The Samsung Galaxy S8 is one of the best phones we’ve reviewed this year, but let’s face it: It’s expensive. Some people really don’t need any more than something cheap and reliable to get them through the day, and that’s why AT&T sub-brands Cricket Wireless and GoPhone are giving them choices.
On Friday, Cricket Wireless added the Galaxy S8 and Samsung’s Galaxy Amp Prime 2 to its lineup, and GoPhone added the Galaxy Express 3.
The Galaxy S8 practically needs no introduction. It has a crisp, 6.2-inch Super AMOLED (2,960 x 1,440 pixels) curved edge-to-edge screen, Qualcomm’s bleeding-edge Snapdragon 835 processor, 4GB of RAM, 64GB of storage, and a USB Type-C connector. Rounding out the internals is a 3,500mAh battery with support for high-speed charging; a dedicated button for Samsung’s Bixby, an AI-powered virtual assistant; Bluetooth 5 with support for simultaneous music streaming; and sensors like a fingerprint reader and iris scanner.
The Galaxy S8 starts at $700 on Cricket Wireless.
The Galaxy Amp Prime 2 sits at the opposite end of the hardware spectrum. It packs 4.5-inch Super AMOLED (800 x 480 pixels) screen powered by Samsung’s quad-core Exynos 3 chip and 1GB of RAM. There’s 8GB of storage onboard (expandable via MicroSD card), two cameras (a 5MP rear and 2MP front), and a 2,050mAh battery and touch-sensitive control keys.
The Amp Prime 2 is $150 on Cricket Wireless.
If neither of those suite your fancy, there’s a third option: The Galaxy Express 3. It features a 4.5-inch Super AMOLED (800 x 480 pixels) screen and a Qualcomm’s entry-level Snapdragon 400 processor. There’s 1GB of RAM and a removable 2,000mAh battery in tow, 8GB of internal storage, and two cameras: A 5MP rear-facing model and 2MP selfie cam. Otherwise, you’ll find a pretty standard array of accouterments, including GPS, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and a MicroUSB connector.
It’s free for GoPhone customers until June 22.
It’s not a bad time to hop on AT&T’s prepaid bandwagon. In March, GoPhone bumped its highest data allotment to 6GB (for $40 a month) and introduced and unlimited plan for $60 a month. And earlier this year, Cricket raised allotments for several of its plans: 3GB for $40 per month, 8GB for $50, and 12GB for $60.
It’s worth noting, of course, that both carriers impose restrictions that others don’t. GoPro caps unlimited plans at 3Mbps and video streaming to 1.5Mbps. Cricket, meanwhile, limits LTE and High Speed Packet Access (HSPA+) speeds to 8Mbps and 4Mbps, respectively.
