Some people line up in droves to get their hands on the newest and most innovative phones, but the reality is that most people aren’t early adopters. I’m moderately satisfied with my Galaxy S9, and when I upgrade it, it won’t be to the latest model (see most expensive). For anyone struggling to find the right phone to gift or to find a phone that comfortably fits into your holiday gift budget, we’ve put together this list of the best phones to gift for the holidays. From now through the end of the year we expect to see great phone deals come and go, so we’ll be updating this page with the most recent deals. Must read:
The best cheap tech gifts for under $100The best cheap tech gifts under $75The best cheap tech gifts under $50The best cheap tech gifts under $25
The best phone gift ideas for the holidays
Below are 12 phone gift ideas I found for the holiday season this year.
The best phone deals during the holidays
Below are three phone deals I found happening right now. This is the premium Pixel 7 model and it stands out from the basic model with an additional 48 MP camera with a telephoto lens, a larger display with higher resolution, and a larger battery. In our review of the Pixel 7 Pro, its performance didn’t fall off when multitasking or using the phone’s other features. This model is available in Hazel, Snow, and Obsidian. The iPhone 14 comes with an Apple A15 Bionic processor, so you should be able to breeze through most tasks without any lag. And anyone who’s upgrading from an iPhone 12 or older will appreciate the noticeably improved performance. The Pixel 7 has the same main, front-facing, and ultrawide cameras as the Pixel 7 Pro, only lacking a telephoto camera. And it has the same Tensor G2 processor as the more expensive model. The Pixel 7 comes in lemongrass, obsidian, and snow colors. It also has an extremely capable 40MP front-facing camera that is situated under the display. Speaking of the display, it’s a massive 6.8 inches and also supports 8k video. The advertised 18-hour battery life is adequate for most situations. Where this phone really standards out is the standard software (Photo Pro, Cinema Pro, and Video Pro), which gives you control over every aspect of the cameras. The Image Edge app allows remote shooting by allowing you to connect to an external camera and have the images or video transferred to your Xperia Pro-I. Although nothing is top tier, the Moto G Pure has all of the essentials, a solid camera, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and good battery life. It isn’t 5G compatible, so when you need more speed you’ll need to upgrade. The battery life is advertised at 15 hours, which is an improvement over previous models, but a touch on the low side. Personally, I’m a fan of saving money and smaller phones that can comfortably fit in my pocket, and the latest iPhone SE checks both of those boxes. This model is tough and is advertised as being waterproof (1.5 meters underwater for 30 minutes), shockproof, dustproof, and resistant to extreme temperatures. But the appeal of the AGM M6 isn’t in what it is, it’s in what it isn’t – an electronic leash. It’s the perfect gift for someone who’s getting serious about cutting the distractions in their life but still wants to kinda stay in touch. Just like with a number of budget 5G phones, the OnePlus Nord N200 doesn’t support the fastest 5G connection (mmWave). However, given mmWave’s limitations and potential drain on your battery, that may not be as big of a deal as it seems. This generation of the Z Fold is lighter than previous iterations and has an improved array of cameras. Its processor and memory are built to handle the most resource-heavy tasks, so you shouldn’t have any problem loading videos or gaming, although the battery life is middling. The 12 MP rear-facing cameras and 8 MP front-facing camera may not win you any photography awards but are more than enough for day-to-day photos. It’s water resistant up to 4 feet and comes in sage, charcoal, and chalk. It’s ideal for anyone who needs a phone to handle harsh conditions and has an IP68 dust and water resistance rating as well as MIL-STD-810G drop test certification. Its enhanced touch feature allows you to use the phone without removing your gloves, a great option for harsh weather conditions. There’s no one-size-fits-all when it comes to choosing a phone to give to someone as a gift. The newest high-end iPhone may not be the best for everyone and it certainly won’t fit into everyone’s budget. So we selected a wide variety of devices to suit just about any need or want, at a range of price points. A locked phone is tied to a specific carrier, like Sprint, T-mobile, AT&T, or Verizon. Most of the best phone deals are for locked phones and typically require you to switch services, trade in an old phone, and commit to a contract. If you’re buying a phone for someone that’s part of the same family plan, a locked phone can be a smart move because you’re likely to be able to get an excellent deal. Even with a locked phone, your carrier must unlock it for you once it’s paid off. In most cases, the easiest way to increase your phone’s storage, and hopefully increase its usefulness, is to take advantage of the many cloud storage options. A free Dropbox account comes with 2GB of cloud storage and Google Drive has 15GB of shared storage space. An Apple iCloud account comes with 5GB of free storage. And all of these cloud services allow you to increase your storage space for a fee. The easiest solution is to ask the giftee exactly what phone they want, but if you want to maintain a level of surprise you’ll want to at least know the following:
What carrier are they using or do they want to use?Do they prefer Android or iOS?What do they want a phone for? Photography? Video? Heavy-duty outdoor adventures?What’s your budget?
Once you know how much you’re willing to spend and what the person you’re getting the gift for needs and wants, it’s much easier to narrow down your choices.
