As if dumb phones aren’t already cheap, some have gotten a deeper discount with Amazon’s Big Deal Days. Even prior to this two-day sales blitz, you could find bargains on this type of simplified phone, which is usually priced under $100 (cell carriers typically make most of their money on your monthly service fee.) But for today, the final day of November Prime Day, the deals are even sweeter.
Surely you’ve heard of smartphones, which are perfect for everything from watching videos to managing your social media, but a dumb phone is completely different. It has a clamshell or candy-bar design, and comes with just a small, non-touch display and physical numerical keypad. Despite the moniker, a dumb phone isn’t really dumb at all, considering the advanced and sophisticated technology packed within its plastic housing. This kind of phone is especially suitable for younger children (to shield them from social media) or to help tech-averse seniors to stay in touch.
To find the best dumb phone deals, I drilled through every “dumb,” “flip,” and “candy bar” phone listing on Amazon. What I have come up with is a roundup of a few that are discounted more than usual. Most of these Big Deal Days discounted dumb phones are targeted at seniors and kids. But they can really benefit anyone—all dumb phones are designed—and priced—to help you withdraw from the nose-buried-in-smartphone-screen addiction while still keeping you at least minimally connected. Digital detox, anyone?
For even better deals during Amazon’s sales blitz, you might want to consider an Amazon Prime membership at $14.99 per month or an annual $139 fee (bringing the price down to about $11.58 per month). If you haven’t had an Amazon Prime membership for the past 12 months, there’s an opportunity to sign up for a free 30-day trial period.
The Best Prime Day Dumb Phone Deals
- Best Overall Dumb Flip Phone Deal: TCL Flip Pro
- Best Kids Dumb Phone Deal: Easyfone Prime-A1 Pro
- Best Senior Dumb Phone+Service Deal: LIVELY Jitterbug Flip2
- Best Rugged Dumb Candybar Phone Deal: AGM M9
The Expert
I’ve been covering cell phones, both network providers and hardware makers, since their introduction in October 1983 (yes, I’m old), and have been reviewing them since the late 1980s. I literally own dozens of old dumb and smartphones, much to my wife’s continual chagrin.
Buyer Be Warned
Dumb phones provide 4G connectivity rather than the more modern 5G, primarily because you won’t be doing any internet surfing, downloading movies, or listening to music. Keep in mind that this type of basic phone includes rudimentary cameras that produce postage stamp-sized photos and may not be able to send images. They also allow for somewhat awkward texting via a numerical keyboard.
Many of the dumb phones found for this Amazon sale are used/refurbished models, which Amazon calls “renewed.” These used phones, according to Amazon, are “certified” after being “inspected, cleaned and (if applicable) repaired to excellent functional standards,” and come with a 90-day return guarantee.
That return guarantee is important because many of these discounted dumb phones are not the best of the bunch, merely the models Amazon put on Prime Day 2—or permanent—sale. Many models are listed with a caveat I’ve not ever seen before on Amazon: “Frequently returned item: Check the product details and customer reviews to learn more about this item.” So, yeah, read the reviews carefully for each of these products so you know exactly what you are—and are not—getting.
More November Prime Day Discounts
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