

Read our full Asus Zenfone 10 review.

First-generation devices often stink, so we didn’t have high expectations for the OnePlus Open. Boy, were we wrong. OnePlus learned from the mistakes of leading foldables and refined them, including excellent battery life, a barely noticeable crease, and a remarkably durable and physically impressive hinge. It also wins in the charging category, with a high-quality SuperVOOC charger right there in the box — something nearly unheard of in this day and age.

Even the software excels at folding usability. While OxygenOS as a whole isn’t particularly impressive, OnePlus did a more-than-respectable job at implementing powerful customization and multitasking support that make the most of the massive screen space. And it’s completely reasonable to expect OnePlus to iron out the remaining quirks in its Android skin.

In a refreshing change of pace, the cameras essentially match or beat every other foldable. The primary LYTIA sensor collects significantly more light than its competitors, which is the backbone of good image capture. There aren’t any major flaws to point out, but the lack of wireless charging and the high (yet predictable) price tag may make it a non-starter for some. But for those willing to invest, the Open truly is large and in charge.

Read our full OnePlus Open review.

We’ve said a lot about the Pixel 8 Pro’s camera experience, so we’ll just point out once again that it excels at taking incredible pictures on the first try and magically editing them with novel software features if they’re not quite perfect. But the rest of the Pixel 8 Pro offers plenty to write home about, too.

Its display beats even the fantastic screen on the standard Pixel 8, with industry-leading brightness, HDR10+ support, a variable 120Hz refresh rate, and a pixel density that can’t be beat. Oh, and it’s pretty big, too, giving you 6.7 diagonal inches of real estate for all the impressive on-device photo and video editing it’s capable of.

Google’s new commitment to long-term device support is a plus, with seven promised Android updates now even besting Apple’s typical six years of iOS upgrades. While it wasn’t always the case, Google’s own Android skin continues to see refinement, with many former quibbles getting smoothed over for a streamlined (if not 100% customizable) user experience. The 8 Pro has, unfortunately, finally hit the $1,000 MSRP threshold, but if you’re into big phones with excellent cameras and ever-evolving sets of cutting-edge features, this one’s right for you.

Read our full Pixel 8 Pro review.

The highly portable Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 fits in your pocket more easily than nearly any other phone. It finally sees a full-size, 3.4-inch OLED display spanning the entire cover, that can show important information, notifications, and apps. And the phone’s true potential unlocks when you unfold it to reveal a stunning 6.7-inch, 120Hz panel on par with the non-folding Galaxy models.

The compromises? Well, the cameras don’t quite compete with other flagship devices for the same price. They lack any super fancy hardware but can still provide plenty of good shots for casual shots like what you’d want for social media. The main sensor is capable of taking hands-free selfies, which is a nice touch for people who like capturing themselves in a moment.

The battery life isn’t stellar, but it also isn’t terrible. You’ll likely get through your day (depending on how heavy you use it) with a bit left over, and recharging is fast enough, although it could definitely be faster. The lack of a telephoto lens is disappointing, but that’s not entirely surprising, given the form factor. All in all, the Z Flip 5 leads the clamshell foldable market in a lot of ways, thanks in large part to the refined, heavily customizable OneUI Android skin. This $1,000 option is a great buy and Samsung’s best flip phone yet.

Read our full Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 review.

The OnePlus Nord N30 5G is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 695 5G, which may not have all the bells and whistles of modern flagships, but it’s no slouch. It moves through OxygenOS smoothly and can easily handle most of your daily tasks. We even enjoyed playing some of the best Android games when we reviewed the device.

The display is a bit of a mixed this time around. Yes, it is an LCD instead of an OLED panel, but it’s also 120Hz instead of the 60 the previous model had. Despite being an LCD, the 6.72-inch display has vibrant color reproduction and gets pretty bright, so you shouldn’t worry about viewing your screen while outdoors.

The battery life is a little worse than the previous model, but it is still good enough for the average user, offering about six to seven hours of screen-on time. Thankfully, its 50W max charging speed replenishes the 5,000mAh battery in a flash, going from empty to about 80% in 30 minutes.

Since the phone runs for about $300, expect a fair share of compromises. For example, the cameras leave something to be desired for phone photography enthusiasts. But if you mostly post photos on your social media feeds and don’t care about some of the finer details, you’ll get by with the camera array on the Nord N30 just fine.

Read our full OnePlus Nord N30 5G review.

Naturally, you’d expect some sacrifices on a new foldable listing at just $700. But Motorola’s Razr is surprisingly well-engineered on nearly all fronts. The identical hinge to the more costly Razr+ looks and feels durable and smooth, with a less prominent crease than direct competitors. And that primary display punches well above its weight class, producing up to 1,400 nits at an unmatched variable refresh rate of 144Hz.

Camera performance remains in line with most foldables, which means it’s good but not quite great. It lacks the bright, punchy image capture of the Galaxy S Series and AI smarts of the Pixel lineup but takes good, no-nonsense shots in most lighting conditions.

The base model Razr’s biggest shortcoming is the mere 1.5 inches of cover screen space, something that the Z Flip 5 and Razr+ have remedied. The Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 chipset also lags behind other foldables in performance and thermal management. But for a $700 phone that you can often already find at a discount, those compromises don’t offend us much. After all, you can finally get a modern flip phone without breaking the bank.

Read our full Motorola Razr 2023 review.

