I wouldn’t blame you if you’ve held off on upgrading your smartphone all these months. For one, it’s always helpful to get a scope of what every manufacturer has to offer with their latest handsets. And secondly, discounts and sales are more significant than ever with the current state of the economy.
Still, for how essential smartphones are to our daily lives, when it’s finally time to buy a new one, you’ll want a device that is both capable and reliable enough to last you for years down the road. While Black Friday officially kicks off in weeks’ time, you don’t have to wait until the day after Thanksgiving to feast on smartphone savings. I’ve scoured the digital catalogs of the most popular retailers to gather the best mobile deals below. Read on and start saving.
Best early Black Friday 2022 smartphone deals overall
Below, you’ll find my top picks for early Black Friday smartphone deals, including that of Google, Apple, Samsung, and more.
- Current Price: $899
- Original Price: $1199
In the running for best smartphone of the year, the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra, with its gorgeous 6.8-inch OLED display, up to 8K video recording, S Pen support, and a generous 5,000mAh battery, has proven to be the Korean giant’s most complete handset yet. This early Black Friday, Amazon and Best Buy have the flagship discounted by $300, putting the Galaxy right beside Google’s just-released Pixel 7 Pro at $899.
I challenge you to find a more versatile smartphone for that price.
- Current price: $849
- Original price: $999
I reviewed the iPhone 14 Pro alongside ZDNET colleague Jason Hiner back in September, and while Apple’s latest handset dazzled with improved camera features and its most ambitious display feature yet: Dynamic Island, it didn’t feel like a revelation compared to the iPhone 13 Pro from the year before. That said, if you were hoping to buy an iPhone for less going into Black Friday, this $150 discount on the excellent iPhone 13 Pro is certainly worth the look.
For transparency, the phone is certified “Renewed Premium” by Amazon, meaning it has been fully inspected and will look as good as new. Barring that, you can expect the same iOS 16 experience that one would get on the more-expensive iPhone 14 Pro and a more traditional notched display.
- Current price: $649
- Original price: $799
The OnePlus 10 Pro is one of the better smartphones that fell under everyone’s radar this year, mainly because it was announced back in January at CES. As OnePlus’s flagship smartphone, the handset carries the much-expected duet of ultra-smooth display performance and even faster charging. No, seriously, the phone comes with a 65W charging brick that can power it from 0% to 100% within half an hour.
All things considered, you technically save $250 dollars with this deal because the OnePlus 10 Pro retailed at $899 when it was first released earlier this year.
- Current Price: $299
- Original Price: $449
Google’s Pixel A series of smartphones is notorious for offering the company’s computational photography prowess in a package that costs no more than $500. Here’s an even sweeter deal: the latest Pixel 6a for just $299. That’s the lowest price I’ve seen on the Tensor-powered handset, and when you consider the five to six years of software and security support that it’s on track to receive, there really is no better no-contract smartphone deal happening right now than this.
The Pixel 6a is also one of the most compact handsets on the market today at 6.1 inches. I will say that the lower cost comes at the expense of a slower 60Hz refresh rate display, but unless you’re a gamer or spend all day swiping through a social feed, it shouldn’t affect your experience significantly.
- Current price: $349
- Original price: $449
It’s easy to mess up a “cheap” 5G phone, but Samsung got nearly everything right with the Galaxy A53 5G. So much so that it currently sits at the top of ZDNET’s best cheap 5G phones rankings. The reasoning is actually pretty simple. The Galaxy A53 5G has a large 6.5-inch Super AMOLED display that can ramp up to 120Hz, which, that feature alone, puts its closest competitors, Apple’s iPhone SE (2nd Gen) and Google’s Pixel 6a, to shame. Then there’s a beefy 5,000mAh battery powering the unit, and a quad-camera setup at the rear for flexibility when shooting photos and videos.
The whole shebang is currently on sale for just $349, $100 off its typical price.
More early Black Friday 2022 smartphone deals
Here are some other Black Friday smartphone deals happening right now:
When it comes to finding the best deal, part of the equation is looking for smartphones that users will actually enjoy using. By testing most of the handsets that hit the open market all year long, ZDNET’s team of subject experts can offer the best advice on what to buy and what to avoid.
The second part of the equation is determining whether or not a deal is real or not. In some cases, retailers will mark down a product knowing full well that it has been discounted for weeks and months before. In other cases, like the ones mentioned above, you’re saving money on the products like never before.
Black Friday always falls the day after Thanksgiving. This year, Black Friday will be on Nov. 25, 2022.
Cyber Monday is always the following Monday after Black Friday. This year, it will be on Monday, Nov. 28, 2022.