Should I wait until Black Friday to buy a smartphone?

We're expecting to see discounts on Android smartphones, from brands such as Google, Samsung and OnePlus, if Black Friday 2023 sales are anything to go by; last Black Friday, we saw Google drop the price of its Pixel smartphones, will Samsung following suit with the Galaxy smartphone line-up.

If you're on the hunt for an iPhone, we've included deals from reputable UK retailers such as Amazon, Currys, Very and JD Williams, as Apple notoriously rarely offers discounts on its own site. In 2023, the tech giant offered gift cards with Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales, but more on this in our does Apple do Black Friday? guide.

When it comes to purchasing big ticket items, such as a smartphone, it can be easy to get sucked into the excitement of Black Friday. It's important to do your research before splashing the cash on an item, and the RadioTimes.com Technology team have done all of the hard work for you in this Black Friday smartphone guide.

The RadioTimes.com team will only recommend genuine deals, and as we monitor new smartphone releases and offers throughout the year, it's not difficult for us to spot when a saving is a great one. Here's why you can trust our recommendations, and the best smartphone offers to shop this Black Friday 2024.

Looking for more information on the huge sales event? Take a look at our Amazon Black Friday guide. Make sure you check out how much will Apple AirPods cost on Black Friday and the best iPad Black Friday deals we found for you.

Jump to:

• Is Black Friday a good time to buy a phone?
• When do Black Friday mobile phone deals start?
• Which retailers have the best Black Friday mobile phone deals?
• Best Black Friday phone deals at a glance
• Best Black Friday mobile phone deals we’ve seen so far
• Will mobile phones be cheaper on Cyber Monday?

Is Black Friday a good time to buy a phone?

Yes, Black Friday is a good time to buy a phone.

It can be difficult to work out when smartphones will be at the absolute cheapest price as a lot of retailers run sales throughout the year. While the Technology team can't predict the future, we can reliably say what smartphone prices have been previously.

When a new smartphone comes out, for example, the Apple iPhone 16, Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6, and Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6, we write release date pages with all of the information you need to know about the new phones. Plus, we put together deals pages — iPhone 16 deals, Samsung Z Fold 6 deals, and Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6 deals — which offer incentives, such as a free subscription service and money off when you trade-in an old device, to buy the new smartphone. We also notice that the predecessor to the new smartphone is often discounted.

Plus, we're great at spotting stand-alone offers throughout the year, such as this Samsung Galaxy offer which saw customers secure the Samsung Galaxy S24 for under £500.

The actual Black Friday day itself (Friday 29th November) is the best time to purchase a smartphone as that's when you'll have the most options. However, we've seen plenty of fantastic deals already go live.

So, if you decide to purchase a smartphone earlier, it's worth checking to see if the retailer you're buying from has a price promise, for example, Currys does. More on this below.

When do Black Friday mobile phone deals start?

If you don't want to wait until Black Friday itself, you certainly don't have to! Several UK retailers have already blessed us with great deals, most notably, Currys.

The Currys Black Friday sale began on the 1st November. In order to combat Black Friday cynicism, — did you know a Currys survey found that 65% of Brits believed Black Friday was a con? — Currys has guaranteed that no Black Friday deal will have been cheaper at any time in the last six months. This means all on-sale smartphones are at their lowest price since May 2024.

As well as Currys, UK retailers like Argos, John Lewis and Very have already begun the Black Friday discounts. Let's take a look.

Which retailers have the best Black Friday mobile phone deals?

At the time of writing (Friday 8th November), these are the UK retailers we've noticed have offers on a selection of smartphones:

• Currys
• Laptops Direct
• Very

Best Black Friday phone deals at a glance:

