Need to upgrade your phone? Or have you been eyeing a large-screen tablet? Amazon Prime Day is a perfect time to pick up either because there are tons of devices seeing steep discounts right now. We’ve sorted through ’em all and these are our favorite deals on smartphones and tablets right now. Be sure to check out our Best Android Phones, Best Cheap Phones, and Best Tablets guides for more details on our recommendations.
The WIRED Gear team tests products year-round. We sorted through hundreds of thousands of deals by hand to make these picks. Crossed-out products are out of stock or no longer discounted. Our Amazon Prime Day coverage page has the latest stories, and our Prime Day Shopping Tips will help you avoid bad deals. You can also get a 1-Year Subscription to WIRED for $5 here.
Updated July 13, 2022: We’ve added two budget TCL phones and updated links throughout.
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Smartphone Deals
Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra
Photograph: Samsung
This is a phenomenal price on a phenomenal phone (9/10, WIRED Recommends). Yes, it has a 6.8-inch screen that makes it a pain to wield, but the 10x optical zoom camera more than makes up for it. This zoom camera lets you take photos of subjects that are quite far away but with spectacular image quality, a feature unrivaled on any other phone sold in the US. The rest of it is just as top-notch, from speedy performance and good battery life to a bright screen and even a stylus for taking notes. This is the lowest price we have ever tracked.
This is also the lowest price we have seen on the standard Galaxy S22 (9/10, WIRED Recommends). It doesn’t have the fancy 10x optical zoom camera, but it still has a respectable triple-camera system. Performance is just as great, the 6.1-inch screen is so much nicer to hold, and the AMOLED screen is exquisite. Samsung also offers some of the best software support: The S22 range will get four Android upgrades and 5 years of security updates.
Rounding out Samsung’s flagships, the S22+ (9/10, WIRED Recommends) has a bigger battery than the regular S22 (4,500 mAh vs. 3,700 mAh), can charge faster, and has a larger screen. It may lack the 10x optical zoom and S Pen of the Ultra, but it’s an excellent middle ground between the S22 and the S22 Ultra. It’s discounted at Best Buy as well.
Google Pixel 6
Photograph: Google
The standard Google Pixel 6 (9/10, WIRED Recommends) is arguably the best phone on this list, especially at this price. If anything, it’s endangering Google’s upcoming Pixel 6A. You get wireless charging here, robust 5G support, good battery life, and a 90-Hz AMOLED screen. Google promises three Android upgrades and five years of security updates. You can learn more about Pixel phones in our Google Pixel buying guide. The deal is out of stock at Amazon, but you can still order it; Amazon will ship it when it comes back in stock.
Google’s most recent flagship, Pixel 6 Pro (9/10, WIRED Recommends), has great performance, a great triple-camera system, and a great 120-Hz AMOLED screen—it’s pretty great. The fingerprint sensor doesn’t match up to those standards, but $200 off for Prime Day might help soften any frustration there, bringing the phone well below traditional flagship prices.
This phone (7/10, WIRED Recommends) takes many of the perks of last year’s Galaxy S21 series and puts them in a more affordable package … well, even more affordable now with this deal. You get good performance, wireless charging, 5G support, a bright 120-Hz AMOLED screen, and IP68 water resistance (not to mention the lengthy software update cycle). That’s very hard to find on a phone under $500.
Samsung Galaxy A53
Photograph: Samsung
The Galaxy A53 (8/10, WIRED Recommends) is a great alternative to Google’s A-series Pixel phones. It frequently dips to $350, but this is the lowest price we’ve ever seen. You get a 120-Hz AMOLED display (almost unheard of at this price), more than a day of battery life, good performance, a MicroSD card slot, NFC for contactless payments, and five years of security updates.
This OnePlus phone (7/10, WIRED Recommends) does everything you’d expect of a flagship Android phone. It’s speedy, has a bright 120-Hz screen refresh rate, and has a pretty good software support window. 5G support, however, is lacking. If you’re on AT&T, you won’t be able to connect to 5G, just 4G LTE. Its cameras are also still not as good as the likes of the Pixel 6 or Galaxy S22. If you have a good history with OnePlus phones, you’ll be happy with the 10 Pro.
This is the lowest price we’ve seen for the 2021 OnePlus flagship (8/10, WIRED Recommends). The standard OnePlus 9 is also on sale for $500 ($100 off). You’re likely better off with many of the cheaper options above, though these are still good phones. The cameras are solid, and the rest of the hardware is excellent as usual. It’s worth noting that you’ll only get two more Android OS upgrades (they just received Android 12) and three years of security updates.
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If your budget is tight, then TCL’s 10L will satisfy you. You get a Qualcomm Snapdragon 665 processor for decent performance and a 4,000-mAH battery that often lasted two days. The camera system works OK during the daytime, but low-light images are noisy. It’ll only work on GSM networks like T-Mobile or AT&T, and know that it will stop receiving security updates this year (and will not get Android 12).
