We’ve found some major discounts on current flagships this week, as well as deals on mid-range phones and some entry-level phones. Use the links below to jump to your region:
UK
The new Galaxy S23 starts at £900 unless you commit to trade-in deals. The Galaxy S22 is still quite a capable phone and is much cheaper at £540. This was the last generation of Exynos-powered S-phones in Europe, but the rest of the hardware is quite similar (it’s not that the S23 has a QHD LTPO display or 25W faster charging).
Alternatively, you can take the Galaxy S21 FE 5G, which has a Snapdragon chip, even if it’s the 888. The S22 is the better phone, but is it better than £70? If you’re okay with (or really want) a larger 6.4-inch display, the FE might be more for you.
Alternatively, the Poco F4 GT will bring you the new Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipset and an even bigger 6.67-inch display, not to mention 120W super-fast charging (without wireless). However, the cameras aren’t as good as on the Samsungs.
If you want a flagship camera, the OnePlus 10 Pro is still around and packs a trio of Hasselblad modules, including an 8MP 77mm telephoto lens. It also uses the 8 Gen 1 chipset and offers both 80W wired and 65W wireless charging for its 5,000mAh battery. It costs more than the three models above, however, at £600.
The Xiaomi 11T Pro is getting older (it’s a 2021 model), but it has a Snapdragon 888 for £350, £120 cheaper than the S21 FE. While it doesn’t have a camera, the 108MP main camera does a decent job zooming in. This phone also has 120W fast charging and a 5,000mAh battery (not wireless, though).
The Pixel 6a costs less than £300 and while its replacement, the 7a, is on its way, Google has yet to set a launch date (it is rumored to launch in June). The leaks indicate a price of €500 on the mainland, so the 6a will probably remain the cheapest option.
By the way, you can get Pixel 6a bundled with Pixel Buds A-series. Or you can get the TWS headset on its own for just over £60.
Going up against the Pixel is the Galaxy A33. The new A34 is available now in the UK, but costs £90 more. Compared to the Google Phone, the A33 offers a larger 6.4″ 90Hz display (compared to 6.1″ at 60Hz), a microSD slot, and a larger 5,000mAh battery with 25W charging ( compared to 4,410mAh/18W).
We will take a short detour through Apple Land. Amazon is offering the iPhone 14 for just under £800, a small discount off what it costs on Apple.com. If that’s too much or you want a smaller phone, the iPhone 13 mini costs £600 for a 128GB unit.
The Nokia G22 and Galaxy A13 both have medium-sized screens (6.5″ and 6.6″ respectively). The Nokia offers a 90Hz IPS panel with HD+ resolution, the Samsung is sharper but slower with a 60Hz FHD+ display. The G22 has more processing power with the Unisoc T606 chipset, which features a pair of big A75 cores (versus all A55 cores in the Exynos 850). Its 5,050mAh battery also does 20W charging (compared to 5,000mAh 15W).
Both phones have microSD slots and 3.5mm headphone jacks. Both phones have 50MP main cameras, but only the Galaxy has an ultra-wide-angle lens (5MP sensor). HMD has partnered with iFixit to provide guides, tools, and parts for fixing the G22 at home (Samsung only does this for its flagships).
We’ll wrap things up with a wide range of Galaxy tablets. The Galaxy Tab S8 may offer the best price/performance ratio. All three Tab S8 models use the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipset and start with an 8/128GB memory configuration (all have card slots).
The Galaxy Tab S8+ has a larger 12.4″ Super AMOLED display, compared to the vanilla model’s 11″ LCD display. All three slates offer a 120Hz refresh rate. The Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra is the biggest of the bunch and just plain big with a 14.6-inch display. Between DeX mode and different keyboard options, this can replace a laptop.
If those are too expensive, the Galaxy Tab S6 Lite (the 2022 re-release) is less than half the price of the Tab S8. It has a similarly sized 10.4-inch LCD, but it’s a 60Hz panel. Even the Snapdragon 720G is far from powerful. Still, with a microSD slot and speakers tuned by AKG, this can be a great choice for casual and media browsing.
Or if you just want something cheap, the Galaxy Tab A7 Lite is down to £120. The 8.7″ 1,340 x 800px display isn’t great and the Helio P22T is slower than even the 720G, but at that price it might work. as a tablet for the little ones – if they break it, oh well.
Germany
Google I/O 2023 is scheduled for May 10, and we should get an update on next-generation pixels. For now, there are the Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro, which continue to fall below the price of the Galaxy and iPhone flagships.
The Xiaomi 13 is normally a 1,000 euro phone, Amazon offers it for a little less. It comes with a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset but lacks the Pro model’s 50MP triple camera setup.
Speaking of the Xiaomi 13 Pro, its 1” camera can be yours for €1,300. This also includes a 120Hz QHD+ LTPO display and faster 120W wired charging (up from 67W). It’s an expensive phone, but its camera impressed in our recent shootout.
Last week we listed the entire iPhone 14 generation, which had pretty substantial discounts on Amazon. They are still available, so this week we wanted to focus on the previous generation. Apple is still selling the non-Pro duo, but you can get a better deal on Amazon.
