Technologies

iPhone 14 Pro and 14 Pro Max Review: Welcome to Apple’s Dynamic Island

Apple upgraded its new Pro iPhones in ways both large and small without raising the price.

This story is part of Focal Point iPhone 2022, CNET’s collection of news, tips and advice around Apple’s most popular product.

Nov 2022

Editors’ Note: The iPhone 14 Pro and 14 Pro Max come with improved cameras, iOS 16, the fastest phone processor we’ve ever tested, and an upgraded yet familiar design. Features like the Dynamic Island and Emergency SOS via Satellite make the 14 Pro and 14 Pro Max some of the best phones you can buy in 2022, which is why they received a CNET Editors’ Choice Award. The original review follows.

Apple’s iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max may look identical to last year’s iPhone 13 Pro on the back, but don’t let that fool you. It’s the iPhone 14 Pro’s screen where there’s something different and wonderful going on. The iPhone’s display notch, which has defined Face ID iPhones since 2017’s iPhone X, has been replaced with a pill-shaped screen cutout that houses an upgraded TrueDepth camera system. On its own, that cutout will make some people happier than the notch did. But it’s the space around the cutout, which now shows system alerts and background activities, that’s become one of my favorite features.

Apple calls it the Dynamic Island, and it enlarges and shrinks when you receive a call and to display the music you’re playing, timers and other notifications. I know it’s not the best name, but it’s truly one of the best features on the iPhone 14 Pro and 14 Pro Max.

9.2

Apple iPhone 14 Pro and 14 Pro Max

$999 at Apple

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Like

The Dynamic Island is delightful
Main camera takes excellent photos
A16 Bionic chip is blazing fast

Don’t Like

Telephoto camera is only good in bright light
Wish there was an easier way to simplify the always-on display
Both phones are hefty

The new Apple phones also get upgraded cameras, a faster processor, an always-on display and iOS 16 as well as new safety features including Crash Detection and Emergency SOS via Satellite.

The 6.1-inch iPhone 14 Pro starts at $999 ( 1,099, AU$1,749) and the 6.7-inch 14 Pro Max at $1,099 — which are the same prices as 2019’s iPhone 11 Pro and 11 Pro Max. After spending some time with the phones, I think they’re worth every penny.

The new Pros come in space black, gold, silver and deep purple — which, depending on the light, can look like a drab shade of gray or like Grimace purple. The iPhone 14 Pro and 14 Pro Max go on sale Friday, Sept. 16, and are currently available for preorder.

How iPhone 14 Pro’s Dynamic Island works

There are few external ways that the iPhone 14 Pro is different from previous models. There’s the aforementioned display cutout. The camera bump is a skosh chunkier. And, like the iPhone 14, US models lack a SIM card tray and instead use an eSIM.

But it’s that strangely named Dynamic Island that defines the phone. The more time I spent with the 14 Pro, the more delightful I found it. It works in numerous situations and is an easy way to see what’s going on without pulling your attention completely away from what you’re doing.

The Dynamic Island is interactive. For example, if music is playing, a miniature waveform and tiny thumbnail of the album artwork appears on either side of the cutout. When you tap either side, Spotify brings up the song that’s currently playing. If you’re on a FaceTime call, you can tap and hold on the interface to bring up controls.

You can tap directly on the TrueDepth cameras or off to the sides. In my time using it, I didn’t notice any smudges accumulating over the selfie camera and Face ID didn’t seem to be affected.

If you have more than one background activity in progress, like maybe you’re listening to music and have a timer on, the Dynamic Island splits into two parts like a sideways lower-case letter i.

The iPhone 14 Pro and the Dynamic Island are an excellent example of Apple packaging a powerful tool into an enjoyable interface. It’s a shame you can only use it on the iPhone 14 Pro and 14 Pro Max. Such a fun and approachable feature is bound to be a big hit with people who don’t use Pro versions of the iPhone.

iPhone 14 Pro has an always-on display

The iPhone 14 Pro runs on iOS 16, which adds a bunch of welcome features including new ways to customize your lock screen. But there’s one lock screen feature reserved for the 14 Pro and 14 Pro Max: an always-on display.

The always-on display is a low-power version of your lock screen that can show essential information when your phone is locked. Most Android phones have had the feature for years, but Apple’s implementation might be the most gorgeous one yet.

