The Black Friday sales season is here! The best deals are often not on Amazon. The prices shown below are the best available now, though you may need to buy quickly as some deals will sell out.
If you’re in the market for a capable, affordable phone that looks good and is nice to use, then our rundown of the best mid-range phones of the moment is worth a gander.
A few years back, Apple broke the £1000 barrier for the mainstream flagship smartphone and since then, plenty of competitors have followed suit. Luckily, despite the high-prices of top-end handsets, people have shown that they don’t want to spend such large quantities of money, leading to a far more competitive mid-range space than ever before.
Add in Chinese newcomers and you’ve got a mid-range market of capable smartphones that sail beneath the £500 mark but still afford you excellent design, performance and features in varying measures.
You’ll notice this list reflects our list or Best mid-range phones, albeit with a few extra deals thrown in colour.
Best Mid-range Phone Deals
Mid-range phone buying advice
Mid-rangers are typically a mix of competitively-priced fully-fledged flagships, more affordable members of the same product family as a company’s top device with reduced performance, or a dedicated device, designed to deliver a certain premium feature or features, without breaking the bank.
Deciding which one best suits your needs falls to a number of factors. If you want raw performance, a former flagship will stand you in better stead but will more likely suffer more from waining software support sooner than less powerful but newer dedicated mid-ranger compatriots.
Flagship-adjacent phones will try and offer the closest experience to the product line’s true top-tier offering but will likely skimp on the processor and/or RAM available. While dedicated mid-rangers don’t aim to excel based on their price point, save for one or two key areas, chosen by the manufacturer.
As ever, buying from phone makers you trust is always the way you go, even if it means paying a little more for a similarly-specced phone. Bigger companies’ products are usually held to higher quality standards and should anything go wrong, they’ll likely offer more robust customer support.
1. OnePlus Nord (8GB RAM, 128GB)
Now: £360.59 (£18.41 off)
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OnePlus’ superb re-entry into the mid-range market in 2020, the OnePlus Nord, is already a great example of value-for-money but this initial discount from Amazon only makes a good deal better.
2. Apple iPhone SE (3GB RAM, 256GB)
Now: £549 (£20 off)
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The top storage SKU of Apple’s stellar affordable offering for 2020 – the updated iPhone SE – comes with a hint of a discount, making it a solid choice amidst Apple’s smartphone lineup for this year.
3. Samsung Galaxy S10 Lite (8GB RAM, 128GB)
Now: £449 (£130 off)
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Don’t be fooled by the name, the Samsung Galaxy S10 Lite is a fresh-faced phone for 2020, making the fact that this Amazon deal knocks a whopping £130 off the asking price all the more impressive.
4. Samsung Galaxy A71 (6GB RAM, 128GB)
Now: £354.99 (£64.01 off)
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Samsung’s latest mid-range family is fronted by the Galaxy A71, with its expansive display, multiple cameras and eye-catching Prism finish.
5. Oppo Reno 10x Zoom (8GB RAM, 256GB)
From: Amazon
Was: £699.99
Now: £580 (£119.99 off)
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6. Xiaomi Redmi Note 9 Pro (6GB RAM, 128GB)
Now: £231 (£38 off)
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The superbly-capable and affordable Redmi Note 9 Pro bundles in a ton of great specs, like a quad-camera setup, a Full HD display, a huge 5020mAh battery with 33W fast charging and more, for an incredible price.
7. Samsung Galaxy A51 (4GB RAM, 128GB)
Now: £295.42 (£33.58 off)
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The 4G flavour of Samsung’s capable Galaxy A51 mid-ranger gets a nice price reduction on Amazon – one of its biggest yet.
8. Samsung Galaxy A41 (4GB RAM, 64GB)
Now: £237.99 (£31.01 off)
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The modest Galaxy A41 still packs plenty of punch thanks to its 6.1in Super AMOLED display, triple camera setup and in-display fingerprint sensor.
9. Google Pixel 3a (4GB RAM, 64GB)
Now: £359.97 (£39.03 off)
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Google’s excellent-yet-affordable 2019 Pixel 3a is up for grabs on Amazon with a tidy discount.
10. Huawei Nova 5T (6GB RAM, 128GB)
From: Amazon
Was: £399.99
Now: £219.99 (£180 off)
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Huawei’s Nova 5T is choc-full of features and includes Google apps and services, plus support for future updates and security patches. It’s also a steal on Amazon right now.
If you want to know more about the current mid-range phone market, check out our Best mid-range phones roundup or if all the entries here still seem a little too pricey, have a look at our Best budget phones roundup instead, where every deal features a phone that costs under £200.
When is Black Friday 2020?
Black Friday will take place on Friday 27 November, immediately followed by Cyber Monday on 30 November. Traditionally the biggest sales event of the year, but with so much uncertainty around finance and retail, and no guarantees regarding what discounts we will see, we advise you not to wait: if you see a deal you like, on a product you need, and you can afford the outlay, buy it today.
If you want to see what’s on offer right now, we already have a constantly-updated rundown of the Best Black Friday Deals in tech worth your time.
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