Black Friday 2017: Here are seven great smartphone deals you should check out

Thanksgiving is only a few days, but who cares about spending time with and appreciating others when there are great Black Friday smartphone deals to take advantage of. After all, the holidays tend to be a good time to pick up a smartphone for either yourself or a loved one, so why not corral together some of the better smartphone deals out there.

If you have no interest in picking up a smartphone during the holidays, be sure to swing by our Black Friday 2017 round-up, which we update on a regular basis and includes all sorts of deals we think are the better ones out there.

For the rest, let’s take a look at some of those smartphone deals.

Verizon – Save 50% on the Pixel 2, Moto Z2 Force and Galaxy S8 

Verizon has some seriously hot smartphone offers available where you’ll be saving as much as 50% in the long-term, but they come on the condition of taking out an Unlimited plan. The savings will be paid back as credit over the 24-month contract, but you’re not going to find these kinds of savings on the Pixel 2, Galaxy S8, and Moto Z2 Force without such a plan; if you’re in the market for both unlimited data and a new phone, this could be your place to get them. 

Meanwhile, Verizon has the same Unlimited offer on the Pixel 2 XL, Galaxy Note 8 and Galaxy S8 Plus, but with regard to those, you’ll be saving a little less at around 35%. Check these offers out at the link underneath.

HTC – Save $250 on a HTCU11 Solar Red with JBL Reflect Aware C Earphones

HTC is currently offering $50 off its HTCU11, bringing the price down to $599 new and unlocked. While that’s a small saving in the context of some of the other deals on our list, HTCis also throwing in a free pair of JBL Reflect Aware C Earphones — normally priced at $200. 

These are premium in-ear headphones come with active noise-cancellation and adaptive noise control. JBL says they’re the first of their kind as far as USB Type-C sports earphones are concerned, and they also include a sweat-proof design and tangle-free cable. 

Of course, not everybody will be interested in expensive USB Type-C headphones, but for those who are, the chance to get some free with what might be 2017’s sexiest looking phone could be very exciting indeed — visit HTC.com at the button below to take a look at this deal.

Amazon – HUAWEI Mate 9, 20%-off 

Most of the other deals on this list have a hoop for you to jump through in order to get the saving, be it trading in a device, taking out a new plan, or buying one product to qualify for a deal on another. 

If you just want a straight up, hassle-free bargain this Black Friday, look no further than Amazon’s offer on the HUAWEI Mate 9. 2016’s best HUAWEI phone — a device we scored 9/10 in our full review last December — is available for $399.99 on Amazon, down from its regular $499.99 price.

You’ll have to pick it up in its Space Gray color variant to cash-in on the deal — the Moonlight Silver option is stuck at $499.99 — and the handset is only compatible with AT&T and T-Mobile, but if you want what is simply an excellent smartphone with a $100 spare to spend on yourself, don’t miss it. Tap the button below for more. 

Samsung – Trade in your old phone, get up to $400

For a limited time, trading in an older phone nets you up to $300 off the Galaxy S8, Galaxy S8 Plus, or Galaxy Note 8. That amount gets bumped up to $400 once Black Friday rolls around, though you can take advantage of the promotion right now if you can’t wait that long.

According to Samsung, devices eligible for trade-in include the Galaxy Note 5, Galaxy S5, Galaxy S6, Galaxy S6 Edge, Galaxy S6 Edge Plus, Galaxy S7, Galaxy S7 Active, iPhone SE, iPhone 5 and up, LG V20, LG G4 and up, Pixel, and Pixel XL. Regardless of the device you want to trade in, it must be able to turn on and hold a charge, have a working display, no breaks or cracks or other defects that go beyond normal wear and tear, and is not on any blacklist.

There is a bit more fine print to go through, so make sure to click the link below to go through it all and take advantage of Samsung’s promotion.

T-Mobile – Buy one phone, get one free

These type of deals tend to be very popular, particularly around Black Friday, though T-Mobile ups the ante by making this promotion available for more than one phone. Whether you strictly live in Apple’s camp and want to get either last year’s or this year’s iPhone models, or reside in the world of Android and want either something from Samsung or LG, T-Mobile’s BOGO promotion covers them all.

More specifically, the phones covered under the promotion are the iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus, Galaxy Note 8, Galaxy S8, Galaxy S8 Plus, Galaxy S8 Active, LG V30, LG V30 Plus, LG G6, and LG V20.

Keep in mind that the second phone won’t be “free” in the truest sense of the word, since you’ll get a prepaid MasterCard card in the mail to cover the purchase. Also, you will need to open a new line of service to take advantage of the promotion, and if you cancel your wireless service, you will need to pay the remaining balance. Finally, you can’t cross-purchase the aforementioned phones – if you’re buying a Samsung smartphone, you must pick up another Samsung smartphone, and so on.

If none of that impedes your want for T-Mobile to be your next carrier of choice, you can take a closer look at the promotion at the link below.

Walmart – Get a $300 gift card when you buy a new phone

It might come as a surprise, but around 15 percent of wireless sales are made through Walmart. It helps when the retailer puts out deals like this one, which nets you a $300 gift card if you buy an iPhone through AT&T or Verizon and a $300 gift card if you buy the Galaxy S8, Galaxy S8 Plus, or Galaxy Note 8.

You cannot just buy these phones outright and expect a gift card in the mail – you will need to activate these phones on a wireless plan to do so. Also, the promotion does not go live until Black Friday, though at this point, you will not need to wait much longer.

Depending on which ecosystem you live in, you can take advantage of the accompanying promotion at the links below.

Sprint – Save $360 on the LG G6 with activation

The last smartphone deal we have lined up for you is courtesy of Sprint, which knocks off $15.01 every month for the LG G6 for 24 months. This effectively lowers the phone’s price to a hilariously-low $119.76, which is sure to make your wallet very happy if you want a 2017 smartphone.

Things to keep in mind? The monthly discount only applies if you choose to pay the G6 over 24 months. Also, you must be on a Sprint plan during the 24 months, and you must be either a new customer or eligible for an upgrade.

If none of that bothers you, you can pick up the heavily discounted G6 on Sprint through Best Buy at the link below.

So, there you have it! These are some smartphone deals we thought are worthwhile, so let us know in the comments if you plan on doing some early Black Friday shopping in the comments below. While you’re at it, I’d like to once again point you toward our Black Friday round-up, which contains all sorts of deals for the biggest shopping day of the year including even more smartphone deals, especially from prepaid carriers and the like.