Best unlocked phones 2023

When you buy one of the best unlocked phones, you have the freedom and flexibility to use it with any supporting carrier you want without being locked into a lengthy installment plan or bogged down by some confusing contract. You might even save some money in the process! It's your phone, so you should be in the driver's seat, not some big phone company.

In our opinion, the Google Pixel 8 Pro is the best Android phone to buy unlocked, thanks to excellent band support for sub-6 5G, superb software, and one of the best camera systems ever put in a phone. But if the Pro doesn't do it for you, there are plenty of outstanding options to consider. Keep reading for our picks.

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At a glance

Best overall

While the Pixel 8 Pro looks a lot like the Pixel 7 Pro that preceded it, quite a lot has changed. It has a brighter screen with 2400 nits (peak) making it easier to use in the bright sunlight. While the resolution is slightly lower at 1344x2992, it still has a high ppi at 489 so it still looks great. You can get the phone in hazel, obsidian, and rose with metal rails to match.

Under that glass, a Tensor G3 SoC offer enough power for most apps to run buttery smooth, but as our Pixel 8 Pro review notes, it can still struggle with high-end games. Still, for most people, it has plenty of power to run Android 14 with some new software features added to boot. For example, Best Take is perfect for group photos, since it allows you to pick the best face for each person so if one person blinked in the best shot, you don't need to take another.

Speaking of cameras, Google has included a massive 50MP main camera, 48MP ultrawide camera, and 48MP telephoto camera under the hump on the back. With Google's camera software, you can get some of the best photos of any smartphone  in a wide range of lighting conditions.

Google has committed to seven years of Pixel updates for this phone, which is excellent for an unlocked phone since it will be worth more if you want to sell it, and can be updated without waiting for a carrier. With support for 5G on the major carriers, this phone lets you take advantage of the best wireless deals.

Best premium option

The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra might be the most powerful Android phone ever produced, coming with premium hardware through every bit of the device — from the new Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor to the impressive 200MP rear camera.

With a starting price of around $1,200, the unlocked Galaxy S23 Ultra is far from cheap, but the phone has been specially designed to give you every dime back in reliability and premium features. You’ll get five years of software upgrades and security updates through 2028, while the Gorilla Glass Victus 2 construction ensures that you won’t have to replace your phone the first time it takes a wee tumble.

Like its predecessor, the Galaxy S23 Ultra comes with an S Pen stored securely inside the phone, which means you can jot down notes or sketch your ideas as they come to you, then simply return the stylus to its holder when you’re done. As we mentioned in our Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra review, the phone’s 200MP camera system is Samsung’s pride and joy, with improved wide dynamic range capture — up to 12-bit HDR Dolby Vision — and better low light capabilities than any Galaxy smartphone to date.

Best compact phone

If you want high-end features without the massive size of a Pixel 8 Pro or Galaxy S23 Ultra, the Pixel 8 is a great choice. It's powered by the same Tensor G3 SoC as the bigger model with 8GB of RAM. While the screen is smaller, at 6.2 inches, it's still vibrant with an OLED panel and a 120Hz refresh rate. It also looks better outdoors or  under bright lighting thanks to a brigher panel with 2000 peak nits.

When it comes to cameras, it's not as resplendent as the Pro model with only a 50MP main camera and 12MP ultrawide camera, but still takes great pictures thanks to Google's software. It's simply one of the best camera systems on a compact Android phone.

Google also found room inside for a large 4575mAh battery that should make it to the end of a work day on a single charge. It charges fairly quickly at 27 watts and also offer reverse wireless charging for your earbuds or smartwatch. With support for mmWave 5G and even WI-Fi 7, this is a great phone to bring with you to a new carrier. With seven years of software updates promised by Google, there's a good chance this phone will be up to date longer than you want to use it.

Best flagship

At first glance, you couldn’t be blamed for thinking that the Samsung Galaxy S23 looks nearly identical to its predecessor. The two phones share the same compact 6.1-inch 120Hz display, the same curved aluminum design, and three lenses positioned vertically on the rear. Thankfully, that’s about where the similarities end. Rather than being a dramatic transformation, the S23 is a refinement of everything that the S22 did well — and a fix for the areas where the flagship faltered.

Look under the hood of this baby flagship and you’ll find the ultra-efficient Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor, a reliable all-day battery, and an impressive selfie camera with 12MP resolution. You’ll also enjoy some enhanced nighttime photography capabilities, thanks to intelligent AI processing. Where the S22’s display suffered from dimness, the S23 has a peak brightness of 1,750 nits, which means you can easily see the screen anywhere and at any time, day or night.