Objectively speaking, the iPhone 15 Pro’s performance exceeds all but the most powerful Android smartphones. The Apple A17 Pro processor tops many benchmark lists, and the highly optimized software and locked-down ecosystem render the normally average 8GB of RAM more than enough for snappy animations and effortless multitasking.

The 15 Pro really shines when it comes to video recording, with the best motion handling on the block. The inclusion of the Apple ProRes recording codec, as well as professional-quality Log Color support, means you can practically shoot a legitimate feature film on one of these bad boys. The photo quality’s superb as well, with Apple’s imaging algorithms continuing down a path they’ve trod for years.

Naturally, the overall gulf between iOS and Android means a lot of folks won’t give iPhones the time of day. But it’s really an excellent piece of equipment that sees immense popularity, not just because it’s trendy, but because it works well, and with little to no hassle for the average user. If you’re looking for the best and aren’t married to the Android experience, it’s definitely worth checking out the iPhone 15 Pro. In terms of convenience, price, and durability, it’s even better than the 15 Pro Max.

What’s the difference between sub-6 and mmWave 5G?

The next generation of cellular network technology after 4G LTE, 5G operates on two classes of frequencies categorized as sub-6GHz and millimeter wave. Just like 2.4GHz vs 5GHz Wi-Fi, the lower frequencies used by sub-6 5G offer a longer range due largely to better penetration. The higher frequencies of mmWave (so-called because their actual wavelengths vary from 1 to 10 millimeters) don’t penetrate or reach nearly as far, but deliver the blazing-fast 5G speeds that get so much hype.

Typically, you’ll find high-speed mmWave networks only in densely populated areas because the infrastructure needed to produce the signals isn’t cost-effective over vast distances. So, if you’re not in a major population center, you probably won’t be able to take the most advantage of it just yet. But anywhere that carriers offer 5G coverage should get a workable level of sub-6 signal.

Should I buy a 5G smartphone?

Like all new technologies, 5G took a while to move out of the early adoption phase and into the mainstream. And for the time being, mmWave coverage still isn’t particularly widespread throughout the country, although its availability continues to improve. All of today’s top flagship releases support some form of 5G, with most able to connect with mmWave networks in their official release markets.

This list includes mostly models with mmWave support to get you the absurd speeds the up-and-coming connectivity boasts about. Out of the recommendations, only the Asus ZenFone 10 lacks mmWave and supports only sub-6 5G, but otherwise, it’s arguably today’s best compact phone.

Still, it may or may not be worth investing in a 5G smartphone, based on where you live. Our first suggestion is to find out if there’s 5G coverage in your area and what type of 5G it is to help you make an informed decision. It’s worth noting that each carrier calls their high- and low-frequency 5G networks something different, but they’re all fundamentally similar. And, as is par for the course with connectivity naming schemes, these monikers can be a little confusing. For example, don’t mix up Verizon’s Ultra Wideband 5G with what’s actually, technically known as ultra-wideband connectivity. It is conceptually similar to NFC and used for high-speed, high-bandwidth, short-range communications; the two are extremely different.

If there’s little or no coverage around you, you might not care much about having 5G on your new phone. But 5G is the cellular connectivity of the future, and carriers continue to build out their 5G networks more each month. So, while your neighborhood might not have access to a 5G network right now, you might get it sooner than you think. And when that happens, you’ll want comprehensive 5G support on your phone, so you can get the most out of it.

The best 5G smartphone for you

First of all, let’s note the phones selected for this list are only US models that support the most major 5G bands across the country. If you opt for an imported model or plan to use one of these outside the US, your experience might vary — but most of what’s recommended should actually work quite well abroad, anyway.

After a ton of impressive new smartphones throughout the year, Google’s Pixel 8 is one of the best. Its flagship performance, ever-more-refined Android implementation, and groundbreaking smart camera features put it above most others for the average user. Its connectivity is on par with the best, and it should support 5G networks around the world.

If you’re willing to part with a little more cash, Samsung’s Galaxy S23 Ultra seriously delivers in terms of raw performance, battery life, display quality, cellular technology support, camera specs, and OS usability and customizability. It is pretty big and heavy, and the charging could be faster, otherwise, the S23 Ultra has no cracks in its armor.

If you’re not worried about winning benchmark competitions and/or don’t want to lug around a phone the size of a tablet, the Pixel 7a makes the perfect mid-range choice. While it’s missing the most comprehensive Google AI features, it does offer some, and it also uses Google’s increasingly great Android skin. You can save even more by opting for the OnePlus Nord N30, which lists at $300 and may not boast high-end specs but performs admirably within the 5G network range.

This collection also includes multiple excellent foldables this time around. At long last, folding displays and the hinges that support them have become truly well-made across multiple brands, to the point where Samsung, OnePlus, and Motorola foldables all made the cut. The OnePlus Open actually (and a bit surprisingly) stole the show compared to the Galaxy Z Fold 5, making fantastic use of its abundance of screen space when multitasking.

In terms of hamburger-fold phones (as opposed to hotdog-fold phones), the 2023 Motorola Razr costs less than such a great foldable has any right to. Unsurprisingly, the Z Flip 5 remains one of our favorite high-end clamshells, thanks in large part to its widely praised Android version and extremely useful cover display. And lest you think that 5G connectivity is a gimmick you don’t need to worry about, keep in mind how much workspace foldables (and, to a large extent, big-screen flagship slab phones) have these days and how much work you can actually get done on them.