Yes, it's the best time of the year to buy a smartphone

Contrary to what you might have read around the internet, there is indeed an ideal time of the year to buy a smartphone. I think that the beginning of this winter season is the best time to get a new device. Do you know why?

There are many opportunities later this season

Black Friday / Cyber Monday

Those who are look out for good deals will already be familiar with these two events. Black Friday is the Friday after Thanksgiving when most brands and stores dealing in technology offer large price reductions on some of their devices. In other words, it is an enormous sale that will thrill those who want to buy a device.

• Black Friday: the best tech deals

Cyber Monday is more or less the same thing as Black Friday, but it is three days later, on the following Monday. On Cyber Monday, instead of waiting in line outside a store, you can find great deals online.

• Cyber Monday: how to find the best deals

You can be assured that during this long weekend, many sellers, like online giants Amazon, Best Buy, and many others, will make very attractive offers. Bear in mind that not all devices will be discounted. Apple, for example, generally does not offer special pricing during these sales because of high demand. The latest flagships are unlikely to be on sale, but you never know, so keep an eye out.

Christmas

While Christmas is the season of cheer, it is also the season of gift-giving. Retailers take advantage of the spike in demand and compete on price by offering massive deals leading up to the holiday.Again, it is quite difficult to know in advance what will be offered. One can definitely find promotions on models from previous years, or even sometimes recent models at a cheaper prices, as retailers hope they will fly off the shelves… Anything is possible.

Because no new flagships will be released before the MWC

Some people buy the flagships as soon as they are released, regardless of the price. Others wait for a better quality-to-price ratio to act. Only the OnePlus 3T will be commercialized in the near future, so, unless you want to buy one of these phones (which may benefit from an offer when released) you will have to wait for the MWC to see the manufacturers’ new high-end ranges. Let me use this opportunity to remind you that Samsung may not release its smartphone at the 2017 MWC but much later in the year.

You can certainly wait for the new flagship if you find it exciting. But, otherwise, if you want a good phone at a reasonable price then now is the best time.

Apart from some hardliners (hey, Apple!), the price of the devices falls with time. So, the more you wait, the less you'll pay. In two or three months, the price reduction isn't always extraordinary. But if you want to buy one of last year’s flagships (a Galaxy S6, for example) you may have noticed for a while now that the price been falling. The good news is that when Black Friday and the Christmas season roll around, it is likely to cost even less!

Which smartphones would be worth buying if they were up for sale?

It is difficult to answer that question, since the needs and wants of each person are different. We could tell you which phablets are currently the best, or which smartphones are the best based on different criteria, but often enough, a user is attached to a brand and simply buys the newest version of the same phone range. For example, a Galaxy S5 or S6 user will quite easily opt for a Galaxy S7 rather than an LG G5. Whatever it may be, you should be able to find what you are looking for in one of our tests.

Are you planning on buying a smartphone in the near future?