It’s Friday once again, and you all know what that means. The time to save the big bucks on many of the best phones, tablets, smartwatches, wireless earbuds, and headphones out there has arrived, and if you don’t want to make the effort of sorting through all the deals offered by major US retailers like Amazon and Best Buy and device manufacturers like Samsung, Motorola, and OnePlus, I’m going to do that for you.
As usual, I won’t tell you what product to buy, instead putting together a few comprehensive lists filled with great options for every budget. Here we go:
This week’s top three is a mix of new and old
No, the Galaxy S24 Ultra is probably not the best Android phone money can buy in 2025 for a pretty obvious reason. But the advanced age of this 6.8-inch S Pen-wielding giant cannot invalidate the appeal of that massive (and undeniably stunning) AMOLED display, as well as the impressive quad camera system on the handset’s back and all the other state-of-the-art specs… by both 2024 and 2025 standards.
At its huge new discount, I’d even argue that the S24 Ultra is more appealing than the Galaxy S25 Ultra, although if your primary goal right now is to spend as little money as possible on a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 powerhouse, the OnePlus 13R is pretty much impossible to turn down at a lower-than-ever price.
Meanwhile, the best tablet a power user can get on a (relatively) tight budget this week is most likely an Apple M3-based iPad Air 13 (2025) with your choice of 128 or 256 gigs of internal storage space. Now that’s a hard-to-eclipse device at an almost impossible-to-beat discount, although you may want to hurry and pull the trigger before Trump reconsiders his confusing tariffs… again, potentially forcing Apple to raise its prices to keep up with increased production costs.
The greatest smartphone deals are for everyone
Is the 2023-released Nord N30 the best budget 5G phone available in 2025? Almost certainly not. But at two Benjamins, its 120Hz refresh rate-capable 6.72-inch screen and 108MP primary rear-facing camera will have to do for the most cash-strapped bargain hunters around.
Tablet buyers also have loads of awesome options to choose from
This looks like the perfect time to get yourself a budget tablet, with the Samsung Galaxy Tab A9 Plus, just-released Lenovo Tab, and even Apple’s A16-powered iPad 11 offering amazing value for not that much money.
Then you’ve got the Lenovo Idea Tab Pro, which is also very new and pretty incredibly feature-packed for its extremely reasonable price, as well as Google’s perennially discounted Pixel Tablet, which could be discontinued any day now.
Top smartwatch deals – minimum choice, maximum diversity
Yes, I know that this looks like a modest “list” at first glance, but you don’t really need that many options when arguably the best smartwatch (with a rugged design) for iPhone users and one of the best ones (with a non-rugged construction) for Android smartphone owners are both on sale at such generous discounts with standalone cellular connectivity.
Oh, and did I mention that the marked-down Apple Watch Ultra 2 is the black titanium version released in the fall of 2024 rather than 2023? Now how could you possibly say no to that phenomenal new Amazon promotion?
Some of the best earbuds and headphones around are also heavily discounted
If you think (like so many consumers and reviewers) that Sony makes the best true wireless earbuds and high-end Bluetooth wireless headphones in the world, you’ll undoubtedly be delighted to see Amazon sell the extraordinarily well-reviewed WF-1000XM5 and WH-1000XM4 at very special prices in all color options. If not… you’ll just have to wait for future deals on rival products from brands like Bose, Apple, or Beats.
