January is an interesting period in the world of smartphones: the first new generation flagships are just starting to hit the market, others are yet to arrive. And with their replacements months (or even weeks) apart, older flagship and premium phones cost as much as they’ll get while still being somewhat current.
We have selected offers from different regions and also included some offers for tablets, smartwatches and headphones. Use the links below to jump to your region:
Germany
The Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max will likely never see a significant discount, at least not from Apple. When the 15 Pro Max arrives, it will simply be discontinued. Other retailers are more flexible on pricing, for example Amazon offers the 128GB model at a slight discount.
And while you’re at it, you can accessorize with an Apple Watch Series 8, which also got a small discount at $440. Note that this is for the 41mm GPS model, you can get the 45mm one for €475. An LTE version is available for both sizes and costs €100 more.
Moving on to the Samsung side of things, you can get a Galaxy S21 FE for half the price of a base S23 (at least based on the rumored prices). The FE’s Snapdragon 888 is no longer the best chipset out there, but it can still hold its own against the mid-range.
As for accessories, the Samsung Galaxy Watch4 is quite cheap and the difference between the 40mm and 44mm models is only €10. For comparison, a 40mm Galaxy Watch5 costs €90 more (that’s 70% more).
If you want a rotating bezel, however, the Galaxy Watch4 Classic is still the only option. On the plus side, it costs less than the Watch5.
€380 is a bit steep for a Snapdragon 695, but the Sony Xperia 10 IV package includes things you might not find elsewhere, such as a microSD slot and a 3.5mm jack on the phone itself. And while the charger could have been faster, the battery life is amazing.
If anything, the price of the Sony Xperia 5 IV is harder to swallow. It may have launched in late September, but its hardware is more like an early 2022 phone. On the plus side, this offering comes with an extended warranty, 36 months in total, so you can rest easy.
Sony fans can accessorize too. The Sony WF-1000XM4 are among the best TWS headphones out there, and in our long-term review we found them to be quite capable. Sony may be able to roll out the XM5s at some point, but they’ll still start at a higher price point, above €170.
The Sony LinkBuds are an interesting choice: the hole in the middle means they don’t obstruct your hearing at all. And it sounds more natural than digital pass-through modes. This is perfect for times when you want to listen to music or a podcast, but absolutely need to stay aware of your surroundings.
UK
Apple discontinues older Pro models every year, but keeps the vanilla pair as the cheapest option. The iPhone 13 mini and 13 are available on Apple.com for £650 and £750 respectively, but Amazon is offering a £50 discount on both.
The Honor 70 boasts a 54MP main camera and a 50MP ultra-wide-angle camera, as well as a 32MP selfie camera. While they don’t have a camera manufacturer’s name attached, they’re still quite capable (especially the selfie camera). The screen is great, the battery is great (charging is quick to boot) and with a healthy discount applied, even the Snapdragon 778G+ is competitive (the Honor 70 has a fairly high MSRP).
For the same amount of money you can get the Oppo Reno8 instead. It has a more powerful GPU, though the smaller 6.4″ 90Hz display falls short of the Honor’s 6.67″ 120Hz panel. The ultra-wide-angle camera is also only 8MP, but battery life is slightly better and it charges faster.
Also in this price range is the Samsung Galaxy M53. The Dimension 900 won’t win any awards, but the 6.7-inch 120Hz Super AMOLED panel is competitive. And you get a 108MP main camera (only 8MP ultra-wide, though). The 5,000mAh battery is slightly larger but charging is noticeably slower.
The Samsung Galaxy Watch4 Classic, the 46mm version is down to £220. The smaller 40mm Galaxy Watch5 costs a lot too, the 44mm version is £240. You can pay a little extra to get 4G connectivity, for example example Watch5 40mm costs £270. A Galaxy Watch5 Pro will set you back £330, £430 if you want 4G.
United States of America
There weren’t many phone offers in the US this week. This one is worth a look, however, the Moto G Power 5G (2022) is down to $250. It has 256GB of built-in storage and comes with a free 256GB microSD.
With few interesting phone deals to look at, we’ve turned our attention to tablets. The Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 and Tab S8+ are both discounted at Best Buy. The vanilla slate has an 11″ LCD, while the Tab S8+ has a 12.4″ Super AMOLED panel (both at 120Hz). Both are powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1.
If you’re looking for something cheaper, the Galaxy Tab A8 10.5 (2021) is $150, but you still get a 10.5″ display with a 1,920 x 1,200 px resolution and Android 13 with One UI 5. No DeX, though.
If you need true wireless earbuds, the Galaxy Buds2 are down to $95. They’re not as advanced as the Pros, but they have the same form factor and wearing comfort.
The 9th generation Apple iPad 10.2 isn’t the fastest with its Apple A13 chip, but neither are there many new iPads that cost $270. The 10th generation is faster, although it starts at $450, while the 9th it usually costs $330 at Apple.com.
India
The iQOO 11 became India’s first Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 phone when it launched a couple of weeks ago. There are no major discounts yet, the phone is so new. That said, it’s also unmatched in terms of performance and plays games on a beautiful 6.78″ AMOLED display at 144Hz with QHD+ resolution.
A little easier to swallow is the price tag of the iQOO 9T. This is powered by the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1, which should offer all the performance most people need. However, it’s a state-of-the-art product and you save just ₹10,000 – it might be worth it for some but not for others.
The Xiaomi 13 series is yet to arrive in India, but the price of the Xiaomi 12 Pro has dropped significantly since the launch. It is now between the iQOO 11 and 9T, though its original 8 Gen 1 chipset is slower than both. However, the 50MP triple camera is better than what the iQOOs have to offer. And you get other benefits like wireless charging.
The OnePlus 10R sits in a more average position with its Dimensity 8100-Max chipset. This is a fast and efficient chipset paired with a refined 120Hz AMOLED HDR10+ display and a large fast-charging battery (80W in this case).
Later, several affordable 5G phones in ₹20K segment. The Realme Narzo 50 Pro is mid-sized with a 6.4-inch 90Hz AMOLED display and runs on a Dimension 920 and a 5,000mAh battery (with 33W fast charging).
The Tecno Camon 19 Pro is a little bigger with a 6.8″ IPS LCD (120Hz, FHD+) but is satisfied with a Dimensity 810. The battery is also 5,000mAh with a 33W charge.
The Redmi Note 12 is cheaper than those two and in the middle in terms of size with a 6.67″ 120Hz AMOLED display (FHD+, of course). It uses the new Snapdragon 4 Gen 1 chipset and has a 5,000mAh battery with 33W charging
The Oppo A74 5G is even cheaper with a 6.5″ IPS LCD (90Hz, FHD+). It uses the more familiar Snapdragon 480 chipset and its 5,000mAh battery breaks the mold with 18W charging.
Leaving 5G behind for cheaper phones, the Tecno Spark 9T is right on the ₹10K mark. There are plenty of HD+ screens in this price range, but the 9T features a 6.6” FHD+ IPS LCD (60Hz). The Helio G35 is, let’s call it adequate, and the 5,000mAh battery supports 18W charging.
We end with one of the cheapest smartphones out there, the Nokia C01 Plus. True, it’s only an Android 11 Go edition phone, but it’s going to be easier to get apps for that than something like KaiOS. To put the pricing into context, the Nokia 2660 Flip costs ₹4,650 and that one doesn’t even run KaiOS.
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