Roundup: 5 of the best discounted flagship Android phones

With several companies having recently announced brand new flagship phones in time for the holiday season, you may be tempted to go all out and get the latest, biggest and best phones available. Samsung released the Galaxy S6 Edge plus and Note 5, LG announced the V10, and Google’s Nexus range got an update. But, with those new, shiny phones out at full price comes the depreciation of slightly less shiny and new phones which are still very much flagships in their own right.

We’ve rounded up some of this year’s flagships, all of which have seen discounts (some more generous than others) with the arrival of the newest devices…

HTC One M9

HTC somewhat underwhelmed when it announced the One M9 in Barcelona, back in February. The M9 in many ways was only a slight upgrade on the M8, but don’t let that fool you in to thinking it’s a poor device. Powered by a Snapdragon 810 chip, the M9 is blazing fast, has a high-res display and a beautiful metal unibody chassis. Let’s not forget those awesome, loud BoomSound speakers on the front which blow most of the competition away in terms of audio quality and clarity.

We’ve found the HTC One M9 for as low as $449 if you don’t mind having it locked to AT&T. Otherwise, you can grab an unlocked version for between $453 and $475 depending on which color you go for.

LG G4

It’s hard to see where LG went wrong with the G4, it just doesn’t seem to have taken off as well as it should. On paper, it’s one of the best phones around. It has a removable 3,000mAh battery, a great QHD 5.5-inch screen with slim bezels and one of the best cameras available on the back. What’s more, customers who like a touch of luxury can opt for the leather-coated rear cover. If that wasn’t enough, it charges really quickly thanks to Quick-Charge support, and has a MicroSD slot for expandable storage. Despite all that, people just aren’t buying it in the numbers LG was hoping for.

With the market proving a little too competitive for the G4, LG responded and now the device is available for a much lower price almost everywhere. Among the cheapest are Amazon’s, where you can get pretty much any style/color choice you want. Depending on which color or material you want, the LG G4 is available for between $419 and $450.

Nexus 6

It’s a year old, but it’s still a fantastic all-round phone. Many will find it too big, but I think the Nexus 6 is a brilliant device. The 6-inch display is huge, colorful, sharp and has deep blacks. The phone is fluid and quick, and the rounded back and slim metal edges make it feel smaller than it is. It also happens to be one of the best-built phones around, it’s really solid. Camera and battery are perhaps the only real downsides, and even they aren’t terrible.

The Nexus 6 is available on eBay in limited quantities for just $299 for the 32GB midnight blue model. If stock runs out, you could turn to Amazon where the white and blue models are both available for $349.

Galaxy S6

Samsung showed what its design team was capable of when it launched the Galaxy S6 launched earlier this year. For once, we had a premium, solid metal and glass device that looked fantastic. No more flimsy plastic, and still with some of the best specs going, including what many regard as the best mobile camera on the market. Some lament the loss of removable batteries and expandable memory, but what we got in return was so worth it.

While it may not be as cheap as the others on the list, the flagship Samsung Galaxy S6 has seen a decent price drop since it launched. T-Mobile is running a couple of deals. You can get $50 off any S6 using promo code GS6DEAL at checkout which — when combined with the ‘get 128GB for the price of 64GB’ — means you can snag a 128GB Galaxy S6 for ‘just’ $609. What’s more, you can get it on EIP with $0 down payment and 24 monthly installments of $27.50. If you don’t want T-Mo, the 32GB unlocked versions are available on Amazon for between $515 and $568 depending on color.

Galaxy S6 Edge

Like the S6, the Edge has a premium build and flagship specs but with curved edges on the display. Unlike the secondary display on the Note Edge from the year before, these a) look great and b) actually serve a purpose. Content curves around the screen when swiping and there are a number of features designed to make the best use of the dual curved secondary screens.

Like the regular S6, the S6 Edge has also seen a discount online, with prices now starting from just over $600, and not the crazy-high $700-$1000 it started off at. If you don’t mind being locked to AT&T or having an open box, you can also snag one on eBay for $569.