It’s not long now until we hit one of the biggest online sales events of the year, Black Friday. If you’re in the market for a new phone or need a gift for a loved one, it’s a perfect time to pick one up. You’ll find massive savings from all the popular brands, no matter if you’re an iPhone loyalist or an Android aficionado.
Here at Pocket-lint, we test all the top phones in-house, so we know which ones are the most exciting, powerful and feature-packed and which ones offer the best value for money. We cover everything from budget-friendly and mid-range handsets to top-tier folding beauties, and below you’ll find discounts on some of the best options on the market today.
Best Black Friday iPhone deals
Whether you’re well embedded in Apple’s ecosystem or not yet enclosed in the company’s walled garden, an iPhone is a powerful handset that’s just as intuitive. With renowned cameras, vibrant displays, and unparalleled inter-device integration, Apple’s iPhone is a marketplace leader for a reason, and now just in time for the holiday season, on sale at nice discounts.
Apple / Pocket-Lint
Apple iPhone 14
$680 $730 Save $50
Apple’s 2022 flagship, the iPhone 14, debuted the multi-functional Dynamic Island, making use of the pill notch on the top of the handset’s 6.1-inch display. While we found that the phone played it a bit safe when it came to design, adhering in many aspects to the iPhone 13, it’s still a powerful option with battery life that only landed at 20 per cent after about 13 hours of use.
Apple
Apple iPhone 14 Plus
$780 $830 Save $50
If you’re intrigued by the iPhone 14, but prefer a slightly bigger display for viewing Apple’s already crisp text and visuals, the iPhone 14 Plus has all the same hardware and features as the basic flagship but with a larger screen and even more powerful battery.
Best Android phone deals
From the AI- powerhouse Google Pixel phones to Samsung’s elite cameras and multi-functional engineering, Android phones essentially offer a mini computer in your pocket. These are some of our favorite models that have been dropped to a generous discount.
Google Pixel 6
$340 $600 Save $260
It has been around for a couple of years now, but the Pixel 6 is still a fantastic smartphone in 2023. With this phone, you get many of the benefits of Google’s newer flagships, but at less than half the price.
Motorola
Moto G Stylus (2023)
$150 $200 Save $50
The Moto G Stylus is one of the most affordable phones around, especially when it’s discounted. If you want value, look no further. As an added bonus, it’s one of the few phones on the market to come with a stylus.
Best Black Friday foldable phone deals
Before smartphones featured their signature sleek, slab form-factor, there was the flip phone. In recent years, Android has made a cade to bring a retro handset style to the modern phone with classic clamshell flip phones and even folding phones with double screens for more experimentation to match the phone’s creative form factor.
Samsung
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4
$800 $1000 Save $200
The new Z Flip 5 comes with a beautiful, but quite large, outer display when folded in the clamshell position, and if you think that defeats the flip’s appeal, you may enjoy it’s still capable predecessor – the Z Flip 4. While the handset may not be quite as powerful as the successor, it still performs well and offers more than most people would ever need. Plus, it’s now at the lowest price we’ve seen in 30 days.
Samsung
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5
$1620 $1920 Save $300
The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 is one of the most well-known and beloved tablet-style foldables available today. At Pocket-lint, it’s one of the best handsets we reviewed in 2023, making subtle, yet important changes from its predecessor and boasting a beautiful AMOLED screen.
Motorola
Motorola Razr+ 2023
$700 $1000 Save $300
The 2023 Razr+ is Motorola’s best foldable yet, and at a heavily discounted price, it’s a bit of a bargain, too. It has one of the largest outer displays of any flip phone and gorgeous styling throughout.
Best Black Friday trade-in phone deals
If you’re shopping for yourself and looking to upgrade your phone while limiting e-waste, trading your phone in is a great way to save money and the environment. Major retailers and carriers, like Best Buy, Verizon, and AT&T are offering great trade-in deals along with out-of-the-box handset deals right now.
Best Buy
Best Buy
In partnership with both Verizon and AT&T, Best Buy is offering trade-in deals for iPhones, Google, and Samsung phones. Check out their website for more information.
Verizon
Verizon
Depending on which phone you want, Verizon is offering trade-in deals with accessories included for both new and existing customers.
AT&T
AT&T
Save on all iPhone 14 models and even the new Google Pixel 8 with these trade-in offers from AT&T.
Should I buy an Android or Apple phone?
The great question that has lingered on since the dawn of the smartphone era. In truth, there’s no correct answer, it’s all just a matter of preference. If you’re all-in on the Apple ecosystem, using AirPods, an iPad and MacBook, then iPhone is the obvious choice, as it’ll work seamlessly with all your other Apple gear.
If you’re seeking value for money, however, Apple doesn’t really cater to the budget market, so you’ll definitely want to consider Android to get the best bang for your buck. On the opposite end of the spectrum, high-end Android phones tend to get cutting-edge features long before Apple debuts anything similar, so if you fancy a camera with a 1-inch sensor or a foldable display, then Android is the platform for you.
What is the newest iPhone?
The latest iPhones are the 15-series – that’s the iPhone 15, 15 Plus, 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max. If you want a detailed breakdown of how they compare, you can find that here, but in short, as you go up through the range you get larger displays, better cameras and more horsepower.
The iPhone 14 and 14 Plus, and the iPhone 13, are all still available from Apple if you don’t need the latest features, and you can save a lot of money by opting for a slightly older device. Still, if you want the best of the best, the 15-series is the way to go.
Should I get a foldable phone?
Featuring some of the most innovative and unique designs in the smartphone industry, Foldable phones feature an undeniably cool, experimental form-factor, which with double screens are also highly functional — especially if you’re a multi-tasker. So, if you want to try something new, then nothing feels quite as fresh as a folding display.
That said, there are drawbacks to folding phones, and the main one is durability. As hard as manufacturers work to make their folding devices robust, they’re never going to be quite as strong as a traditional phone, so if you have butterfingers, then you might want to steer clear.
There’s also the cost to be considered. This is something that’s getting better, with flip phones now firmly in the territory of standard phones, but it’s still not uncommon to see flagship foldables creeping towards the $2000 mark – and that’s a lot of money to spend on a phone. Still, for those who can afford it, carrying a foldable tablet in your pocket is a futuristic and fun prospect.
Why you can trust Pocket-lint to find the best Black Friday phone deals
Our team of handset experts spends all year reviewing and ranking the best phones on the market – seeing how they fare on all fronts from camera performance, overall display, durability, portability, entertainment functionality, and more.
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