Best Starter Smartphones & Plans: Beginner’s Guide in 2025

In 2025, the smartphone market is fully mature, but the overwhelming number of options makes it difficult to choose the right device. This guide is designed to help beginners who don’t have specific preferences but want to try a new smartphone.

Use this article as a reference to make the best choice for your needs.

This article will be continuously updated with the latest information. (Last updated: April 9, 2025)

How to Choose a Smartphone

If you’re unsure about what criteria to use when selecting a smartphone, here are the factors I consider most important, in order of priority:

1. Processing Power (AnTuTu score above 800,000)
2. Battery Life (Must last at least a day)
3. Camera Quality (Clearer is better)
4. Additional Features (Nice to have)
5. Size (6.2-6.7 inches is ideal)

Processing Power (AnTuTu score above 800,000)

Processing power is the most important factor. Since your smartphone is your 24-hour companion, you need sufficient performance to ensure it won’t slow you down.

I recommend an AnTuTu benchmark score of ideally 800,000 or higher, with a minimum of 700,000. This threshold is relatively easy to meet as smartphones with recent chipsets like the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 or Apple A17 from 2023 can easily exceed this.

Based on my testing, here are some results:

• iPhone 15 Pro: 1,200,000 (A17 Pro)
• Galaxy S24 Ultra: 1,150,000 (Snapdragon 8 Gen 3)
• Pixel 9 Pro: 1,050,000 (Tensor G4)
• iPhone 15: 950,000 (A16)
• Galaxy S24: 900,000 (Snapdragon 8 Gen 3)
• Pixel 9: 850,000 (Tensor G4) ← Excellent performance threshold
• Pixel 8 Pro: 780,000 (Tensor G3) ← Good performance threshold
• Galaxy S23: 750,000 (Snapdragon 8 Gen 2) ← Minimum acceptable threshold

Even the Galaxy S23 released in 2023 exceeds our minimum criteria, so including used phones, your options are quite broad.

Battery Life (Must last at least a day)

Battery life is the second most important factor. Without battery power, a smartphone is just an expensive paperweight. The minimum acceptable battery life is “enough to last a full day with overnight charging.” Specifically, it should last at least 10 hours based on the PC Mark for Android test. Here are some test results:

• Galaxy S24: 13 hours 45 minutes
• Pixel 9: 13 hours 30 minutes
• iPhone 15: 12 hours 20 minutes
• Galaxy S23 Ultra: 11 hours 50 minutes (120Hz)
• Pixel 8 Pro: 11 hours 10 minutes (120Hz)
• iPhone 14 Pro: 10 hours 30 minutes ← Minimum threshold
• Galaxy S23: 9 hours 55 minutes

Less than 10 hours means you’ll likely run out of battery during the day, which can be very inconvenient. Longer battery life is always better.

Camera Quality (Clearer is better)

From here, priorities become more subjective. I consider the camera quite important because it allows you to capture beautiful memories. If you don’t want to carry a separate camera, your smartphone camera should be high quality.

Ideally, having ultra-wide, standard wide, and telephoto lenses that all deliver excellent quality would be perfect. However, phones with all these features tend to be expensive, so this is really a matter of personal preference.

Additional Features (Nice to have)

For additional features, I consider these four most valuable:

1. Dual SIM
2. Wireless charging
3. Mobile payment (Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, etc.)
4. Water resistance

These features aren’t essential but definitely enhance convenience. Smartphones with all these features are rare and typically more expensive, but I consider dual SIM and wireless charging particularly useful.

Size (6.2-6.7 inches is ideal)

Finally, size isn’t a major factor for most users. I find 6.2-6.7 inches (like iPhone or Galaxy) to be ideal, but 6.8 inches is fine, and even 7 inches is acceptable.

You’ll adapt to whatever size you choose with regular use. However, if size matters to you, choose according to your personal preference.

Balancing Performance and Price

The key is to compare these features with price. Naturally, more expensive phones offer better performance. But everyone has a different budget, so choose based on what you can afford and which features matter most to you.

This can be challenging for beginners, so below I’ll recommend specific smartphones that offer excellent value.

Three Recommended Smartphone Brands

The US smartphone market has numerous brands, but beginners should focus on these three trusted options:

• iPhone
• Galaxy
• Pixel

If you want a reliable and safe choice, selecting from iPhone 15, Galaxy S24, or Pixel 9 would be a smart decision.

There are many other good options available, but these three models are easiest to recommend due to their well-balanced performance and features.

iPhone 15

The iPhone 15 features:

• Powerful A16 chip
• 6.1-inch Full HD+ OLED display
• High-quality dual camera
• Excellent video stabilization
• Wireless charging, IP68 water resistance, Apple Pay support
• Ultra-light 171g
• SIM-free
• Price New: $729.00, Renewed: $517.39 (as of April 2025)

The lightweight design is particularly impressive. At just 171g with a 6.1-inch display and good power efficiency, its battery life is comparable to the iPhone 14. It includes all the additional features in a complete package, but it’s the most expensive of the three phones featured here. Buying a certified refurbished model is also a good option to save money.

