Tech
Need a New Phone? We’ve Found Excellent Black Friday Deals on Our Favorites
It’s the best time of year to buy a new smartphone. I review dozens and dozens of handsets every year, and I exclusively recommend you buy them unlocked—don’t be beholden to a carrier! But the sticker shock of a new phone can be scary; these Black Friday phone deals can help ease the burden on your wallet. Whether you want a folding flip phone, a super-slim Galaxy Z Fold, or the latest magnetic Google Pixel 10, you’ll find your next smartphone upgrade in this list.
Hunting for more discounts? Read our Absolute Best Black Friday Deals roundup for more.
Samsung’s flagship Galaxy S25 (7/10, WIRED Recommends) is seeing healthy discounts this Black Friday, probably because its successors are right around the corner—the Galaxy S26 series is expected to be announced in January. But if you don’t really need the latest and greatest, you have three excellent smartphones to choose from. The S25 is the smallest, the S25+ gets a few extra perks plus a bigger screen and better battery life, but it’s the Galaxy S25 Ultra that really steps things up, with a dual telephoto camera system, integrated S Pen stylus, and a beefy battery.
Read our Best Samsung Phones guide for more details about each of these devices.
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Photograph: Julian Chokkattu
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Photograph: Julian Chokkattu
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Photograph: Julian Chokkattu
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Pixel 10, Pixel 10 Pro, and Pixel 10 Pro XL
One of my favorite parts of Google’s new Pixel 10 series (8/10, WIRED Recommends) is that they’re the first flagship Android phones with Qi2 magnetic wireless charging. That means, just like MagSafe iPhones, you can attach magnetic accessories and enjoy faster wireless charging. It’s great! The phones also have excellent cameras, good performance, and tons of helpful and smart software features. Better yet, these are the first Android phones to support AirDrop with iPhones, Macs, and iPads.
Read our Best Pixel Phones guide for more info.
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Photograph: Julian Chokkattu
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Photograph: Julian Chokkattu
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Photograph: Julian Chokkattu
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Photograph: Julian Chokkattu
This is the smartphone most people looking for a new handset should buy. If you’re not married to a particular camp or brand, the Google Pixel 9a (9/10, WIRED Recommends) strikes the best balance between features and price, and this sale makes that even better. You’ll be hard-pressed to find a better camera system at this price, and if you hate ginormous camera bumps, you’ll love the flat-back design here. Performance is flagship-grade—it has the same Tensor chip that powers the Pixel 9 Pro—and you can access many of the great Pixel software perks, like Call Screen to cut spam calls from your life.
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Photograph: Julian Chokkattu
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Photograph: Julian Chokkattu
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Photograph: Julian Chokkattu
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Samsung
Galaxy Z Fold7 and Galaxy Z Flip7
Folding phones are not as fragile as they used to be. No, seriously. Companies have been improving durability year over year, while also slimming them down. The Galaxy Z Fold7 (7/10, WIRED Recommends) is my favorite booklike folding phone this year—it’s so amazingly slim that what used to be a chunky device now feels kind of like a candy bar phone. Use the front screen like normal, and when you need extra real estate, open the device up. You can view apps on a much larger scale or easily split-screen two apps. Don’t want a big folding phone? The Galaxy Z Flip7 is a pretty solid update this year, with a more usable front screen. These devices are still annoyingly expensive, but this Black Friday sale makes the prices a little more palatable.
Read our Best Folding Phones guide for more options.
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Photograph: Julian Chokkattu
Motorola
Razr Ultra and Razr (2025)
If you’re really interested in the idea of a folding flip phone, then might I suggest Motorola’s Razr Ultra (8/10, WIRED Recommends)? Take your current phone today and fold it in half—OK, don’t actually do that, but that’s kind of what it’s like to use this style of smartphone. Right now, the Razr Ultra is the best in this category, with a fresh design, good performance, surprisingly great cameras, and a functional external display. If you hate big phones, you’ll love being able to stuff the Ultra in any pocket or purse. There’s also the cheaper Razr 2025, which doesn’t have as good performance or a camera system, but is still an incredible value, especially on sale.
Read our Best Motorola Phones guide for more.
Photograph: Julian Chokkattu
Motorola
Moto G Stylus 2025
Do you want a headphone jack? Do you want a microSD card slot? Are you a very cool and smart person? Yes. Then this is the smartphone for you. This is an incredible deal on a phone that delivers surprisingly smooth performance, not to mention a bright and sharp screen, and an integrated stylus. It looks smart with a textured back, and while it may not get many software updates, it’s just hard to beat at this price. And you get 256 GB of storage to boot.
Read our Best Cheap Phones guide for more options.
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Photograph: Julian Chokkattu
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Photograph: Julian Chokkattu
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It’s not flashy, but the Samsung Galaxy S25 FE is a perfectly serviceable Android phone that should only be purchased at this $175 discount. Seriously, it’s not worth the MSRP because you can usually find a Galaxy S25 on sale for close to that price. But under $500? You’re getting a solid triple-camera system with a 3X optical zoom sensor, smooth performance, and day-long battery life, plus all the usual flagship extras like Qi2 Ready wireless charging and IP68 water resistance. It’ll still get seven years of software updates, too.