The 14 Pro’s always-on display shows the time, date, your widgets, notifications and shaded-out version of your lock screen’s wallpaper. Depending on how your lock screen is set up, it can look vastly different when it’s shown as an always-on display. I had fun auditioning different lock screen combinations of wallpaper and widgets to see how they’d look. The color wallpaper is also the biggest difference Apple’s always-on display makes from Android phones, which typically just light up the time and notifications in monochrome.

Seeing my iPhone 14 Pro sitting on a table with its screen on took some getting used to. I kept thinking that I’d forgotten to lock it. To wake, just tap the screen or unlock the phone.

When the 14 Pro is faced down, in a pocket, in a bag or near another Apple device that you’re using, it doesn’t turn on. Also, there’s an option in Settings to turn it off completely.

I wish there was an option to make the always-on display look more discreet and, for example, just show the time and date. Technically, you could probably set a black wallpaper as your lock screen and only select the date and time for a more minimal always-on display. Visually, the 14 Pro’s always-on display has a lot going on which I found distracting when my phone was face-up next to me.

Taken in total, the Dynamic Island, the new lock screen layout and the always-on display make the 14 Pro the most approachable iPhone for managing alerts and notifications. And I imagine that experience will only get better once live activities for the lock screen in iOS 16 is available in full. (The live activities feature displays real time updates from apps on your lock screen, so you can track the progress of a rideshare or follow the score of a sporting event.)

iPhone 14 Pro camera

The iPhone 14 Pro has three rear cameras: a main wide-angle camera, an ultrawide and a telephoto camera with 3x optical zoom. The lens on the main camera has a wider focal length, going from a 26mm equivalent on previous iPhone models to a 24mm one. It’s not drastically different, but it helps get more of the scene into the frame.

The main camera also gets a new larger 48-megapixel sensor. While more megapixels doesn’t necessarily mean better photos, Apple divides the pixels into groups of four and combines them into one larger pixel. The result is a 12-megapixel photo that’s brighter, has less image noise and better detail.

The main camera takes excellent photos: The image quality and details are great for a phone. I noticed the most improvement is in medium and low-light situations: Colors look good and textures are great. Check out the photo below, which I took on a foggy morning in San Francisco. Notice the textures in the buildings’ bricks and the gradual way the 14 Pro captured the fog engulfing the top of Salesforce Tower.

The photo below was shot under a palm tree’s dark canopy. The 14 Pro did a solid job of capturing the different textures in the leaves and bark while also boosting the brightness.

If you’re so inclined, you can capture 48-megapixel photos using the phone’s ProRaw setting. I should warn you that these files are big. The file for the photo below of the Bay Bridge at sunset is 48 megabytes. After editing, the photo is saved as a much smaller JPEG. Look closely at the details of the cars and the bridge’s support cables.

The ultrawide camera gets a new sensor with more focus pixels and a stepped-down f2.2 aperture lens. All this adds up to much sharper ultrawide photos. The sensor — combined with Apple’s revamped photo processing, which it calls the Photonic Engine — gives you much better photos in less ideal situations.

Ultrawide photos and videos are still a step down compared to those from the main camera, but these improvements are welcomed.

Macro photos also get a boost. When you try to take a photo with the main camera when standing close to a subject, the iPhone 14 Pro switches to the ultrawide camera and crops the framing to mimic the main camera. This allows for a closer focus, which is great for close-up shots of small things. Last year’s 13 Pro had a similar feature, but with the new ultrawide, macro photos have better image quality, especially in medium and low light.

The telephoto camera is basically identical to the one on last year’s 13 Pro, but gets a lift from the 14 Pro’s Photonic Engine processing. As with the ultrawide, image quality is a step behind the main camera — especially in dimmer environments.

The TrueDepth camera got an upgraded lens with a brighter f1.9 aperture. And the selfie camera has autofocus for the first time ever, which works great for group selfies. Here are some more photos that I took with the iPhone 14 Pro and 14 Pro Max.

Cinematic mode can now record in 4K and at 24 frames per second. There’s a new video image stabilization tool called Action mode. When you shoot a video you can toggle it on and the phone crops in a bit to keep the image centered and the horizon level. If you’re shooting in 4K, Action mode drops the resolution to 2.8K but the results are still impressive. While other phones, like the Galaxy S22 Ultra, have similar stabilization functions, it’s wonderful to see the tool come to the iPhone. And it works across all three rear cameras.