The Redmi Note 12 4G went on sale just this week and can be purchased for €200. That’s €100 cheaper than the 5G version (note though that the Note 12 5G has double the storage space). Apart from the chipset, the two models are quite similar.
For another €100 more you can grab the Redmi Note 12 Pro with double the RAM and a more respectable Dimension 1080 chipset (instead of the Snapdragon 4 Gen 1 in the vanilla 5G model). This one also has faster charging and OIS on its 50MP (1/1.56″) camera.
Alternatively, the venerable Samsung Galaxy A52s is still around and can be had for €130 less than the new Galaxy A54. The new model has some advantages, even if that price gap makes them seem rather small.
What the Nokia has in store is a microSD slot (both have 3.5mm jacks) and stock Android that will be updated to Android 14 and will continue to receive security patches until at least the end of 2024.
The Nokia X20 costs €50 more than the Realme 9 Pro+, even though the Realme has the better chipset (Dimension 920 vs. Snapdragon 480) and better camera (50MP main with OIS, 8MP ultra wide angle vs. 64 MP, 5 MP ultra wide angle) and faster charging battery (4,500 mAh 60 W vs 18 W). The Realme also has a 6.4″ 90Hz AMOLED display compared to a 6.67″ (60Hz) IPS LCD on the X20.
India
OnePlus 10T and iQOO 9T both cost the same at ₹50,000. They have large 120Hz FHD+ AMOLED displays and both are powered by the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1. The batteries are similar with a slight edge for OnePlus, 4,800mAh/150W for the 10T and 4,700mAh/120W for the iQOO.
The iQOO 9T has slightly better cameras, albeit with mostly identical main modules, it also offers a better ultra-wide-angle lens (13MP versus 8MP) and a short zoom – 12MP 47mm.
Samsung started shipping the Galaxy A54 a week ago, but 8/128GB drives were initially hard to find. It costs ₹2,000 less than the 8/256GB version, and you can buy a 256GB microSD for less (or go with something bigger, a 512GB SanDisk costs ₹3,330).
IQOO Neo 6 and Galaxy S20 FE are priced quite close (don’t forget to click the ₹3,000 coupon for the Samsung). The iQOO uses the Snapdragon 870 chipset, the S20 FE the vanilla Snapdragon 865. Both have medium-sized 120Hz displays (FHD+ AMOLED panels). The iQOO is notable for its 4,700mAh/80W battery compared to 4,500mAh/25W for the Galaxy (although it also has 15W wireless).
The Galaxy S20 FE has a 3x zoom camera (8 MP) and a microSD slot, however, Android 13 is probably its latest operating system update (it is a 2020 model, after all). The iQOO is from mid-2022.
The vivo Y100 and Y56 went on sale last month. They are quite similar, except that the Y100 has the better screen (6.38″ 90Hz AMOLED vs. 6.58″ 60Hz IPS LCD, both FHD+), better chipset (Dimension 900 vs. 700), and better main camera – 64MP with OIS and 4K video vs 50MP, no OIS, no 4K. The Y100 also has 44W fast charging for its 4,500mAh battery, the Y63 has a larger capacity (5,000mAh) but only charges at 18W. However, it’s also ₹5,000 cheaper.
The Samsung Galaxy A14 5G, specifically the SM-A146B variant, uses the new Exynos 1330 chipset and features a 6.6-inch 90Hz FHD+ resolution LCD. Its 5,000mAh battery is as slow to charge as the Samsung Galaxy A14 5G. It’s the Y56 (only supports 15W charging) and has a comparable 50MP main camera (neither has an ultra-wide-angle lens).
The Tecno Spark 8 Pro is a rare sight in the sub-₹10,000 segment: full-fledged Android (version 11, but still), an FHD+ display (6.8-inch IPS LCD), a large 5,000mAh battery with 33W fast charging and an ok 48MP main camera (not ultra wide angle). It also has a microSD slot and a 3.5mm jack. It doesn’t have 5G connectivity, but the Helio G85 chipset is normally found in much more expensive phones.
United States of America
While Samsung was accepting pre-orders for the Galaxy S23 series, it was offering a free memory upgrade – an offer that has since expired. Amazon is bringing it back, though. That means you can get a 256GB Galaxy S22 for the same price as the 128GB unit.
The Galaxy S23+ and S23 Ultra upgrade to 512GB at no extra cost over the 256GB models.
The Sony WF-1000XM5s are just around the corner, but the older XM4 left us with little to complain about even after months of use. They are currently $50 below their usual price.
Sony also has the highly specific Link Buds, designed so that you can always hear your surroundings – they have a hole! For a more traditional design with active noise cancellation, you can get the LinkBuds S instead (they’re not as good as the WF-1000XM4s, but they’re also $50 cheaper).
Alternatively, you can get the Google Pixel Buds Pro for the same $150 price. We’ve reviewed all of these buds so you can read up on which ones suit you best. If the prices are too steep for you, you can also pick up the A-series Pixel Buds for around half the cost.
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