Black Friday may be over, but Cyber Monday is just getting started. You’ll find big discounts on smartphones from Apple, Samsung, Motorola, Nokia and others, on both the individual phone-makers’ websites as well as online retailers like Amazon and Best Buy. In many cases, these cell phone deals are a return to the prices we saw on Prime Day— and in some cases, the savings are even better.
If you’re looking to snag a new iPhone, check the Apple Store for the latest discounts. Apple has now permanently cut prices on older models, including the iPhone XR and iPhone 11 (check out our iPhone 12 Black Friday deals roundup too).
Note that prices and availability were accurate at the time of publication, but are subject to change. Make sure to check back often for the latest deal prices, as we’re updating this article on a rolling basis to account for newer, better deals and expired offers.
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The Galaxy S20 Ultra is Samsung’s most advanced (and expensive) flagship phone, released earlier this year. Its greatest feature may be its camera, with a 108-megapixel sensor, 100x zoom lens and 40-megapixel selfie camera. The phone also has a huge 5,000-mAh battery for extended battery life.
The midtier S20 Plus has a 6.7-inch screen and supports the fastest 5G speeds, released earlier this year. It also offers excellent camera image quality. The 128GB phone deal is available in cloud blue, cosmic gray and black.
Though it’s not technically part of Black Friday, Apple cut $100 off the price of last year’s iPhone 11, which CNET has called “the best $700 iPhone Apple has ever made.” With the iPhone 12 already on sale, you can now pick up an iPhone 11 for as low as $599. It has fast speeds, improved battery life and excellent cameras, including a Night Mode feature.
The 2018 iPhone XR includes most of the same features as the more expensive iPhone X and XS, including an excellent big screen in a comfortable body, fast performance, Face ID and wireless charging, and a great camera. Again, it’s not a Black Friday deal, but it is an extra $100 off, making it a great less-expensive iPhone option that still gets you a lot of great features.
The Galaxy Note 20 Ultra 5G is a do-everything phone aimed at Android power users. You’ll find an exceptional 6.9-inch screen, sharp 5x optical zoom camera and a swifter stylus for annotating screenshots and taking notes.
The Galaxy Note 20, released in August, has several of the same premium features as the pricier Galaxy Note 20 Ultra, including strong battery life. While it can’t quite keep up in terms of screen technology, camera specs, build material and RAM, it’s a solid option. You can find the 128GB version of the Note 20 in mystic bronze, mystic green and mystic gray at Samsung.
Our reviewers noted that the Pixel 4 XL has a big screen that refreshes 90 times a second, so everything looks real smooth. It also takes outstanding photos, and its face unlock is among the fastest we’ve seen. While the phone is usually on the pricier side, you’ll find it for $549 on Amazon on Cyber Monday — a savings of $350.
The Motorola Edge features a 6.7-inch FHD OLED screen, four cameras and a 4,500 mAh battery. You’ll find it on sale for Cyber Monday at Amazon for $395.
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Samsung’s Galaxy A71 5G phone first went on sale this summer, with a 6.7-inch FHD Plus Super AMOLED Plus Infinity-O display, quad-camera array with a 64-megapixel main lens, and 25-watt fast charging. It has 128GB of internal storage, 6GB of RAM, 4,500-mAh batteries and onscreen optical fingerprint sensors. It also comes with microSD slots, letting you add up to 1TB of additional storage. It’s one of the least expensive 5G phones on the market in the US, especially with this discount.
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With 5G support, IP certification for water resistance, a total of four cameras — one at 48 megapixels — and a large 120Hz display, the OnePlus 8 Pro earned high marks from our reviewers, with the only big downside being its high price. But for Cyber Monday, you can buy the phone at Amazon for $750, saving almost $250.
The much-anticipated 2020 Motorola Razr marked the return of the flip phone, along with new cameras, support for 5G and useful enhancements to the external quick-view display. Not to mention that it folds down to conveniently fit in your pocket. (Note that you can get bigger Razr 5G discounts with trade-ins and line activations from wireless providers, too.)
The Moto G Stylus is also the same as the Moto G Power at its core, with the same gigantic 5,000-mAh battery and 64GB of storage, along with a 6.4-inch display and triple-rear camera array. But the stylus adds a level of precision that makes navigating the phone more efficient.
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Of Samsung’s Galaxy S20 5G phones, the S20 is the smallest and cheapest — and our reviewer’s favorite. It’s just as stuffed with top-shelf features as the Galaxy S20 Plus and S20 Ultra, from its tack-sharp screen to advanced camera capabilities. Apart from screen and body size, there aren’t many big differences between the three phones. You can get the 128GB phone in cloud blue or cosmic gray at Amazon.
