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

02 July 2023

This week we welcomed several exciting and not so exciting phones – some are going on pre-order, while others are already available.

• The UK
• Germany
• USA
• India

UK

Asus unveiled the Zenfone 10 this week and you can check out our full review of the phone for more details. Right now it’s on pre-order and you can get a small discount. Note that Asus will only ship the phone at the end of July.

Motorola’s 2023 foldables are taking the fight to Samsung. The Razr 40 Ultra in particular can be had for just under £900 with a promo code. We’ll see how things shake out, but this should be lower than the Galaxy Z Fold5 price.

The cheaper Moto Razr40 is on pre-order, though there are no promo codes for it that we could find. This means that the difference between the vanilla and Ultra models is less than £100 and we like the Ultra much more.

If those are too pricey – or you just don’t like foldables – check out the Motorola Edge 30 Ultra. It’s a proper powerhouse with a 6.67” 144Hz P-OLED display, Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chipset and 125W wired/50W wireless charging. The camera is fairly impressive too with a 200MP main sensor (1/1.22”, OIS), 12MP 2x zoom cam and a 50MP ultra wide (114°).

Another new phone from this week is the Nokia G42, a £200 5G phone (based on the Snapdragon 480+). The main selling point of this phone is repairability – HMD has partnered with iFixit to provide displays, batteries and charging ports for five years. Also note there is a free pair of Nokia Comfort Eardbuds+ in it for you.

Last week we recommended the Realme GT2 at £310 and it is still available at that price. The Realme GT2 Pro is pricier, but brings a more recent Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 (vs. 888), a 120Hz LTPO display with QHD+ resolution (vs. 120Hz LTPS, FHD+). Also, the ultra wide camera has a 50MP sensor and a 150° lens, much better than the 8MP 119° module on the GT2.

The Samsung Galaxy S23 finally brought Snapdragon to Europe, but despite some price cuts, it is still priced like a flagship. The Galaxy S22 from last year has the less than perfect Exynos 2200, but the rest of it is not too different from the 2023 model.

There’s also the Galaxy S21 FE, which does have a Snapdragon, but it’s the 888, not a great chip either. And it is fairly pricey.

Alternatively, there is the Nothing Phone (1). Version (2) will be out next month with a Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1, this one uses the 778G instead. Still, you can have a phone with 12GB of RAM and 256GB storage for less than £400 and we bet that the Phone (2) will cost more than that.

The Samsung Galaxy M13 is a nice basic phone. It doesn’t settle for an HD+ display, however, it offers a 6.6” FHD+ (20:9) LCD along with a 50MP main camera and a 5MP ultra wide. The 5,000mAh battery is big enough, though we wish that charging was a bit faster than 15W.

It’s a couple of years old now, but the Apple Watch Series 7 still holds up with features like ECG and 50m water resistance. This particular unit has a stainless steel case and 4G connectivity.

Germany

Asus unveiled the Zenfone 10 this week and you can check out our full review of the phone for more details. Right now it’s on pre-order and you can get a small discount, at least for the 8/256GB and 16/512GB models (but not the base 8/128GB one).

Another new phone from this week is the Nokia G42, a £200 5G phone (based on the Snapdragon 480+). The main selling point of this phone is repairability – HMD has partnered with iFixit to provide displays, batteries and charging ports for five years. Also note there is a free pair of Nokia Comfort Eardbuds+ in it for you.

The Redmi Note 11 and Redmi Note 11 Pro are both available with around a 50 euro discount. Note that both of these are 4G phones. The Pro model brings a 108MP main camera (1/1.52”) vs. 50MP (1/2.76”) on the vanilla model and a slightly bigger, slightly faster display – 6.67” 120Hz vs. 6.43” 90Hz, both FHD+ AMOLEDs. The Pro also charges its 5,000mAh battery at double the power (67W vs. 33W). Both phones have IP53 ratings, microSD slots, stereo speakers and 3.5mm jacks.

There’s also the Realme 10, which is similar to the Redmi Note 11 – it’s a 4G phone with a 6.4” 90Hz AMOLED display (FHD+). It has a small 50MP main sensor (1/2.76”) but lacks an ultra wide (the Redmis have 8MP 118° modules). This one lacks an IP rating and stereo speakers, but does have a microSD slot and a 3.5mm jack. The 5,000mAh battery charges at 33W.

If you want to go with Realme over Redmi, the Narzo 50 5G is probably the better pick. It has 5G (Dimensity 810 chipset) and while it too lacks an IP rating and an ultra wide camera, it does have stereo speakers, a 3.5mm jack and a microSD slot.

