It didn’t take long for wireless earbuds to become ubiquitous. Apple’s AirPods launched back in September 2016, joining notable true wireless headphones from Jabra, Sony, Samsung, and others. Shortly after, they became the go-to choice for many of us when listening to music, podcasts and streaming services on our phones and tablets.
But wireless earbuds can get very dirty very quickly, because not only are we using them a lot, but we take them everywhere: to work, on public transport, on flights and everywhere in between. This is especially true if you’re using them to cancel out noise in a busy office – or are simply working from home at the same time as family or roommates.This means they will come into contact with ear wax, oils and skin cells. Hygiene aside, you should clean your earbuds (and their charging case) because it may result in better-sounding, longer-lasting headphones.
Here’s how you can do that quickly and efficiently. If you’re still a wired headphone holdout (or tempted by DAC-capable buds) most of our cleaning tips hold true – and you don’t have to worry about refreshing a charging case.
How to clean your wireless earbuds
Mat Smith/Engadget
The cleaning process differs depending on what kind of buds you have. First, there are wireless earbuds with removable silicone (or plastic) buds, like Samsung’s Galaxy Buds, Sony’s WF-1000XM5 buds or most Beats buds, and several models with a single solid body, like Apple’s AirPods.
The main difference is that the detachable tips are easier to deep clean. They are also replaceable and spare tips often come in-box. You can also use soapy water or other mild cleaning products on particularly messy tips without fear of damaging the electrical parts of your headphones.
Remove the tips, and gently trace the inside of each bud with cotton swab, or a toothpick if you need something thinner. If any detritus sticks around, upgrade to a metal loop on the end of an earphone cleaning tool, but just go carefully. Metallic objects are more likely to scratch and pierce things. The cleaning tool also has a brush at the other end to pull out any loose dirt. Once clear, wipe the sides of the tips with a slightly damp cloth.
The AirPods Pro tips each have a delicate mesh membrane, making it easier to clean than membranes on the headphones themselves, but they’re also fragile. Apple itself advises that you can rinse the tips with water, adding you shouldn’t use soap or other cleaning products on them. If you do use a damp cloth or rinse them, make sure to set them on a dry cloth and let them dry completely before reattaching them.
Apple advises using cotton swabs or a dry cloth for the microphone and speaker mesh parts of the AirPods. You can also use a bulb air blower, which should provide a mild amount of force to dislodge dirt without harming electrics. However, while it might be stronger, don’t use canned air. Sony says this can force dust further into the microphone or sound outlet holes.
How to clean your wireless earbuds’ charging case
Mat Smith/Engadget
You might find that your charging case is in a worse state than your buds. With deep crevices to pick up dirt from your buds when they’re charging, the case can also pick up pocket-lint from being in, well, pockets and your bag. These cases typically use metal contacts to connect to and charge the buds, so any build-up of dirt or earwax can actually affect recharging your headphones. It pays to keep those charging contacts clean. A soft cloth, or a cotton swab for more difficult-to-reach locations, should be able to capture anything blocking your buds from charging. You could also use a bit of air from a bulb air blower – I find the ones with a brush attached are perfect for this.
For both the earbuds and the case, you can use a thin toothpick to pull away any grime or wax trapped in the seams of the device. Most earbuds are molded plastic, but some have edges and lines that collect dirt together.
If you find your AirPods case or other buds’ case is getting a little grubby – or picking up a blue hue from jeans – you could also invest in a case for your case. There are infinite themed and silicone cases for Apple’s AirPod family, but plenty of options exist for buds made by Samsung, Sony, Google and other companies.
The ubiquity of wireless buds has several companies now offering all-in-one cleaning kits, too. These include established peripheral companies like Belkin, which has a single-use kit that features cleaning fluid to loosen up any tough build-up of wax and grime, and Keybudz, which offers a reusable kit that includes different brush head attachments that can also be used to clean other devices. That said, you may not need an entire kit, but suitable tools will make things easier.
You should always use the gentlest cleaning equipment before going ham with rubbing alcohol or a metallic tool. Doing so will reduce the chances of damaging your headphones’ often glossy plastic casing and lessen the chances of damaging the delicate membranes that many buds (and some eartips) have. I speak from experience, having perforated two AirPod membranes due to over-enthusiastic cleaning. Even when removing the tips, take care: With Sony’s WF-1000XM5, you need to twist and pull them off. Just follow the manufacturers’ guidance (we list several guides below), along with our best tips below.
