Prime Day starts today and it encompasses so many products – strangely, many smartphone offers today aren’t part of Prime Day. Oh well, that means that you can skip activating a subscription – some of the offers below are the lowest prices that we’ve seen this year, Prime Day or not.
Let’s start with the high-end segment. The Samsung Galaxy S25+ is not as glamorous as the S25 Edge, but it has better battery life (4,900mAh vs. 3,900mAh) and it costs less.
The S25+ doesn’t have the best cameras, however. The Google Pixel 9 Pro XL is more capable in this regard, even if it’s not perfect. Plus, Google will continue to refine the phone with Pixel Feature Drops for years to come.
Moving over to smaller but still capable models, the Samsung Galaxy S25 is about as small as modern flagships come. For comparison, it’s 6mm shorter, 1.5mm narrower, 1.3mm thinner and 37g lighter than the Pixel 9 Pro. You can compare them in 3D to help you visualize the difference.
Speaking of the Google Pixel 9 Pro, it’s the same size as its Galaxy rival. The Tensor G4 is slower than the Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy, but the Pixel has more RAM (16GB vs. 12GB). And it has the more capable telephoto (48MP 5x/113mm vs. 10MP 3x/67mm) and ultra-wide cameras (48MP vs. 12MP), the selfie is better too (42MP 17mm vs. 12MP 26mm).
Are foldables the future? Probably not until their prices fall – the $400 discount on the Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold is a good start. The phone has a 6.3” cover display (a surprisingly standard 20:9 aspect ratio) and an 8” inner display. It measures 10.5mm thick and weighs 257g.
Moving on to mid-rangers, the Samsung Galaxy S24 FE stands out with a performant Exynos 2400e and a telephoto camera – it’s only an 8MP 3x/75mm, but it’s better than nothing. The USB-C 3.2 port enables DeX on external displays and you get both 25W wired and 15W wireless charging for the 4,700mAh battery.
The Google Pixel 9 is smaller (6.3” vs. 6.7” screen) but has the same 4,700mAh battery (27W/15W). While it lacks a telephoto camera, it does have a large 50MP sensor in the main (1/1.31”) and a high resolution ultra-wide (48MP). It has more RAM than the S24 FE too (12GB vs. 8GB).
The Samsung Galaxy A36 is a cheaper entry into the world of One UI. You lose the metal frame and DeX capabilities of the S24 FE, there’s no telephoto camera or wireless charging either. That said, it costs $250 less.
Next up, smartwatches. The Samsung Galaxy Watch7 is nice and round (the Galaxy Watch8 that will be announced tomorrow has a squircle shape). The 40mm model has a 1.3” display and a 300mAh battery. There’s ECG and blood pressure monitoring plus 50ATM water resistance.
The Apple Watch Series 10 is rectangular as always, but thinner than previous Apple watches (at 9.7mm) and it has a bigger display too (1.96”). It’s also rated for 50ATM water resistance and has ECG.
The Apple Watch Series 9 is a cheaper option, especially if you want 4G connectivity on the watch – this would allow you to leave your phone at home.
The Garmin epix Pro (Gen 2) is fairly bulky but offers battery life far in excess of what the Galaxy or Apple watches can achieve – up to 31 days (up to 11 days with always on display mode enabled). This model is optimized for training and adventure.
The Garmin quatix 7X Solar Edition can last up to 28 days – that goes up to 37 days if it gets enough sunlight. Instead of an OLED display, this one uses the transflective Memory-In-Pixel (MIP) type of display. The quatix series is built for sailing and fishing. It offers features like autopilot control, waypoint marking, anchor alerts, Garmin’s fish forecast and more.
We will wrap up with a couple of headphones. The Samsung Galaxy Buds FE are currently the cheapest buds in the Galaxy lineup, but they still offer Active Noise Cancellation. The wingtip design is comfy and stable and you get up to 6 hours of continuous listening with ANC, up to 21 hours with the case.
Apple’s AirPods Max are still pretty pricey, even with a discount, but have a premium aluminum build and excellent audio quality. Note that these are the older model with a Lightning charging port.
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