Why You Can Trust CNET T-Mobile unveils a $400 5G phone
The Revvl 5G launches Sept. 4 for both postpaid and prepaid customers.
- I've been covering technology and mobile for 12 years, first as a telecommunications reporter and assistant editor at ZDNet in Australia, then as CNET's West Coast head of breaking news, and now in the Thought Leadership team.
T-Mobile has a new budget brand of smartphones.
T-Mobile has unveiled its new Revvl budget smartphones, the Revvl 4, Revvl 4+ and Revvl 5G. The 5G-enabled smartphone announced Thursday will be available Sept. 4 on both postpaid and prepaid, according to T-Mobile. It's also coming to T-Mobile's Metro wireless service.
The Revvl 5G is also priced at $200 when you switch or add a line. Its low price point is T-Mobile's effort "to smash one of the last remaining hurdles keeping people from getting 5G , at a time when America needs reliable connectivity the most," said Mike Sievert, T-Mobile CEO.
The 5G phone features a 6.5-inch FHD+ display; 48MP, 8MP super wide and 5MP macro cameras on the rear; a 16MP selfie camera; 6GB of RAM; and a 4,500mAh battery. It comes in black and runs Android 10.
Read more: Verizon vs. AT&T vs. T-Mobile compared: How to pick the best 5G carrier for you
The Revvl 4 comes in graphite, with a 6.22-inch HD+ display, 13MP rear camera and 3,500mAh battery, and is priced at $120 or $5 per month. The Revvel 4+ is gray and has a 6.5-inch HD+ display, two rear cameras and a 4,000mAh battery, and costs $192 or $8 per month. They both work on T-Mobile's LTE network.
T-Mobile uses low-band 600MHz spectrum -- which has better range but slower speeds -- for its 5G network, and is now also integrating Sprint's midband 2.5GHz spectrum since the carrier's $26.5 billion merger with Sprint went through in April. You can check out T-Mobile's 5G coverage maps here.