How to keep your wireless earbuds clean
Now your buds are looking pristine, try to keep them looking that way. If you’re using your AirPods or Galaxy Buds during your workouts, wipe them down with a cloth afterward to reduce the chances of moisture getting inside. The more frequently you check on the state of your wireless earbuds, the easier they are to clean.
We’ll finish this guide with a little bit of digital hygiene: make sure any companion TWE apps are up-to-date. These updates can sometimes add notable new features or improve performance. Your smartphone will usually transmit firmware updates to your earbuds automatically after OS and app updates, so make sure you keep them nearby to your phone. This is especially true with iPhones and AirPods, which will not notify you when firmware updates are available. Check that you’ve got the latest version of the firmware in iOS settings (you probably do), and if it’s not up-to-date, make sure both your iPhone and AirPods are plugged into power and (crucially) near each other. The update should be beamed to the AirPods pretty quickly, but you can also leave the devices next to each other overnight to ensure the update happens.
Whether you want to back up the data on your PC, transfer videos from your Mac or offload a few games from your PlayStation 5, a portable SSD is a quick and easy way to expand your storage. These little bricks may cost more than traditional hard drives, but they’re significantly faster, lighter and more reliable. Figuring out the best portable SSD for you, though, isn’t as simple as just picking the one with the lowest price or the most space. (Well, it can be, but that wouldn’t be very efficient.) To help, we’ve weeded through the portable SSD market, tested a bunch of contenders and sorted out which ones offer the most value. You can find our top picks below, plus an overview of what to know before you buy.
Table of contents
Best external SSDs for 2025
Photo by Jeff Dunn / Engadget
Capacities: 1TB, 2TB, 4TB | Size: 2.56 x 1.97 x 0.39 inches | Weight: 1.34 ounces | USB interface: USB 3.2 Gen 2 | Controller/bridge chip: Silicon Motion SM2320 | NAND type: TLC | Rated maximum sequential speeds: 1,050 MB/s read, 1,050 MB/s write | Warranty: Five years
The Crucial X9 Pro finished at or just under the top in each of our benchmarks relative to its speed class, and it stayed noticeably cooler than most of the other drives we tested after extended use. It’s a USB 3.2 Gen 2 model, so it’s slower than alternatives based on Thunderbolt, USB4 or USB 3.2 Gen 2×2, but it costs less, and it’s still quick enough for the non-professional tasks most people do with a portable SSD. Ports that can actually utilize USB 3.2 Gen 2 speeds tend to be more ubiquitous on mainstream computers, too. This isn’t the cheapest 10 Gbps drive around, but it’s in the same ballpark as its peers and isn’t too expensive. As of this writing, a 1TB model is available for $95, though it often goes for less. (We’ve seen it fall as low as $60 in the past.) 2TB and 4TB versions are also available.
Besides its relatively speedy performance, the X9 Pro stands out for being so tiny. Its aluminum case is shorter than a credit card and easy to fit in a pocket, weighing in at just 1.34 ounces. The whole thing is IP55-rated, so it’ll survive dust and water splashes, and it’s backed with a five-year warranty, which is a couple years longer than some alternatives.
Our only real complaints are that the included USB-C cable is small and there’s no adapter for USB-A ports in the box. And while the X9 Pro can utilize 256-bit , Micron (Crucial’s parent company) hasn’t released its own password protection tool to take full advantage of it. We’ll also note that there’s a cheaper non-”Pro” X9, but that one uses QLC flash, so it’s not as durable or fast (especially with sustained writes). The X9 Pro is the better buy.
Pros
Great performance for its speed class
Rugged and super compact form factor
Stays relatively cool with extended use
Five-year warranty
Cons
There are cheaper 10 Gbps drives
Included USB-C cable is short, and there’s no USB-A cable in the box
Capacities: 1TB, 2TB | Size: 2.74 x 1.28 x 0.53 inches | Weight: 1.01 ounces | USB interface: USB 3.2 Gen 2 | Controller/bridge chip: Silicon Motion SM2320 | NAND type: TLC | Rated maximum sequential speeds: 1,050 MB/s read, 1,000 MB/s write | Warranty: Five years
The Kingston XS1000 performs similarly to the Crucial X9 Pro but often retails for less, so it’s a good alternative if you want to save some cash. A 1TB model is available for $75 as we write this, which is $20 less than the X9 Pro, while the 2TB version is down to $120, which is a roughly $30 drop. There’s no 4TB option, though.
