Christmas is around the corner and if you or a close loved one is looking to upgrade their mobile this coming December then the current Black Friday sales offers a great way to cut the price. Apple’s newest iPhone 16 range, the flagship Google Pixel 9 or Samsung’s Galaxy ZFlip6 and Galaxy ZFold6 device, there are so many snazzy new handsets to choose from.
We all know that buying a new phone comes at a big cost so we’ve picked out some of the best current deals to help you (or anyone in charge of your Christmas wishlist) pay a lower than usual price. As Sky Mobile, giffgaff, O2, Vodafone and Mobiles.co.uk launch their Black Friday deals there’s plenty to choose from, not forgetting Amazon’s early discounts.
No matter if you’re looking for the latest flagship device from Apple, Samsung and Google, or a cheaper price with the likes of the Pixel 8a or the Galaxy A54. So, let’s get started.
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TopTech: Best of O2 Black Friday sale with easy way to cut £900 off Samsung phone
Starting off with the discounts for Samsung Galaxy fans there’s loads of offers available in Samsung’s newly launched Black Friday sale. Ones that stand out to our team is the £300 discount on the foldable Galaxy ZFold6 and £100 to £570 off the Galaxy ZFlip6 device if you have an older one to trade-in.
Samsung’s new flippable and foldable smartphones are certainly ones we expect to be popular this year as there isn’t many other brands that pull off the multi-screen devices as well – apart from the rival Google Pixel and Motorola Razr 50, but certainly not something Apple offers.
Samsung’s S24 range – as it’s at the top of the discounts
Now, we wouldn’t usually flag Samsung’s latest S range phone at this time of they year, well for Christmas gifts, as the new S range device will be launch around February 2025, so those who are lucky enough to get one at Christmas will only have ‘the newest phone’ for a couple of months.
That being said there are plenty of deals on the S24 range this Black Friday that we can’t ignore, and they’d suit those looking for a bargain or not fussed for having an older handset. And O2, Vodafone and Samsung all have great price drops on at the moment.
Over at O2, we’d recommend the standard S24 plan as £920 is cut off the combined 256GB device and airtime plan, which we previously shared the deal for our sister site The Express, as Harriet Morphy-Morris said: “The phone used to cost £890.26 at O2 but it’s been dropped to £641.78, giving shoppers a saving of £248.48 on the device…with another £670 (give or take) to save once they add an airtime plan.
“Another £672 can be saved on the £14 per month discount on the 25GB, 30GB Plus, 125GB, 150GB Plus, Unlimited, and Unlimited Plus Airtime plans”, and it’s not the only S24 deal around.
If you have your sites on the bigger S24 Ultra then Vodafone’s Black Friday offer could be for you, as the device payment of the plan is currently £65 cheaper than Samsung’s own site – but remember this is only a perk if you need a SIM as you’ll have to bundle a airtime plan ontop.
Now onto a more budget friendly option for shoppers, we’ve picked the Galaxy A54 5G, a simple Android device with Super AMOLED display, Android 13, a 50MP triple-camera and 6.4-inch screen – this isn’t a fancy flagship device but offers something for money-conscious shoppers.
Calling it ‘the best phone they have ever had’ one recent Amazon shopper said: “I wanted a phone that would take a micro SD card so that I could hold all of my music on it. I find this easier than loading it directly onto the phone. I simply moved the card from my old phone to this one and was ready to go.”
While another said: “If you want a Samsung device but don’t want to pay for the S range, this device is perfect. It’s got all the great features and feel of Samsungs OneUI, with the lower price point. The screen looks great, the build quality is sturdy, and battery life is great. The camera is great and functional for the every day users.”
Among the five star reviews there are a few 1-stars comments from shoppers including: “Charging port is faulty after 3 months”.
Apple iPhone 16 – if you want a snazzy, flagship device
This is bound to be on plenty of shoppers festive wishlists, along with the iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and the iPhone 16 Pro Max.
Apple’s brand-new iPhone 16 offers a wave of new features and eye-catching upgraded colourways so we wouldn’t be surprised if plenty of tech fans have this on their Christmas wishlist. And to cut the price down into a much more affordable plan, we’ve picked a new giffgaff deal.
The iPhone 16 can now be bought for £779 upfront (a difference from Apple’s £799 price) and at the checkout you can also pick a £10 per month 60GB data deal (which is the old price of the 25GB plan).
Google Pixel 8a – a budget phone with no scrimps on quality
‘My Google Pixel 8a is so good I don’t need to get the new flagship phone’ were the words I wrote in my review of the budget Pixel model. And to this day I still recommend it. “Ideal for those with less budget it doesn’t, however, scrimp on capability – a reason why I’d go as far as to say if you have it, you won’t need to look at Google’s newest Pixel 9 and 9Pro launch”, as I previously said.
“That’s what I’ve found as I switched from my iPhone to the middle-of-the-range £400 device. It may be branded as a cheap alternative but having made use of its 50MP camera and used its clever AI for photo editing the Pixel 8a couldn’t be further away from the ‘stripped-back’ name budget models often get.”
The cheaper Google Pixel model is usually seta couple of hundreds pounds less than the bigger devices, and now Amazon has matched Google’s Black Friday offers. Now £429 instead of £559, this has been reduced by 23%.
Moto Razr 50 Ultra – for a more affordable foldable Android device
In the words of our Tech Editor Dave Snelling, the ‘iconic Android model’ has dropped in price thanks to a John Lewis deal, where it’s now £749. Although this is also available (in limited stock) at Amazon.
Many may have Samsung’s Galaxy ZFlip6 and Galazy ZFold6 on their foldable phone wishlist but Dave explains the similar features available on Motorola’s own version. As he said: “There have been some pretty stellar Android launches this year including a striking new Razr device from the team at Motorola.
“Just like the popular Galaxy Z Flip6, the Razr 50 Ultra offers an iconic clamshell design that, once opened, gives users a massive 6.9-inch OLED display to play games, surf the web, edit photos and check emails on.”