While testing video shot with and without Action mode, I was reminded how good the image stabilization is in regular video mode. Check out the video below to see the clips I shot with the iPhone 14 Pro and 14 Pro Max.

iPhone 14 Pro speed

Driving all these upgrades is Apple’s new A16 Bionic chip. In use, everything feels peppy. Gaming is an absolute delight. And subtle things, like animations as you move in and out of the Dynamic Island, are super smooth. In our benchmark tests, the iPhone 14 Pro and 14 Pro Max proved that they’re not only faster than any iPhone we’ve ever tested, but they’re the fastest phones you can buy today.

Check out our benchmark test results below.

iPhone 14 Pro battery

The regular 14 Pro’s battery had no problem making it through a day. I typically got 6 hours of screen-on time. With the 14 Pro Max, I was able to consistently get a day and a half on a single charge.

Charging is OK. I charged the 14 Pro Max for 30 minutes and the battery went from 14% to 59%. The 14 Pro went from 51% to 84%.

iPhone 14 Pro vs. iPhone 13 Pro, 12 Pro, 11 Pro

If you have last year’s iPhone 13 Pro, I don’t think you should upgrade. While the improvements and new features have a lot of sizzle, you aren’t getting a drastically different experience. Upgrade your 13 Pro to iOS 16 and enjoy the new features from that software update instead.

But if you have an iPhone 12 Pro and have the itch to upgrade, the 14 Pro is a sizable step up in terms of performance, battery life, camera quality and additional features like the Dynamic Island.

And if you’re rocking an iPhone 11 Pro or older, the iPhone 14 Pro is a giant upgrade all around.

Technologies

Nintendo Switch 2: Everything We Know About the Console, New Games, Release Date

The $450 console will get Mario Kart World at launch, 4K gaming when docked, Switch 2 Edition game enhancements and new mouse controls.

The Nintendo Switch 2 console’s biggest reveal yet arrived Wednesday morning as part of the company’s Nintendo Direct event. This teed up a day of Switch 2 reveals that include its June 5 release date, a $450 price, its specs, and its initial game lineup that extends from launch into 2026.

The console will be further buoyed by having Mario Kart World as a launch title, which will go on sale in either a $500 bundle with the Switch 2 or on its own for $80 — making the open-world racing game one of Nintendo’s most expensive yet. Other games announced, such as Donkey Kong Bananza, are being priced around $70, which matches the cost of 2023’s The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. That Zelda game and Breath of the Wild are among the original Switch titles that will get enhanced Nintendo Switch 2 Edition upgrades, a premium upgrade allowing players to get new features, modes and graphical enhancements that take advantage of the newer system’s capabilities.

Here are the top highlights from Nintendo’s console event, all of the games we’ve heard about so far (including new titles, Nintendo Switch 2 Edition titles and GameCube games coming to Nintendo Switch Online) and all of our coverage so far. You can also check out our Nintendo Switch 2 live blog for even more updates about the Switch 2 as we learn them.

Nintendo Switch 2 console

The Nintendo Switch 2’s specs saw a noticeable technical bump over the Switch. The Nintendo Switch 2 has a 7.9-inch, 1080p resolution LCD that supports a 120Hz refresh rate — matching what we now see on most Android phones. When the Switch 2 is docked, compatible games can run in 4K resolution. The new dock also includes a cooling fan.

The Switch 2 comes with 256GB of internal storage, and the new Switch 2 Game Cards will load games faster. For digital libraries, however, the Switch 2 will only work with microSD Express cards, which are different from the microSD cards that are compatible with the prior Nintendo Switch. Nintendo will have a Software Transfer feature available to help move games and data from the original Switch to the Switch 2.

The new Joy-Con for the controllers will support mouse controls, and a new C button will be part of a new GameChat communication feature that allows both voice and video chat. There’s also a Nintendo Switch 2 Camera, allowing players to see each other.

The Switch 2 also adds a second USB-C port to the top of the system, which Nintendo says can help connect its new camera accessory or charge the console when playing in tabletop mode. Nintendo also revealed a new Switch 2 Pro Controller with the C button and customizable GL and GR buttons on the back.

