With Black Friday oh-so-very-nearly here, we’ve now got all the deals from the big four carriers locked down. Black Friday 2017 is looking to be a big one, as T-Mobile and Sprint have aggressive offers on smartphones, Verizon is offering half-off on handsets like the Galaxy S8, and even AT&T has some good bundle deals.
As you’d expect, most of the deals are on smartphones (with a heavy emphasis on Android flagships like the Galaxy Note 8, Pixel 2, and Essential Phone), but we’re seeing carriers branch out more and more into accessories this year. The Google Home is a popular discount doorbuster, and some of the best Bluetooth speakers that money can buy are getting a huge price cut this year.
T-Mobile
If you want deals on the iPhone this Black Friday, T-Mobile’s the only carrier worth going to. The Un-carrier is offering a buy-one-get-one-free deal on virtually every iPhone except the iPhone X, and there aren’t too too many strings attached. Customers on the T-Mobile One plan are eligible, but you still have to add an extra line. That’ll normally cost you $10 per month, but you can cancel the line after about two months.
You end up paying for both devices through the Equipment Installment Plan, which spreads out the full cost over 24 months. The second device is then reimbursed through a prepaid MasterCard for the full value of the second iPhone, which should be sent to you within two months. After you’ve got the MasterCard, you can cancel the line you added, or even pay off both devices in full and jump ship to a different carrier altogether.
It’s not just the iPhone, either. The full list of devices eligible for the T-Mobile buy-one-get-one deal is:
- iPhone 7
- iPhone 7 Plus
- iPhone 8
- Samsung Galaxy S8
- Samsung Galaxy S8 Active
- Samsung Galaxy S8+
- Samsung Note 8
- LG G6
- LG V30
- LG V30 +
Verizon
Verizon has one of the best deals on all the top Android flagships, provided you don’t mind staying with Verizon for two years. The carrier is offering half-price phones, but unlike T-Mobile, the discount is offered in the form of bill credits, applied over 24 months. That means you can’t leave Verizon for the next two years — or if you do, you’ll lose a portion of the discounted price. However, unlike T-Mobile’s offer, you only need to buy one phone, not two. The Google Pixel 2, Google Pixel 2 XL, Samsung Galaxy S8, Samsung Galaxy S8+, Samsung Galaxy Note8, or Moto Z2 Force are eligible.
In addition, Verizon is offering deals on a wide range of accessories, including a $80 big Google Home, $30 Google Home Mini, and $99 UE Boom (normally $200).
Sprint
Much like Verizon, Sprint’s Black Friday deal centers around half-price Android phones. In this case, the Samsung Galaxy Note8, Galaxy S8, Galaxy S8+, Galaxy S8 Active, or Moto Z2 Force are up for grabs. Unlike Verizon and T-Mobile’s deals, you’re not really “buying” these phones. Instead, it’s technically 50% off the lease price on a 2-year Sprint Flex lease. There are some options to buy the phone at the end of the 2-year lease, and when you work the math, it’s normally a saving of $200-300 per device. However, if you normally trash your phone after two years anyway, the pricing is nearly unbeatable:
- Galaxy S8 for $15.62 a month
- Galaxy S8+ for $17.71 a month
- Galaxy S8 Active for $17.71 a month
- Galaxy Note 8 for $20 a month.
AT&T
The weakest deals this year come from AT&T, which isn’t really offering any good discounts on smartphones. Instead, AT&T is focusing on trying to get people to sign up for DirecTV Now, and offering you a free
There is an active AT&T offer on the Galaxy S8, but it’s not tied directly to Black Friday 2017. Buy two Galaxy S8 devices on the AT&T Next plan, and you’ll get the second device free (via bill credits). You have to stay on AT&T for 30 months in order to get the full discount, and you also have to add a new line to your account, so this deal isn’t as good as the offerings from some other carriers.
