5 Smartphones With Deep Discounts For Back To School Season

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When it’s time to send the kids back to school, your sole focus might be on buying necessities such as school supplies and clothing. But if you want to improve your chances of being named “parent of the year,” you consider purchasing new smartphones as well. August can be a smart time to purchase new mobile phones because of special deals on new models and fresh pricing discounts on older models. So, who is offering the best cellphone deals right now?

We looked at all major carriers and retailers to track down the smartphones being sold with deep discounts for back-to-school season, whether you’re looking for an Apple or Android device. Even if you don’t want to sign up for a new plan, you can find unlocked phones that match the models found with the big three carriers on this list while still saving versus the MSRP. From respectable deals ranging from $70 to $250 off to trade-in specials totaling more than $1,000, check out these great deals!

Amazon recently lowered the price on an unlocked Samsung Galaxy Z Flip7 FE smartphone with 256GB of storage and 8GB of RAM. You can buy this phone now for as little as $619.99, which is a price drop of $380 compared to pricing from mid-July. This seems to be an Amazon-specific deal since the phone is still listed at its full $999.99 retail price on Samsung’s website. As the more affordable offering in the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip7 line, the Flip7 FE is budget-friendly, no-frills flip phone that has received solid review from users and reviewers alike.

With the FE, you give up a little bit in terms of screen size and resolution compared to the standard Flip7, but there are no current deals for this device, which is still priced at its full $1099.99 MSRP. The Flip7 FE offers a 4,000mAh battery that Samsung says is “optimized… for all-day battery life” and “long hours of entertainment.” Just like its full-priced Flip7 counterpart, the Samsung Galaxy Flip7 FE has a 50MP wide-angle rear camera, a 12MP ultra-wide-angle rear camera, and a 10MP front camera.

If you’re interested in getting your kids a budget-priced iPhone for returning to school, the iPhone 16e is one of the cheapest new smartphone models from Apple. The model has a starting MSRP of about $600, but you can save another roughly 12% with a discount from Best Buy, which is offering the iPhone 16e for $530. The unlocked phone at Best Buy has 128GB of storage and 8GB of RAM.

Reviews of the Apple iPhone 16e give it mixed ratings. Although it has a strong battery and good speaker quality, it lacks a few high-end photography and video features that may disappoint you. Consumer Reports gives it extremely high scores in the areas of predicted reliability and owner satisfaction. The iPhone 16e is a slightly older model, released in late February 2025, so further discounts may be on the way from retailers like Best Buy. But if you need an entry-level phone for your kids now, the 16e’s current discount is well worth considering.

If you’d like to sign up for a service plan through AT&T, you could receive a heavily discounted Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra smartphone for as little as $5.56 per month for a 36-month plan (or a little more than $200 in total). The Galaxy S26 Ultra with 256GB of storage and 12GB of RAM has an MSRP of $1,250. To receive the full discount, you’ll need to trade in a qualifying phone and sign up for a qualifying unlimited service plan.

Reviews of the Galaxy S26 Ultra praise the phone’s camera quality, AI integration, and screen design that hides what you’re viewing from nosy neighbors. Some reviewers were disappointed that the S26 Ultra didn’t provide a major upgrade in specifications from the S25 Ultra. If you’d prefer to purchase an unlocked Galaxy S26 Ultra, you can receive a significant discount directly from Samsung. The manufacturer is offering a $300 discount on the 256GB Galaxy S26 Ultra and a $400 discount on the 512GB and 1TB models.

If paying nothing out of pocket is a discount that grabs your attention, you might want to check out T-Mobile. To pay nothing for the iPhone Air with 512GB of storage and 12GB of RAM, you have to trade in a qualifying phone and sign up for a qualifying service plan. That’s quite a deal considering the 512GB iPhone Air has an MSRP of $1,199.

Reviews of the iPhone Air show that its extremely thin design is striking. It measures only 5.6 mm in thickness (or 0.22 inches). Even though the iPhone Air has only one camera, which can be limiting for the types of photos you want to shoot, the camera’s image quality is impressive. If you’d prefer an unlocked iPhone Air, you can buy directly from Apple, but you’ll be paying full retail. You could save a little bit of money by selecting the unlocked 256GB model from Apple for $1,000. You could also trade in a qualifying iPhone to save on the new purchase.

The iPhone 17 Pro Max is one of Apple’s top-end smartphone offerings, offering outstanding photographic results, excellent battery life, and a pleasing design, according to reviewers. Now, you can get an outstanding deal on this phone. If you’re willing to trade in your current phone and sign up for an eligible plan from AT&T, you can purchase the iPhone 17 Pro Max with 256GB of storage and 12GB of RAM for just $2.78 per month on a 36-month plan — that’s saving of $1,100!

Of course, the fine print on that savings is that you’ll receive that $1,100 in credits over the life of the contract, but that’s still a great deal if you were planning on upgrading already. If you’d prefer an unlocked Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max, you can buy directly from the manufacturer. However, Apple is only offering the 256GB version of the model for the MSRP of about $1,200. The iPhone 17 Pro Max outdoes the iPhone 17 Pro in its screen size of 6.9 inches (compared to 6.3 inches), which will appeal to some customers.