The phone I’d buy my parents is a bargain in this early Black Friday deal

As part of TechRadar’s Gen-Z staff, part of my childhood was dedicated to running tech support for my parents and other family members – and now that I’m a full-time phones writer that’s queries about the best phones on the market, especially around the Black Friday sales season. And one such recommendation is the Samsung Galaxy A36, which is on sale for just $299.99 (was $399.99) at Amazon. In the UK, it’s on sale for £279 (was £309) at AO.

Shop Amazon’s full Black Friday sale

Last year, the answer to that question was the Samsung Galaxy A35, which is now a daily driver for both of my parents and remains a solid recommendation – but you’d be better off buying its improved follow-up, the Samsung Galaxy A36, especially at a new cut-price.

I recommend the A36 to family members because of its great value for money, solid specs for everyday use, big screen, and decent storage capacity for photos, videos, and apps. However, all of these features make it a great bargain phone for any user. Instead, this Black Friday deal gets you a solid everyday phone that keeps you connected to the people that matter.

(Not in the US or US? See today’s best Samsung Galaxy A36 deals in your region below)

Today’s best Samsung Galaxy A36 Black Friday deals

This early Black Friday deal knocks a cool $100 off the Samsung Galaxy A36, a reliable and well-equipped Android handset that sports a large 6.7-inch display, big battery, and enough internal power for everyday tasks. It’s the phone I’d recommend to my parents, thanks to its solid specs and 6 years of software support. View Deal

In the UK, AO has the Galaxy A36 at the fantastic price of £279, knocking £40 off the retailer’s usual price. What’s more, this model comes with 256GB of storage, double that of its US counterpart, meaning more space for photos, videos, apps and games. View Deal

The Galaxy A36 is a pretty iterative update on the Galaxy A35, which is fine by me as the A35 was already such a strong candidate in the mid-to-low price bracket. Notably, the phone comes with a triple-camera system, which isn’t always assured at this price point.

Granted, those three cameras are a main, ultra-wide, and macro combo, eschewing the telephoto zoom of more expensive Galaxy units. But they’re still able to capture some nice images, especially with the 50MP main sensor. Those photos look great on the phone’s 6.7-inch display, which is as large as some true flagship phones and almost as sharp with an FHD+ resolution.

Inside, the Galaxy A36 sports the Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 chipset, 6GB of RAM, and 128GB of storage, which are really decent specs for its retail price and even more so for its discounted Black Friday deal price. The $300 mark is usually where phones start becoming a bit harder to recommend due to underpowered specs, so having the mid-range Galaxy A36 available for a comparable price is really something.

The Galaxy A36 is also a great-looking phone, emulating the overall look of the Galaxy S25 series with a vertical camera stack and rounded edges. It’s got a plastic construction, though, so a case might be advisable to avoid nicks and scratches. And as for battery life, it’s got a 5,000mAh cell, the exact same size as the flagship Galaxy S25 Ultra, so you’ll have enough energy for a full day’s use.

Shop more of today’s best Black Friday sales in the US

  • Amazon: 45% off TVs, AirPods, air fryers & vacuums
  • Apple: iPads, AirPods & MacBooks from $119
  • Best Buy: $1,000 off TVs, laptops & headphones
  • Dell: laptop deals from $249.99
  • Home Depot: 40% off appliances, furniture, grills & tools
  • Lenovo: 45% off laptops & tablets
  • Lowe’s: up to 30% off appliances, holiday decor & tools
  • Samsung: up to $2,000 off appliances, TVs & phones
  • Target: 40% off Christmas decor, clothing & furniture
  • T-Mobile: up to $1,100 off latest iPhone 17
  • Walmart: furniture, cheap TVs & vacs from $69
  • Wayfair: 54% off Christmas, furniture & decor

Today’s best Black Friday deals in the UK

  • Amazon: up to 66% off tech & essentials
  • AO: up to £500 off Dyson, Bosch & Hisense
  • Argos: up to 50% off appliances, tech & toys
  • Boots: save on 1,000s of beauty products
  • Currys: deals on Ninja, Shark & Lenovo
  • Dell: laptops from £279
  • Dyson: up to £550 off vacuums
  • EE: Switch 2 bundles from £20/month
  • John Lewis: up to 50% off tech & fashion
  • Lego: sets & accessories from £2.99
  • Samsung: deals on appliances & phones
  • Very: up to 40% off tech, toys & fashion

Read more @ TechRadar

Latest posts

How the creator economy destroyed the internet

Jimmy Donaldson, better known as MrBeast, has the most popular YouTube account with over 450 million subscribers, or a little over 1 in 16...

Segway’s new Myon e-bike will straddle past and future

Segway's modest e-bike lineup is about to gain a new entrant. The Ninebot-owned brand, once known for its pioneering self-balancing scooters, currently only sells...

Paramount launches a hostile $108 billion bid to snatch Warner from Netflix

Paramount has launched a $108.4 billion hostile takeover bid for Warner Bros. Discovery, calling Netflix's $83 billion arrangement to purchase the entertainment giant's studios...

Square’s product chief on the death of the penny and the future of money

Today, I’m talking with Willem Avé, who’s head of product at Square. You know Square — it was started by billionaire Jack Dorsey, of...

The Boys is returning for its final season in April

The Boys' fifth and final season is headed to Amazon Prime Video on April 8th, 2026. In addition to a release date, Prime Video...

OpenAI says it’s disabled ad-like app promotions in ChatGPT

OpenAI has turned off some promotional app messages in ChatGPT after users complained that the chatbot was showing them ads. In a post on...

Genki’s colorful, powerful power strip is 25 percent off

Power strips are generally pretty boring. You plug stuff into them, then you try your best to hide the strip along with all of...

The Verge subscription turns one

We're one year into the experiment of running The Verge with subscriptions, and so far things are going quite well - but we've heard...

Facebook and Instagram will let European users see fewer personal ads

Meta will soon give Instagram and Facebook users in the European Union the option to limit personalised ads, in an effort to comply with...

Apple Watch Series 11 drops $100 to an all-time low price

Sure, Black Friday and Cyber Monday have come and gone, but you can still find a last-minute deal on the best tech gifts. Take...