The 23 best Black Friday phone deals on iPhone and Android handsets

• Current Price: $750
• Original Price: $900

It's year two of Google's redesigned Pixel line and things have never looked better. From ZDNET's testing, the flagship Pixel 7 Pro exceeded our expectations with a new and improved Tensor G2 processor, a camera configuration that bests Samsung's, and a generous suite of practical, user-first software features.

The Pixel 7 Pro was always undercutting industry flagships at $900, but for a limited time, you can snag the latest Google phone for just $750 ($150 off). That's a very good deal on what is still the newest major smartphone release this year.

If you typically buy your smartphones from the local carrier, it may be in your best interest to stick to it this Black Friday. Right now, providers like AT&T are running promotions that will get you the latest iPhone 14 for free. There are some loopholes, of course, but they're less of a chore than you think. 

To get an iPhone 14 that's fully discounted, you'll need to trade in a device that has a value of $130 or higher. That includes phone models as old as the iPhone 11. You'll also have to be under a qualifying Unlimited plan, which includes Premium, Extra, and Starter, and commit to using the phone under AT&T for 36 months. Unless you plan on switching carriers any time soon, a free iPhone is never a bad idea. 

• Current price: $800
• Original price: $1000

If there's one thing holding foldable phones back from achieving mainstream acceptance, it's the price. Fortunately, Samsung's latest shape-shifting handset, the Z Flip 4 is near its all-time low this Black Friday. Typically selling for $1000, the clamshell-style smartphone can be had for just $800, besting that of standard flagships from Google, Apple, and Samsung itself. 

For the price, you're getting one of the most refined folding phones on the market with a 6.7-inch AMOLED display, 8GB of RAM, the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 chipset, and a plethora of dual-screen use cases that you can flex with. When ZDNET's Jason Hiner reviewed it months ago, he even found the Z Flip to be a practical hotspot hub.

• Current Price: $609
• 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, Amazon has the phone discounted by $390, no strings attached. 

• Current price: $735
• 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 $265 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: $550
• 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 $350 dollars with the below deals because the OnePlus 10 Pro retailed at $900 when it was first released earlier this year.

• Current Price: $500
• Original Price: $600

Google's Pixel 7 is not as flashy as its Pro sibling but, in many ways, the smaller Pixel is actually superior to the more-premium counterpart. Aspects like 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 make the standard Pixel 7 one of the best great-value pickups this Black Friday.

The Pixel 7 right now is on sale for $500, a $100 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: $1100
• 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 Black Friday, Amazon and Best Buy have the 512GB variant discounted by $300, putting the Galaxy right beside the latest iPhone 14 Pro with four times the storage capacity.

• Current Price: $300
• Original Price: $450

Cheap phones are getting good, as Google's latest sub-$450 phone can attest to. The Pixel 6a is currently selling for just $300 with, get this: a comfy 6.1-inch FHD display, a 4,410mAh battery, a flagship-tier camera system, and Google's own Tensor processor at the helm. Those are promising specs for what easily counts as a budget phone with the Black Friday discount.

Sure, the hardware is not made of ceramic or ultra-durable glass like that of more-expensive phones, and the charging speed is not blazingly fast, 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: $230
• 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 $230 right now.