Amazon Great Indian Festival, Flipkart Big Billion Days: The best smartphone deals

For years and years, festive seasons has meant new clothes, new colours on the walls of your house, bright lights and delicious food. In 2018, the only difference is that most of these can now be purchased off these convenient portals that we call e-commerce platforms. But to add a little spark to the regular shopping, the big players in the game like Amazon and Flipkart hold annual sales to kick off the festive season. Amazon calls it the ‘Great Indian Festival’ and Flipkart calls it the ‘Big Billion Days’.While the Great Indian Sale for Prime members has already kicked off, the access to the sale for non-Prime members will start on 10 October at 12.00 pm IST. Flipkart too is hosting an early access sale for Flipkart Plus users, which is also live right now. However, the Big Billion Days sale for everyone else starts on Wednesday at 12.00 pm IST as well. The end of this annual sale is 14 October for Flipkart, and 15 October for Amazon India.While both the sales will focus on a vast category of products, we are here bringing you the best offers on some of the most popular smartphones available in India.[caption id="attachment_5347361" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Amazon and Flipkart are offering huge discounts on smartphones during their respective sales.[/caption]Amazon Great India Sale: Best smartphone dealsThe first thing to know before you head to book any of the following deals is that if you are an SBI card holder, you will be able to avail 10 percent instant cashback up to Rs 8,000 on any purchase you make on the platform. The offer applies for both debit and credit card purchases; EMI transaction made through these cards will also be eligible.Apple iPhone XIf the first notched iPhone is still on your wishlist, this could be the time to consider it. The iPhone X is available at a massive discount during the sale on Amazon. From Rs 95,390, the 64 GB variant of the iPhone X is now available for Rs 69,999.The 256 GB variant, on the other hand, is now priced down from Rs 1,08,930, to Rs 79,999. Cue to prep your credit card for a purchase?Samsung Galaxy S9The Samsung Galaxy S9, which otherwise costs you Rs 62,500, is available at a discounted price of Rs 44,990 during the Great Indian Sale. Additional discount of up to Rs 18,900 also apply.You can read out review of the Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus here.[caption id="attachment_4392409" align="alignnone" width="1280"] The old design still looks good enough for 2018. Image: Tech2/Rehan Hooda[/caption]OnePlus 6At the sale, there is also a great deal you can get on the OnePlus 6. Otherwise priced at Rs 34,999 (64 GB model), the smartphone is now available for Rs 29,999. The 128 GB variant is also discounted by Rs 5,000 during the sale, bringing the price down to Rs 34,999. You can get an additional discount of up to Rs 15,999 on the smartphones via exchange offers. Be warned, these offers do not normally offer great value for your old products.Additionally, during the sale, users who buy the OnePlus 6 upfront, by paying for it in full (via credit card, debit card, UPI, etc.), will also get an additional 10 percent cashback up to Rs 1,000 as Amazon Pay balance. Cash-on-delivery options, for example, will not be eligible for this offer.Huawei P20 Pro, P20 LiteDuring the Amazon Great India Sale, as against the launch price of Rs 22,999, the Huawei P20 Lite will be available for Rs 15,999. That’s a discount of Rs 7,000. You will also be able to avail an exchange deal of up to Rs 9,000.[caption id="attachment_4712761" align="alignnone" width="1280"] Representational image.[/caption]The Huawei P20 Pro, on the other hand, will be available for Rs 54,999. Originally, the smartphone was priced at Rs 69,999. This deal gives you a discount of Rs 15,000. In addition to that, there is also an exchange deal worth up to Rs 18,000 on offer. Though to be fair, this deal is only for Huawei fans. The Pixel 2 and Samsung Galaxy S8 phones now offer better image quality and feature sets.Vivo V9 ProThe recently announced Vivo V9 Pro will be available for a discount of Rs 2,000 during the sale, bringing its price down to Rs 17,990 There is also an additional discount on exchange of up to Rs 15,900.[caption id="attachment_5265781" align="alignnone" width="1280"] Vivo V9 Pro. Image: Vivo[/caption]Honor PlayAnother good device in the mid-range segment is the Honor Play, which is up for a Rs 3,000 discount. The smartphone is available at Rs 18,999, plus up to Rs 15,999 discount on exchange. There is also an additional 10 percent cashback up to Rs 1,000 as Amazon Pay balance you can avail if you use any pre-paid mode of payment. You will also get a free one-year screen replacement deal worth Rs 8,000. Be wary of Honor's claims regarding the gaming capabilities of this phone, however. The phone has already been delisted from benchmarking sites for cheating on benchmarks and fudging numbers.[caption id="attachment_4903571" align="alignnone" width="1280"] Honor Play[/caption]Vodafone users can also get 10 GB of additional data for 12 months on the purchase of Honor Play, and there will be extra benefits for Prime members.You can read out Honor Play review here.Moto G5S PlusMoto G5S also sports a considerable discount during the sale. The smartphone, which was launched at Rs 16,999, will be available at just Rs 9,999 during the Amazon Great Indian Festival. You can read our review of the phone here.Flipkart Big Billion Days sale: Best smartphone dealsIf you are checking out deals on Flipkart during the Big Billion Days sale, being an Axis Buzz Credit card holder can be helpful. If you are one, you can get an instant discount of 5 percent on all your purchases on the platform. However, there is a tiny fine print to it, that you can only avail a maximum discount of Rs 200, making this offer as good as worthless.There is also a 10 percent cashback for HDFC debit and credit card holders.Xiaomi Mi Mix 2There is a heavy discount on the Mi Mix 2 during the sale. Down from Rs 37,999, the smartphone will be available at Rs 22,999. A discount of Rs 15,000. Read our review here.Nokia 6.1 PlusThe Nokia 6.1 Plus will be available at Rs 14,999 during the sale, as opposed to its original price of Rs 17,600.Nokia 5.1 PlusThe new Nokia 5.1 Plus will also be on discount during these sales. As opposed to Rs 13,199 price tag that it was launched for, the phone will be available for Rs 10,499.[caption id="attachment_4505367" align="alignnone" width="1280"] Nokia 5.1 Plus. Image credits: Tiger Mobiles[/caption]Asus Zenfone 5ZThe Asus Zenfone 5Z will also get an interesting price cut during the sale. Against the Rs 29,999 price tag, the phone will be available at Rs 24,999. Additionally, if you exchange it for any OnePlus phone, you can get an additional discount of Rs 3,000 on top of the exchange offer.Vivo V9 YouthA Big Billion Days microsite on Flipkart has revealed that the platform will offer the Vivo V9 Youth at Rs 13,990. The handset was launched at Rs 18,990 back in April, though its priced dropped to Rs 16,990 in July.Oppo F9The Oppo F9, which was priced at Rs 23,990 during launch, will be available at Rs 19,990 with an additional exchange discount of Rs 3,000.Samsung Galaxy S8The 2017 Galaxy flagship, the Samsung Galaxy S8, will be up for a great deal during the Big Billion Days sale, where it will be priced at Rs 29,999, as opposed to its price of Rs 45,990. Read the review here.[caption id="attachment_4342349" align="alignnone" width="1280"] Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus[/caption]Xiaomi Redmi 6Launched back in September, the Xiaomi Redmi 6 will be available at Rs 1,000 discount, bringing the phone’s cost down to Rs 7,999.Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 ProThe Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Pro will be available at a Rs 2,000 discount during the sale, which will bring its price down to Rs 12,999.Samsung Galaxy On6Finally, the Samsung Galaxy On6 will be available for Rs 11,990 during the Flipkart Big Billion Days, offering you a discount of Rs 3,500.Happy shopping!