Where to find the best iPhone Black Friday discounts in 2024

When shopping for a replacement iPhone this year, you're likely to find offers from carriers like AT&T or Verizon or from big retail brands like Amazon, Walmart and Best Buy. Alternatively, you'll likely find bigger discounts when you shop for a refurbished iPhone on Back Market. Let's dive in to see where you can land the best Black Friday deal.

"Free" iPhone deals from Carriers

This year when you see Verizon, AT&T or T-Mobile offer a "free iPhone on us" deal, you need to understand what "free" actually means. These free phone offers normally require 3 things:

1. Long-term contract commitment: Normally, a free iPhone requires you to sign up for a multi-year installment plan between 24-36 months. The cost of your phone is divided into these monthly payments, but your carrier will provide credits to offset these costs as long as you remain on the contract.

2. Trade-in: You most likely need to trade in an old smartphone or iPhone in good condition. Not all old devices will qualify you for a free phone because the carrier uses the trade in to offset the price of the new iPhone by reselling or refurbishing your old device.

3. Premium plans: Carriers use the free iPhone gimmick to push customers to pay for more expensive plans, where the additional revenue from the service outweighs the Carrier's phone cost over time.

It's also important to keep in mind that if you terminate your contract early by leaving the carrier or downgrading your plan, then you'll be on the hook to pay off the remaining balance of your iPhone.

This option still might work for some customers who plan on sticking with their carrier and are already using a premium plan, but for most people, the higher plan cost and long-term commitment outweighs the benefits of getting a free iPhone.

Retail brands: real iPhone discounts vs inflated MSRPs

Big retailers love using Black Friday as a way to push out old iPhone stock and make room for the newest model. These are generally real discounts, and you'll likely find the most deals around the iPhone 13 or 14.

Based on the iPhone deals seen over the past 2 years, we can expect you might find the iPhone 13 or 14 somewhere in the range of $450-600. For example, in 2023, you could find a pre-owned unlocked iPhone 13 128 GB for as low as $440 at Walmart. Similarly, last year, Best Buy offered a clearance price of $566.99 for an unlocked iPhone 12 64 GB.

However, some retailers use an underhanded tactic to make deals look bigger than they really are. Be wary of inflated MSRPs, where the retailer lists a higher "normal price" so they can advertise a bigger discount.

Year-round Black Friday-like discounts at Back Market

If you're looking for the best iPhone deals with no strings attached, you might consider buying refurbished from a trusted seller like Back Market. Black Friday discounts haven't quite started yet, but you'll find popular iPhones from 15-50% off already on www.backmarket.com/en-us. Here are a few of our most popular iPhone deals:

• iPhone 13 (Unlocked) - 128GB, Midnight: $358

• iPhone 14 (Unlocked) - 128GB, Midnight: $399

• iPhone 15 (Unlocked) - 128GB, Pink: $605

These iPhones are 100% verified refurbished, meaning they've been handled, repaired, cleaned and inspected by experts to make sure they are performing like new. iPhone purchases from Back Market also comes with free standard shipping, a 1-year warranty and a 30-day money-back guarantee, so you can shop knowing that you're guaranteed a quality product at a low price.

The best part about this option is that you have flexibility to decide on the deal that best works for you. There's no contract, long-term commitment or required trade in. You can shop for an unlocked iPhone to give you the flexibility to activate with any carrier or you can shop for specific carrier locked iPhones, which tend to be even less expensive than the Unlocked deals.

iPhone Black Friday deals by model

Back Market offers excellent prices on all iPhone models during Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Christmas and any other day of the year. It's difficult for other retailers to beat these prices for the same high quality product.

Here are a few of the best iPhone deals that you'll find during Black Friday in 2024.*

This list contains all unlocked iPhone model deals, which will work for any carrier. Keep in mind that if you're shopping for a specific carrier like Verizon or AT&T, you'll likely find even lower iPhone prices on Back Market.

iPhone 15 deals

Let's start with last year's flagship, the iPhone 15, and see what kind of deals are available today. While the refurbished iPhone 15 prices aren't as drastically discounted compared to new as some of the older models, you'll still find prices lower than most retailers on Back Market by up to 17%.

