Technologies

Best Black Friday iPhone Deals: Trade-In Savings, Prepaid Discounts and More

Whether you’re looking to snag the high-end iPhone 15 Pro Max or the affordable iPhone SE, there are plenty of ways to get your hands on one for less.

Apple makes some of our absolute favorite devices on the market, claiming more than a few spots on our list of the best phones for 2023. And while these sleek Apple devices can get pricey, Black Friday is just around the corner, so there are plenty of ways to get your hands on one for less right now.

Apple probably won’t be offering any discounts directly, but there are tons of offers at carriers and other retailers that can knock hundreds off the starting price or even help you snag one for free. You can trade in your old phone for savings on unlocked iPhone models, or score savings via monthly bill credits when you sign up with a major carrier. And some retailers like Walmart are even offering prepaid discounts, so you don’t have to worry about being locked into a multi-year contract. To help you make the most of these savings, we’ve rounded up the best deals out there on both current and previous-gen iPhones below.

iPhone 15 Black Friday deals

More iPhone 15 deals:

Amazon: Free with Boost Mobile Infinite plan
T-Mobile: Up to $1,000 off with trade-in on select plans
Verizon: Up to $1,000 off with trade-in and new line
AT&T: Free iPhone 15 or 15 Pro with trade-in

iPhone SE (2022) Black Friday deals

More iPhone SE (2022) deals:

T-Mobile: Free with trade-in, 50% off with new line
AT&T: From $5/month with installment plan
Verizon: Free with new line
Metro: $100 off with new line, $330 off with transfer of existing number

Previous-gen iPhone Black Friday deals

More previous-gen iPhone deals:

AT&T (iPhone 14): From $11/month with installment plan
Verizon (iPhone 14): Free with new line
T-Mobile (iPhone 14): Free with new line and trade-in
Verizon (iPhone 13): Free with new line
T-Mobile (iPhone 13): Free with new line and trade-in or when you transfer existing number
Walmart (iPhone 12): From $399 with prepaid Straight Talk plan
T-Mobile (iPhone 12): 50% off with new line

Titanium color variants of the iPhone 15 Pro Max

Which iPhone is best?

There are quite a few different iPhones on the shelf right now, which can make choosing the right one a little overwhelming. The iPhone 15 is one of the latest models, and our top pick for most people. Though if you need something with some serious hardware, you’ll probably want to upgrade to the iPhone 15 Pro or Pro Max.

Those on a budget will probably want to grab the third-gen iPhone SE, which starts at just $429. Though if you have specific priorities like a big screen or advanced camera system, you may want to opt for a high-end model from an older generation, like the iPhone 14 Pro Max which will help you save some cash over going for the latest model without sacrificing too much by way of performance.

Where is the best place to buy an iPhone on Black Friday?

Deciding whether you should purchase your new Apple phone through a retailer or directly from your carrier will depend on your situation. If you’re creating a new line or account, you’ll probably want to purchase your iPhone through a major carrier like AT&T, Verizon or T-Mobile, where you can score hundreds in savings — though you’ll be locked in to a multi-year contract.

If you’d rather not get locked into a service plan, you’ll probably want to opt for a prepaid deal from a retailer like Walmart. You’ll have to pay for everything upfront, but will also be free to cancel service at any time. And if you’d rather skip the headache of choosing a service plan altogether, you can pick up an unlocked model from Apple or places like Best Buy, which are both offering some solid Apple Black Friday deals right now.

Technologies

Today’s Wordle Hints, Answer and Help for Dec. 31, #1656

Here are hints and the answer for today’s Wordle for Dec. 31, No. 1,656.

Looking for the most recent Wordle answer? Click here for today’s Wordle hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

End the year with a Wordle win. Today’s Wordle puzzle isn’t terribly tough. If you need a new starter word, check out our list of which letters show up the most in English words. If you need hints and the answer, read on.

Today’s Wordle hints

Before we show you today’s Wordle answer, we’ll give you some hints. If you don’t want a spoiler, look away now.

Wordle hint No. 1: Repeats

Today’s Wordle answer has no repeated letters.

