Best Unlocked Smartphone Deals

If a new cellular phone is on your holiday wishlist, but you don’t want to sign up with a carrier to get a deal, we’ve got you covered. Unlocked phones are seeing some nice prices right now, including super-powerful Samsung mobiles, one of the most popular iPhones out there, and more. We’ve hunted down a pile of great deals on mobile phones and are passing the savings along to you.

Major independent retailers have discounts on highly rated unlocked phones that can be used with any carrier you want. We’ve found deep discounts on the latest models from Apple, Samsung, Google and more. Here’s our guide to the best deals on unlocked cell phones for December.

The Best Unlocked Apple iPhone Deals

Deals on unlocked iPhones come along once in a blue moon, so they’re definitely worth noting. Cutting $50 off the iPhone 14 Plus makes this excellent phone a little more affordable. In our review, we gave it an “Excellent” rating and praised its similar hardware specs to the iPhone Pro Max, which retails for $200 more. A bright, crisp 6.7″ Super Retina XDR OLED screen is a real attention-getter, and under the hood the A15 Bionic processor is fast and stable. The cameras are great, connectivity is a breeze and it’s just a joy to use.

The Best Unlocked Samsung Phone Deals

Samsung’s Galaxy line of cell phones occupies a pretty wide price range, and one of the best deals on the market right now is the Galaxy A35. As phone expert Iyaz Akhtar put it in his review, “we like its vibrant display, dependable cameras, long-term software support, and expandable storage, while its elegant glass panels and waterproof build set it apart from other phones in this price range.” The large Super AMOLED panel has a peak brightness of 1,000 nits and a 120Hz adaptive refresh rate. Under the hood you’ll find a Samsung Exynos 1380 processor, 6GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage.

We gave an Editors’ Choice award to the Samsung Galaxy Fold 6 in our review, gushing over its blazingly fast processor and gorgeous two-screen foldable design. When closed, this is the size of a standard mobile phone, but opens up to the form factor of a small tablet with a nearly seamless large screen. Samsung’s mobile OS lets you do cool things like swap apps between screens and more. The build quality is superb, it feels great in your hands and has impressive battery life. Right now, Amazon has unlocked models with 512GB internal storage on sale for over $500 off.

The Best Unlocked Google Phone Deals

Another exceptionally solid phone, we said “the Pixel 8 sits right in the sweet spot” for midrange Android phones in our review, thanks to its surprisingly excellent cameras, durable build and cool new AI features. One of the best things about the entire Pixel line is Google’s long-term support for OS upgrades, ensuring that the phone will be able to keep up with the competition for longer. Taking $200 off is a tremendous bargain for this time of year. This configuration comes with 128GB of memory and an Obsidian Black casing.

Even though the Pixel 7a isn’t going toe-to-toe with the newest phones on the market, it’s still a great pick for people with slightly less hardware-intensive mobile needs. Boasting a 6.1 inch OLED display paired with Corning Gorilla Glass 3 for protection, it’s bright and easy on the eyes. The cameras are also quite good for a phone at this price point. In our review, we said that it “offers fantastic performance for the price, features above-average cameras, and includes software niceties not widely available on other Android phones.”

Other Best Unlocked Phone Deals

We were very surprised by the Moto G Stylus 5G in our review, saying that the phone “delivers a pleasing screen, commendable battery life, and good-enough performance at a reasonable price.” Although it doesn’t lead the pack performance-wise, the crisp, bright display and low price for a stylus-equipped phone definitely help it stand out. This model includes a Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 processor running Android 13 and 256GB of internal storage. Throw in a 43% discount and you’ve got a tremendous deal.

If you’re strapped for cash but still need a new phone, the BLU G63 is a competent pick. Although it’s not a game-playing powerhouse like some of the other models in this roundup, it handles all of the basics with aplomb. The cameras are decent, with dual 13MP rear cameras coupled with an 8MP front-facing lens. A side-mounted fingerprint scanner makes for easy and secure unlocking, and the textured metal case feels good in your hands. It’s a little heavy for the size, but that can be attributed to the long-lasting battery that can go for as long as three days of use in between charges.

Don’t forget to check out our top tested picks for the Best Unlocked Phones of 2024.

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About K. Thor Jensen

Contributing Writer

K. Thor Jensen is a writer and cartoonist living in the Pacific Northwest. He has contributed to dozens of prestigious outlets, including PCMag, Tested, Clickhole, and Newsweek. His second graphic novel, Cloud Stories, was released in 2017.

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