We’re in the midst of a big boom for budget phones. The Google Pixel 9a, which seems to be facing some delays, is nonetheless coming out soon. Not long ago, the iPhone 16e arrived. If you want one of the best budget phones, now is a great time to buy. But what if you want more than just a phone? What if you want a full tech package? That’s what we’re seeing when you order a budget Samsung A-series phone — either the Samsung Galaxy A26 or Samsung Galaxy A36. You can get the phone ($300 and $400, respectively), get trade-in credits that can cover as much as half of the phone’s cost, and save up to 60% on a pair of Samsung earbuds or a Samsung smartwatch. Tap the button below to check it all out yourself or keep reading for a more detailed analysis.
The Galaxy A36 retails at $400 and the A26 retails at $300. As you can expect, this makes the A36 slightly better. In fact, the A26 has a 13MP selfie cam while the A36 “only” has a 12MP selfie cam. However, the A36 is going to have a much longer battery life, more powerful Snapdragon chip, and some more advanced AI features included. The phones are pretty close, though, so if you want something truly budget, there’s no shame in going after the A26.
Both phones allow you to save up to $150 with trade-in credits. Make sure you have a phone or tablet that turns on, is factory reset, and holds charge, and isn’t on a banned list and you’ll probably be able to trade it in. There’s even an option for cracked (damaged, not hacked) goods. An Apple iPad 9th gen, for example, will save you $84. That would bring the phones down to $216 (A26) and $316 (A36) for even more affordability. If you were to max out your trade-ins you could get those numbers down to $150 and $250, respectively.
Finally, get your supplementary offer.
Keep scrolling past the trade-in and extended care packages to see where the real fun begins. There are three great offers you can take advantage of with this deal:
Put altogether, you could get a Samsung Galaxy A26 ($300), trade your 9th gen iPad in (-$86), and grab a Galaxy Fit3 (+$30) fitness tracker all for just $244. Or, make another combination. It’s your choice! All you need to do is tap the button below to get started.
The OnePlus Buds Clip are a new pair of open-ear earbuds built around a simple convenience. They join Sony’s LinkBuds Clip in the growing ear-cuff category, but either OnePlus bud can go on either ear.
Sensors recognize how the earbuds are being worn and route the audio channels accordingly. There’s no label to check before putting them on, and the feature also works when only one bud is used.
We buy fitness bands and activity trackers to keep tabs on our exercise, but it is easy to forget to start tracking or switch modes when moving between different activities. For Fitbit and Pixel Watch users, that could soon become a lot less annoying, as Google is rolling out a major upgrade to automatic activity tracking that can recognize more than 100 types of exercise, up from just 10 before.
Google first showed off the improved tracking earlier this month alongside the Fitbit Edge. It is now coming to Fitbit Air and the Pixel Watch 3, 4, and 5, and Google claims the added context behind the system makes workout detection nearly twice as accurate while cutting missed activities by more than half. Fitbit Edge will support it too.