Best phone deals of the week
We've scoured the net for the best prices on the Samsung Galaxy S5, HTC One (M8) and Sony Xperia Z2. While we were at it we also cherry picked the best iPhone 5S, iPhone 5C and SIM-only deals for your delectation.
Our deals have two elements for each phone we're featuring: the first is one of the most popular of the week, with the most interest from consumers all over the UK.
The second is the lowest total cost of ownership, where we work out how much the combined total of handset plus monthly cost will hit the wallet over the duration of the deal.
It may be refurbished, but for a lot of people the thought of owning a Samsung Galaxy S5 and a contract for two years for under £600 is a rather lovely one.
Samsung Galaxy S5
So, let's begin with the phone that's got the most tongues wagging, and this week people are jumping at a refurbished Samsung Galaxy S5 in white on O2, which if bought through mobiles.co.uk comes with unlimited minutes, unlimited texts and 1GB of data.
This can all be yours for £28 per month with no upfront cost and you even get £108 cashback. Over 24 months that comes out at £672 or £564 once you factor in the cashback, so it's remarkably cheap.
Cheapest Samsung Galaxy S5 deal
The above deal is not only popular but also one of the cheapest around once you factor in the cashback, however if you don't include cashback into the equation then there are even cheaper ways to get the Galaxy S5.
It's available in gold on Orange for just £11.99 per month through mobilephonesdirect and it comes with 500 minutes, unlimited texts and 250MB of 3G data. So the allowances aren't amazing and there's a pretty steep £339.99 upfront cost, but unlike the other deal this is a new handset and it will cost just £627.75 over 24 months.
- Read our in-depth Samsung Galaxy S5 review
HTC One (M8)
The most popular HTC One M8 deal of the week is for the handset in silver and comes out at £29.99 per month with no upfront charge.
So it's a little more expensive than the most popular S5 deal, but then this is for a new handset. It comes with 1000 minutes, unlimited texts and 1GB of 4G data. That's available through dialaphone and it's for a 24 month EE contract.
Ultimately it adds up to £719.76, which isn't bad, plus it comes with a one year Gourmet Society membership.
Cheapest HTC One M8 deal
The cheapest overall deal for the HTC One M8 this week is just £23 per month with a charge of £49 upfront. For that you'll get 500 minutes, unlimited texts and 500MB data.
That's for a 24 month O2 contract and it's available through mobiles.co.uk. In total it will cost you £601. That might sound too good to be true and unfortunately there is a catch in that the phone is refurbished. Also it's for the gold version, so hopefully you like your bling, but it's still a remarkably good value deal.
- The one for you? Find out in our HTC One M8 review
Sony Xperia Z2
The most popular Sony Xperia Z2 deal this week involves buying it in silver on EE from dialaphone. It comes with 1000 minutes, 1GB of 4G data and unlimited texts for £29.99 per month.
There's a £40 upfront charge so over 24 months it will cost you £759.76, which, assuming you can live with just 1GB of data, is a pretty great deal. This offer also includes a one year membership to the Gourmet Society.
Cheapest Sony Xperia Z2 deal
Right now the cheapest Xperia Z2 deal involves paying a lot of money upfront, £374.99 to be precise. But then you only have to shell out £11.99 each month, for a total cost of just £662.75.
That's for the Z2 in black on Orange through mobilephonesdirect, with 500 minutes, 250MB of 3G data and unlimited texts, so while it's certainly cheap the deal above is only around £100 more and includes a lot more data.
- Find out how it performs in our Sony Xperia Z2 review
Apple iPhone 5S
Apple's flagship might be getting on a bit but it's still good enough to go toe-to-toe with the Android heavyweights.
It also carries a similarly high price tag, with the most popular deal this week coming courtesy of mobilephonesdirect, which offers the phone for £33 per month with no upfront cost, making for an overall price of £792. It's also eligible for £48 cashback, bringing the cost down to £744.
For that you'll get a 16GB version of it in grey on Vodafone with 1GB of data, unlimited minutes and unlimited texts.
Cheapest iPhone 5S deal
You can get the Apple iPhone 5S very cheap over the course of the contract, but only if you're prepared to pay some money upfront.
Mobilephonesdirect is offering a 16GB version in grey on a 24 month Orange contract with 250MB of 3G data, 500 minutes and unlimited texts for £11.99 per month, alongside a one-off charge of £419.99. In all it will set you back £707.75, so that works out a little cheaper than the deal above, but includes far less data.
- Find out more in our iPhone 5S review
Apple iPhone 5C
The iPhone 5S's cheaper sibling is still a pretty slick handset in its own right and this week the most popular way to get it is through phones.co.uk, which sells a 16GB version of the phone in blue on Three, with unlimited 4G data, unlimited texts and 600 minutes for £33 per month.
That's with an upfront cost of £34.99, so over 24 months it will cost you £826.99, which isn't all that cheap, considering this isn't even a top end phone, but then it does come with unlimited 4G data.
Cheapest iPhone 5C deal
The Apple iPhone 5C can be a lot cheaper if bought from mobiles.co.uk. The site offers a 16GB model in yellow on EE with 500MB of 4G data, 500 minutes and unlimited texts for £13.99 per month, alongside an upfront fee of £299.99, coming out at just £635.75 over the life of the contract.
SIM only
If you want to keep your old phone, or just buy a new one outright, then you can currently get a great SIM-only deal from giffgaff, which has a SIM card with unlimited 3G data, 250 minutes and unlimited texts for just £12 per month and there's no contract so you can cancel any time.
- In the market for a cheap tablet too? Check out our list of the best budget options.
James Potter