At those prices, the XS1000 is a good value for everyday backups and transfers. It kept up with or slightly edged the X9 Pro across our benchmarks: In our custom file transfer test, for example, its reads were a second faster, while its writes were only six seconds slower. (The two drives appear to have comparable internals and are based on a similar controller — the Silicon Power SM2320G — so this may not be a huge surprise.) It topped every USB 3.2 Gen 2 drive we tested in 3DMark’s gaming storage benchmark as well. It’s slightly thicker than the X9 Pro but still wonderfully portable, with its stubby rectangular design weighing just over an ounce. Like the Crucial drive, it’s backed by a five-year warranty.
Where Kingston’s model falls behind Crucial’s X9 Pro is in the extras. There’s no formal IP or drop ratings, so we wouldn’t feel as comfortable chucking it around on the go. It lacks hardware-based encryption, and it only comes with a USB-C to A cable, so you’ll need to supply your own adapter if your laptop only has USB-C ports. It doesn’t stay quite as cool as the X9 Pro with continuous use, and its sustained write performance isn’t as fast either, so it’s worth paying up if you plan to regularly copy hundreds of gigabytes to the SSD (and can’t just get a higher-class model). For the money, though, all of this may be easier to overlook.
Pros
Faster than most 10 Gbps drives we tested
Aggressively priced
Highly portable
Five-year warranty
Cons
No formal water-resistance or drop protection
No USB-C to C cable in the box
Only available in 1TB or 2TB
Slower sustained write performance than X9 Pro with very large files
Capacities: 1TB, 2TB, 4TB | Size: 4.13 x 2.52 x 0.62 inches (with fan off), 4.82 x 2.52 x 0.62 inches (with fan on) | Weight: 6.4 ounces | USB interface: USB4 (40 Gbps) | Controller/bridge chip: Asmedia ASM2464PD | NAND type: TLC | Rated maximum sequential speeds: 3,800 MB/s read, 3,700 MB/s write | Warranty: Five years
If you’re a media editor, IT professional or just an enthusiast willing to pay for a significantly faster portable SSD, get the . It uses the newer USB4 interface and blew away every non-40 Gbps drive we tested across our benchmark tests.
In AmorphousDiskMark, for example, the Crucial X9 Pro delivered sequential reads and writes around 1,015 MB/s and 950 MB/s, respectively; with the SE920, those were about 3,350 MB/s and 3,125 MB/s. In our custom mixed file transfer test, we were able to move our 70GB folder to our MacBook in 32 seconds; with the X9 Pro, that process averaged about 81 seconds. Writing the folder to the drive, meanwhile, was about 30 seconds faster. If you’re buying an external SSD to move around large chunks of data, this kind of leap adds up.
The drive itself is significantly bigger and thicker than either of our picks above, but it’s not so large that we’d call it unwieldy. It’s about the size of a deck of cards, so it’ll fit better in a bag than a pants pocket. Beyond that, the brushed metal exterior feels crisp to the touch, and ADATA supports the device with a five-year warranty.
That said, this thing can get seriously hot. The design includes a built-in micro fan to help dissipate heat, which you activate just by clicking the case down; that’s clever, but it’s not enough to keep the drive cool on its own. All of this comes at a price premium, too, with a 1TB model currently available for $180. But if performance is the only thing that matters to you, it should be worthwhile.
Pros
Blazingly fast 40 Gbps performance
Slick metal enclosure
Smaller than other USB4 and Thunderbolt SSDs we tested
The pre-built OWC Express 1M2 is a premium-feeling USB4 SSD that’s roughly as fast as the ADATA SE920, but it’s larger and significantly more expensive as of this writing.
If you’re in the relatively small group with a PC that supports USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 but not Thunderbolt or USB4, the Crucial X10 Pro is essentially a faster version of our top pick. The Lexar SL600 is a larger but slightly quicker option, while the Lexar SL500, Kingston XS2000 or Samsung T9 could also work if you see them on discount. As a reminder, though, drives like these are aimed primarily at content creators and other professionals, and you have to make sure you won’t upgrade to a device with a faster USB interface anytime soon.
The Samsung T7 Shield has a conveniently rugged design with a rubberized, IP65-rated shell. It also comes with both USB-C and USB-A cables. But it was consistently slower than the X9 Pro and XS1000 in our benchmark tests, plus it has a shorter three-year warranty.