• Google Pixel 8a | £499 £349 (save £150 or 13%)
• Samsung Galaxy S24 FE | £649 £499 (save £150 or 29%)
• Apple iPhone 15 Pink | £799 £681 (save £118 or 15%)
• Apple iPhone 15 Blue | £799 £687 (save £112 or 14%)
• Apple iPhone 15 Black | £799 £699 (save £100 or 13%)
• Apple iPhone 15 Green | £799 £699 (save £100 or 13%)
• Samsung Galaxy S24+ | £999 £749 (save £250 or 25%)
• Apple iPhone 15 Plus Blue | £899 £793.61 (save £105.39 or 12%)
• Apple iPhone 15 Plus Pink | £899 £799 (save £100 or 11%)
• Apple iPhone 15 Plus Black | £899 £799 (save £100 or 11%)
• Apple iPhone 15 Plus Yellow | £899 £799 (save £100 or 11%)
• Apple iPhone 15 Pro | £1,099 £999 (save £100 or 9%)
• Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max Black Titanium | £1,199 £1,099 (save £100 or 8%)
• Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max White Titanium | £1,199 £1,099 (save £100 or 8%)
• Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 | £1,799 £1,499 (save £300 or 17%)

Best Black Friday mobile phone deals we’ve seen so far

The following Black Friday deals are on SIM-free smartphones.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 | £1,799 £1,499

What's the deal: This November, you can secure £300 off the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6, taking the price from the RRP of £1,799 to £1,499.

Why we chose it: The brand-new Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 was only released in July this year, and has been at its RRP ever since. When the foldable smartphone was released, the best deals we found included 30% on selected Samsung Galaxy Buds or Galaxy Watches, and a £70 off code, so this £300 discount certainly trumps the previous offers.

Buy Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 for £1,799 £1,499 (save £300 or 17%) at Currys

Samsung Galaxy S24 FE | £649 £499

What's the deal: This already affordable Samsung smartphone has just gotten even cheaper in Currys's Black Friday sale. The Samsung Galaxy S24 FE has been reduced to £499 from its RRP of £649, saving you £150.

Why we chose it: The Samsung Galaxy S24 FE was released just last month, on Friday 4th October, so we're thrilled to see the already affordable smartphone get an even further discount. As per Currys's promise, the smartphone hasn't been cheaper since May this year.

Buy Samsung Galaxy S24 FE for £649 £499 (save £150 or 29%) at Currys

Looking for even more discounts? Take a look at Sky Black Friday deals.

Samsung Galaxy S24+ | £999 £749

What's the deal: The Samsung Galaxy S24+ is currently on sale for under £750, with a huge £250 reduction on the £749 RRP.

Why we chose it: If the 'Epic deal' and 'Top gift' tags aren't enough to convince you that this Samsung Galaxy S24+ offer is a brilliant one, allow the RadioTimes.com Technology team to explain why it is.

When the Samsung Galaxy S24+ was released at the start of this year, alongside the Samsung Galaxy S24 and Samsung Galaxy Ultra, the best deals we saw included a free pair of the Samsung Galaxy Buds2 Pro and a free SmartTag 2 (saving you £253 in total), £100 off at Currys, and 12 months of Disney Plus for free. While these are brilliant additions, this is the first time we've seen such a huge discount on the device itself.

Buy Samsung Galaxy S24+ for £999 £749 (save £250 or 25%) at Currys

Google Pixel 8a | £499 £349

What's the deal: The Google Pixel 8a has an already pretty affordable RRP of £499, but it's gotten even cheaper this Black Friday. The Google Pixel 8a is available to buy from Laptops Direct for £349, saving you £150 (or 13%).

Why we chose it: It's no surprise the Google Pixel 8a is one of the trending topics of today (Friday 8th November); the Google Pixel 8a is an A series smartphone which offers many of the same specs and features as the Google Pixel 8 flagships Google released in autumn 2023, at a more affordable price.

At the time of writing, this is the only UK retailer we've seen offering a deal on the Google Pixel 8a.

Buy Google Pixel 8a for £499 £349 (save £150 or 13%) at Laptops Direct

For more information on the Google Pixel 8a, be sure to read our original release date page.

Apple iPhone 15 | £799 £681

What's the deal: For a limited time only at Very, you can secure the Apple iPhone 15 for £681 instead of the usual RRP of £799, saving you £118 or 15%.

Why we chose it: With the release of the Apple iPhone 16 this year, we were hoping to see some discounts on its predecessor, the Apple iPhone 15, and Very has certainly pulled through. Below, we've included some deals on the more expensive iPhone 15s in the series, too.