The LTE version of Samsung’s budget Galaxy A51 went on sale in the spring, and includes a 4,000-mAh battery, 128GB of storage, 4GB of RAM and expandable storage up to 512GB. During Amazon’s Cyber Monday sale, you’ll find the A51 in black, blue and white.
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The Motorola One Zoom is a midpriced phone with great value and a smooth matte finish, so you won’t get fingerprints all over the back. It also has four high-quality cameras on the back (and the one on the front) and a large battery for up to two days of charge.
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Two more Motorola phones have gotten nice price drops at Best Buy.
The 2020 Moto G Power features a wallet-friendly price, a gigantic 5,000-mAh battery and 64GB of storage, along with a 6.4-inch display and triple-rear camera array. Motorola promises that the phone will last up to three days of regular use on a single charge, and in our testing, it’s held up so far. It’s on sale for $175 at Amazon for Cyber Monday.
The Moto G Fast has many of the same features as the Moto G Power, including the 6.4-inch display and triple-rear camera array. However, it does have a smaller battery, less RAM and half of the storage, as well as lower screen resolution. It’s on sale for $145 at Amazon.
Chinese electronics giant TCL‘s 10L phone was released in May as a solid budget phone. While it doesn’t have many flashy features, it admirably handles basic tasks and has an elegant design. You’ll find it on sale for $175 at Amazon, Best Buy, Walmart and B&H until Nov. 29.
In 2019, CNET’s review called the Galaxy Note 10 Plus “the most premium Android phone for your money.” A year later, the phone still holds up, with it’s large 6.8-inch screen, all-day battery life and excellent camera tools. At Amazon, you’ll find the phone for $800.
The Pixel 3A XL includes a large screen, a fantastic camera, a long-lasting battery and a headphone jack — all at a more affordable price than the Pixel 3 and 3 XL. It doesn’t have as many features as the later Pixel models, but for $299 on Cyber Monday, it’s a great option.
Sony’s 2019 Xperia 1 flagship phone has a large 6.5-inch screen with 4K resolution, and uses OLED and HDR technology to make colors look vibrant. You’ll find the stand-alone phone on sale for Cyber Monday at Amazon for $480.
The OnePlus 8T is another 5G phone that fits in between the OnePlus 8 and OnePlus 8 Pro. The OnePlus 8T has a similar design to the 8, but carries over some of the better specs of the 8 Pro, including a 120Hz display and four cameras on the back. It also comes with a 65-watt charger that juices up the phone quickly. You can find it on Cyber Monday at Amazon for $630, a savings of $119.
The LG K31 is a budget phone with a 5.7-inch HD display, 32GB of storage and a 3,000 mAh battery. You can find it on Cyber Monday at Amazon for $120.
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Until Nov. 30, Amazon will have Black Friday deals on a few Nokia phones, including the Nokia 5.3, Nokia 2.3, Nokia 1.3 and Nokia 8.3 5G. The Nokia 5.3 features a 6.55-inch HD Plus display and a quad rear camera for capturing pictures and portraits even in low light.
Offers expired/out of stock
These offers are gone for now — keep checking back as they may return at some point.
Sarah Tew/CNET
The Moto G7 Power is a 2019 member of the Motorola G budget phone family, offering a wallet-friendly price, several premium features and a gigantic battery (the same size as the one found in Samsung’s Galaxy S20 Ultra). The 2020 Moto G Power — that’s G, not G7 — is faster and newer, but it currently costs $50 more than this model (keep scrolling to find that deal). If you’re on a budget and looking for a phone with superstrong battery life, the Moto G7 Power is worthy of consideration. You can find it on sale at Best Buy unlocked for $130 for the 32GB version. (You can also find it for $80 if you activate it today.)
B&H isn’t just a store for photography anymore — it has some amazing phone deals too, like this OnePlus 7T. This smartphone has a large 6.55-inch AMOLED display with a 20:9 aspect ratio, which is perfect for taking camera photos. With 128GB of storage and running Android 10, it makes a great gift for someone (or really yourself) this holiday season. Act fast, because this phone is half off through Saturday only.
Samsung
The budget Samsung Galaxy A21 sports a 6.5-inch HD Plus Infinity-O display, 4,000-mAh battery, 15-watt fast charge support, 32GB of internal storage and 3GB of RAM. It also has a 13-megapixel front-face camera and four camera lenses on the back: a 16-megapixel main camera, 8-megapixel ultrawide, 2-megapixel macro and 2-megapixel depth camera. The phone can be expanded to 512GB of storage through a microSD card.