The Silicon Power PX10 is an especially affordable USB 3.2 Gen 2 model. Its peak speeds weren’t too far off the X9 Pro or XS1000 in synthetic benchmarks, but it can get distractingly hot and its sustained writes are markedly worse. It took 50 seconds longer to move our 70GB custom test folder to this drive compared to the X9 Pro, for example.
The Crucial X6 is another low-cost option that’s a good bit slower than our top picks. It’s limited to a three-year warranty and lacks an IP rating as well. It’s not a terrible option for the basics, but there’s little reason to get it over the XS1000 when their prices are similar.
The OWC Envoy Pro FX is well-built and supports Thunderbolt 3 and USB 3.2 Gen 2, but it’s a smidge slower than the SE920 and Express 1M2, and it’s much pricier than the former.
The Samsung T9 portable SSD. (Samsung)
What to consider before buying an external SSD
Capacity
The first thing to figure out before buying a portable SSD is just how much storage space you need. Most of the drives we considered for this guide are available in capacities ranging from one to four terabytes, though plenty of smaller and larger options exist.
There’s no hard-and-fast rule for which size is “best” — that’ll ultimately depend on your budget and what exactly you’re looking to stash. But in general, it’s better to overcompensate than underdo it. Nobody wants to be forced into buying a second drive because they filled the first one up too quickly. If you’re backing up a PC, a good rule of thumb is to buy an external SSD with twice as much space as your computer’s internal storage. This way, you can save at least one full backup while also having room for additional data. If you want to store a bunch of PlayStation or Xbox games with huge install sizes, you may need more space. If you just want to back up a small collection of files, you may be better off saving your cash and just getting a smaller USB flash drive instead, which aren’t quite the same as the external SSDs we tested for this guide.
Price
In general, you get a better price-per-gigabyte ratio the further you go up the capacity ladder. As of this writing, the 1TB Samsung T9 is priced at $130, or $0.13 per gigabyte (GB), while the 4TB version is available for $297 or $0.07 per GB. That technically makes the larger model a better “value,” but not everyone needs to pay that much more upfront.
SSDs in the same speed class tend to not vary too wildly in terms of performance, so part of our decision-making for this guide came down to which ones are often the cheapest. But prices can fluctuate over time; if you see that one of our top picks is priced way higher than a comparable honorable mention, feel free to get the latter. At this point in time, costs are broadly trending upwards.
The ADATA SE920 portable SSD connected to an Apple MacBook Pro. (Photo by Jeff Dunn / Engadget)
Speed and USB interface
Just about all external SSDs are significantly faster than mechanical hard disk drives (HDDs), so you’ll save time waiting for files to transfer and games to load no matter what. Within the market, however, there are distinct performance tiers. These are defined in large part by the USB interface a drive supports. While all of the SSDs we considered for this guide can connect over USB-C, some USB-C connections can supply faster transfer speeds than others. Sorting through this can get real confusing real fast, so we’ll try to put it in simple terms.
You can essentially divide today’s crop of portable SSDs into different segments. At the very top are drives that utilize the (relatively) new Thunderbolt 5 standard, which has a theoretical maximum transfer rate of 80 gigabits per second (Gbps). (You may see it advertise speeds up to 120 Gbps, but that boost doesn’t apply to storage devices.) But portable SSDs that support this tech only just started to trickle out toward the end of 2024, and the market for devices with Thunderbolt 5 ports is still fairly limited, with the most notable exceptions being Apple’s top-end Macs with a M4 Pro or M4 Max chip.
Thunderbolt 5 is built on a spec called USB4, which can technically reach up to 80 Gbps as well but is more typically available in a flavor that tops out at 40 Gbps. Portable SSDs based on that standard started to roll out toward the end of 2023 but are still relatively infrequent. The older Thunderbolt 3 and Thunderbolt 4, which other high-end external SSDs continue to use, support the same 40 Gbps maximum.
A third version of USB4, meanwhile, maxes at 20 Gbps, as does an older yet more frequently used standard called USB 3.2 Gen 2×2. Below that is USB 3.2 Gen 2, which maxes at 10 Gbps. Then there’s USB 3.2 Gen 1, which is capped at 5 Gbps. Lastly, we’ll bundle together SSDs that use older standards and aren’t worth considering here.
