Weekly deals: The best smartphone deals from the UK, Germany, US and India

Did your gifts include a new phone? Otherwise, you can be your own Santa – here are some of the best deals we’ve found in the UK, Germany, US and India. In the US in particular, we also took a detour to the smartwatch section. The links below will help you navigate to your region:

UK

Apple isn’t known for offering discounts on its current models, so a 128GB iPhone 14 costs £850 from the Apple Store. However, if you go through Amazon you can get the same phone for £50 less.

The Pixel 7 and 7 Pro were some of our favorite phones of 2022 and both are discounted from their launch prices. You can get similar deals from Google itself, but Amazon’s prices are a few pounds lower.

The Sony Xperia 1 IV is a very interesting phone, even if it only appeals to certain individuals. Part of that is the painfully high price, though it’s now slightly less painful. Unfortunately, you don’t get Sony’s over-ear ANC headphones (you can, but without the discount).

There’s also the smaller Sony Xperia 5 IV, however, at just £150 cheaper than the 1 IV, is it really worth it? It depends if you want a smaller device, as the 1 IV has a 4K class display and a varifocal telephoto lens, but it’s a pretty big phone.

Sony’s mid-range Xperia 10 IV has a microSD slot and 3.5m headphone jack, just like its flagship siblings, and this generation’s battery life is exceptional. The Mark 4 flagships might be out of your budget, but if you’re looking for a mid-ranger, you should consider the 10 IV.

We will end this section with the Samsung Galaxy M53. It’s a big phone with a 6.7-inch 120Hz display, it packs a 108MP camera and a decently large 5000mAh battery, along with a zippy Dimensity 900.

Germany

The Motorola Edge 30 incorporates an impressive 6.5-inch 144Hz OLED display (FHD+ resolution), making it a benchmark in the €300-400 category. The Snapdragon 778G+ has a pretty capable GPU (a flagship-class Adreno 642L) to boot. And you get a 50MP dual camera setup. The 4,020 mAh battery is a bit on the small side, however.

The Pixel a series has a devoted following and the Pixel 6a is one of the best entries to date. It’s a bit smaller than the Pixel 7 and uses the original Tensor chipset, it also has a pair of 12MP cameras. Still, it’s about half the price of a Pixel 7 while offering most of the same features.

The Nokia X30 isn’t the most glamorous phone out there, but it will get 3 years of OS updates – note that counts from September 2022. It’s a good choice for people who aren’t so passionate about smartphone specs all day.

Finally, something cheap – a Moto E22. Its best feature is the €120 price tag, which makes it suitable for a child’s first phone. It even has a card slot and 3.5mm jack, so you can load it up with MP3s and skip the Spotify subscription.

UNITED STATES

Samsung will unveil the Galaxy S23 series in February, so now is the worst time to buy an S22 — or the best, given the price has dropped to $650. Also, the phone has long-term support (4 OS updates, one of which has already happened, plus another year of security patches), so it will be a while before that the S22 is obsolete.

That being said, you might want to get a Galaxy Z Flip4 instead. Foldables are the form factor of the future as far as Samsung is concerned, all that’s holding them back is price. The Z Flip4 has gotten cheaper over time and currently sits at $850. Note that the Z Flip5 isn’t too far off either, but it’s still around six months away from release.

If you’re not into foldables, check out the OnePlus 10T — it has a Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chipset for $550 (the S22 has the original 8 Gen 1). It doesn’t have the best camera setup, but it has very fast charging, 125W.

The 2021 Apple iPad Pro 12.9 uses the older Apple M1 chip, while the 2022 models have moved to the M2. However, the M1 is still one of the fastest laptop chips around, so it’ll beat pretty much any other tablet (other than its successor, we hear).

Let’s look at some wearables next. The latest Apple Watch Series 8 is $50 off. We’ve linked the 41mm model below, but the 45mm one is only $30 more. Note that this is the version without LTE connectivity.

If the Series 8 is too expensive, how about the new Apple Watch SE (2022). It uses a smaller, older screen and lacks an ECG and skin temperature sensor, but most other features are on board while the price is over $100 lower.

If you want a complete adventure watch, the Apple Watch Ultra is ready to go anywhere. This one in particular has the Ocean group, which is suitable for diving, but you can also choose other groups. Note that all Ultra models come with LTE connectivity.

Alternatively, there’s the Samsung Galaxy Watch5, which costs as much as the SE but has an ECG on board, plus a blood pressure monitor. You can also get the Watch5 Pro if you want longer battery life.

Finally, Amazon dropped a few bucks on its new Kindle Scribe tablet. We call it a tablet even though the smart functionality is limited compared to Android tablets. Still, the 10.2-inch E-Ink display will take the strain off your eyes while you read documents and take notes with the included stylus.

India

We start with old but still powerful flagships. The Xiaomi 12 Pro may not have the 1″ sensor of its successor, but the 50MP triple camera is quite capable. And there’s a high-quality 6.73-inch QHD+ screen to view your shots. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 was eclipsed in speed but is no slouch and you get 120W wired charging and 50W wireless charging.

The Samsung Galaxy S22 will soon be replaced, but the new model won’t be as cheap. The S22 is only slightly more expensive than the Xiaomi and will appeal to those looking for a smaller device.

While we’re at it, the Samsung Galaxy S20 FE is a cheaper way to get a high-end chipset with 5G connectivity – a Snapdragon 865 in this case.

You can have the Snapdragon 888 instead and for less also with the iQOO 9 SE. You can use the chipset to game on the 6.62-inch AMOLED display at 120Hz, and the 4,500mAh battery charges quickly with the 66W charger – it only takes 14 minutes to get back up to 50%.

The Redmi Note 12 series has just launched in India, but the base model starts at ₹15,500 for a 4/128GB unit. The old Redmi Note 11 has dropped to ₹12,500 for a version with 6GB of RAM. Comparing the two, the new model has an ultra-wide camera and a microSD slot. It lacks 5G connectivity and its screen is smaller and slower – 6.43″ 90Hz versus 6.67″ 120Hz. The 5,000mAh battery is the same (33W charging).

Finally, an offering in the under ₹10,000 category, the Tecno Spark 9. It runs Android 12 (with HIOS 8.6) instead of Go Edition and has a spacious 6.6-inch IPS LCD screen, even if it’s not too sharp. with only HD+ resolution. It also packs a large 5,000mAh battery.