The best Black Friday iPhone deals right now: I'm tracking the lowest prices

As Black Friday begins, shoppers often ask me one question: which iPhone should I get? To answer that question, we’re diving deeper into the iPhone 16 vs iPhone 16 Pro debate over which new model is the better choice – especially because we’ve found so many deals where you can get both devices for free.

With the best Black Friday phone deals already out there, discounts on the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro come in various forms. For example, you might be locked into paying for an unlimited data plan for 36 months – or perhaps a trade-in is required to lower the price of your new device. Either way, the choice is yours when it comes to getting the best iPhone deals.

I’ll break down the biggest differences between the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro for you, while also highlighting some of my favorite deals for both phones and other older iPhone models.

Best iPhone Deals for Black Friday: Quick Links

iPhone 16 vs. iPhone 16 Pro: Which should you buy?

The iPhone 16 Pro is shown being held in the hand

(Image credit: Tom’s Guide)

Honestly, if you consider yourself a power user, the iPhone 16 Pro would be the more suitable model. There are reasons why it has the name “Pro” – it has features to prove it. So if you want the fastest performance, the longest battery life and the best cameras, the iPhone 16 Pro is the logical choice.

In contrast, the iPhone 16 is a more mainstream model that’s still satisfying in its own right, even if it doesn’t have all the bells and whistles that Apple adds to the Pro version. That makes sense considering the standard iPhone costs less than its sister model. I think it will be enough for the vast majority of people, especially if they’re just looking for the basics like using the iPhone for their social media, sending emails, and watching the occasional video.

iPhone 16 vs. iPhone 16 Pro: Key Differences

Apple iPhone 16 held in hand.

(Image credit: Future)

Obviously, there are key differences between the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro, with most giving the Pro model a distinct advantage. I’m not saying the iPhone 16 is a slam dunk, but you’ll get more out of the Pro.

This is what the iPhone 16 Pro has to offer:

Premium design. The iPhone 16 Pro looks and feels like a more premium phone, as it features a titanium frame and an overall more solid construction.
Bigger screen, faster refresh rate. I admit that the iPhone 16’s 6.1-inch OLED display looks good, but it’s not as sharp and colorful as the 6.3-inch OLED panel in the iPhone 16 Pro. Not only is it bigger, but I can see how the 120Hz refresh rate on the Pro display makes animations and games appear smoother than the iPhone 16’s outdated 60Hz refresh rate.
Versatile triple cameras. I put the iPhone 16 Pro’s camera to the test in a series of 200 photo duels with some of the best camera phones on the market, and the Apple phone tops them all. What makes the iPhone 16 Pro great is the benefit of having three cameras here, instead of just two on the iPhone 16. Additionally, the iPhone 16 Pro’s dedicated 12MP telephoto camera has a 5x optical zoom, allowing me to to get closer to subjects.
More video recording features. New this year with the iPhone 16 Pro is the ability to record natively in 4K at 120 frames per second, compared to the iPhone 16’s maximum 4K video recording at 60 frames per second. As if that wasn’t enough, the iPhone 16 features Pro also features studio-quality microphones that record higher fidelity audio when recording videos.
Faster overall performance. Even though the two phones use Apple’s next-generation chipset, the iPhone 16 Pro’s A18 Pro silicon is simply much more powerful than the A18 chip in the iPhone 16. While you won’t see much of a difference in basic tasks, where I I see the biggest difference in how the A18 Pro delivers smoother graphics processing – and also handles more complex things like rendering 4K video.
Longer battery life. Due to the larger size, Apple can fit a larger battery in the iPhone 16 Pro. In Tom’s Guide’s battery benchmark test, it clocked in at 14 hours and 7 minutes – which is longer than the iPhone 16’s mark of 13 hours and 19 minutes.

We focused on the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro, but Apple also has two larger models. Think of the iPhone 16 Plus as a larger version of the iPhone 16 – the Plus has a 6.7-inch screen – while the iPhone 16 Pro Max has a 6.9 compared to the 6.3-inch iPhone 16 Pro -inch panel offers.

The larger sizes allow the iPhone 16 Plus and iPhone 16 Pro Max to offer larger batteries. They also last the longest in our battery test, with both larger iPhones landing on our list of the best cell phone battery lives.

Aside from these differences, the iPhone 16 Plus and iPhone 16 have the same feature set, as do the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max. The Plus costs $100 more than the iPhone 16, while the Pro Max costs $1,199. Dollar costs – $200 more than the iPhone 16 Pro.

The best Black Friday deals for iPhone

Best iPhones 2024.

(Image credit: Future)

Now I want to take the time to analyze the best deals I found on both the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro. As I said at the beginning, there are various offers where you can get them practically for free – but with a certain catch. Let me break them down so you can understand whether it’s right for you or not.

iPhone 16 vs. iPhone 16 Pro: Verdict

The iPhone 16 Pro is shown being held in the hand

(Image credit: Tom’s Guide)

Given that both iPhones have Black Friday deals that make them practically free, I would recommend buying the iPhone 16 Pro. It’s a much more future-proof device right out of the box, and its faster processor means Apple Intelligence runs faster. This could be important as Apple adds more AI features in the future that could rely heavily on additional computing power. For example, we saw the iPhone 15 Pro gain access to Apple Intelligence features – while the iPhone 15 was left in the dust.

iPhone deals at Apple

Don’t count on Apple lowering iPhone 16 prices for Black Friday. Apple is approaching the shopping event differently than other phone makers and retailers. Instead of cutting prices, gift cards will be offered with the purchase of Apple devices during a sales event that begins Friday (November 29) and runs until Monday (December 2).

But the Apple Store Shopping Event has a catch: None of the iPhone 16 models are included in the devices eligible for gift cards. Instead, Apple is offering a $75 gift card with the purchase of an iPhone 15, iPhone 14, or iPhone SE. That’s great if you want one of these phones, but if you’re looking for an iPhone 16, you’ll want to stick with the deals above.

More from Tom’s Guide

On November 29, 2024 By Oliver Sinclair

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The best Black Friday iPhone deals right now: I’m tracking the lowest prices

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