It’s November, so that means Black Friday deals are here. Long gone are the days when you have to wait for the day itself and we’ve found the best deals on phones to save you looking.
We live and breathe phones here are Tech Advisor and know a good deal when we see one and how to verify it. We’ll only recommend deals on phones we’ve tested and accessory brands we trust. You’ll only see deals we would suggest to colleagues, friends and family.
Below you’ll find the top deals for flagship, mid-range and budget phones, which we’ll be keeping updated throughout November, as well as adding deals for more specific phone categories, as well as accessories like chargers and cases, as and when we see them.
After the deals are our top tips and tricks for making sure you get the best deals out of Black Friday season.
Best flagship phone Black Friday deal: Xiaomi 15
- Was £999
- Now £599
- 40% off, lowest ever price
- At Amazon
Jon Mundy / Foundry
Why buy it? Xiaomi makes some of the best phones on the market and the Xiaomi 15 is one of our favourite compact flagships of all time. It’s a gorgeous phone and packs in an impressive amount of tech, including four amazing cameras, a brilliant OLED screen and faster charging than most rivals. The deal is for the 512GB model but you can get a white 15 with 256GB for £549 if you prefer.
Top alternatives:
Best mid-range phone Black Friday deal: Samsung Galaxy S25 FE
- Was £649
- Now £449
- 31% off, lowest ever price
- At Very
Anyron Copeman / Foundry
Why buy it? The Galaxy S25 FE is one of our favourite mid-range phones of the year and although it’s typically a lot more expensive than the Pixel 9a, this deal just made it the same price. It offers a stylish and durable build along with a large punchy screen, solid cameras, quick charging and smooth performance. Plus, Samsung’s long 7-year software support means it will last the long haul.
Top alternatives:
Best budget phone Black Friday deal: Samsung Galaxy A17 5G
Chris Martin / Foundry
Why buy it? Samsung’s latest budget Android phone only launched a few weeks ago, but you can already save big. While it’s almost identical to its predecessor, the Galaxy A17 5G is a sleek phone in design and has a large punchy screen along with a solid main camera (in good lighting) and two-day battery life. Add in Samsung’s long software support and popular user interface and you’ve got yourself a bargain.
Top alternatives:
Best power bank Black Friday deal: Belkin BoostCharge
- Was £29.99
- Now £14.99
- 50% off
- At Currys
Belkin
Why buy it? No matter how good your phone battery is, a power bank is one of the most useful accessories you can have – plus it can charge other devices as well. This Belkin model is a bargain with a 10,000mAh capacity, a built-in cable, plus a USB-C port so you can charge a second device at the same time. It’s a no-brainer for your bag at £15.
What is Black Friday?
After a holiday of giving thanks for family, friends, and settled life, American retailers opted to juxtapose Thanksgiving with a huge day of commercial spending. Who were we Brits to resist the allure of heavily discounted items, too?
It is debated whether or not Black Friday refers to a day retailers finally went ‘into the black’, meaning they finally made a profit for the year thanks to heightened sales, or whether it actually has morphed from a description of horrible traffic in Philadelphia on the Friday after Thanksgiving.
When Black Friday first gained huge popularity about 10 years ago, it was usual to see newsreels of people physically fighting over big TVs in the middle of Walmart (or Asda in the UK, which then opted not to take part because of the mayhem).
Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry
You can’t blame them really, as scenes often got out of hand at shops. But Black Friday has passed beyond trivial now as it has moved online, and it is serious business for retailers, lasting the whole month of November for many.
Should I wait for an even better deal?
Even with our best crystal ball gazing efforts and many years of experience covering sales, it’s hard to say if you’ll get a better deal if you wait for Black Friday itself.
There’s definitely a chance depending on the product and you could always buy now if you see a good deal and return it if you see a better one (keep it unopened in the original packaging). Or some retailers will price match if you see it at a lower price.
Our typical advice is that if you see something you really want at a great price that suits you then go for it. If it’s an Amazon Lightning Deal, then you will need to snag one before the allocated stock runs out or the time runs out.
You can buy with confidence if you see a retailer guaranteeing the price won’t drop lower. For example, Argos products with a ‘Price Promise’ badge purchased between 31 Oct – 2 Dec won’t get any cheaper before 25 December. Currys also offers a similar scheme.
Tip: Colour choice makes a price difference for Black Friday
Argos
The most important thing to do when considering whether something is a good deal is to ask yourself: “Would I still want and buy this if it was full price?” Often the answer may be no, which means you need to think whether you’re saving money with a discount, or wasting it caught up in the excitement or fomo of a sale.
A deal for one person won’t be a deal for someone else, no matter how many times Amazon, Argos or John Lewis might tell you otherwise.
It isn’t unusual (or difficult, or illegal) for some retailers to put prices up on Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
Yes, that’s right – sometimes discount prices are higher on Black Friday or Cyber Monday compared to the rest of the year because dishonest retailers know they will get more page views from people ready to click buy.
You can use resources like CamelCamelCamel or PriceSpy to compare prices to previous days, weeks and months. It’s one of the things we do, along with knowing how much things should cost, to verify if a deal is genuine.
