The best prepaid phones for 2022

Cell phone buyers often mistakenly perceive prepaid phones as cheap and low budget. However, nowadays any smartphone can be used on a prepaid plan with calls, texts and data paid for in advance. Prepaid phones free you from multi-year contracts and long-term commitments. To help you keep your smartphone plan flexible, we’ve put together a list of our favorite phones that are often available on the prepaid market.

Galaxy S22

The Samsung Galaxy S22 is a classic Android handset, with a full feature set that includes a fast processor, excellent build quality, reliable cameras and multi-year updates.

The build of the S22 is top-notch, with a sheet of glass protected by a layer of Gorilla Glass Victus and a 6.1-inch HDR10+ Super AMOLED display with FHD+ resolution (2340 x 1080 pixels) and 120 refresh rate Hz. This is in addition to an upgraded 50MP main camera, assisted by a 12MP ultrawide snapper and a 10MP telephoto lens with 3x optical zoom. Selfies are handled by a 10 MP main camera.

The Galaxy S22 runs One UI 4.1 based on Android 12. The look is familiar, but Android 12’s Material You theme support represents a new aesthetic. The Galaxy S22 has a relatively small 3,700mAh battery – one of the smallest batteries in a modern smartphone, so be prepared.

Apple iPhone 13 Pro

Yes, you can have an iPhone 13 with a prepaid plan. The iPhone 13 Pro is the best iPhone for most people who want a brand new Apple handset. It has everything you could want, including a powerful A15 Bionic processor, 120Hz ProMotion display, nearly two days of continuous battery life, and great camera performance. The iPhone 13 Pro measures 5.78 x 2.81 x 0.3 inches and weighs 7.2 ounces.

The 6.1-inch Super Retina OLED display offers exceptional color accuracy, 2532 x 1170 resolution and 460 pixels per inch. Its crisp and bright viewing angles can reach 1000 nits of brightness and reach up to 1200 nits for HDR content. Outdoor visibility is excellent even in direct sunlight, and the display also supports HDR10 and Dolby Vision. The ProMotion variable display allows Apple to increase the refresh rate from 60Hz to 120Hz for different types of content.

The iPhone 13 Pro has an excellent camera array consisting of three 12MP sensors: a 12MP wide-angle, a 12MP telephoto, and a 12MP ultra-wide that can take 120-degree shots.

Apple iPhone SE (2022)

With its 4.7-inch Liquid Retina display and 60Hz refresh rate, the design of the iPhone SE 2022 might look a bit dated, but don’t let that stop you. This little handset packs a huge punch. Under the hood, you get Apple’s latest A15 Bionic chip with the same performance as the iPhone 13 Pro. There’s also 4GB of RAM, 64GB, 128GB or 256GB of storage and a decent battery. You’ll be up and running quickly with the SE’s 18W fast charging and Qi wireless charging.

The camera department is simple – with a single 12MP rear sensor and a 7MP selfie camera. It’s Apple’s software that makes the difference here, with Deep Fusion technology, Smart HDR 4 and Photographic Styles, plus an improved Portrait Mode, but no Night Mode. Add in 5G connectivity, iOS 15 out of the box, and five or six years of iOS updates, and it’s easy to see why the iPhone SE (2022) ranks high on our list of favorite smartphones.

Google Pixel 6a

Google’s Pixel 6a, measuring 152.5mm high and weighing 178 grams, is remarkably easy to handle and especially comfortable for one-handed use. The Pixel 6a’s small form factor is derived from its display, a 6.1-inch OLED panel with Full HD+ 1080 x 2400 resolution, 60Hz refresh rate, and covered in Corning Gorilla Glass 3.

The camera is 12.2 megapixels with an f/1.7 aperture, optical image stabilization (OIS) and phase detection autofocus. It has a 12MP ultrawide camera with a 114-degree field of view, as well as an 8MP selfie camera. Where the Pixel 6a falls short is the 4,410mAh battery, which is light for a phone of this quality.

Moto G Power (2022)

The Moto G Power (2022) is a great phone for your prepaid plan. With a massive 6.5-inch 90Hz display, 4GB of RAM, a MediaTek Helio G37 chip, and 64GB or 128GB of storage, you get a massive 5,000mAh battery that lasts about three days.

With Android 11 out of the box, upgradable to Android 12, the phone has a 3.5mm audio jack – a rarity these days, an IP52 rating and a decent camera setup of 50MP main, macro 2MP, 2MP depth sensor and 8MP selfie camera.

The body is plastic, the screen colors seem a little muted and dark, and you might notice lag if you’re creating content, multitasking, or playing the latest demanding games. There’s also no 5G or wireless charging. But for those looking for a great phone for everyday web browsing, emails, calls and social media, the Moto G Power (2022) is right there at an affordable price.

Motorola Edge+ (2022)

Edge+ is packed with the latest technology and features an attractive design. Its blue hue changes as it catches the light so well that it seems a shame to cover it with a case. The 6.7-inch FullHD+ OLED display looks great, with rich colors and deep blacks, and has a high 144Hz refresh rate that makes scrolling through items and apps smooth and fluid. The processor includes Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor, Qualcomm Adreno GPU and up to 12GB of LPDDR5 RAM.

The vertical camera array is designed so that it doesn’t protrude as much as many other smartphone cameras, making the Edge+ easier to set up on a flat surface. The wide and ultra-wide camera works well, portrait mode works very well, and the performance of the selfie camera is respectable. However, the macro mode works less well. However, the build quality is a little cheap and it’s only rated IP52, which means you’ll have to be more careful about dust, and it’s not water resistant.

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