Early Black Friday deals cut prices on Galaxy S26 Ultra, Z Fold8 and Nothing Phone (3)

Early Black Friday pricing arrives

Black Friday falls at the end of this month, and several retailers have already opened their early deals, much as Amazon did with its early Prime Day offers. According to GSMArena, Samsung is offering $250 off the Galaxy S26 Ultra with no trade-in required.

Buyers who do have an older phone can instead claim up to $720 in trade-in credit, which is the value Samsung assigns to the S25 Ultra in good condition. The S24 Ultra earns $600 in credit, and Samsung also accepts damaged devices at a lower valuation.

The two offers cannot be combined. Samsung.com's promotion is either the straight discount or the trade-in credit, not both.

Where to find the lowest prices

For buyers without a device to trade in, Walmart currently lists slightly lower prices than Samsung.com for both the 256GB and 512GB versions of the S26 Ultra. The trade-off is colour choice: the Silver Shadow and Pink Gold options are exclusive to Samsung's own store.

The Galaxy S26 FE has also seen its discounts improve. Last week only the 256GB model had a meaningful price cut, but now both the 128GB and 256GB variants are $100 off. Amazon and Walmart match that discount, and Samsung.com adds trade-in credit of up to $400.

Shoppers on a budget could consider last year's S25 FE instead. The newer phone counters with a faster chipset and longer battery life, with an Active Use Score of 14:49h against 11:57h for the older model.

Foldable prices keep falling

The Galaxy Z Fold8 was Samsung's best-selling foldable in the third quarter, and its price continues to drop. The 12/256GB model cost $1,600 last week and is now $100 cheaper.

The Z Fold8 Ultra has also come down, by $50 compared with the previous week. GSMArena has published comparisons of the two foldables, and of the Z Fold8 Ultra against the Galaxy S26 Ultra, for readers weighing the folding and non-folding form factors.

Nothing Phone (3) becomes a mid-range option

The Nothing Phone (3) launched in 2025 as the company's first flagship, and GSMArena argues its premium hardware makes it a strong mid-range choice in 2026 now that its price has been cut. The phone has a 120Hz 10-bit OLED display, a 5,150mAh battery with 65W wired and 15W wireless charging, and the Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 chipset with up to 16GB of RAM and 512GB of UFS 4.0 storage. Its rear camera array uses four 50MP sensors, including a large main sensor and a 3x telephoto.

GSMArena compares it with this year's Phone (4a) Pro, which started life as a mid-ranger. When the 256GB versions of both phones cost the same, the older flagship's stronger chip gives it a clear performance edge, though the (4a) Pro has a larger and faster 144Hz display. Its battery is smaller at 5,080mAh and charges at 50W over cable only, and its ultra-wide camera is an 8MP unit.

Nothing's accessories are also part of the picture, with the Headphone (1) over-ears and the Ear (3) true wireless earbuds suggested as companions.

Samsung smart glasses open for pre-orders

Away from phones, Samsung is getting ready to release its Intelligent Eyewear smart glasses. According to GSMArena, the glasses run Android XR on a Snapdragon AR Gen 1 chipset.

Samsung has worked with Warby Parker and Gentle Monster on the project, and each partner has created several frame designs. Pre-orders are now open.