'ZDNET Recommends': What exactly does it mean?
ZDNET's recommendations are based on many hours of testing, research, and comparison shopping. We gather data from the best available sources, including vendor and retailer listings as well as other relevant and independent reviews sites. And we pore over customer reviews to find out what matters to real people who already own and use the products and services we’re assessing.
When you click through from our site to a retailer and buy a product or service, we may earn affiliate commissions. This helps support our work, but does not affect what we cover or how, and it does not affect the price you pay. Neither ZDNET nor the author are compensated for these independent reviews. Indeed, we follow strict guidelines that ensure our editorial content is never influenced by advertisers.
ZDNET's editorial team writes on behalf of you, our reader. Our goal is to deliver the most accurate information and the most knowledgeable advice possible in order to help you make smarter buying decisions on tech gear and a wide array of products and services. Our editors thoroughly review and fact-check every article to ensure that our content meets the highest standards. If we have made an error or published misleading information, we will correct or clarify the article. If you see inaccuracies in our content, please report the mistake via this form.
The clock is ticking on what might be the best Cyber Monday deal yet: You can get an iPad, an Apple Watch SE, and Beats Fit Pro earbuds for free when you upgrade to a 5G iPhone (the iPhone SE, iPhone 12, and up) and sign up for a Verizon 5G phone plan.
If you think about it, a 5G plan goes hand in hand with a new smartphone: Customers who have been looking at their older smartphones and thinking about upgrading to 5G know that they have to pay for a corresponding plan and for the phone.
Verizon is gifting you three in-demand accessories that accompany a 5G phone in exchange for you paying for a plan every month and paying off the phone of your choosing.
Also: The best Verizon Cyber Monday deals
I found a way to make the deal even better. Many Verizon 5G smartphones are heavily discounted or have offers attached to them. You could technically pay nothing for an Apple iPhone 12 with the right phone plan and get the iPad (9th generation), Apple Watch SE, and Beats Fit Pro for free too. Then all you're responsible for is the monthly charge of your phone plan, which you would've had to pay anyway. Verizon estimates that this deal saves you up to $1,900! It ends today.
Just go to Apple's 5G smartphones through Verizon, pick the one you like the most (knowing that the iPhone 13 Mini, iPhone 12, iPhone 12 Mini, and iPhone SE are currently offered for free with the right phone plan), go to the Ways to save section, select Add new line or Upgrade existing line, and then add Get Apple Watch SE (2nd Generation) on us, plus up to two more free gifts. Online only. More than one deal may be on offer, so do check the fine print to make sure you've picked the one that's valid through Nov. 28.
If you're more of a Samsung or Google Pixel phone person, there are similar deals for each of those brands. You buy a 5G smartphone and a Verizon plan, and you get your pick of a tablet, smartwatch, and earbuds.
The 5G Samsung phone currently offered for free is the Samsung Galaxy S20 FE, which retails for $599. Choosing one of the other Samsung 5G phones would mean paying for it and the plan in order to get the three gifts.
Similarly, the Google Pixel 6a is free right now instead of its usual $499 price.
If you choose a Google or Samsung phone, you'll have the following options for the free gifts:
You follow the same procedure as with the Apple option: Just navigate to the smartphone page and add the offer under Ways to save.