To make this easy: For everyday folks, a good USB 3.2 Gen 2 drive is the sweet spot between fast-enough performance, wide-enough compatibility and cheap-enough price, so those make up our primary recommendations above. If you work in a creative field or don’t mind paying extra to shave seconds off your large file transfers, though, a “higher-tier” model would make sense. However, note that actual computers that utilize USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 aren’t super common — no Mac supports it, for one — and the interface is effectively being replaced by USB4.
In general, your chain is only as strong as its weakest link: If your computer only has USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports, for example, you could still use a Thunderbolt SSD, but you won’t get beyond Gen 2 speeds. Make sure you know what you’re working with before you buy.
As a refresher, storage devices are broadly measured in terms of read and write speeds. The former refers to how long it takes to access something from the drive; the latter, how long it takes to save something to it. From there, you can break these metrics into sequential and random performance. Sequential speeds tend to matter more with portable SSDs, since most people use them to save or access long, constant streams of data such as a bunch of high-res photos. Random speeds would be important if you want to run video games off the drive, since that’d involve reading and writing smaller, more scattered files. Either way, how well an SSD can sustain its performance with extended use is also critical.
Other performance factors and enclosures
A modern portable SSD’s speeds aren’t just about its USB interface, though. Its performance can also depend on how advanced its controller is, whether it has a native USB flash controller or a separate bridge chip to communicate with a host device, the kind and quality of NAND flash memory it uses, whether it has a DRAM cache or it’s DRAM-less, and more.
We’re simplifying things, but here are some quick tips: Drives with triple-level cell (TLC) memory aren’t as cheap as quad-level cell (QLC) SSDs, but they’re generally more reliable and they offer better write performance. Having a dedicated DRAM cache helps if you plan to hit your drive with more intense, sustained workloads, but may not be worth the extra cost for most people. Some models with native flash controllers may not perform as well as those with a bridging chip, depending on the SSD inside, but they typically draw less heat and are physically smaller. All of this is to say that an external SSD’s speeds aren’t quite as straightforward as what the manufacturer chooses to advertise on the box.
It’s also worth remembering that you can turn an internal SSD into a portable solution with a good enclosure. If you have a spare drive and don’t mind going the DIY route, this can be a cheaper and more flexible solution, though we’ve stuck to pre-built models for this guide for the sake of simplicity.
Photo by Jeff Dunn / Engadget
Size, durability, endurance and warranty
Most portable SSDs are impressively small and light, so they won’t be difficult to tuck in a bag (or even a pocket) and take on the go. We note above if any drive is bulkier than usual.
Nothing we’re talking about matters if your drive can’t last in the long term. It’s hard to definitively say which external SSDs are the most reliable, but we scoured through user reviews and feedback while researching this guide to ensure none of our picks show a pattern of catastrophic errors. If there was too much smoke around a particular model, we steered clear. We ruled out certain drives from SanDisk and Western Digital, for instance, after reports from Ars Technica and The Vergenoted an issue that led to data loss (and lawsuits) in 2023.
That said, one of the big reasons you’d buy an SSD in general is its superior durability. Because it has no moving mechanical parts inside, an SSD has far fewer avenues to failure than an external hard drive. You still don’t want to be careless with them, but an accidental drop shouldn’t be the end of the world.
Some portable SSDs build on this inherent ruggedness with plastic or rubberized casings and more robust waterproofing. These aren’t necessary for everyone, but if you’re a frequent traveler or someone who often works outdoors, there are options for you.
Still, all drives can fail. If you have any sort of data you’d be distraught to lose, you should back it up regularly, then make a second backup, ideally with a cloud service. Along those protective lines, we also took note of the warranty policy for each drive we tested. Just about all of them are backed for either three or five years; of course, longer is better.
Encryption and software
It’s not uncommon to store sensitive data on a portable SSD, so some models offer extra security features like hardware-based encryption — i.e., direct scrambling of data stored on the drive itself — built-in keypads and fingerprint readers to protect against unauthorized access if the drive is lost or stolen. While not top requirements, perks like these are certainly good to have. Some SSDs also come with companion software to further manage the drive. The best of those can be handy to have around, but we wouldn’t call them essential.
How we test external SSDs
Unfortunately, we did not have access to a device that can make full use of USB 3.2 Gen 2, USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 and Thunderbolt/USB4 speeds interchangeably, so we had to split our testing across multiple devices, including an M1 Pro MacBook Pro and an Alienware gaming PC running Windows 11. Because of this, we primarily compared the portable SSDs within each “class” against one another. Before switching OSes, we reformatted each drive to each platform’s standard file system format: APFS for macOS and NTFS for Windows.
