The best early Black Friday iPhone deals: here's how to get a free iPhone 17, iPad, or a super cheap plan

Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max REVIEW
Looking for a new iPhone this Black Friday? Here are the biggest savings you can get today, plus some advice on how to save cash. (Image credit: Lance Ulanoff / Future)

If you've been eying up a potential upgrade, then this week's early Black Friday iPhone deals could tempt you into one of the latest models. Verizon and T-Mobile have already launched massive sales with some of the best deals all year on the iPhone 17 series.

You can see all of this week's best early Black Friday iPhone deals just down below alongside some buying advice for our readers.

Best Black Friday iPhone deals: carriers

New customers: $200 eGift card with switch at Verizon
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New customers: $200 eGift card with switch at Verizon
If you've been thinking about making the switch, then now's a great time to consider jumping over to Verizon. The carrier is currently offering a handy $200 gift card for new customers with an eligible smartphone purchase and an unlimited plan. Not only is this a great little gift that can be used to offset any plan bills, but it's a promotion that technically stacks with all the other excellent Verizon Black Friday deals currently available below.

Apple iPhone 17: free with a new unlimited line, plus free Apple Watch and iPad at Verizon
No trade-in needed
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Apple iPhone 17: free with a new unlimited line, plus free Apple Watch and iPad at Verizon
Here's Verizon's headline Black Friday deal on the excellent iPhone 17. Not only can you get the device for free with a new line on one of the carrier's unlimited plans, but you can also throw in a free iPad and Apple Watch. A few caveats apply here - like you'll need to take out cellular lines on those accessories to claim them. With that said, however, you don't need to trade-in for the free phone here and it's also eligible on the cheaper myPlan options at Verizon. Previously, you needed the really high-end plans to get a free iPhone 17, so this is a fantastic deal.

Apple iPhone 17 Pro: free with a new unlimited line at Verizon
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Apple iPhone 17 Pro: free with a new unlimited line at Verizon
Moving on to the iPhone 17 Pro, Verizon's current Black Friday deal lets you take this device home for free without the usual trade-in criteria. You will still need a new line on the carrier's higher-end Ultimate unlimited plan, but this is a huge $30 per month saving on this stunning flagship. Unfortunately, you can't bundle in a free iPad and Apple Watch here (like with the standard iPhone 17), but this is still one of the best Verizon deals yet on a device that we rate massively.

Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max: now $4.99 per month with an unlimited plan at Verizon
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Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max: was $37, now $4.99 per month with an unlimited plan at Verizon
Want to go big? Verizon's current Black Friday deal on the iPhone 17 Pro Max doesn't let you take this absurdly pricey device home for free, but the $28/mo discount that you can get on this device right now with a plan is roughly equivalent in value to the other iPhone deals this week. At just $5 per month, this is a very cheap price indeed to pay for such a high-end phone - although note, you will need a line on the Ultimate plan to be eligible here.

Apple iPhone 17: up to four devices for free on an unlimited plan (no trade) at T-Mobile
Black Friday special
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Apple iPhone 17: up to four devices for free on an unlimited plan (no trade) at T-Mobile
T-Mobile's Black Friday special on the iPhone 17 is exactly what I expected. Right now, you can get up to four iPhone 17 for free on an unlimited data plan without the usual trade-in criteria. By itself, that doesn't sound ground-breaking, but the real magic here is in the details. Plan eligibility for this deal includes the carrier's entry-level 'Essentials' plan, which comes out at just $100 per month for four lines. Yep, that means you can get four free iPhone 17 on four lines that average out at just $25/mo each.

Apple iPhone 17 series: up to $1,100 off with a switch at T-Mobile
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Apple iPhone 17 series: up to $1,100 off with a switch at T-Mobile
Looking for a higher-end device at T-Mobile? Here's another incredible promotion that you can get over Black Friday at the carrier. Right now, new customers don't even need a trade-in to get a massive discount of up to $1,100 off any of these devices. That's enough to cover the entire cost of the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone Air right now. Note that existing customers can still trade-in for a similar discount right now if they also want to get in on the action.

Best cheap Black Friday iPhone deals

Apple iPhone 14: free with a new Visible Plus Pro planBLUEDEAL
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Apple iPhone 14: free with a new Visible Plus Pro plan
Use the code BLUEDEAL at checkout to get yourself a free iPhone 14 alongside a new line on Visible's Plus Pro plan today. No trade-ins are needed at all to get this still-great device free-of-charge on one of the best prepaid unlimited plans on the market right now. Note, however, that all colors aside from Blue are sold out already, so it's worth picking this one up sooner rather than later.