The Realme Narzo 50A Prime is €20 cheaper and is quite similar to the Narzo 50. However, this is a 4G phone, its 6.6” IPS LCD runs at only 60Hz (the Pro does 90Hz), the 5,000mAh battery charges at only 18W, there are other downgrades too like no stereo speakers. The Narzo 50 5G is easily the better pick between these two.

If you want something really cheap, the Redmi A2 is just €80. It’s not a great phone with its 6.52” IPS LCD with only HD+ resolution, Helio G36 chipset running Android Go Edition and basic 8MP camera, but it does have expandable memory, a 5,000mAh battery (10W) and a headphone jack. And did we mention that it’s just €80?

There are a couple of Realme tablets too – the 10.4” Pad and the 8.7” Pad Mini. Note that the larger tablet has a much better display (2,000 x 1,200px vs. 1,340 x 800px) and a bigger battery (7,100mAh vs. 6,400mAh), but their chipsets are pretty similar.

If you’re in the marker for an Apple Watch, this first generation SE is pretty cheap – this is the 44mm aluminum version with GPS.

An Apple Watch Series 7 from 2021 costs more than double, but it does have a nicer stainless steel casing and this unit has 4G connectivity too. This is a 41mm watch with a Milanese loop.

USA

The Motorola Razr+ is one of the best foldables on the market right now and while Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip5 is just around the corner, Motorola’s aggressive pricing in the US ($1,000 MSRP) keeps the Razr+ competitive. Amazon’s deal makes it even more so if you have Prime – it gives you a $150 discount.

The Galaxy Z Fold5 will be unveiled at the end of next month too, but nothing we have heard so far suggest that Samsung will drop the prices. So the old Z Fold4 will remain relevant for a some time and you can pick one up for $1,350 ($450 below its launch price, which will probably be Z Fold5’s launch price too).

While there is a newer N300 model, the old OnePlus Nord N200 may be the better pick. Its 6.49” IPS LCD (90Hz) has FHD+ resolution while the newer model dropped down to HD+. Okay, the N300 has the better camera (48MP vs. 13MP) and faster charging for its 5,000mAh battery (33W vs. 18W), the N200 is still a good option if for T-Mobile and Metro subscribers who want a cheap 5G phone.

The Nokia G100 is a cheap, basic Android. It is powered by the Snapdragon 662 (remember that one?) and a 5,000mAh battery (15W charging). The 6.52” HD+ IPS LCD and 13MP camera are holding it back, though.

The Cat S42 H+ makes for a good work phone. It is rated IP69 (waterproof up to 1.5m for 35 minutes) and has been drop tested from 6ft on a steel floor (it is also MIL-STD-810H compliant). Also, the H+ stands for “Hygiene Plus” a special silver ion coating that prevents bacterial growth. The phone is resistant to bleach and other chemicals too (rated at 3,000 cleanings with a bleach wipe).

Do you miss physical photos? This portable Canon printer can produce 2.7” square photos. This uses dye sublimation tech (rather than Zink paper), so you can pick up a pack of 20 sheets is $14.

India

The prices of Samsung’s Galaxy S23 series haven’t changed much recently, here’s a look at the current prices for a 256GB phone:

This means that Apple’s iPhone 14 and 14 Plus are cheaper than the S23 and S23+, even if you get the pricier 256GB models. The two iPhone 14 Pro models are on the pricey side, but you can get them for S23 Ultra money if you’re willing to settle for 128GB storage.

The Realme Narzo 50 Pro is a 5G phone (Dimensity 920) with a 6.4” FHD+ AMOLED display (90Hz). The cameras are pretty basic – 48MP (1/2”) main and 8MP ultra wide – but you get a 5,000mAh battery with 33W charging, a 3.5mm headphone jack and stereo speakers (no IP rating or microSD card slot, though).

The Realme Narzo 50 is a cheaper 4G-only phone (Helio G96). It comes with a larger LCD, a 6.6” 120Hz FHD+ panel, a microSD slot and the same 5,000mAh/33W battery. It loses the ultra wide camera and stereo speakers, however.

For slightly more you can grab the Samsung Galaxy M14 instead – this is a 5G phone (Exynos 1330) with a 6.6” 90Hz FHD+ LCD. There is no ultra wide camera, water resistance or stereo speakers, but you get a larger 6,000mAh battery (25W) and a microSD slot.

Finally, a couple of Sony Bluetooth headphones. The WI-XB400 is a cheap neckband headset that promises 15 hours of battery life and quick charging – 10 minutes of charging equal 60 minutes of play time.

The Sony WF-C500 are TWS buds that cost double, but you get better battery life (up to 20h with the case, 10h just the buds), 360 Reality Audio and goodies like Fast Pair, plus they are rated IPX4.

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