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Amazon; Alyssa Powell/Business Insider
Buying a smartphone can be tough on your wallet, especially if you’re looking to buy brands like Samsung Galaxy or Google Pixel. Luckily, Amazon Prime Day 2020 is happening right now through October 14, and we’re seeing remarkable discounts on a wide variety of models from these manufacturers.
No one should be paying full price for a smartphone these days when deal events like Amazon Prime Day can shave off a good chunk of the price tag. And if there isn’t a Prime Day deal on a phone you like, don’t fret — we expect to see plenty more smartphone deals over Black Friday and Cyber Monday later this year.
If you’re not an Amazon Prime member yet but want to take part of the Prime Day deals before they end October 14, you can sign up for a free 30-day trial with full benefits before committing.
Google Pixel phone deals
This year, we’re seeing a lot of great Pixel 4 smartphone deals, and they are definitely worth snapping up even though the Pixel 5 is expected to launch soon.
You should know that Google has already announced the Pixel 4’s successor, called the Pixel 5. It also announced the Pixel 4a 5G — a pared-down version of the Pixel 5. The Pixel 5 will be released on October 29 and can already be preordered, and the Pixel 4a 5G on November 19.
Whether you want to wait for the Pixel 5 or Pixel 4a 5G depends on a couple things. First of all, you may be spending a little more with the new Pixels than you would with Pixel 4 series during Prime Day. Secondly, the Pixel 5 and 4a 5G both come with new features that you won’t find on the Pixel 4, including 5G support and, finally, an ultrawide camera lens.
The Pixel 3 models are also getting steep discounts.
Samsung phone deals
Samsung’s Galaxy S10 series is again on sale for this year’s Prime Day, but perhaps the more exciting deals are on the Galaxy S20 series and the Galaxy Note 20. These phones are more expensive and harder to recommend at full price, so these deals make a huge difference.
If you don’t mind losing a few features, the recently launched Galaxy S20 “FE” is also a good buy. It starts at $700 and comes with most of the important parts, like a high 120Hz refresh rate screen, the Snapdragon 865, and a triple-lens camera system.
Here are the best deals we’re seeing on Samsung phones for Prime Day 2020.
How to shop for a smartphone
The primary way that Americans buy their phones is from their carrier, which is fine, but you might get better deals from other stores. That’s when Amazon’s Prime Day 2020 comes in, where you might see a deal for a phone you’ve been considering.
The phones you’re buying from Amazon will most often be “unlocked” and should be clearly labeled as such. “Unlocked” means it’s not tied to any carrier, and means it can work with any carrier. You should be able to remove the SIM card from your old phone and pop it right into the new phone without much complication.
If you’re not too well versed in your smartphone knowledge, the best way to research phones is to read reviews that tell you where each phone sits compared to other similar models, and whether they have the performance and features you’re after. We’ve personally used and reviewed many of the smartphones, and we’ve included our reviews accordingly. Alternatively, we also have roundups of the best smartphones that basically does all the hard work for you!
- Check out our top smartphones to buy in 2020
- Check out our top “cheap” smartphones to buy in 2020
- Check out smartphones deals outside of Amazon, too
Smartphone deals we expect on Prime Day 2020
This year, we’re expecting Prime Day deals on some current and recent phones like the Galaxy S20 and Note 20 series, Google’s Pixel 4 series, and Motorola’s Edge series.
How do we know that these phones will get deals on Prime Day? No one but Amazon knows for sure, but we can go back and see what kind of deals previous phone generations got during last year’s Prime Day 2019. If older generations got a deal, it’s more than likely that the current generation will get one on Prime Day 2020, too.
Unfortunately, Apple’s iPhones don’t get the best Prime Day treatment. Amazon only sells iPhones that are locked to Cricket Wireless, and those that are unlocked are renewed models that we can’t verify and don’t feel comfortable recommending.
Consider, too, that Amazon may offer deals on phones we weren’t expecting. OnePlus phones, for example, didn’t get the Prime Day treatment last year, but this year might be different. We’ll be updating this frequently, including on Prime Day 2020 itself.
When is Prime Day?
Amazon Prime Day 2020 began on October 13 and runs through October 14. That’s about a three-month delay compared to typical Prime Days that usually take place in July of most years. The delay is due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The delay shouldn’t affect the value and interest level of most smartphone shoppers — what’s another three months in a phone’s lifecycle? With that said, some new models have already been announced, like Google’s Pixel 5, so that may add another layer of complexity if you were eyeing a Google phone. As for Samsung, we don’t expect another phone launch until February, so there’s little reason to hold off.
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