After researching which SSDs had enough positive feedback to be worth testing in the first place, we put 13 drives through a range of synthetic and “real-world” benchmark tests. On Windows, these included CrystalDiskMark, PCMark 10’s Data Drive Benchmark and 3DMark’s gaming-focused Storage Benchmark. On macOS, we used AmorphousDiskMark (effectively a Mac version of CrystalDiskMark), BlackMagic Disk Speed Test and ATTO Disk Benchmark.
We also timed how long it took for each drive to read and write a custom 70GB folder filled with roughly 11,500 different files, including photos, videos, music files, PDFs and other large and small data types scattered across numerous subfolders. We performed multiple passes for each test to avoid irregularities, and we kept track of each SSD’s heat levels over the course of the whole suite. Our process wasn’t a perfect science, but it gave us a general sense of how each drive compares to other models in its price and performance range.
Recent updates
February 2025: We’ve checked to ensure the pricing info and links in this guide are still accurate. We’ve also added details on the (relatively) new Thunderbolt 5 interface, which has been implemented in a couple recent portable SSDs like the OWC Envoy Ultra and LaCie Rugged SSD Pro5. We’ll look to include testing notes for those for our next update, as they should be faster than the ADATA SE920, our current premium pick, albeit for a much higher price. For now, though, our top picks remain the same.
October 2024: We’ve taken a sweep through this guide to ensure all pricing and availability info is still correct. Our recommendations are unchanged.
Every year, I test more than 30 smartphones to see which ones are worth your hard-earned dollars. Guess what? The following Cyber Monday and Black Friday phone deals include many of my top-rated recommendations—now at a more reasonable price. If your current device is on its last legs, this is the best time of the year to upgrade. (I don’t expect prices to drop much more on Cyber Monday, but don’t quote me.) Whether you need a new Samsung phone, Google Pixel, or even an iPhone, this list has all the top discounts, even deals on cases and accessories. All these smartphone deals are for unlocked devices (except for the iPhones).
Updated December 1: We’ve added a couple deals and updated prices.
WIRED Featured Deals
WIRED’s Gear team tests products year-round and handpicked these Black Friday deals. I’ve covered sale events like Prime Day and Black Friday for nearly a decade, as have many of my colleagues. We’ll update this guide regularly throughout Black Friday and Cyber Monday by adding fresh deals, correcting prices, and removing dead deals.
WIRED’s Black Friday 2024 Coverage
Flagship Phone Deals
The entire Pixel 9 series is seeing its first major discount, and these Pixel deals are pretty fantastic, especially on the Pixel 9 Pro and Pixel 9 Pro XL (9/10, WIRED Recommends). The difference between these two is purely size and battery—the Pixel 9 Pro XL’s screen is 6.8 inches versus the Pixel 9 Pro’s 6.3 inches, and its battery can comfortably last a little more than a full day. Everything else is the same. However, there’s a bigger gap between the Pixel 9 and the Pro phones. The cheapest in the lineup, the Pixel 9 lacks the 5X zoom camera and the vapor chamber cooling system, meaning it will get warmer faster. I say go Pro, but if your budget doesn’t stretch as high, consider the Pixel 8A (see below). Read our Best Pixel 9 Cases guide to keep it safe!
Samsung’s Galaxy S24 series is its flagship phone range of 2024, comprised of the Galaxy S24, Galaxy S24+, and the Galaxy S24 Ultra (8/10, WIRED Recommends). Keep in mind that Samsung is expected to debut a successor in just about a month and a half—the Galaxy S25 series. If you don’t need the latest and greatest, then these are solid Galaxy deals. I’m partial to the Galaxy S24 Ultra because it has a 5X optical zoom camera and the S Pen stylus baked inside (which you can use as a remote shutter for the camera. It also looks a little more interesting.
OnePlus, like Samsung, is also rumored to be releasing a successor to its OnePlus 12 flagship in January 2025. But that phone will probably cost closer to $1,000, and it will be many more months before it’s at a price like the OnePlus 12. This 2024 Android flagship is a heck of a phone (8/10, WIRED Recommends). It’s super smooth, supports wireless charging, and I was even able to hit two days of battery life on a single charge. Oh, and the OnePlus 12 can even recharge to full in just 30 minutes. How crazy is that?