This TCL 20 Pro is the 2021 model, and you get some solid specs for the money. The main 48-megapixel camera is OK and the 16-MP ultrawide offers more versatility. There’s wireless charging, NFC for contactless payments, and there’s a 4,500-mAh cell battery that should last you a day with heavy use. There’s 5G support too but it only works on T-Mobile.
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip3
Photograph: Samsung
Folding phones are cool, and the Flip3 (7/10, WIRED Recommends) is a great option for anyone that thinks most phones are too big. It lets you basically fold a phone in half, like a compact mirror. It has great performance and decent cameras, though the battery life can struggle to last a full day.
You should buy the Galaxy A53 5G above instead of this Moto G Stylus 5G 2022 unless you really want a stylus or lots of storage. It’s a perfectly fine phone with sub-6 5G connectivity, nearly two-day battery life, good performance, and 512 GB of storage space (it comes with a 256-GB MicroSD card). But the screen is lackluster, the cameras are subpar, and it’ll only get one Android OS upgrade (though 3 years of security updates). Still, this is the lowest price it has ever dipped to, and a perfectly serviceable phone.
This may not be a huge discount on our top sub-$200 phone, but it’s the lowest price we’ve seen it. The Moto G Power packs a massive 5,000 mAh battery into one of the cheapest phones around, for nearly three-day battery life. Of course, there are a lot of trade-offs, including no 5G or support for contactless payments, but if you just need a phone that lasts forever on the cheap, this is the one to get.
Tablet and Accessory Deals
Samsung Galaxy Tab S8
Photograph: Samsung
I’ve been using Samsung’s Galaxy Tab S8 for a few months and while it truly is an excellent Android tablet experience with most of the high-end features you want, it’s hard to recommend at its MSRP. This price makes much more sense. The Tab S8 has an 11-inch LCD screen that’s not too small and not too big. It comes with a stylus that sticks to the back magnetically, is plenty powerful to handle any app and game, and has great speakers.
Outside of Samsung, Lenovo is the next-best manufacturer if you’re looking for a good Android tablet. This model can do nearly everything just as well as Samsung’s Galaxy Tab S8, with its 2K LCD display, slim build, and decently powerful MediaTek chip. The downside? It’ll get Android 12 and no other OS upgrade (it will get another year of security updates).
For cheap tablets, few do it better than Amazon. This Fire HD 10 (7/10, WIRED Recommends), now at half-price, gives you easy access to Amazon’s ecosystem as well as the ability to do some basic productivity work. The battery life is good and there’s even a MicroSD card slot to bump up the storage. Read our Fire Tablet guide for more advice.
Nokia T20
Photograph: Nokia
The T20 fixes the flaw of the P11 Plus: It’ll get two OS upgrades and three years of security updates. However, its performance is a smidge slower, and its screen isn’t as nice. I still had no trouble using it as my daily tablet for weeks, browsing the web and watching shows. It has dipped to $175 before, and we saw it for about $8 less than this earlier in the Prime Day sale. However, this is still a good deal.
If Samsung’s flagship tablet prices are a bit higher than you’d like to spend, the Tab S7 FE is a more wallet-friendly option. You get a spacious 12.4-inch LCD panel, one of the larger tablets available at this price range, and it even includes the S Pen stylus. Performance is just OK, but it’s a nice large slate to lounge with when you’re feeling lazy.
Amazon’s kid-friendly tablets are parent-friendly, and in the price department, too. This tablet has a two-year worry-free guarantee, meaning if your kid breaks it Amazon will replace it once, no questions asked. You also get a one-year Amazon Kids+ subscription to keep them occupied.
Twelve South HoverBar Duo
Photograph: Twelve South
I’ve been using this to prop up my tablet at my desk for several months and it’s worked out great. It can hold even large tablets, and if it starts sagging, use the included hex key to tighten the joints. You can use it with the included stand or attach it to a desk via the clamp (I prefer the latter).
Need a keyboard to connect to your tablet? The K380 is one of our favorite iPad accessories, though it’s also compatible with other gadgets like computers and phones. The Bluetooth keyboard has quiet keys that won’t disturb your coffee shop colleagues or sleeping babies. It’s also nice and portable thanks to the slim, compact design. The versions on sale are the Line Friends, featuring a cute bear or bunny.
Wireless Charger Deals
Check out our Best Wireless Chargers guide for more recommendations.
Photograph: Google
The 2nd-generation Pixel Stand is a sturdy and effective charger. Put a Pixel phone on it and it’ll automatically turn your phone into a digital photo frame if you’d like, and it’ll give you easy access to Google Assistant and other smart home controls. Read more about it here.
The older generation of Pixel Stand may not output as much power (up to 10W for Pixel phones) and thus charges slower, but in some ways it’s a lot better. It’s more stylish, it still supports the Pixel-exclusive features, it can charge phones in both portrait and landscape orientation, and best of all, it’s considerably cheaper. Doubly so right now.
This is a nice dual wireless charging system that lets you recharge your phone on the stand and a pair of wireless earbuds on the pad (or another phone). The phone can charge in landscape or portrait orientation. It looks snazzy, and the cable and charging adapter are included.
Source by www.wired.com