Amazon US Prime Day deals: foldables from $333, cheap flagships and tablets too

2024-07-16

Samsung’s new foldables are still on pre-order (until July 24), so if you waited to see what Amazon Prime Day will bring before hitting the “buy” button, it was a wise choice. We will start with the best foldable deals from Amazon’s shopping holiday, but there are plenty of regular phones too. It goes without saying that you need an active Amazon Prime subscription to get the prices below.

The Motorola razr 2023 is half off and is down to just $333. This is mid-range Android money and unheard of for a brand-name foldable. It is from last year, though, which means a tiny line display on the outside and an old Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 chip. Still, $333 is tough to beat for a foldable.

Sticking with last year’s offerings, the Motorola razr+ 2023 is down to $600. This one has a usable 3.4” 144Hz cover display and the much better Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chipset.

You can grab the newer Motorola razr 2024 for $700 (note: this isn’t a Prime Day deal). It has effectively the same cover display as the razr+ 2023, but the Dimensity 7300X is weaker than the SD 8+ Gen 1 and it’s tied to slower storage (UFS 2.2 vs. 3.1). Last year’s razr+ may be the better offer.

Unless you want the cutting edge – the Motorola razr+ 2024 is brand new but it’s already $150 off. This one has an even larger 4” 165Hz cover display and uses the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 chipset (UFS 4.0 storage).

Moving over to Samsung’s stable, the 2023 Galaxy Z Flip5 is down to $640 for the 256GB model and $710 for the 512GB one. This makes it cheaper than the razr+ 2023, but you get the better Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset. This chip is faster than even the 8s Gen 2 inside the 2024 razr+.

The Z Flip5 is definitely worth considering if you want a flip foldable. The new Galaxy Z Flip6 brings a higher resolution 50MP main camera (vs. 12MP) to offer some zooming capability, the fastest yet Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy with more RAM (12GB vs. 8GB) and a vapor chamber for the first time. The 2024 Z foldables are the first with a particle resistance rating (IP48). The Flip also has 300mAh more in the battery, but charging is still the slow 25W wired and 15W wireless. If you trade in an old phone, the Z Flip6 can be had fairly cheaply. If not, the price gap between it and the Z Flip5 is hard to ignore.

Next up, horizontal foldables. The Galaxy Z Fold5 is down to $1,160 for the 12/512GB model. That’s $640 less than a new Z Fold6 (not counting any trade-in credit). The new model has nicer screen aspect ratios, the new SD 8 Gen 3 chip (vs. 8 Gen 2), the IP48 rating we mentioned above and... that’s about it.

You could also pick up the OnePlus Open for a $140 more than the Z Fold5. You get a 64MP 3x telephoto camera (vs. 10MP 3x) and a 48MP ultra wide (vs. 12MP), plus fast 67W charging (wired only) for the 4,805mAh battery (vs. 4,400mAh 25W/15W on the Z Fold5). A sequel to the Open should be announced later this year.

Staying with OnePlus, you can grab the OnePlus 12 for $700. This is a traditional flagship with a 6.82” QHD+ LTPO display, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 and a triple Hasselblad camera (50MP main, 64MP 3x periscope and 48MP ultra wide), plus fast 80W wired and 50W wireless charging.

Or you can pick up the near-flagship OnePlus 12R for just $350. For mid-range money you get a 6.78” LTPO display (between FHD+ and QHD+ resolution), Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, a simpler camera system (50MP main, 8MP ultra wide, no tele) and fast 80W charging for the large 5,500mAh battery.

The Samsung Galaxy A35 looks lacking in comparison with its $300 price tag. Its 6.6” FHD+ display is not an LTPO panel, the Exynos 1380 chipset is no match for a flagship chip (even one from 2023) and the 5,000mAh does 25W wired-only charging. The 50+8MP camera setup is decent, however, and you get a microSD slot.

The Pixel 7a is lacking too, but at just $250, it’s still a worthy deal. The 6.1” FHD+ 90Hz display finally feels right for the price and the Tensor G2 is fast if hot. The 64+13MP camera gets Google Cam features, but the 4,385mAh battery offers relatively short endurance.

The Google Pixel 8a is currently at $450 and doesn’t seem worth it – maybe wait a bit for the Pixel 9 series launch, the 8a might get a price cut.

We also found a few tablet deals. The Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE+ is a great mid-range tablet for fans of IPS LCD – this one has a 12.4” 90Hz panel. The Exynos 1380 is fast enough for casual gaming (but don’t expect AAA titles to work on high settings) and you get DeX multitasking (but no video out).

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 is $200 more and features a smaller 11” display, but a 120Hz OLED this time. This one has the more powerful Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 and can do wired and wireless video out with DeX.

If you want the larger 12.4” display, but with flagship specs, the Galaxy Tab S9+ is another $200 jump up.

For a cheap tablet, the Samsung Galaxy Tab A9+ is down to just under $150, but we’d pay the $190 for the 8/128GB version – it has double the storage and (more importantly) double the RAM. It has an 11” 90Hz LCD and a Snapdragon 695 chipset.

We listed several storage options for the tablets (which sometimes affect the RAM too), but adding extra storage to those is easy – a 1.5TB SanDisk Ultra microSD card is just $84. You can use it with some phones, of course, but very few still have a microSD slot.

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