Following the presentation, Nintendo unveiled the system’s price of $450 in the US. It will also sell the Switch 2 bundled with a digital version of Mario Kart World for $500.

Mario Kart World

Mario Kart World removes its traditional boundaries and lets drivers roam freely across an entire world of race courses. The game will get its own Nintendo Direct later this month, where we’ll see additional details, but we already know it’ll include traditional races and a Free Roam mode, much like in the Forza Horizon series.

Getting the game bundled for an extra $50 on the cost of the Switch 2 might be the move if you are interested in the game, because Nintendo announced on its website that standalone copies of Mario Kart World will cost $80.

Joy-Con 2 C button and GameChat

Nintendo’s rolling out its new C button across several new Switch 2 controllers. The button will be used for the new GameChat communication features without a headset. The button will be used alongside a microphone on the console itself, which Nintendo says can be used whether it’s docked to a TV or in handheld mode.

In its teaser video, Nintendo promises the microphone will be able to cancel out loud background noises. GameChat will also work with a Nintendo Switch 2 Camera, allowing video chat and various camera-based game modes in supported titles. GameChat will be free at launch through March 31, 2026.

Nintendo Switch 2 Edition games upgrade titles

The Nintendo Switch 2 will play three types of games: original Switch games, Switch 2 games and Switch 2 Edition games that will receive substantial enhancements. For many of these Switch 2 Edition games, you’ll need to buy an upgrade pack if you own the original for Switch. Many of them will get more than just enhanced graphics in the upgrade; for example, Super Mario Party Jamboree will get new games that support the new Joy-Cons’ mouse controls, audio recognition and video camera gameplay options through the Switch 2 Camera.

Other Nintendo Switch games that are getting Switch 2 Edition options include The Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild, The Legend of Zelda Tears of the Kingdom, Kirby and the Forgotten Land, Metroid Prime 4 Beyond and Pokemon Legends: Z-A. Enhancements vary: The Zelda games will start working with a companion phone app for maps and sending schematics to friends, while Kirby will get a new story that’s exclusive to the Switch 2 Edition. On the third-party side, Civilization 7 will get mouse controls.

Nintendo did not announce what upgrade packs will cost. However, some Switch games will get free updates that will improve performance or enhance features when playing them on the Switch 2. The Switch games getting these updates include:

Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment

Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment is a new game set in the world of Zelda that tells the story that leads into The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. This appears to be similar to how Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity told the story of a war that led to the events of Breath of the Wild. The teaser shows Zelda discovering that she’s arrived in the past of Hyrule, and the game will expand on how she gets involved in the corresponding Imprisonment War.

Nintendo Switch 2 games

Several other first- and third-party games were spotlighted during the Switch 2 Direct. These include Donkey Bananza, one of the first 3D platforming games featuring DK since 1999’s Donkey Kong 64. Kirby will also return to the racing genre in Kirby Air Riders, which comes more than 20 years after the GameCube racer Kirby’s Air Ride. DragXDrive will use mouse controls to control a futuristic wheelchair basketball game in which players will simulate push and pull motions to control their character.

An onslaught of Switch 2 third-party games were quickly shuffled through during the Direct, which I list below. An unnamed James Bond game is in development at Hitman studio IO Interactive, as is a darker title from Elden Ring creator FromSoftware called The Duskbloods, which will be exclusive to the Switch 2.

The full list of announced Nintendo Switch 2 games includes:

Borderlands 4
Bravely Default Flying Fairy HD Remaster
Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition
Daemon X Machina: Titanic Scion
Deltarune
Donkey Kong Bananza
Drag x Drive
EA Sports FC
EA Sports Madden NFL
Elden Ring Tarnished Edition
Enter the Gungeon 2
Fast Fusion
Final Fantasy 7 Remake Intergrade
Fortnite
Hades 2
Hitman World of Assassination — Signature Edition
Hogwarts Legacy
Hollow Knight: Silksong
Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment
Kirby Air Riders
Kirby and the Forgotten Land — Nintendo Switch 2 Edition and Star-Crossed World
Kunitsu-Gai: Path of the Goddess
Mario Kart World
Metroid Prime 4: Beyond — Nintendo Switch 2 Edition
NBA 2K
Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour
Nobunaga’s Ambition: Awakening Complete Edition
Pokemon Legends: Z-A — Nintendo Switch 2 Edition
Project 007
Puyo Puyo Tetris 2S
Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma — Nintendo Switch 2 Edition
Sid Meier’s Civilization 7 — Nintendo Switch 2 Edition
Split Fiction
Star Wars Outlaws
Starseeker: Astroneer Expeditions
Street Fighter 6
Super Mario Party Jamboree — Nintendo Switch 2 Edition and Jamboree TV
Survival Kids
The Duskbloods
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild — Nintendo Switch 2 Edition
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom — Nintendo Switch 2 Edition
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 and 4
WWE 2K
Yakuza 0 Definitive Edition

