- Best Buy has planned two Pixel 5 deals for Black Friday that cut the phone’s original price tag by up to $200.
- The brand new Pixel 5 sells for $699 unlocked, an affordable but still high price tag for a mid-range Android phone.
- Best Buy’s deal offers at least $50 in instant savings for an unlocked handset, or $200 off when buying the phone with qualified activation.
Google’s 2020 flagship phone is not really a flagship handset. Google made a huge compromise in the chip department, which allowed it to price the 5G phone at just $699. But the only two things working for the Pixel 5 aren’t worth that price tag. The Pixel 5 gives you access to Google’s camera, which could benefit from a faster processor, and guaranteed fast Android updates for three years. But this isn’t the kind of phone that you should be using three years from now. For $699, you can buy the iPhone 12 mini (with carrier offers). Or spend $599 on the iPhone 11, and you’d be much better off. Alternatively, the OnePlus 8 and OnePlus 8T retail for around $700, and they deliver much better performance than the Pixel 5 — prices do vary depending on current sales.
If you do want the Android update guarantee and the camera experience, then the $499 is the much better offer. It’s essentially the same Pixel 5 phone, featuring a few design and specs compromises. Or, you can wait a few more days and score a significantly discounted Pixel 5 for Black Friday. That’s right, the brand new Pixel 5 will see massive discounts during the period. And you can purchase it for $50 to $200 less than its regular price.
Best Buy listed its Black Friday 2020 deals ad a lot earlier than expected. The retailer will offer several deals on brand new smartphones, including plenty of 2020 devices: iPhone SE, iPhone 12 series, Galaxy S20, Galaxy Note 20, Galaxy S20 FE, and the Pixel 5.
Specifically, Best Buy has planned two distinct Pixel 5 deals, which come with some strings attached.
To save $200 on the Pixel 5 you will have to get it with a qualified activation with Google or Verizon. There is a fine print, which tells you that the savings will probably not be instant:
Savings are deducted off the full total price of the device and are reflected in either instant savings or in vendor bill credits, both of which will result in reduced monthly payments for the term of the agreement on your carrier account. Bill credits will be applied within 1–2 billing cycles and will end when the balance is paid, or the line is terminated or transferred. Savings promotion does not apply to one-time payment activation and may not be combinable with other credits, discounts, and offers.
Still, that’s one way to save a lot of money for a device that you might end up using for a couple of years.
The second deal does cover buying an unlocked Google Pixel 5, and lets you save up to $100. You get $50 off of the unlocked Pixel 5, which gets the price down to $649. A “qualified activation” will let you save an additional $50, so you’d pay $599 for the phone. For this option, only Google is listed as a potential carrier. And here’s the fine print detail that matters:
Activation not required to receive instant savings. Device must be activated to receive qualified activation savings.
In other words, it’s up to you to go for the full $100 in savings for an unlocked handset or settle for an instant $50 off.
Google has not disclosed its Black Friday deals, and it may offer its own Pixel 4a 5G and Pixel 5 sales, so you may want to wait before you pull the trigger at Best Buy. As for Best Buy’s Black Friday event, it all starts on November 22nd, so that’s when you have to be on the lookout for the Pixel 5 deals.
