As Black Friday approaches, carriers across the country are gearing up for one of the country’s largest retail events. Almost across the board, wireless operators are dropping prices on everything from phones to plans as they attempt to capture the largest share of consumer spending possible.
Here are some of the deals that will be in effect through the end of this week:
According to newly released Black Friday ads, Verizon will be offering $500 (a $200 smartphone discount and a $300 trade-in account credit) to customers who switch, trade in their smartphone and buy the Samsung Galaxy S6. Verizon will offer the S6 for $3.16 per month for 24 months to qualified customers. Discounted device payments will also be offered for the Samsung Galaxy S6 edge, S6 Edge +, Note5, LG V10, and the Droid Turbo 2, which will be available for $7.16, $15.33, $12.33, $11.33 and $5.16 per month, respectively, for 24 months.
Other assorted electronics will be offered at a deep discount, including the Ellipsis 10 tablet for $49.99, the Ellipsis 8 tablet with $25 Google Play credit for $49.99, the FitBit Charge for $89.99, the mophie powerstation plus 8x with Micro USB or Lightning for $99.99 and the UE MegaBoom Bluetooth Speaker for $249.99.
Verizon also revealed last week it will offer its customers pre-Black Friday gifts as part of its “Thanksgetting” giveaway. The Nov. 25 promotion will allow Verizon customers to get 1GB of free data added to a qualifying plan; a free $5 iTunes Gift; free eBooks, music, movies, TV and app downloads through Amazon; a free 30-day trial of Pandora’s ad-free music streaming service, Pandora One; $20 off a Lyft ride; free airport Wi-Fi from Boingo; and a free 30-minute Wi-Fi session on select airlines through GoGo.
T-Mobile will be offering customers a free tablet and free phone. Starting Wednesday, customers can get the the 7-inch LTE-capable Alcatel Pixi tablet for $0 down and $0 per month with any qualifying data plan, and starting Thursday the Un-carrier will be giving away the Samsung Galaxy S6 32GB for $0 down and $0 per month – customers will only have to pay the sales tax on each device. Both deals will run through Sunday. The Un-carrier is also offering $100 off a Samsung tablet with the purchase of any Samsung smartphone and $100 off the UE Boom Bluetooth speaker.
For Cyber Monday, T-Mobile is offering free memory upgrades on the new iPhone 6s or 6s Plus, bumping the purchase of a 16GB version of the device to the 64GB model and the purchase of the 64GB version to 128 GB model.
Beyond the Black Friday rush, T-Mobile said it is giving three months of unlimited high-speed data to every customer on its postpaid Simple Choice plan.
Sprint said Monday it is planning to offer 50 percent off the lease of a 32GB Samsung Galaxy S6, which will be available for $9 per month. The carrier said it is also continuing its offer of a free year of Amazon Prime with the purchase of Samsung Galaxy S6, S6 edge, S6 edge+ and Note5. Sprint is also offering a free 24-inch LG HDTV with the activation of a new LG G4. The carrier will also offer health conscious consumers discounts of $20 or more on six of its fitness wearables, including the Fitbit Charge, as well as a discount on the LG Tone Pro 750 for music fans.
Sprint said its offer of 50 percent off plans for customers who switch from Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile will also continue through January 7, 2016.
Like Verizon, AT&T will also offer deals on Samsung products. The carrier is offering the 64GB 4G LTE Samsung Galaxy View for $99 when customers sign up for DirecTV, and is also offering the Samsung Gear VR for $99. The Samsung Gear S smartwatch will be available through the carrier for 99 cents with a two-year agreement from Friday to Monday, and customers who activate a new Samsung Galaxy device will get 2,500 Plenti rewards points. Black Friday door-buster deals will include 40 percent off LG Tone Pro Bluetooth headsets, Belkin charging products, and OtterBox Defender phone cases.
U.S. Cellular will be offering the Samsung Galaxy S6, LG G4 and LG G Pad 8.0 for a penny each when customers sign a two year agreement on Black Friday. Many accessories will also be offered be offered at up to a 50 percent discount. The carrier said it will also offer $400 in promotional cards ($150 at point of sale and $250 via mail within 8 weeks) for shoppers who switch, while existing customers who visit one of the carrier’s retail locations before Thanksgiving Day can get an extra 2GB of data through the end of the year and 20 percent off any accessory purchase. Current customers and their friends can also earn $50 each when a referred friend activates a smartphone on a Shared Connect plan.
MetroPCS has brought back its popular “Buy One Get One” smartphone offer. Now through the end of November, customers who buy any phone at a participating MetroPCS store will get a free Samsung Galaxy Core Prime, Kyocera Hydro Wave, LG Leon, LG 450 or ZTE Obsidian when they activate the device on a new MetroPCS plan.
But the carriers aren’t the only ones getting in on the Black Friday rush.
Device-maker Huawei is offering $50 to $100 off select watch models through GetHuawei.com, BestBuy.com, select Best Buy stores, Amazon.com, Target.com and Google Play store. The $50 off deal will extend through December 5, the company said. Consumers can also receive $50 off the Huawei P8 lite smartphone when they purchase through GetHuawei.com, Amazon.com and Target.com during the Black Friday and Cyber Monday promotion periods.
Microsoft has announced it will offer an AT&T locked Lumia 640 for $29.99. The company will also offer $200 off a Surface 3 LTE tablet with the purchase of a Lumia 950 or 640 XL, while the Surface 3 and Surface 3 Pro will be offered for $150 and $200 off, respectively.
Starting at 9 p.m. Thanksgiving day, chain retailer Target will also be offering the new 16 GB iPhone 6S and 6S Plus for $50 off with a qualifying two-year service plan from Verizon or Sprint. A zero down payment installment billing option with a $250 Target gift card will also be available. The store will also be offering a $100 Target gift card with the purchase of a 38mm Apple Watch, as well as a $70 discount on the Samsung Galaxy Tab A and a $30 Target gift card with the tablet purchase.
Meanwhile, Walmart is offering deep discounts on the Samsung Galaxy S line of phones on StraightTalk Wireless, including the S3 at a cost of $99. Walmart is also offering the Galaxy S4 for AT&T for just $189, a pre-owned Galaxy S5 for AT&T for $349 and an unlocked 16GB GSM Galaxy S5 for $389.