Wordle hint No. 2: Vowels

Today’s Wordle answer has two vowels.

Wordle hint No. 3: First letter

Today’s Wordle answer begins with S.

Wordle hint No. 4: Last letter

Today’s Wordle answer ends with N.

Wordle hint No. 5: Meaning

Today’s Wordle answer can refer to a device that makes a loud, long-lasting sound as some kind of signal or warning.

TODAY’S WORDLE ANSWER

Today’s Wordle answer is SIREN.

Yesterday’s Wordle answer

Yesterday’s Wordle answer, Dec. 30, No. 1,655 was DECOR.

Recent Wordle answers

Dec. 26, No. 1651: SPEED

Dec. 27, No. 1652: BATCH

Dec. 28, No 1653: ABBOT

Dec. 29, No. 1654: FRUIT

Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections Hints, Answers and Help for Dec. 31, #934

Here are some hints and the answers for the NYT Connections puzzle for Dec. 31, No. 934.

Looking for the most recent Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

Today’s NYT Connections puzzle has a tough purple category once again. But the yellow group is very timely, and pretty easy. Read on for clues and today’s Connections answers.

The Times has a Connections Bot, like the one for Wordle. Go there after you play to receive a numeric score and to have the program analyze your answers. Players who are registered with the Times Games section can now nerd out by following their progress, including the number of puzzles completed, win rate, number of times they nabbed a perfect score and their win streak.

Read more: Hints, Tips and Strategies to Help You Win at NYT Connections Every Time

Hints for today’s Connections groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Here comes 2026!

Green group hint: Where is it?

Blue group hint: Pennsylvania city.

Purple group hint: Waves.

Answers for today’s Connections groups

Yellow group: Happy New Year!

Green group: Places where things disappear.

Blue group: Associated with Philadelphia.

Purple group: Starting with bodies of water.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is Happy New Year! The four answers are ball drop, champagne flute, fireworks and noisemaker.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is places where things disappear. The four answers are Bermuda Triangle, black hole, couch cushions and dryer.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is associated with Philadelphia. The four answers are brotherly love, cheesesteak, Liberty Bell and Rocky.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is starting with bodies of water. The four answers are bay leaf, channel surf, sea bass and sound barrier.

Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.

Technologies

Samsung’s $200 Galaxy A17 Brings Google’s Circle to Search to Its Lower-Priced Phone

While the AI features are nice to see at the lower price, the Galaxy A17 otherwise looks very similar to the phone it’s replacing.

Samsung’s $200 Galaxy A17 5G, announced Tuesday, appears to be a smaller hardware refresh for the company’s lower-cost phone — bearing many similarities to the Galaxy A16 that it will replace. However, Samsung notes that the A17 will have access to several AI features, including Google’s Circle to Search and Gemini assistant.

Even though both of those AI features are becoming common on all phones running Android 16 (Motorola’s sub-$200 phones also include them), the Galaxy A17 might become one of the broadest ways that Circle to Search and Gemini reach new audiences. That’s because Samsung’s $200 phone is typically one of the few non-Apple devices to consistently top sales charts in the US, for instance, the $200 Galaxy A16 currently ranks fifth on Counterpoint Research’s list behind Apple’s iPhone 16 and iPhone 17.

Similar to the Galaxy A16, the A17 will have a 6.7-inch display with a 90Hz refresh rate, an IP54 rating for water and dust resistance (can withstand splashes but still avoid submerging the phone) and is powered by Samsung’s Exynos 1330 processor. The cameras are also the same, including a 50-megapixel wide camera, a 5-megapixel ultrawide camera and a 2-megapixel macro camera. Around the front is a 13-megapixel selfie camera.

The Galaxy A17 will also include a 5,000-mAh battery, 25-watt wired charging, 4GB of RAM with 128GB of onboard storage, the option to expand with a microSD card and will receive six years of software as well as security updates. That support period is quite notable for phones sold in the $200 range, as most phones that cost $200 get two to three years of updates.

The Galaxy A17 goes on sale in the US starting Jan. 7, and will come in blue, black and gray models.