We already looked at the best flagship and foldable deals that Cyber Monday has to offer. Here, let’s go for some out-of-the-box offers like an older flagship or a capable mid-ranger. Refurbished deals are interesting too as they offer access to premium phones that you may not have been able to afford when they came out. And some of them are only a few months old.
The OnePlus 15 finally got the green light from the FCC, but it is not available just yet (we’ll check again on Cyber Monday). So, let’s have a look at its predecessor. You can pick up the base 12/256GB OnePlus 13 for $700 and the upgrade to 16/512GB is $100 more. Even though it is a previous gen chip, the Snapdragon 8 Elite is still one of the fastest around and the 6.82” 1440p+ LTPO OLED is great.
The phone is equipped with three 50MP cameras on the back, including a main with a 1/1.43” sensor and a 3x/73mm periscope. This part is arguably better than the OnePlus 15. The 6,000mAh battery on the old model doesn’t last as long as the 7,300mAh on the new one (but with a 15:28h Active Use score, it can still last a busy day).
Another alternative that steps outside the usual choice of “Apple or Samsung” is the Nothing Phone (3). This one is a bit cheaper than the OnePlus at equivalent memory tiers and it shows it too. The Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 is a step below flagship level and so is the 6.67” 1260p+ non-LTPO OLED display.
This phone also has three 50MP cameras on the back, including a large 1/1.3” sensor in the main and a 3x periscope. The image quality isn’t on the level of the Hasselblad-branded OnePlus camera, however (the last of its kind, probably, as the 15 switched to in-house camera tech). The smaller 5,150mAh battery doesn’t last as long (12:56h Active Use score) and charging is slower (63% in 30 minutes, compared to 95% for the OnePlus 13).
Note that both phones launched with Android 15 and Nothing promises one OS update more – a total of 5, compared to 4 from OnePlus. Both phones are already running Android 16, so that’s one update down.
Good news – the vanilla Pixel 10 uses the same chipset as the two Pixel 10 Pros. Bad news – well, it’s just not a very good chipset. We will note that the 128GB phones (both vanilla and Pro) use slower UFS 3.1 storage, so you may want to pick up at least a 256GB phone for the faster UFS 4.0 chips (and extra storage, of course). Battery life is almost exactly the same as on the Pixel 10 Pro.
This phone is saddled with mid-range cameras – a small 48MP 1/2.0” main sensor, a 10.8MP 5x/112mm telephoto and a 13MP ultra-wide, plus a 10.5MP ultra-wide (95°, 20mm) selfie camera.
We have a detailed Pixel 10 vs. Pixel 10 Pro article if you want a more in-depth comparison between the two 6.3” options.
iPhones maintain their price better than any other smartphone brand. And they get the best support both from their parent company and from third parties. At the end of the day, a year-old iPhone is a year-old iPhone, regardless of whether it spent its first year with you or not.
The Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max is only a generation behind the current model, but it is so much cheaper. We have a detailed iPhone 16 Pro Max vs. 17 Pro Max comparison article for you. A few highlights include a sturdier titanium frame instead of the scratch-prone aluminum. Battery life is about the same, though the new model charges noticeably faster (65% vs. 46% in 30 minutes, full charge in 72 minutes vs. 117 minutes).
Camera-wise, you will miss out on the new telephoto module – the 16 Pro Max has a 12MP 5x/120mm camera compared to the upgraded 48MP 4x/100mm on the 17 Pro Max. The 2025 phone also got a revamped 18MP multi-aspect selfie camera with a wider 20mm lens, compared to the 12MP 23mm camera on the older phone.
The Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max is even cheaper and the price gap gets wider if you want more than the base 256GB storage. Here’s our in-depth iPhone 15 Pro Max vs. 16 Pro Max comparison. We also have a 15 Pro Max vs. 14 Pro Max article, if you are upgrading from an older model.
The iPhone 15 Pro Max has a smaller display, 6.7” compared to 6.9” on the two most recent editions. It also has a lower resolution 12MP ultra-wide, down from the 48MP you’d get with a 16 Pro Max. However, the telephoto and selfie cameras are basically the same. Charging is similar enough, but the 16 Pro Max lasts longer (17:18h vs. 16:01h Active Use score).
We know some of you prefer smaller phones, so here’s the Apple iPhone 15 Pro. It’s a down-scaled 6.1” version of the Pro Max, however, there are a few other important differences – e.g. the 12MP telephoto camera has a shorter 3x/77mm lens, down from 5x/120mm on the Max. Here’s a detailed comparison between the two iPhone 15 Pros. We also have an iPhone 14 Pro vs. 15 Pro article.
We recommend going for either the 128GB model as the cheapest option or picking up at least a 512GB unit. Especially with the tiny gap between the 256GB and 512GB options. With a bit of patience, you might get the 1TB model closer to $700 as well.
The iPhone 16e is only a few months old, but refurbished units are already showing up. This one has an Apple A18 chipset, which is newer than the A17 Pro inside the 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max. The single 48MP camera on the back (with a tiny 1/2.55” sensor) isn’t great, though. Still, the 16e is relatively small (6.1” display, 167g), which makes it a solid option for a second phone.
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