Deals: iPhone 16 series sales start, Android phone prices drop

The iPhone 16 series goes on sale this Friday with all-new camera controls and action buttons, plus new ultra-wide cameras – quadruple the resolution (48MP) for the Pro and autofocus for the vanilla model. And, of course, Apple Intelligence AI for all four, but that’s not ready yet – it’ll come to India next year (at least the version in English).

Here are the four new iPhone models. The vanilla duo still uses 6.1” and 6.7” 60Hz displays like the 2023 models. The iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max have gotten bigger and their displays now measure 6.3” and 6.9”, respectively. Both Pros also have new 48MP ultra-wide cameras. The smaller Pro also has a 5x 12MP periscope just like the Pro Max (the 15 Pro had a 3x tele lens).

As per tradition, Apple has discontinued the older Pro models, but the iPhone 15 and 15 Plus are still available. Their chipsets are two generations behind and the RAM capacity is smaller, so these won’t be updated with Apple intelligence. Apart from that, the only other major difference is the new camera control and action button that all 16-series models have.

We’ll also briefly look at some Android offers, but keep in mind that the Amazon Great Indian Festival starts next week (September 26) and promises huge discounts.

Like many of the other phones below, the Samsung Galaxy M35 also gets a direct discount, as well as additional discounts on select credit and debit cards. In the case of the M35, any card is eligible for an additional ₹2,000 discount. The M35 is similar to the Galaxy A35, except that it has a larger 6,000mAh battery with an IP67 dust and water resistance rating.

Note that the Galaxy M35 will be a part of the Great Indian Festival (GIF). Between the new bank offer and coupons, its price could drop by up to ₹13,750, so you might want to hold off on buying this one.

There are a few other differences between the M35 and A35, but the price difference is hard to ignore. And that’s with some pretty solid discounts for the Galaxy A35, which gets a flat discount and ₹5,000 off on all bank cards.

There is a similar offer on the Samsung Galaxy A55, except that there is a ₹6,000 discount on all bank cards. Check out our Galaxy A55 vs A35 article for more details on the comparison between the two.

The Tecno Pova 6 Neo 5G launched last week. It’s an affordable 5G handset with a 108MP camera, but naturally it had to make some cuts. The Dimensity 6300 chipset won’t impress in terms of performance and the 6.67” 120Hz IPS LCD only has HD+ resolution. Oh, and that 108MP camera is basically alone on the back. The 5,000mAh battery is decently sized, but it only charges at 18W.

The Pova 6 Neo 5G will also be a part of the GIF sale with an advertised price as low as ₹ 12,750. However, the existing discounts and bank offers will get you there this week.

The Lava Blaze 3 5G is another new phone, which is an affordable 5G phone. It is based on the same Dimensity 6300 chipset and has a 6.56” 90Hz IPS LCD with HD+ resolution. The 5,000mAh battery charges at 18W. One major difference between these two is that the Blaze has a 50MP rear camera.

Are you interested in buying a flip foldable? The Motorola Razr 40 Ultra is in mid-range Android territory, with a price cut of a whopping 63%. It’s a year older, of course, so it uses a Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chipset instead of the 8s Gen 3 like the 2024 model. And the cover display is smaller but hardly smaller (3.6” vs 4.0”).

The Motorola Razr 50 Ultra costs more than twice as much, but a free pair of Moto Buds+ helps soften the blow. It has a faster chipset and a larger cover display. Plus, the new 50+50MP camera replaces the old 12+13MP pair and makes for an interesting alternative — instead of an ultra-wide module, there’s a 2x portrait cam. The battery is bigger at 4,000mAh (200mAh more than the Razr 40 Ultra) and charging is faster, especially the wireless option at 45/15W vs 30/5W. And one final reason you might want to pay twice as much is the 2023 phone’s original water resistance has been replaced by a proper IPX8 rating.

The OnePlus Nord CE4 Lite is currently available for ₹ 20,000 and is available with a ₹ 2,000 discount on select credit cards. This is a pretty great deal, however, the effective price will be even lower (₹ 17,000, says Amazon) during the Great Indian Festival, so you should wait until next week.

The GIF sale will feature huge discounts on Galaxy S23 Ultra units, deals on Galaxy Z Flip6 and Z Fold6, OnePlus 11R and 12R, multiple Nords, iQOOs, Realmes, Redmis, Pocos and more. See you again next week for all the best deals.