Angela Lang/CNET
The TCL 10 Pro offers an attractive AMOLED display, four rear cameras and a premium design. For Black Friday, you’ll find the phone for $315 at Amazon (make sure you add the coupon for the discount), Best Buy, Walmart and B&H until Nov. 29. That price drop is a discount of $135, putting the phone more in line with its competitors, the iPhone SE and the Samsung Galaxy A51.
The LG Stylo 5 has a 6.2-inch screen, and, as the name suggests, a built-in stylus pen for writing and drawing. It also features face recognition and a fingerprint sensor. You’ll find it at Best Buy for $250.
Angela Lang/CNET
Samsung’s 2019 premium version Galaxy S10 Plus and budget Galaxy S10 Lite get a discount for Black Friday. The Galaxy S10 is a high-end phone with a reasonable price tag, especially when on sale. It doesn’t have 5G capabilities, but it does have a sharp screen, long battery life and some noteworthy camera features, along with reverse wireless charging.
Before Black Friday, you’ll find the following Galaxy S10 phone deals:
When the Samsung Galaxy Note 10 debuted in Sept. 2019, CNET called it “the best Galaxy phone to buy right now” thanks to its compact body and great features. You can find one discounted to $532 at Amazon.
The federal government is ordering the dissolution of TikTok’s Canadian business after a national security review of the Chinese company behind the social media platform, but stopped short of ordering people to stay off the app.
Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne announced the government’s “wind up” demand Wednesday, saying it is meant to address “risks” related to ByteDance Ltd.’s establishment of TikTok Technology Canada Inc.
“The decision was based on the information and evidence collected over the course of the review and on the advice of Canada’s security and intelligence community and other government partners,” he said in a statement.
The announcement added that the government is not blocking Canadians’ access to the TikTok application or their ability to create content.
However, it urged people to “adopt good cybersecurity practices and assess the possible risks of using social media platforms and applications, including how their information is likely to be protected, managed, used and shared by foreign actors, as well as to be aware of which country’s laws apply.”
Champagne’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment seeking details about what evidence led to the government’s dissolution demand, how long ByteDance has to comply and why the app is not being banned.
A TikTok spokesperson said in a statement that the shutdown of its Canadian offices will mean the loss of hundreds of well-paying local jobs.
“We will challenge this order in court,” the spokesperson said.
“The TikTok platform will remain available for creators to find an audience, explore new interests and for businesses to thrive.”
The federal Liberals ordered a national security review of TikTok in September 2023, but it was not public knowledge until The Canadian Press reported in March that it was investigating the company.
At the time, it said the review was based on the expansion of a business, which it said constituted the establishment of a new Canadian entity. It declined to provide any further details about what expansion it was reviewing.
A government database showed a notification of new business from TikTok in June 2023. It said Network Sense Ventures Ltd. in Toronto and Vancouver would engage in “marketing, advertising, and content/creator development activities in relation to the use of the TikTok app in Canada.”
Even before the review, ByteDance and TikTok were lightning rod for privacy and safety concerns because Chinese national security laws compel organizations in the country to assist with intelligence gathering.
Such concerns led the U.S. House of Representatives to pass a bill in March designed to ban TikTok unless its China-based owner sells its stake in the business.
Champagne’s office has maintained Canada’s review was not related to the U.S. bill, which has yet to pass.
Canada’s review was carried out through the Investment Canada Act, which allows the government to investigate any foreign investment with potential to might harm national security.
While cabinet can make investors sell parts of the business or shares, Champagne has said the act doesn’t allow him to disclose details of the review.
Wednesday’s dissolution order was made in accordance with the act.
The federal government banned TikTok from its mobile devices in February 2023 following the launch of an investigation into the company by federal and provincial privacy commissioners.
— With files from Anja Karadeglija in Ottawa
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 6, 2024.
LONDON (AP) — Most people have accumulated a pile of data — selfies, emails, videos and more — on their social media and digital accounts over their lifetimes. What happens to it when we die?
It’s wise to draft a will spelling out who inherits your physical assets after you’re gone, but don’t forget to take care of your digital estate too. Friends and family might treasure files and posts you’ve left behind, but they could get lost in digital purgatory after you pass away unless you take some simple steps.