Phone Deals Under $500
This is my top smartphone pick for most people. It’s well-rounded—you can call it the Renaissance Phone because it does a bit of everything well. The Pixel 8A (8/10, WIRED Recommends) has a sharp, colorful, and bright AMOLED display, water resistance, wireless charging, seven years of software support, and excellent performance. It was already fantastic value at its MSRP, but this deal makes it a steal. I didn’t even touch on the many great software features that will make you keep coming back to Pixel phones. For more, read my Google Pixel buying guide.
The brand-new Galaxy S24 FE—which stands for “Fan Edition”—is a bit of a tough sell at its MSRP because it’s not far in price from the flagship Galaxy S24, but it’s an absolute beast of a phone at this sale price. Seriously, a triple-camera system with a 3X optical zoom for under $500? That’s rare. It’s kind of like the Galaxy S24+ but with lesser specs all around, though you won’t feel the difference all that much. The screen is still a 120-Hz AMOLED panel, and the Exynos processor is quite chipper.
If you’re a heavy gamer, then I think the OnePlus 12R is a better fit for anyone on a budget. It packs last year’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, which can handle most demanding games without too much issue. The AMOLED screen is large at 6.78 inches (and sports a 120-Hz screen refresh rate), and the 5,500-mAh battery lasted me roughly two days. The camera is decent, but the charging speed is more impressive—like the OnePlus 12, it goes from zero to 100 in around 30 minutes. Just know that its water resistance is lackluster (IP64), there’s no wireless charging, and software support isn’t as long as the Pixel 8A.
The Moto G Power 5G (8/10, WIRED Recommends) is hands-down the best value in a smartphone right now. Not only is this the best Moto G smartphone Motorola has ever made, but at this discounted price, you’re getting a fantastic device all around. Performance with the MediaTek Dimensity 7020 is good enough that I never got frustrated or annoyed, the 120-Hz 6.7-inch LCD screen gets bright enough in the sun, and there’s even wireless charging (NFC too, finally). The biggest downside is once Motorola updates it to Android 15, that’s all the software updates you’ll get, except for two more years of security updates. But hey, it’s $200.
The Motorola Edge is a much more reasonable buy at $350, though I’d first steer you to the Pixel or OnePlus above. It will only get two Android OS upgrades and three years of security updates, but at least you get all the perks you’d want in a phone, from wireless charging, IP68 water resistance, NFC for contactless payments, and an AMOLED 6.6-ich screen with a 144-Hz refresh rate. Performance is pretty great thanks to the Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 chip. My main gripes are that the cameras aren’t great, and I’m not a fan of waterfall displays that curve the glass at the edges. But that’s literally the point of this phone. Edge. Get it?
The Moto G Stylus 5G has the same big fault as the Moto G Power 5G above—it will only get one Android software update to Android 15 (though 3 years of security updates). If you’re cool with that, performance is a smidge better and largely lag-free, and there’s a nice faux leather back that’s fun. The screen gets an upgrade to OLED (120 Hz), but the one trick that makes this one unique is in the name. Yep, like the Galaxy S24 Ultra, there’s a stylus built into the bottom of this phone for ultimate doodling. Did I mention there’s a headphone jack? Remember those?
What the Samsung Galaxy A35 5G (7/10, WIRED Recommends) has over the Motorola phones above is longer software support. Samsung promises four Android OS upgrades and five years of security updates, not to mention there’s an IP67 water resistance rating, a microSD card slot to expand storage, and a 120-Hz screen. Too bad the performance can be a little choppy.
A $100 smartphone that won’t make you want to rip out your hair? Yep, it exists. The Moto G Play only supports 4G LTE, which there’s still plenty of, so it shouldn’t give you connectivity problems. Performance, all things considered, is surprisingly solid. Apps launch slow and it might feel laborious moving from one app to another, but it’s not frustrating. Just don’t bother with the camera.
Folding Phone Deals
Flip phones! Like the good ol’ days! Except this one’s a smartphone too. The Razr+ (7/10, WIRED Recommends) is Motorola’s latest folding flip phone and, yes, it comes in hot pink. The exterior screen is nice and large, enough to even use some apps in a quick pinch. Open it up and the 6.9-inch OLED screen feels like a normal phone. Performance is great and the cameras are better than before, though battery life is still a bit lackluster. Still, it’s too stylish and fun to use for that to be a deal-breaker. You can save even more if you go with the standard Razr, on sale for $425 ($275 off), but the performance isn’t as smooth and the external screen is smaller and less useful.
