15+ Black Friday phone deals: Top early sales iPhone and Android phones

• Current Price: $850
• Original Price: $1,000

Ever since Samsung made the push for "Ultra" smartphones, the Plus model has been left in the dust, but not entirely forgotten. That's because it mostly retains the big-phone features that come with the Ultra but in a more affordable, less polarizing form factor. I'd go as far as to say that the Samsung Galaxy S22 Plus is the sleeper pick for the best all-around smartphone this year. 

It has a generous 6.8-inch flat display that refreshes at 120Hz, a 50-megapixel main shooter that can capture videos as sharp as 8K, and is powered by Qualcomm's tried and tested Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor. Right now, Best Buy has the phone discounted by $150, no strings attached. 

• Current Price: $450
• Original Price: $650

If you're tired of always sitting by an outlet, waiting impatiently for your smartphone to charge just enough to last the rest of the day, then the OnePlus 10T should be on your radar. It's the latest handset from OnePlus and offers the fastest wired charging of any smartphone on the US market, topping up from 0% to 100% within 25 minutes.

The phone can be had for $450 right now with an activation at Best Buy, but don't let the discounted price cloud you from the flagship features that come with it. That includes the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chipset, 8GB of RAM, a quad-camera setup, and an ultra-smooth 120Hz refresh rate display. 

• Current price: $760
• Original price: $1,000

I reviewed the iPhone 14 Pro alongside ZDNET colleague Jason Hiner back in September, and while Apple's latest handset dazzled with improved camera features and its most ambitious display feature yet: Dynamic Island, it didn't feel like a revelation compared to the iPhone 13 Pro from the year before. That said, if you were hoping to buy an iPhone for less going into Black Friday, this $240 discount on the excellent iPhone 13 Pro is certainly worth the look. 

For transparency, the phone is certified "Refurbished" by Walmart, meaning it has been fully inspected and will look as good as new. Barring that, you can expect the same iOS 16 experience that one would get on the more-expensive iPhone 14 Pro and a more traditional notched display.

• Current Price: $420
• Original Price: $600

Google's Pixel 6 was quite the value pick-up last year and still is today. In many ways, the non-Pro Pixel is actually superior to the more-premium sibling, such as the flat-edged display, the similarly-sized battery capacity, and the fact that you're getting all the software perks of the Pro variant for a cheaper price. 

The Pixel 6 right now is on sale for $420, a $180 mark-down from the retail cost of the 128GB model. At that price, I would argue that it's the best phone you can buy in the mid-range sector.

• Current price: $600
• Original price: $800

The OnePlus 10 Pro is one of the better smartphones that fell under everyone's radar this year, mainly because it was announced back in January at CES. As OnePlus's flagship smartphone, the handset carries the much-expected duet of ultra-smooth display performance and even faster charging. No, seriously, the phone comes with a 65W charging brick that can power it from 0% to 100% within half an hour.

All things considered, you technically save $300 dollars with Best Buy's deal because the OnePlus 10 Pro retailed at $900 when it was first released earlier this year.

• Current Price: $1150
• Original Price: $1400

In the running for best smartphone of the year, the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra, with its gorgeous 6.8-inch OLED display, up to 8K video recording, S Pen support, and a generous 5,000mAh battery, has proven to be the Korean giant's most complete handset yet. This early Black Friday, Amazon has the 512GB variant discounted by $250, putting the Galaxy right beside the latest iPhone 14 Pro with four times the storage capacity.

• Current Price: $250
• Original Price: $300

Cheap phones are getting good, as Samsung's latest sub-$300 phone can attest to. The Galaxy A23 5G is currently selling for just $250 with, get this: a large 6.6-inch FHD+ display with 120Hz refresh rate, 5,000mAh battery, up to 1TB of storage via MicroSD, and a tried-and-tested Qualcomm Snapdragon 695 processor at the helm. Those are promising specs for what easily counts as a budget phone. 

Sure, you'll lose out on the extensive software support that more-expensive phones benefit from, and the camera might not shoot the best photos in the dark, but if you just want a handset that gets the job done for a fraction of the cost, then look no further than this.

• Current price: $200
• Original price: $300

Over the last two years, OnePlus has carved up a new segment of smartphones that focuses on bringing value to cheaper price points -- and it's gotten really good at it. The Nord N20 5G, released earlier this year, is among the few nominees for best cheap 5G phone in 2022. The reasoning is actually pretty simple. For one, it has a sharp-looking 6.43-inch AMOLED display -- a rarity in this sub-$300 market. Then there's the 128GB of base storage, 4,500mAh battery, and 33W fast charging that laps that of Motorola and Samsung's low-mid range offerings. 

You can snag the OnePlus Nord N20 5G for as low as $200 right now with activation at Best Buy.

When it comes to finding the best deal, part of the equation is looking for smartphones that users will actually enjoy using. By testing most of the handsets that hit the open market all year long, ZDNET's team of subject experts can offer the best advice on what to buy and what to avoid. 

The second part of the equation is determining whether or not a deal is real or not. In some cases, retailers will mark down a product knowing full well that it has been discounted for weeks and months before. In other cases, like the ones mentioned above, you're saving money on the products like never before. 

Black Friday always falls the day after Thanksgiving. This year, Black Friday will be on Nov. 25, 2022.

Cyber Monday is always the following Monday after Black Friday. This year, it will be on Monday, Nov. 28, 2022.

ZDNET scoured Black Friday sales to find the best deals:

• The best early Black Friday 2022 deals happening right now

Our experts also split out the best deals by retailer, brand, and category, which you can see below.

Black Friday deals by retailer

• The best Black Friday 2022 deals at Amazon
• The best Black Friday 2022 deals at Costco
• The best Black Friday 2022 deals at Newegg
• The best Black Friday 2022 deals at Target
• The best Black Friday 2022 deals at Walmart
• Top Black Friday 2022 deals at Best Buy

Black Friday deals by brand

• The best Black Friday 2022 Apple deals
• The best Black Friday 2022 Samsung deals
• The best Black Friday 2022 Dell deals
• The best Black Friday 2022 HP deals

Black Friday deals by category

• The best Black Friday 2022 gaming deals
• The best Black Friday 2022 AirPods deals
• The best Black Friday 2022 headphone deals
• The best Black Friday 2022 laptop deals
• The best Black Friday 2022 monitor deals
• The best Black Friday 2022 robot vacuum deals
• The best Black Friday 2022 phone deals
• The best Black Friday 2022 tablet deals
  
• The best Black Friday2022 TV deals
• The best Black Friday 2022 VPN deals
• The best Black Friday 2022 iPad deals
• The best Black Friday 2022 security camera deals
  
• The best Black Friday 2022 smartwatch deals
• The best Black Friday 2022 storage deals
• The best Black Friday 2022 Apple Watch deals
  
• The best Black Friday 2022 Chromebook deals
• The best Black Friday 2022 fitness deals

Finally, here are some of the cheapest deals we've found so far:

• The best early Black Friday 2022 deals under $30