I review phones for a living — here’s what I look for when shopping for Black Friday deals
Your Black Friday shopping list includes a phone, which is lucky for you since there are so many Black Friday phone deals out there right now. You peruse the list, spot what seems like a reasonable discount on one of the best phones on your wish list and decide to take the plunge. But just as you’re about to mash that Buy button, you’re seized by a paralyzing thought: What if this really isn’t a good deal after all?
It’s understandable. With all the discounts out there, you’re bound to come across a few turkeys potentially obscuring some truly great deals. But if it’s reassuring at all, you’re in good hands by coming here.
I’ve been with Tom’s Guide for just about a decade, and I’ve been a part of our Black Friday deals coverage every year I’ve worked here. As the managing editor of our phone section, it’s safe to say I’m very familiar with phones available for purchase — at least, the ones worth purchasing at any rate. And the rest of the phones team brings additional experience in analyzing handsets and knowing which ones deliver the best value — particularly when their price drops.
But as helpful our advice may be, ultimately you’re the one making the decision on whether to pick up a particular phone that’s on sale. And I want to help there, too. Here’s the five things I keep in mind not only when deciding which phone deals to highlight but whether to buy a phone for myself. Taking the following into consideration should help you when it comes to evaluating Black Friday phone deals on your own.
Read the fine print on deals from phone carriers
Most of us buy our phones directly from the phone carriers that provide our wireless service. And if we’re looking to change wireless providers, there are plenty of phone deals out there designed by carriers to bring in new customers.
A lot of these deals are pretty enticing and can save you a lot of money on your next phone purchase. Just be sure to understand the terms of the deal, as they often include more than just a discounted phone.
Wireless carriers aren’t cutting the prices of phones out of the kindness of their heart or because they like the cut of your jib — they’re selling you a discounted phone so that you’ll remain a customer of their wireless service for the foreseeable future. At the major carriers, most of the discounted prices come in the form of credits to your monthly bill, with those payments spread out anywhere from 24 to 36 months.
Take Verizon, which as of this writing, is offering an iPhone 16 at no cost when you open up a new line of data with the carrier. That’s a pretty generous deal, though Verizon isn’t exactly handing over a brand new iPhone for free. Instead, you get a monthly credit of $23.05 for the next 36 months that pays off the phone. Switch carriers before then, and you’re on the hook for the remaining balance of the iPhone 16.
For that reason, I’d be more comfortable accepting that kind of deal if I’m already a customer of the carrier that wants me to commit to its service for the next three years. That way, I have a pretty good idea of what kind of wireless coverage to expect instead of taking a flyer on a new provider.
There’s other fine print to pay attention to. That Verizon deal on the iPhone 16 also requires you to sign up with either an Unlimited Plus or Unlimited Welcome plan. The former costs $80/month while the latter is Verizon’s most expensive option at $90/month. That’s a recurring cost you’re going to have to make for as long as you’re getting bill credits for your free phone.
Take note if another phone is on the way
If you’re in the market for a Galaxy S24 phone, you can find a lot of generous discounts on Samsung’s current flagships. For example, Amazon has taken $350 off the Galaxy S24 Ultra, bringing the cost of that $1,299 phone to below $1,000. That beats the price of premium devices like the iPhone 16 Pro.
There’s a reason behind these drops in price for Samsung’s current flagship devices, though — the S24 phones aren’t going to be that current for much longer.
The launch of the Galaxy S25 is just around the corner. Specifically, we expect the new phones to appear in January 2025. It’s clear that one of the reasons the Galaxy S24 models are priced so attractively right now is because retailers want to clear out inventory ahead of the new phones’ arrival.
That’s not necessarily a reason to hold off on taking advantage of deals like the Galaxy S24 Ultra one listed above. But if you do plan to buy the phone, you should recognize that a new model will be arriving shortly, and you should be OK with giving up the rumored improvements to that device. In the case of the Galaxy S25 Ultra, the likely improvements include a faster, more power efficient chipset, and an upgraded ultrawide camera. We’d also expect new Galaxy AI features to debut alongside the S25 models.
Then again, the Galaxy S24 Ultra already has a pretty fast chipset, and it lasts long enough to land on our best phone battery life list. Samsung also has a habit of extending some new Galaxy AI features to previous flagships via software updates. So unless I needed the latest and greatest hardware, I wouldn’t hesitate to buy a heavily discounted Galaxy S24 Ultra even though its successor is just weeks from debuting.
Check other storage capacities
A lot of phone deals focus on the base model. But in some cases you can take advantage of discounted prices to get more bang for your buck.
Take the Galaxy S24, currently enjoying a tidy $100 discount at Amazon that brings its cost down to $699. But that’s the 128GB base model. Upgrade the storage to 256GB, and you’ll pay $759, which is also $100 off the typical price. More to the point, though, that discount 256GB Galaxy S24 now costs less than the base model usually does, while also providing double the storage.
If you’re the type who appreciates extra space on your smartphone, Black Friday is your chance to max out on capacity without having a similar impact on your wallet.
Don’t overlook older phones
Just because a phone isn’t the latest addition to a device maker’s lineup doesn’t mean it’s no longer a useful handset to have on hand. Turning to the previous generation of smartphones can still land you a very capable device for a much lower price than what you’d pay for a newer model. Add in a Black Friday discount, and you can really take advantage of the savings.
If you decide to go with an older flagship, I’d steer you toward phones from Samsung and Google, as those device makers offer seven years of software and security updates for recent models. Maybe you’re not going to keep your new old phone for that long, but the additional support means that you’ll have that option. Apple also does a good job of extending the life of its phones with years of iOS updates, but I’d avoid the iPhone 15, even if it’s available at a discount. That A16 Bionic-powered phone lacks the processing power to support the Apple Intelligence features Apple is rolling out to its phones; the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max are the only non-iPhone 16 models that can run Apple Intelligence.
For all those reasons, I think the best older model currently on sale is the Google Pixel 8, which Amazon is selling at a $250 discount. Besides Google’s extensive software support, you’re also getting AI capabilities powered by that phone’s Tensor G3 chipset. Pixels also tend to be among the best camera phones, and while a Pixel 9 vs. Pixel 8 comparison reveals that you’ll miss out on an upgraded ultrawide camera, the Pixel 8 still takes advantage of Google’s photo processing features to produce very good images.
Budget phones get discounts, too
Flagship phones get all the attention around Black Friday, because we’re conditioned to like nice, round numbers. Budget phones already don’t cost a lot, so their discounts tend to be smaller. Still, savings are savings even if it’s making an already affordable phone even more so.
You’ll find lower prices on a lot of devices that are part of Motorola’s budget Moto G lineup. The Moto G Stylus (2024) is available for 41% off at Amazon, while the Moto G 5G — already the best phone you can get for less than $200 — has fallen by 19%. These phones are long-lasting, and I happen to like their vegan leather back.
But so far, the best deal on a budget phone that I’ve spotted involves the Google Pixel 8a, which offers cameras that compare well to much more expensive phones as well as AI features powered by Google’s Tensor chipset. Normally $499, the Pixel 8a costs $399 at Best Buy right now if you buy the phone unlocked. Activate it with a carrier, though, and you can save another $100, putting a great camera phone in your pocket for a 40% discount.
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