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Photograph: Julian Chokkattu
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Photograph: Julian Chokkattu
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Photograph: Julian Chokkattu
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Photograph: Julian Chokkattu
Prefer Pixel phones but want a folding phone? This Pixel 10 Pro Fold (7/10, WIRED Recommends) is pretty much your only option. The cameras aren’t as good as the Pixel 10 Pro series, but they’re still respectable. The phone isn’t as slim as the Galaxy Z Fold7, but it’s one of the only folding phones with an IP68 dust- and water-resistance rating. Considering it launched last month, this is a heck of a discount. I have to say, having Qi2 magnets in a folding phone is very nice.
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Photograph: Julian Chokkattu
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Photograph: Julian Chokkattu
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Photograph: Julian Chokkattu
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Photograph: Julian Chokkattu
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Nothing’s Phone (3) (7/10, WIRED Recommends) looks nothing (heh) like any other smartphone in this list. That’s the company’s calling card, but it extends to the phone’s Android interface, which is beautiful and unique. The fun Glyph Matrix display on the back offers up notifications and can even be used to play rock, paper, scissors. It’s a quirky device, but performance is slick, the cameras are solid, there’s 256 GB of storage, and good battery life. It’s not the best value from a price perspective, but that might not matter if you’re head over heels about how it looks.
Photograph: Julian Chokkattu
Despite launching in January of this year, the OnePlus 13 (8/10, WIRED Recommends) is no longer the latest flagship phone from the company. That’d be the OnePlus 15. But the latest and greatest isn’t on sale, and the OnePlus 13 is still a very good smartphone with good battery life, extremely fast charging, and a decent camera system tuned by Hasselblad (this partnership is effectively over in the OnePlus 15).
What About iPhone Deals?
Apple doesn’t have sales, and you won’t find discounted iPhones at third-party retailers. The only way to spend a little less is to look at the Black Friday carrier offers. We typically don’t recommend carrier devices because it means you’re getting a locked phone, but most people upgrade through their carrier. If you’re going to do it, here’s what the big three are offering right now.
- Verizon’s hot Black Friday promotion is an iPhone 17 Pro Max, Apple Watch, and iPad for free if you get a new line on select unlimited plans. You also have to get a cellular plan for the watch and iPad, though.
- T-Mobile has something similar. You can get an iPhone 17 Pro, iPad (A16), and Apple Watch SE3 for free if you trade in an eligible phone in any condition on an Experience Beyond plan. (Make sure to read the fine print for all the details.) Keep in mind that the “savings” are usually in the form of bill credits.
- AT&T is offering the iPhone Air for less than $3 per month if you get a new line. This offer is available online only and runs out on December 1. It requires a 36-month plan and “well-qualified customers.”
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Framework, the company that makes laptops designed for optimal repairability, announced a new version of its main product, a 13-inch screen laptop. It’s called the Framework Laptop 13 Pro, and it has far better battery life, a touchscreen, a haptic touchpad, and is fitted with Intel processors.
At an event in San Francisco today, Framework CEO Nirav Patel showed off the company’s new tech, opening with a joke about making Framework AI—something the company is very much not doing. Framework’s whole thing, after all, is aiming to give users control over the physical tech they use.
“That industry is fighting for you to own nothing, and they own everything,” Patel said about the AI industry. “We’re fighting for a future where you can own everything and be free.”
Framework used the event to detail other updates coming to its 16-inch laptop. It also showed off previews of an official developer kit and a wireless keyboard for controlling your rig from the couch.
Framework 13 Pro
As the name implies, the 13 Pro is a step up from the company’s last version, the Framework 13. It’s also pricier, starting at $1,199 for a DIY Edition that requires assembling the computer yourself. Pre-built units start at $1,499 but can be upgraded with more features. Framework says it will start shipping the 13 Pro in June.
Framework’s signature move for its products is the ability to take the thing apart. The 13 Pro is made with that ethos in mind, so its parts can be easily swapped out, upgraded, or replaced. Four Thunderbolt 4 interfaces let you pick which ports (USB-C, HDMI, etc.) you want and then choose where to place them. Framework says it planned the laptop with cross-generation compatibility in mind, so current Framebook 13 laptop owners will be able to use new 13 Pro parts like the mainboard, display, and battery, and put them into their existing machine.
The big changes in the guts of the 13 Pro come from Framework’s shift away from using an AMD processor to Intel’s Core Ultra Series 3 processors, which Framework described in its press release as “just insanely efficient.” That efficiency, along with a bigger battery, translates to more than 20 hours of battery life while streaming 4K Netflix videos, at least that’s the claim. That’s almost 12 hours longer than the Framework 13.
Courtesy of Framework
Courtesy of Framework
OpenAI launched a new image generation AI model on Tuesday, dubbed ChatGPT Images 2.0. This model can generate more than one image from a single prompt, like an entire study booklet, as well as output text, including in non-English languages, like Chinese and Hindi. This release is available globally for ChatGPT and Codex users, with a more powerful version available for paying subscribers.