• Unlocked iPhone 15 Pro Max 256GB (Blue Titanium): $834 (vs $1,099 new retail)

• Unlocked iPhone 15 Pro 128GB (Black Titanium): $673 (vs $899 new retail)

• Unlocked iPhone 15 Plus 128GB (Black): $589 (vs $799 new on Apple)

• Unlocked iPhone 15 128GB (Black): $562 (vs $699 new on Apple)

iPhone 14 deals

Let's start with one of the most recent iPhone models and check out unlocked iPhone 14 deals. Worth noting, that you can still buy the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus new at the Apple Store, but the Pro and Pro Max have been discontinued.

You'll find better deals on Back Market by up to 31% compared to other retail Holiday prices.

• Unlocked iPhone 14 Pro Max 128GB (Deep Purple): $592 (vs $742 on Amazon)

• Unlocked iPhone 14 Pro 128GB (Silver): $505 (vs $686 on Amazon)

• Unlocked iPhone 14 Plus 128GB (Purple): $454 (vs $699 new on Apple)

• Unlocked iPhone 14 128GB (Midnight): $399 (vs $599 new on Apple)

*Prices found on www.backmarket.com/en-us as of Nov 2024

iPhone 13 deals

Discover all Black Friday discounts with our iPhone 13 Black Friday deals guide. You'll find that Back Market regularly beats other retailer Holiday sales prices by up to 20%.

• Unlocked iPhone 13 Pro Max 128GB (Sierra Blue): $492 (vs $614 on Amazon)

• Unlocked iPhone 13 Pro 128GB (Gold): $415 (vs $509 on Amazon)

• Unlocked iPhone 13 128GB (Starlight): $340 (vs $389 on Amazon)

• Unlocked iPhone 13 mini 128GB (Blue): $296 (vs $344 on Amazon)

iPhone 12 deals

Discover all Black Friday discounts with our iPhone 12 Black Friday deals guide. You'll find that Back Market regularly beats other retailer Holiday sales prices by up to 15%.

• Unlocked iPhone 12 Pro Max 128GB (Silver): $411 (vs $489 on Amazon)

• Unlocked iPhone 12 Pro 128GB (Graphite): $330 (vs $390 on Amazon)

• Unlocked iPhone 12 64GB (Green): $234 (vs $275 on Amazon)

• Unlocked iPhone 12 mini 64GB (Purple): $190 (vs $229 on Amazon)

iPhone 11 deals

Discover all Black Friday discounts with our iPhone 11 Black Friday deals guide. You'll find that Back Market regularly beats other retailer Holiday sales prices by up to 15%.

• Unlocked iPhone 11 Pro Max 64GB (Midnight Green): $271 (vs $320 on Amazon)

• Unlocked iPhone 11 Pro 64GB (Midnight Green): $235 (vs $259 on Amazon)

• Unlocked iPhone 11 64GB (Black): $196 (vs $222 on Amazon)

What's the best iPhone unlocked Black Friday deal in 2024?

As we've shown in this article, there are plenty of discounts to take advantage of on unlocked iPhones at Back Market and even deeper price cuts on locked ones this Holiday season or any other day. That said, some deals might be more worth it to you than others, so let's take a look at my top iPhone Black Friday deals in 2024:

Top iPhone deal pick

In 2023, my favorite Black Friday deal was for the iPhone 13 mini, which at the time was around $380. This year, I like the upgrade to the iPhone 14 or 14 Plus, where you can get more premium features in the $400-500 range, around 35% cheaper than popular retail stores. If you can make it work with your budget, you'll be getting a highly rated iPhone only 2 generations old, that will still be supported for several years to come.

Best bang for your buck

If you have a little more in your budget, then it's probably worth it for you to spend less than $100 more on an iPhone 12 Pro or iPhone 13 in the $350 range.

Cheapest iPhone deal

If your goal is to spend the least amount of money and still get a quality iPhone without all the newest tech, then you'll probably want to consider a phone in the iPhone X or iPhone 11 lineups. The iPhone 11 Pro in particular has an appealing price point at under $250 for a very capable phone that's still supported by Apple.

Discounts on the newest iPhone

Otherwise, if you're just looking for the best deal on the newest iPhone, we have limited stock of the iPhone 16 models and while prices are less than the Apple Store, they are still high. Check back with us in 2025 for better iPhone 16 deals. Alternatively, you can snag an iPhone 15 Pro Max for up to 26% off compared to new at the Apple Store.