Among these titles, you can see the full list of June 5 Switch 2 launch day games here.

Nintendo GameCube library coming to Switch 2

The Nintendo Switch Online game library will add GameCube games to the Switch 2. On launch day, these games will initially include The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, SoulCalibur 2 and F-Zero GX, with each game getting enhanced graphics. Online multiplayer will also be added to certain titles. Super Mario Sunshine, Super Mario Strikers and Luigi’s Mansion are among the games set to arrive later. At launch, Nintendo will also sell a GameCube controller, which will be wireless and include a C button for GameChat.

Technologies

Which Nintendo Switch Accessories Will Work With the Nintendo Switch 2?

The next-gen Switch console has many physical changes, but that doesn’t mean you’ll have to get rid of all your gear for the original Switch.

Nintendo detailed the highly anticipated Switch 2 on Wednesday. We still have to wait a few more months before we can actually get our hands on it — June 5, to be precise — but that gives us plenty of time to make sure we have all the extra accessories we’ll need. On the upside, many of the accessories for the original Nintendo Switch will work with the Switch 2, but some important ones won’t.

Controllers

Joy-Con

The Switch 2 will come with its own set of updated Joy-Cons, but you can still use the original ones. They won’t attach physically to the Switch 2, as the new Joy-Cons are larger and attach magnetically, but you can pair the original Joy-Cons wirelessly. That way, you can still play with your family and friends without buying extras.

Pro Controller

Nintendo’s excellent Pro Controller also got an upgrade for the Switch 2, but as with the Joy-Cons, the original Pro Controller will work fine with the Switch 2. It will pair wirelessly with the console and can be charged via a USB cable from the Switch 2 dock. The new Pro will have some decent upgrades, like enlarged buttons and triggers, GameCube-esque ergonomics, and programmable back paddles, but it will also cost $80, so if you don’t feel you need to upgrade, you won’t have to.

Other Nintendo controllers

Nintendo also clarified that all the wireless versions of the NES, SNES, N64 and Sega Genesis controllers will work wirelessly with the Switch 2. However, it also said that not every game would be compatible, but we don’t know yet which games those would be. It’s probably safe to assume all games supporting those controllers (also compatible with the Switch 2) would work, but we’ll update this once we know more.

Third-party controllers

This is the big question mark at the moment. We have not been able to confirm anything from either Nintendo or other controller manufacturers if third-party controllers will work with the Switch 2. I assume that since the original Pro Controller will work with the Switch 2, at the very least, officially licensed third-party controllers will work, but as of publish time, we have not had any confirmation about support for third-party controllers on the Switch 2. One vendor I spoke with confirmed it is currently in talks with Nintendo about compatibility but couldn’t share any details.

MicroSD cards

One of the biggest (and most welcome) upgrades to the Switch 2 is an 8x increase in internal storage from 32GB to 256GB. That means a microSD is no longer an immediate must-have accessory. That’s also good because not every microSD card that worked with the original Switch will work with the Switch 2.

Nintendo specified that only microSD Express cards will work with Switch 2. You can still view screenshots and videos from your non-Express microSD cards, but you won’t be able to save or load games or save data to them. You can tell if your microSD card is Express because it will have a little EX printed on it.

Bluetooth headphones

The original Nintendo Switch infamously did not have Bluetooth capabilities, so you had to plug in headphones or buy an adapter. Nintendo remedied this with updated Switch versions and kept that functionality for the Switch 2. That means all your favorite Bluetooth headphones should work just fine with your new Switch 2.