When any major AI company releases a new image model, it can revive interest and boost usage, especially if social media users adopt a meme-able trend, transforming images of themselves. Last year, Google’s launch of the Nano Banana model was a major moment for the company, especially when users started posting hyperrealistic figurines of themselves online. Earlier this year, ChatGPT Images made waves on social media as users shared AI-generated caricatures.
What’s Different?
Since the new model can tap into ChatGPT’s “reasoning” capabilities, Images 2.0 can search the internet for recent information and generate more than one image at a time. In essence, the bot can use additional steps to output more thorough generations from a single prompt. Images 2.0 also has a more recent knowledge cutoff date: December 2025.
This also means that outputs from the new model are more granular. For example, I generated an infographic with San Francisco’s weather forecast for the next day, as well as activities worth doing. The image ChatGPT generated included accurate weather details for the rainy day, along with accurate-looking drawings of the Ferry Building, Castro Theater, Painted Ladies houses, and Transamerica Pyramid.
Additionally, Images 2.0 is more customizable for users who want unique aspect ratios for image outputs. The new model can generate images, ranging from 3:1 wide to 1:3 tall, and users can adjust the image’s size as part of their prompt to the AI tool.
First Impressions
After a few hours of generating images with the new model, I was generally impressed with the text rendering capabilities, in English at least. Not that long ago, image outputs featuring text, from any of the major models, often included numerous malformed characters or words with errant extra letters. ChatGPT struggled to label images accurately two years prior, so the cleaner, more complex outputs from Images 2.0 are a sign of continued improvement. Google has also focused on improving image outputs featuring text in its recent iterations of Nano Banana.
Tech
Nation states responsible for ‘nationally significant’ cyber attacks against UK, says NCSC chief | Computer Weekly
The UK is facing a “perfect storm” in cyber security as attacks driven by hostile states, combined with advances in artificial intelligence (AI), create new risks to UK infrastructure, the head of the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) will warn on Tuesday.
Hostile nation states are now directly or indirectly responsible for the majority of “nationally significant” cyber security attacks against the UK, running at an average of four per week, Richard Horne, CEO of the NCSC, is expected to say.
A combination of technological change and rising geopolitical tension is creating “tumultuous uncertainty”, as well as opportunities in cyber security, he is expected to say at the NCSC’s CyberUK conference in Glasgow.
Lessons from the battlefield
Russia is taking cyber lessons learned during the war in Ukraine and is deploying “tactics and techniques honed in conflict” against western states, including the UK, Horne will tell conference attendees.
That has led to sustained “hybrid” attacks, which incorporate physical and cyber disruption, targeting the UK and Europe.
“Russia is taking the cyber lessons it has learnt in a theatre of war and is moving them beyond the battlefield,” he will say.
China’s intelligence and military agencies are capable of an “eye-watering level of sophistication” in offensive cyber operations.
The Chinese hacking group Volt Typhoon has targeted multiple operators of critical national infrastructure (CNI) in Asia and across the US, as it pre-positions for future attacks, which could rank among the most severe experienced to date, Computer Weekly has previously reported.
And Iran is “almost certainly” using cyber activity to support the repression of people in Britain who are seen as threats to the Iranian regime.
Iranian state-linked hackers were also identified as being behind the cyber attack on the US medical technology firm, Stryker, in March.
Cyber is an integral part of conflict
Horne is expected to warn that cyber attacks are now an integral part of conflict, and as much a part of modern warfare as drones and missiles.
Groups linked to Russian military and intelligence services were behind a series of cyber attacks on Poland’s energy infrastructure in December 2025, for example.
They targeted two combined heat and power plants and an energy management system for renewable energy.
Cyber security has become “integral to conflict” and will become a new “home front”, Horne is expected to say.
Ransomware without the ransom
In the event of conflict, or near conflict, the UK would likely face cyber attacks “at scale” that would cause similar disruption to ransomware attacks, but without the possibility of recovering data by paying a ransom.
Ransomware attacks on Jaguar Land Rover cost the UK an estimated £1.9bn, while attacks on Marks & Spencer and the Co-op had estimated costs of between £270m and £440m, according to the UK Cyber Monitoring Centre.
Horne will say that defending against such attacks will require every organisation to make cyber security part of their corporate mission and to “build defence in-depth” so that they can remain operational following a successful attack.
Risks from Mythos and frontier AI
Anthropic’s AI model, Mythos, has exposed widespread security vulnerabilities in legacy software that could be exploited by malicious attackers if they became known.
Horne will warn that such “frontier AI” will quickly show where the fundamentals of cyber security need to be addressed.
It will expose poor quality code shipped by software suppliers with significant vulnerabilities, organisations that are not patching their IT systems quickly or widely enough, and those that fail to replace outdated legacy computer systems.
But Horne is expected to argue that there is an opportunity for AI to be a net positive for cyber defence.
Cyber security in space
In the near future, organisations will need to expand cyber security to protect energy systems, production lines, robotics, space-based communications and autonomous AI agents.
Technology that is physically integrated into the human body, including medical devices, will also need to be protected.
Defending against cyber attacks requires a “cultural shift”, and for cyber security and resilience to be seen as a strategic investment, rather than a cost.
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