Black Friday phone deals 2023: recap

Black Friday is over and gone, meaning it's now time to make a recap of the event. As you probably know, we have been following the entire shopping spree from day one, helping shoppers make the right buying choices. We saw plenty of hot flagship phones at deeply discounted prices, as well as some mid-range and entry-level phones with no less impressive markdowns.

Here, you can find everything that you need to know about the incredible shopping event, what smartphones went on sale, and which brands saw the deepest price cuts. Let's jump along to get an idea of what you can expect from Black Friday 2024.

Oh, and check out our Amazon Spring Sale 2024 expectations, as we have a hunch that Amazon will most likely launch a Spring Sale event this year as well.

It wasn't just online merchants and the official store that offered incredible discounts on Galaxy phones. For instance, Verizon and AT&T had pretty interesting proposals on different Galaxy phones, the best of those being an offer on the S23+. During the shopping event, you could get this handset for FREE with a carrier plan and a trade-in.

As you might expect, it wasn't just Samsung's handsets that got their prices deeply reduced during the shopping spree. For one thing, we saw an impressive selection of Motorola phones at heavily reduced prices. One of those was the exceptional Motorola Razr+ (2023). This smartphone was $300 cheaper at various online retailers, including the official store.

The non-foldable flagship by Motorola was another high-end smartphone by Motorola that got quite tempting price reductions. Over at Amazon, this device was $200 cheaper throughout the event, while you could get it at $260 off straight from the manufacturer. Models from last year's Edge series got huge markdowns of up to 51%. 

Of course, it wasn't just the high-end models that got substantial markdowns this Black Friday. Moto G devices could be bought at 25-41% off their price tag, which seemed more than adequate, given that these devices aren't that expensive to begin with. Arguably the best deal was on the Moto G Stylus 5G (2023). During the event, this smartphone could be yours at $150-$175 less than usual.

Things were equally impressive in the OnePlus section as well. Discounts on the latest flagship, the OnePlus 11, hovered around the $150 mark this event, while the OnePlus Open was up to $1,000 off with a trade-in from the manufacturer's store. The most impressive deal on OnePlus phones was launched by Amazon-owned retailer Woot, which slashed $315 off the OnePlus 10T with 128GB of internal storage.

Affordable models, such as the OnePlus Nord N20 5G and the successor, the OnePlus Nord N30, also made an appearance in the deals section this Black Friday. The former, expectedly, was awarded with the bigger discount of $100 at Amazon. As for the 2023-released phone, it was about $70 cheaper at Amazon.

Black Friday was the time to get a model from the latest Google Pixel flagship series at a bargain. The exceptional Pixel 8 Pro was $200 cheaper at Amazon during the savings event. The non-Pro model was quite cheap, sold at about $150 less than usual.

Those who weren't all about the latest AI innovations by Google could opt for the Google Pixel 7 Pro. This puppy didn't fall behind, and Amazon offered it at as much as $250 off, which was quite the incredible deal.

Then again, the star of the show was the Pixel 6 Series. This Black Friday, the Pixel 6 Pro and the Pixel 6a got jaw-dropping markdowns of up to 88%. The Pixel 6 Pro was almost $400 off at Amazon, while Best Buy was selling the incredible Pixel 6a with a Verizon plan for just $49, saving you as much as $350.

Aside from the most popular smartphone brands, we saw plenty of discounts on devices by Nothing, Asus, and more. The Asus ROG Phone 6 with huge 512GB of storage space was available at $100 off. 

Those who were looking for something unique could treat themselves to the Nothing Phone (2). This device was $140 off this Black Friday, turning it into a real treat for Nothing fans. 

Black Friday phone deals start on November 24, 2023 - the day after Thanksgiving. Usually, however, retailers launch awesome Black Friday phone deals days and even weeks prior to the start of the event. Similarly, we'll have remaining discounts offered well into the following weekend and week, past the day of the event, so even if you're late, you'll likely be able to catch a good phone deal.

That said, the top deals with the biggest price cuts will launch on the day of the Black Friday event – November 24. So, be sure to bookmark this page, since we will list all the best Black Friday deals right here.

Getting an unlocked phone is surely the better choice. First, you can snatch an unlocked phone at a fraction of its usual price on Black Friday. Second, since your handset won't be locked to any carriers, you can use it with any mobile operator. And third, you won't bind yourself to a 24-month contract by going for an unlocked device.

If you buy your phone from a carrier, it will most likely be locked to that specific mobile operator, and you will definitely have to opt in to a contract.