I really wish the Pixel 9 Pro Fold (6/10, WIRED Recommends) had the same camera system as the standard Pixel 9 Pro (it’s very similar, but the results aren’t as crisp), but it’s otherwise my favorite folding phone that’s shaped like a book. The front screen is nearly identical to the Pixel 9 Pro’s 6.3-inch display, meaning it feels like a normal device, and it helps that the whole thing is so thin. Open it up and you get a vast 8-inch OLED panel for streaming shows, multitasking, and gaming. I’d never buy a phone that costs nearly $2,000 but at this price? Maaaaybe.
I think Samsung might have made a mistake. You can currently get the company’s latest, priciest folding smartphone—the Galaxy Z Fold6 (7/10, WIRED Recommends)—directly from Samsung.com for a little more than $1,000. Wha? Seriously, this is a massive drop on the book-like folding phone, which has an improved and larger front screen and slimmer design. I like the Pixel 9 Pro Fold more, but this price is far too tempting. Samsung also has been making folding phones far longer than most brands, so it’s easier to repair if something goes wrong.
I prefer Motorola’s Razr+ but Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip6 (7/10, WIRED Recommends) bests it in a few ways: longer software support, better build quality, better cameras, and faster performance. But I still think the Razr+ has more charm and has the more useful and larger external cover screen. Still, this is a great price for a relatively new flagship folding phone.
Deals on Last Year’s Phones
Black Friday iPhone Deals
Photograph: Julian Chokkattu
I always recommend buying an unlocked smartphone. However, Apple never discounts the iPhone, and Americans overwhelmingly buy smartphones from carriers directly. So, today I’m going to break my one rule. Below are a few of the best offers the big US carriers have on the iPhone. Make sure you look at the fine print; there are hoops to jump through to get the savings.
T-Mobile: If you switch to T-Mobile, you can get four iPhone 16 models for free when you activate four lines for $25 per line. The caveat? The savings come as bill credits over 24 months, and if you cancel your account before it’s over, the credits stop flowing and you’ll need to pay a balance. You also have to trade in four eligible devices to get the deal.
Verizon: Buy an iPhone 16 Pro or iPhone 16 Pro Max with a new line on the Unlimited Ultimate plan (you can upgrade your phone plan too), and you can get a free 10th-gen iPad and Apple Watch Series 10. You need a phone to trade in first, and you’ll need a plan for the iPad and Apple Watch for cellular connectivity too (that’s how they get you). These “savings” arrive as bill credits over 36 months, so you’re locked to that contract. Be wary of activation fees. Honestly, my head hurt reading the fine print.
AT&T: You can get an iPhone 16 for free if you trade-in an eligible device and upgrade or choose a select unlimited plan. The savings are in the form of bill credits, applied over 36 months. (This also applies to the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max.)
Our devices are getting thinner than ever, but having such slim and gorgeous designs comes with downsides. The main one is that even laptops are starting to lack ports, which many of us still consider essential. If you need some extra ports, looking into a good USB-C hub is the easiest solution. While there are many great ones, sometimes I am left scratching my head when I look at some of these prices. This is why I love the UGREEN Uno 6-in-1 USB-C Hub, which usually costs only $19.99, and today, it’s 20% off, bringing the cost down to just $15.99!
This offer is available from Amazon, and it is labeled as a “limited time deal.” This means it shouldn’t be long before the product goes back to its original pricing.
We would recommend the UGREEN Uno 6-in-1 USB-C Hub at its full price. The 20% discount is really just a cherry on top. This port multiplier is an excellent accessory with pretty nice capabilities. For starters, the design is really cool, offering a variety of emoji status indicators and a minimalist overall look. As you can see, it’s pretty portable, as well. You’ll also get plenty of ports, including two USB-A ports, three USB-C ports, and a full-sized HDMI connection.
These are good-quality ports, too! The UGREEN Uno accessory comes packed with capabilities we wouldn’t imagine an accessory this affordable would have. For starters, it supports 100W power delivery through one of the USB-C ports to keep your laptop, tablet, or smartphone charged while connected. The other USB-C and USB-A ports meet USB 3.2 Gen2 standards, which means they support data transfers of up to 10Gbps. Additionally, the HDMI ports support 4K resolutions at 60Hz.
For what it’s worth, this is a record-low price for this product, and however small the discount is, I’d rather pay $15.99 than $19.99. Not to mention, this is a necessary accessory for many, so go sign up for this deal while it is available! You’ll especially need one if you are also taking advantage of today’s amazing Apple MacBook Air M2 deal.
