Black Friday Phone Deals 2021: What to expect this year

BLACK Friday isn’t that long away now, and it’s a perfect opportunity to go hunting for phone deals.

Whether you’re after a top-end flagship or affordable option, the late-November mayhem that is Black Friday is when you’ll find some of the very best offers.

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You can be certain that phones from the likes of Apple, Samsung, Sony, Google, Huawei, Xiaomi and plenty more besides will all be a whole lot cheaper – whether that be in the form of SIM-free handsets or pay-monthly plans.

Black Friday has absolutely exploded in popularity in recent years, and there’s hardly a single retailer who doesn’t get in on the deals action by the time the big day rolls around.

But if there’s one piece of advice we can give you, it’s that you better enter Black Friday with a game plan – and be warned: there are just as many bad phone deals as good ones.

Luckily, we’ve put together this page where we’ll be listing only genuinely fantastic phone deals – so we recommend you bookmark this page and keep returning to it, as we’ll be keeping it constantly refreshed with the latest deals and discounts that we find.

Read on to find out more about Black Friday 2021, and for an in-depth guide to the biggest sales event of the year, you can read our when is Black Friday explainer.

When is Black Friday 2021?

This year, Black Friday is happening on November 26 – as always, that’s the day directly after Thanksgiving.

Not that anyone in the UK will be celebrating over turkey the day before: Black Friday is an American tradition that crept over to these shores around a decade ago, and has grown steadily in popularity ever since.

As each year goes by, the sales period grows ever longer, with many retailers rolling out their deals as early as a fortnight before the big day itself.

As a general rule, it’s the week of Black Friday – commencing Monday November 22 this year – that you should start looking out for phone deals.

When is Cyber Monday 2021?

Cyber Monday falls three days after Black Friday – so in 2021 that’s Monday November 29.

These days, Cyber Monday isn’t the event it used to be, although there’ll still be plenty of great deals to be found.

It originally got the name as it was a day of online-only deals, back when internet shopping was more of a novelty, and most of the deals on Black Friday were only available in stores.

In 2021, that distinction has pretty much dissolved altogether: you’re unlikely to find many in-store deals that can’t also be found on retailers’ websites.

Cyber Monday, now, is an opportunity for stores to send out their final wave of deals – and potentially slashes prices even lower.

If you see an incredible phone deal during Black Friday, you may wish to take a gamble and see if it improves on Cyber Monday.

But that’s a risky move, since that deal might end by the time the Monday comes around.

Our advice is not to hang on.

What Black Friday phone deals can we expect?

We can’t be certain which phones will take centre-stage in Black Friday 2021 – but we can make a few informed guesses.

Almost certain are price drops across the iPhone 12 range.

Given that the iPhone 13 will be on release by the time Black Friday comes around, it stands to reason that its predecessor will be lowered in price, across the SIM-free handset and pay-monthly contracts.

That’s good news for Apple-lovers, but Android fans should also keep an eye out for price drops on the Samsung Galaxy S21, which was released back in January – this rival handset will probably play a major role in the Black Friday sales.

If you’re considering picking one of the two phones, but you’re not sure which to go for, you can take a look at our Samsung Galaxy S21 vs iPhone 12 article.

But it’s not just top-end (or formerly top-end) phones that you’ll see on offer – look at for great offers on Samsung’s affordable Galaxy A series.

Possibly we’ll see some cheaper plans available for recent releases like the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3 and Galaxy Z Fold 3 – but we’re not holding our breath.

Which retailer will have the best Black Friday phone deals?

It’s hard to say what constitutes the best phone deals, as it will depend on what you’re after: big data, low upfront cost, or a reasonable bill at the end of each month.

But what we can say is that there’s an awful lot of rivalry among phone networks and providers during Black Friday, and they’ll each be trying to offer the lowest rates possible.

Here’s a list of both providers and stores that set SIM-free mobiles:

Should I wait for Black Friday to buy a new phone?

If it’s just a handset you’re after, we very much recommend you wait until the Black Friday sales to start browsing – it’s when you’ll see the best price drops across handsets.

And if that’s the route you’re going, don’t miss our round-up of the best SIM-only deals.

Providing you can make it work with your current contract, it’s also definitely the perfect opportunity to look for pay-monthly plans too, which often come with either lowered prices or data boosts.

Is Black Friday a good time to buy a phone?

Like we say, there will be plenty of deals and discounts to take advantage of – but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t plan ahead.

Always do you research and check online reviews of leading smartphones before you take the plunge. Our tech writers regularly put all the latest releases to the test, so make sure you hear what they have to say before you buy a new handset.

Are Black Friday phone deals worth it?

Yes, we’d say so.
But you should do your research on the phone you want to buy ahead of time so you know what a good deal is when you see one.

Also, consider how much money you’re willing to spend, then try to stick to it – trust us, it’s easy to get suckered into the excitement of Black Friday and end up spending far more than you should.

And remember: the best Black Friday phone deals are likely to be on older models, so providing you’re not someone who has to have a top-of-the-line, flagship device, we think you’ll find what you’re looking for.

Looking for something with a slightly bigger screen? Don’t miss our pick of the best TV Black Friday deals.

If you’re looking for more than just the best Black Friday phone deals, head over to our Black Friday tech deals page.

For product roundups and recommendations head over to Sun Selects Tech.

This article and any featured products have been independently chosen by The Sun journalists. All recommendations within the article are informed by expert editorial opinion.

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This post first appeared on Thesun.co.uk