Posted on November 15, 2021, 12:11 PM
The Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals season often includes a lot of gadgets, which often get discounts from the device makers themselves. But one of the biggest names in telephony, Apple, is rarely generous with its discounts this time of year. So we've put together a guide to which iPhones you should look out for on Black Friday for the best savings.
We'll also let you know which iPhones won't be heavily discounted. Don't expect to see any significant price cuts on new iPhone 13 models, especially from Apple itself, which rarely participates in deal seasons. If there are slight Black Friday deals on the latest iPhones, they will be offered by online retailers or carriers.
But to make room for new phones, expect to see a few Black Friday deals on last year's flagships and older models. Considering the small number of changes in the iPhone 12 lineup, we still recommend them as alternatives if the newer Apple phones are out of your budget.
The same goes for the iPhone 11s too – although they don't have MagSafe or the sleek, flat-edged design of the newer iPhones, they're still good quality, with ultra-wide cameras and improved night photography compared to their predecessors.
All that's left are the iPhone XS, iPhone X, and iPhone XR, both of which are still respectable given their full-screen designs and upgrades to iOS 15. If you want to stick with iPhone 8 or iPhone SE and their home button with Touch ID, there will be plenty of deals on those devices, too.
Here are our tips on which iPhones to look out for on Black Friday, and what to expect at each level.
Black Friday deals for the iPhone 13: what you should expect
As we said above, we don't expect the iPhone 13 lineup to be subject to significant discounts during the Black Friday period. Related: Alphabet's Project Taara: Laser technology transmitted 700 TB of data nearly 5 km. Given the phones launched in September, we expect Apple to keep them going at a high price.
That said, some online retailers may offer slight discounts on the iPhone 13 range – we're expecting a 5-10% discount off list prices. Given that the cheapest model in the range, the iPhone 13 mini, starts at $699 / £679 / AU$1,199, we can expect a 5% discount to bring the price down. around $35 / £26 / AU$48. It's better than nothing, but we weren't expecting much more during Black Friday.
Operators are another story, and regularly take advantage of the sales season. They can increase their trade-in offers with slightly higher discounts during Black Friday, and we expect these discounts to peak on the same day and during Cyber Monday – but they'll likely explain their offers at advance with the dates the offers go into effect, so expect to get plenty of notice on what they are offering.
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Remember that these discounts can be combined with price reductions when trading in an old phone, so take note of the terms of the offer to get the best price.
iPhone 12 Black Friday deals: what to expect
This is where the business really starts. When Apple launched the iPhone 13 lineup in September, it immediately discounted the iPhone 12 lineup by $100 / £120 / AU$150, and we expect prices to drop even further on release day. Black-Friday. Read also: What are the services offered by the 1&1 hosting provider?. Not on Apple's site, of course, but retailers and carriers can introduce their own discounts.
These Black Friday deals on the iPhone 12 should be more substantial than those on the newest Apple phones. We wouldn't expect them to be as heavily discounted as flagship Androids during Black Friday, but it should be a much-needed price drop - especially for those trying to decide between the iPhone 13 and the iPhone. iPhone 12.
There isn't much difference between the two, but the new iPhone 13 has a smaller notch for the selfie camera, higher maximum screen brightness, slightly improved camera hardware and software , and slightly better specs with more base storage capacity, as well as a noticeably larger 3,240 mAh battery compared to the 2,815 mAh capacity of the iPhone 12.
We expect Black Friday iPhone 12 deals from retailers and carriers, especially with the iPhone 12 mini and iPhone 12 Pro Max – which are no longer officially sold by Apple, which will not maintains only the latest extra-small and extra-large models in its official range. That means you'll see them sold only by retailers and carriers, and likely at a discount. Expect discounts of around 10% off current list prices, but not much more, as Apple phones are still very expensive.
iPhone 11 Black Friday Deals: What You Should Expect
The iPhone 11 line has seen two notable price drops in as many years as it has been replaced by newer iPhones. You can still buy the standard model from Apple, and for good reason: it's still just as powerful and offers big upgrades over its predecessors, including an ultra-wide camera and much improved night photography. You may be interested in: Google Cloud: Latest Features Improve Operations and Reduce Costs. (iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max are only sold by carriers and retailers).
The standard iPhone 11 is now $499 / £489 / AU$849, which is $200 / £240 / AU$350 less than its launch price, but expect more than 10% off for on Black Friday.
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Black Friday deals on iPhone SE, iPhone XS, iPhone XR and other iPhones
Other iPhones should all get great discounts during Black Friday, including popular phones like iPhone SE 2020, iPhone XR and others. They're not Apple's most advanced devices, but they'll still be great phones – and should get big discounts during Black Friday.
Just note that older iPhones may not have many years of software updates left. Apple generously included the 2016 iPhone 6S as its oldest model getting iOS 15, but we have no idea if it will get iOS 16 next year. It's unclear which phone Apple will set as the baseline, but we're reasonably confident that 2017's iPhone 7 and newer phones will receive new versions of iOS for years to come.
That said, if you want to be sure, go for the iPhone SE 2020 or iPhone XR for your affordable phone choice. Oddly enough, we're still seeing the iPhone XS and iPhone X at premium prices, but all should get decent discounts for Black Friday. So that leaves the iPhone 8 as a reliable mid-range, which should get good discounts – but if you want to future-proof your affordable Apple phone choice, we recommend the iPhone SE 2020.