Apple Store: iPhone 15 (New) $699
Amazon: iPhone 15 (Renewed) $555.24

Galaxy S24

The Galaxy S24 is Samsung’s flagship smartphone released in 2024. Despite being a year old, its performance remains excellent for everyday use.

Features include:

• Snapdragon 8 Gen 3
• 6.2-inch OLED 120Hz display
• Wireless charging, reverse wireless charging
• Dual speakers
• Samsung Pay support
• IP68 water resistance
• Triple camera (wide, ultra-wide, telephoto)
• Price New: $759.99, Renewed: $489.99 (as of April 2025)

It offers impressive performance in a comprehensive package. However, its battery capacity is the smallest among the three options, resulting in slightly shorter battery life. Since used models are widely available, be sure to verify that any pre-owned device is SIM unlocked before purchasing.

Samsung Store: Galaxy S24 (New) ($759.99)
Amazon: Galaxy S24 (Renewed) ($489.99)

Pixel 9

The Pixel 9 is Google’s latest smartphone known for excellent performance at a competitive price.

Features include:

• Tensor G4 chip
• Dual camera (wide, ultra-wide)
• Google Pay support
• IP68 water resistance
• Dual speakers
• Dual SIM (eSIM support)
• Google-exclusive features
• Price: $699.00 (as of April 2025)

High-performance smartphones with these features at $699 are rare in today’s market. The only limitations are the lack of wireless charging, 120Hz display, and telephoto camera, but everything else is included. The Tensor G4’s AnTuTu score of 850,000 demonstrates its high performance, and the battery can last up to two days with moderate use.

Amazon: Pixel 9  ($699.00)

The One Recommended Mobile Plan

In 2025, US carriers generally offer plans in the $30-$50 per month range, making any major carrier plan a reasonable choice. The era of $100 monthly mobile bills is largely behind us.

Selection criteria should focus on:

• Simplicity of contract
• Connection stability

With minimal price differences between major carriers, simple and stable plans are the priority. Of course, if you research more thoroughly, you can find plans as low as $15, but these often compromise on speed or coverage. If you’re willing to do the research and are comfortable with the trade-offs, these budget plans can work well too. Here, I’ll recommend only the most reliable plan.

T-Mobile Essentials

This is T-Mobile’s basic plan. The advantages are T-Mobile’s network reliability and the plan’s straightforward structure.

The plans are as follows:

• Essentials: 50GB / $120 $90/month (T-Mobile, April, 2025)
• Go5G Plus: Unlimited / $200 $150/month (T-Mobile, April, 2025)
  more

The choice is simple: If you have Wi-Fi at home, choose the 50GB plan; if you use a lot of data outside without Wi-Fi access, choose the unlimited plan.

There are many other carriers available, but they’re all reasonably priced now, so there’s less need to worry about cost differences. For most users, T-Mobile Essentials provides sufficient service at a fair price.

Recommended Dual SIM Mobile Plan Combinations

The iPhone 15 and Pixel 9 introduced above support dual SIM functionality, allowing simultaneous use of physical SIM and eSIM. For those willing to put in a bit more effort for optimal coverage and value, here are recommended combinations:

Mint Mobile × Visible

Mint Mobile:

• Data: 5GB to unlimited
• Price: $15-$30/month
• Drawback: Based on T-Mobile network, less coverage in rural areas
  → link here : https://www.mintmobile.com/plans/

Visible:

• Data: Unlimited (with speed limitations)
• Price: $25/month
• Drawback: Based on Verizon network, may have speed restrictions
  more

This combination pairs Mint Mobile’s affordable pricing with Visible’s extensive coverage. If you live in an urban area, Mint Mobile alone may be sufficient; when traveling to rural areas, you can switch to Visible for better coverage.

Mint Mobile: $15-$30/month
Visible: $25/month

Google Fi × Visible

Google Fi:

• Data: $10 per 1GB (billed up to 6GB, i.e., $60, with unlimited free data thereafter)
• Price: $20/month base fee
• Drawback: Can become expensive with high data usage

Visible:

• Data: Unlimited (with speed limitations)
• Price: $25/month
• Drawback: Speed limitations
  more

Google Fi offers flexible pricing based on your data usage, while Visible fills in coverage gaps. Use Google Fi for everyday affordable use and switch to Visible when needed for coverage or unlimited data.

Google Fi Flexible plan: $20 base fee + data
Visible: $25/month

Recommending Smartphones and Mobile Plans: The UNIQLO Approach

As mentioned earlier, there are now countless smartphones and mobile plans available. This article has introduced reliable, universally appealing options for beginners who don’t want to spend excessive time researching smartphones and mobile services. Think of it like UNIQLO for clothing – reliable quality at reasonable prices.

For those interested in exploring more options, I encourage you to research further to find the smartphone and plan that perfectly matches your specific needs.

Unlike in the past, there are hardly any smartphones with poor value or unreasonably expensive plans nowadays. The models and plans recommended here are certainly good enough for most users, so you can choose them with confidence.

I’ll update information about my personal smartphone and mobile plan choices soon for additional reference.