Here’s how you can prepare your digital life for your survivors:
Apple
The iPhone maker lets you nominate a “ legacy contact ” who can access your Apple account’s data after you die. The company says it’s a secure way to give trusted people access to photos, files and messages. To set it up you’ll need an Apple device with a fairly recent operating system — iPhones and iPads need iOS or iPadOS 15.2 and MacBooks needs macOS Monterey 12.1.
For iPhones, go to settings, tap Sign-in & Security and then Legacy Contact. You can name one or more people, and they don’t need an Apple ID or device.
You’ll have to share an access key with your contact. It can be a digital version sent electronically, or you can print a copy or save it as a screenshot or PDF.
Take note that there are some types of files you won’t be able to pass on — including digital rights-protected music, movies and passwords stored in Apple’s password manager. Legacy contacts can only access a deceased user’s account for three years before Apple deletes the account.
Google
Google takes a different approach with its Inactive Account Manager, which allows you to share your data with someone if it notices that you’ve stopped using your account.
When setting it up, you need to decide how long Google should wait — from three to 18 months — before considering your account inactive. Once that time is up, Google can notify up to 10 people.
You can write a message informing them you’ve stopped using the account, and, optionally, include a link to download your data. You can choose what types of data they can access — including emails, photos, calendar entries and YouTube videos.
There’s also an option to automatically delete your account after three months of inactivity, so your contacts will have to download any data before that deadline.
Facebook and Instagram
Some social media platforms can preserve accounts for people who have died so that friends and family can honor their memories.
When users of Facebook or Instagram die, parent company Meta says it can memorialize the account if it gets a “valid request” from a friend or family member. Requests can be submitted through an online form.
The social media company strongly recommends Facebook users add a legacy contact to look after their memorial accounts. Legacy contacts can do things like respond to new friend requests and update pinned posts, but they can’t read private messages or remove or alter previous posts. You can only choose one person, who also has to have a Facebook account.
You can also ask Facebook or Instagram to delete a deceased user’s account if you’re a close family member or an executor. You’ll need to send in documents like a death certificate.
TikTok
The video-sharing platform says that if a user has died, people can submit a request to memorialize the account through the settings menu. Go to the Report a Problem section, then Account and profile, then Manage account, where you can report a deceased user.
Once an account has been memorialized, it will be labeled “Remembering.” No one will be able to log into the account, which prevents anyone from editing the profile or using the account to post new content or send messages.
X
It’s not possible to nominate a legacy contact on Elon Musk’s social media site. But family members or an authorized person can submit a request to deactivate a deceased user’s account.
Passwords
Besides the major online services, you’ll probably have dozens if not hundreds of other digital accounts that your survivors might need to access. You could just write all your login credentials down in a notebook and put it somewhere safe. But making a physical copy presents its own vulnerabilities. What if you lose track of it? What if someone finds it?
Instead, consider a password manager that has an emergency access feature. Password managers are digital vaults that you can use to store all your credentials. Some, like Keeper,Bitwarden and NordPass, allow users to nominate one or more trusted contacts who can access their keys in case of an emergency such as a death.
But there are a few catches: Those contacts also need to use the same password manager and you might have to pay for the service.
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Is there a tech challenge you need help figuring out? Write to us at onetechtip@ap.org with your questions.
LONDON (AP) — Britain’s competition watchdog said Thursday it’s opening a formal investigation into Google’s partnership with artificial intelligence startup Anthropic.
The Competition and Markets Authority said it has “sufficient information” to launch an initial probe after it sought input earlier this year on whether the deal would stifle competition.
The CMA has until Dec. 19 to decide whether to approve the deal or escalate its investigation.
“Google is committed to building the most open and innovative AI ecosystem in the world,” the company said. “Anthropic is free to use multiple cloud providers and does, and we don’t demand exclusive tech rights.”
San Francisco-based Anthropic was founded in 2021 by siblings Dario and Daniela Amodei, who previously worked at ChatGPT maker OpenAI. The company has focused on increasing the safety and reliability of AI models. Google reportedly agreed last year to make a multibillion-dollar investment in Anthropic, which has a popular chatbot named Claude.
Anthropic said it’s cooperating with the regulator and will provide “the complete picture about Google’s investment and our commercial collaboration.”
“We are an independent company and none of our strategic partnerships or investor relationships diminish the independence of our corporate governance or our freedom to partner with others,” it said in a statement.
The U.K. regulator has been scrutinizing a raft of AI deals as investment money floods into the industry to capitalize on the artificial intelligence boom. Last month it cleared Anthropic’s $4 billion deal with Amazon and it has also signed off on Microsoft’s deals with two other AI startups, Inflection and Mistral.