Apple iPhone 16e:$599now $99 with a plan at Boost Mobile
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Apple iPhone 16e: was $599, now $99 with a plan at Boost Mobile
Boost Mobile's iPhone deals have really come into force in recent years and this Black Friday special on the iPhone 16e is a fantastic option. While the device itself isn't free, you can get it for just $99 alongside a line on the carrier's $60/mo premium unlimited plan - which is easily the best plan at the carrier. It's a plan that includes 50GB of premium 5G data per month, so it's a particularly good option if you're a data-heavy user.

Apple iPhone 16e: get a free phone with a 3-month unlimited plan at Total Wireless
In-store only
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Apple iPhone 16e: get a free phone with a 3-month unlimited plan at Total Wireless
This Black Friday special from Total Wireless is only available in-store but it's absolutely worth considering if that's not too much of a hassle. Right now, you can get this new device, which is still valued at $599, for free alongside a number port-in at the carrier. Note, if you can't visit in-store, then you can still get an impressive $300 off this device - although I don't believe that's a Black Friday special.

Black Friday iPhone deals: buying advice

Apple iPhone 17 Review

(Image credit: Jacob Krol/Future)

What models does TechRadar recommend?

Apple iPhone 17
Best for most people
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Apple iPhone 17
For the first time in a few generations, we recommend the standard iPhone as 'the best iPhone for most people'. It's a little boring, a little safe, but we can't deny just how good value this particular iteration is. For once, the standard iPhone isn't really the poor relation with its crisp 6.3-inch display, excellent chipset, and healthy 256GB capacity. The only downside? It lacks a few of the higher-end camera features of the Pro devices.

<p><a href="https://todaymegadeals.shop/phones/iphone/apple-iphone-17-review"><strong>Read our review
Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max
Best for power users
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Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max
If you're going big, then go all the way, we say. The latest iPhone 17 Pro Max is just an incredible device with a (somewhat) justified price tag. The device features the best iPhone cameras we've ever seen, a fresh design, a huge battery, and the astoundingly quick A19 chipset. It's the ultimate iPhone for sure, although you'll have to decide whether all these 'nice-to-haves' are worth the premium versus the standard model.

<p><a href="https://todaymegadeals.shop/phones/iphone/apple-iphone-17-pro-max-review"><strong>Read our review

Are expensive unlimited plans worth it?

Even with a free iPhone, some plans can cost over $2,000 in total

This is a massive subject unto itself, and annoyingly, the answer depends on what you're looking for. If you're well covered, looking for the quickest download speeds possible, and can make use of the various extras and perks, then the pricier plans are arguably worth it - especially if you're getting a free iPhone upgrade.

I'd say the big carrier plans at Verizon, T-Mobile, and AT&T are particularly good if you're looking for multiple lines, as they all offer significant discounts for multi-line plans. If you're just looking for a single line on a budget, however, then going for a prepaid carrier might be a stronger option.

For example, you could trade in an old device for a discount of up to $670 on an unlocked iPhone 17 at Apple, then port that over to a cheaper carrier. There are a few excellent options on the market right now, thanks to today's Black Friday deals, which I've included just below.

Mint Mobile: get 50% off an unlimited plan
Black Friday special
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Mint Mobile: get 50% off an unlimited plan
Mint Mobile's biggest and best plan deal for Black Friday gets you a massive 50% discount on the brand's already-cheap unlimited data plan. That's a potential saving of up to $180 on a full year of data and you can also apply this discount to the cheaper 3-month and 6-months if you don't feel like making a big commitment. Overall, this is a fantastic deal and easily one of the best I've ever seen from the popular carrier.

Mint Mobile: get 30% off any eligible 12-month planYEAROFMINT
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Mint Mobile: get 30% off any eligible 12-month plan
New customers at Mint can use the code YEAROFMINT at checkout to get a massive 30% discount on the carrier's 5GB, 15GB, or 20GB plan this week. While the unlimited data plan is excluded from the list of the eligible plans here, this deal is enough to get the entry-level 5GB plan for just $10.50/mo on average - an astoundingly low price for such a well-featured prepaid plan.

Visible Wireless: $25$19/moSWITCH26
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Visible Wireless: unlimited plans from $25 $19/mo
New customers can use the code SWITCH26 to get one of the best discounts I've ever seen on Visible's unlimited plans this Black Friday month. This deal applies to all three of the carrier's unlimited options, so it's great for everything from super-cheap basic plans to high-end plans with plenty of priority data. The cheapest plan? That's the standard Visible plan, which is $19 per month for an entire year with this deal.

Alex Whitelock
Retail Editor

Alex is TechRadar's retail editor, specializing in deals, buying advice, and general tips on how to save our readers as much cash as possible. He's covered events like Black Friday and Amazon in some capacity for over seven years now; both in editorial and other ecommerce adjacent roles on TechRadar, T3, GamesRadar, and other Future PLC sites. Alex's expertise touches on most areas, but he has a particular love for phones, laptops, and cameras, being an avid photographer.

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