If you already own the Galaxy S22, you may be wondering if you should upgrade to the S23. The latter phone sells for around $799 unlocked — which is a pretty penny for most folks — but if you can find a good straight discount from a retailer, jumping on the S23 train is a smart move.

Best value

We’re comfortable saying that the Google Pixel 7a is a nearly perfect smartphone, namely because it strikes that oh-so-delicate balance between helpful, intuitive features and an ultra-accessible price point. For just $499, you’re getting a smartphone that comes complete with the Google Tensor G2 chipset (the same processor found in the more expensive Pixel 7 Pro), a vibrant 90Hz AMOLED display, and the best haptics of any smartphone in this price range.

Since it’s a Pixel, you can also expect to find some pretty great camera tech inside the 7a. As we revealed in our Google Pixel 7a review, the cheap Android phone performed just as well as the base model Pixel 7 in just about every camera test that we threw at it. This is thanks to the aforementioned Tensor G2 processor and the addition of a 64MP camera sensor, alongside all of the Pixel-exclusive features for which the brand is now famous.

The Pixel 7a is also an excellent choice if you prefer unlocked devices, since there are already a ton of stellar Google Pixel 7a deals all over the web, even though the phone has only been out since early May.

Best cheap

The OnePlus Nord N30 5G continues to aim for the stars while keeping its price low. This phone is powered by the Snapdragon 695 SoC, which is sufficient for most apps apart from graphically intensive games. It's also got 8GB of RAM onboard with 128GB of storage that can be expanded with a microSD card. It also has a 3.5mm headphone jack so you can keep using your old headphones without an adapter.

Even heavy users should have no trouble making it to the end of the day on a charge thanks to a large 5000mAh battery. Even if you do get low, charging is quick with support for up to 50W, and even has a 50W charger in the box. While our OnePlus Nord N30 review found the selfie camera to be rather good, the 108MP rear cameras can't quite stand up to even a cheap Pixel, like the 6a.

This phone supports the most important bands for carriers like T-Mobile, Verizon, and AT&T. The phone is even on AT&T's whitelist so it can access the carrier's full network. This makes the OnePlus Nord N30 an excellent phone to try out a new carrier.

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FAQ

Which unlocked phone is best?

There you have it — the best unlocked Android phones you can buy in 2023. There's a wide range of great unlocked Android phones available, depending on your needs. In fact, the vast majority of the best Android phones can be purchased unlocked.

When it comes to picking just one, our testing confirms that the Google Pixel 8 Pro ticks every box. It has a higher price than last year, but its improved performance and best-in-class cameras still make it a strong pick. Besides that, you'll be on the latest release of Android with prompt updates directly from Google. Google has even improved night videography with Night Sight.

While the lack of mmWave 5G support on the Google Store unlocked version is a bit of a disappointment, the fact of the matter is that most of us will rarely, if ever, use mmWave on our 5G phones for years to come. The Pixel 8 Pro supports the most important 5G bands on the three major carriers so you should have strong connectivity just about anywhere you go.

Is it best to buy an unlocked phone?

Carriers have all but eliminated contracts but in their places, they've come up with something that can be even worse if you're not sure what you're signing up for. AT&T, Verizon, and even US Cellular have moved to 36-month payment plans for their phones with T-Mobile offering some 24-month and some 36-month plans. These carriers will pull in customers with the promise of free phones, but these customers end up stuck with the carrier or need to pay off the full amount.

This is even worse if you've signed up for a buy one, get one free program as the free phone is made so with monthly payments for 36 months. That means if you want to switch carriers, you could be on the hook for hundreds or even thousands of dollars to get your phones unlocked. Buying these phones on a payment plan can make them seem cheaper than they are. The truth of the matter is that most people don't need a $1,500 phone with so many solid budget options available.

If you buy your phone unlocked, you can bring it with you to a new carrier with a simple SIM swap or eSIM download. That means you can take advantage of new customer promotions with some of the best prepaid carriers for example. That also means if you sign up on a carrier that isn't giving you the coverage you need, you can switch when your month is up instead of waiting for 36 months of payment credits.

Another thing to consider is that you don't have to give up payment plans entirely to buy unlocked. Phones are expensive and not everyone can reasonably cut a multi-hundred dollar check when they need a new phone. If you buy from Samsung's web store, for example, you can choose between a one-time payment, four bi-weekly payments, a 24-month payment plan, or a 36-month payment plan. And with this option, you can take your phone to any carrier you want without paying it off.

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