Buy Apple iPhone 15 Pink for £799 £681 (save £118 or 15%) at Very

You can also save up to £100 on the iPhone 15 in other colourways at Very.

• Buy Apple iPhone 15 Black for £799 £699 (save £100 or 13%) at Very
• Buy Apple iPhone 15 Blue for £799 £687 (save £112 or 14%) at Very
• Buy Apple iPhone 15 Green for £799 £699 (save £100 or 13%) at Very

Apple iPhone 15 Plus | £899 £793.61

What's the deal: This Black Friday at Very, you can get your hands on the Apple iPhone 15 Plus for £793.61 instead of £899, saving you £105.39 (or 12%).

Why we chose it: The Apple iPhone 15 Plus was released alongside the Apple iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Pro, and iPhone 15 Pro Max Tuesday 12th September 2023. At the time of the release, we saw trade-in deals from Vodafone, Three and EE, as well as free subscription services from O2, and a £20 Uber Eats voucher from Mobiles.co.uk. The £100 off at Very is the first time we've seen a substantial discount on the phone itself, with thanks to the launch of the new Apple iPhone 16.

Buy Apple iPhone 15 Plus Blue for £899 £793.61 (save £105.39 or 12%) at Very

Just like the iPhone 15, you can also purchase the iPhone 15 Plus in other colourways with a discount, too.

• Buy Apple iPhone 15 Plus Pink for £899 £799 (save £100 or 11%) at Very
• Buy Apple iPhone 15 Plus Black for £899 £799 (save £100 or 11%) at Very
• Buy Apple iPhone 15 Plus Yellow for £899 £799 (save £100 or 11%) at Very

Apple iPhone 15 Pro | £1,099 £999

What's the deal: This Black Friday, you can save £100 on the Apple iPhone 15 Pro, taking the price from £1,099 to under £1,000 at £999.

Why we chose it: As well as the fantastic £100 off, we like the additional deals Very offers, too, such as up to £540 off when you trade-in your old device and free delivery. Plus, you can add Very Protect - Screen Insurance to this purchase, which means if you accidentally damage the screen of your device and can't use it, Very will repair it for you.

Buy Apple iPhone 15 Pro for £1,099 £999 (save £100 or 9%) at Very

Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max | £1,199 £1,099

What's the deal: The highest spec iPhone in the Apple iPhone 15 line-up is currently on sale for £1,099 instead of £1,199, saving you £100 (or 8%).

Why we chose it: If you're not too interested in having the latest Apple smartphone, the Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max is your next best bet. The iPhone 15 Pro Max boasts fantastic features such as an Action button which can be customised in the smartphone's settings to action functions like the torch, voice memos, and camera. Plus, the iPhone 15 Pro Max cores rival that of a desktop, and it comes with a USB 3.0 cable, too.

Buy Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max Natural Titanium for £1,199 £1,099 (save £100 or 8%) at Very

You can also purchase the discounted Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max in other colourways at Very,

• Buy Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max Black Titanium for £1,199 £1,099 (save £100 or 8%) at Very
• Buy Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max White Titanium for £1,199 £1,099 (save £100 or 8%) at Very

Will mobile phones be cheaper on Cyber Monday?

Cyber Monday is the penultimate day of the Cyber Weekend, and it always falls on the Monday straight after Black Friday. This year, Cyber Monday will take place on Monday 2nd December.

In the past, Cyber Monday was associated exclusively with online deals, but this has changed slightly in recent years, and you'll find some brick and mortar stores offering promotions or special discounts on Cyber Monday.

Although Black Friday is typically the time where shoppers purchase big ticket items, such as air fryers and pizza ovens, whereas Cyber Monday is traditionally a day to save money on technology items, with the biggest discounts happening across smartphones, headphones and computers.

According to Adobe, smartphones accounted for 39.7% of sales on Cyber Monday 2021, which was an 8.4% year-over-year increase from 2020.

With this in mind, if you have your eye on a specific smartphone and you're happy with its Black Friday deal, we'd recommend purchasing it before Cyber Monday to avoid disappointment if it sells out. However, if you're window shopping for your next purchase, you could risk the Cyber Monday rush and hold out for a potentially bigger deal.

For even more fantastic deals this November, take a look at the best Kindle deals.