Docks

The Switch 2 dock is also getting a big upgrade. It’s larger with rounded corners and now supports 4K resolution at 60 frames per second, a welcome upgrade for a modern game console. That being said, for households with multiple Switch consoles and TVs, you may not want to buy extra Switch 2 docks to use around your home.

However, Nintendo confirmed that the original Switch Dock is incompatible with the Switch 2, which also means it’s likely the original Switch will not work in the Switch 2 Dock.

Third-party docks

Several docks not made by Nintendo work just fine with the first-generation Switch, so there’s no reason to expect they would not be compatible with the Switch 2 as long as they provide adequate power. However, once again, we’ve not had any confirmation, so we can’t say for sure.

Chargers, cables and adapters

Chargers

The first-generation Switch was notoriously fickle with non-Nintendo chargers, particularly when docked, and the Switch 2 looks likely to continue that trend. The Switch 2 has a different power input from the original Switch so that the original Switch charger won’t work for TV mode with the Switch 2. You can still charge the Switch 2 with it by plugging it in directly, but that’s it.

We also don’t know anything about third-party chargers for the Switch 2 yet. There were several that worked perfectly fine with the original Switch, but we don’t yet know the power draw of the Switch 2, so we can’t say for sure which chargers will work. Hopefully, we’ll find out more closer to launch, but for right now, the only charger that we know will work for TV mode with the Switch 2 is the charger that comes with it.

Cables

The Switch 2 most likely supports HDMI 2.1, which means the HDMI cable that came with the original Switch won’t work. Nintendo has confirmed as much, though, as with most other accessories, it hasn’t given specifics as to whether third-party HDMI cables will work or not. We’ll have to wait to find out. The Switch 2 will have an HDMI cable, so at least there’s that.

Adapters

Nintendo has confirmed that the only adapter that works with the Switch 2 is the GameCube Controller adapter. This lets you connect a wired GameCube controller to the Switch Dock, and Nintendo says it can be used in TV mode while connected to a Switch 2 Dock. We don’t know anything else about any other adapters at this time.

Nintendo did give us quite a lot of information about the Switch 2 today, including the price, most of the key upgrades, and the launch date, but as you can see, there’s still a lot we don’t know. We’ll continue to update this list and our other coverage of the Nintendo Switch 2 as we learn more.

Technologies

Save Up to 20% on Your Phone Plan Thanks to Ultra Mobile’s Spring Sale

Need to lower your monthly phone bill? Switching to Ultra Mobile could be a wise decision. We’ll explain why.

If you’re looking for more ways to decrease your spending, switching to a cheaper phone plan could be just the ticket. Many cellphone providers lavish perks on new clients, so making the switch could be a smart financial decision. For those looking for a new cellphone plan, we’re glad to announce that Ultra Mobile is offering up to 20% off on select phone plans until May 18.

Ultra Mobile is also offering 10% off its three- and six-month contracts as a part of this deal. These discounts are available for deals providing 5GB, 10GB or 15GB of data per month. The carrier also has two Unlimited Plans you can choose from to nab this discount. Note: Ultra Mobile has a Talk & Text plan and a 3GB plan, but they aren’t currently eligible for any discounts.

The biggest savings right now are for 12-month plans. You can save 20% on Ultra Mobile 5GB, 10GB, 15GB, Ultra Unlimited and Unlimited Plus Plans. The Ultra Unlimited plan includes unlimited 5G, 4G and LTE data, international calls to more than 90 countries, unlimited national and global texts and a $5 credit for international calls and roaming per month. You’ll also get 10GB of hotspot data per month.

The Unlimited Plus Plan includes 20GB of hotspot data, as well as all the aforementioned features. You’ll also get a $10 credit for international calls and a $10 credit for roaming per month. Keep in mind that your device and SIM must be compatible with Ultra Mobile, so make sure to confirm that before making the switch. Finally, these are prepaid plans, which means up-front payment is required.

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Looking for a new phone plan but aren’t sure if this deal is for you? We have the best cheap phone plans and the best family phone plans lists so you can find what works for you.

Why this deal matters

Your phone bill can strain your monthly budget, but prepaid plans like these are a great way to save. Ultra Mobile’s plans are already relatively inexpensive, but these deals can shave 10% to 20% off per month. Though three- and six-month plans are available, its biggest savings are on 12-month plans.