Best phone deals of the week

There's never been a better time to be on the hunt for a new phone. There are loads of amazing handsets out there, filled to the brim with the latest tech. Even better, there's plenty of fantastic deals that ensure you don't have to break the bank to get a fantastic phone.

All these handsets and deals does mean that it can be a bit of a chore searching shops in the hunt for the best offers. The good news is that we've teamed up with uSwitch to bring you the best prices for top of the range smartphones like the iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, Sony Xperia Z3 and theSamsung Galaxy Note 4.

We don't just have deals for the latest and greatest handsets, with slightly older devices like the HTC One M8,LG G3, Samsung Galaxy Alpha and the iPhone 5S also getting a look in.

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.

Apple iPhone 6

The Apple iPhone 6 has been out for a little while but it continues to be one of the most sought after phones on the market.

The most popular iPhone 6 deal this week gets you a 16GB version in grey on EE. You'll get 2GB of 4G data, as well as 1000 minutes and unlimited texts every month.

The deal is with mobilephonesdirect and costs £33.99 per month for two years. There's an £49.99 upfront cost so it will set you back £865.75 over the course of the two year contract, which might seem steep, but it's one of the best prices you can get an iPhone 6 for with those sorts of allowances.

Cheapest Apple iPhone 6 deal

The iPhone 6 is still relatively new, so we're not expecting any impressively cheap deals just yet but that doesn't mean there aren't savings to be had.

Right now for example you can get a 16GB gold iPhone 6 with EE. The contract comes with 500MB of 4G data, 500 minutes and unlimited texts for just £14.99 per month. You will need to spend £419.99 upfront, however.

The deal is through mobilephonesdirect and although you'll need to pay a lot upfront, over two years the deal comes to just £779.75, which isn't bad.

Apple iPhone 6 Plus

Apple's first 'phablet' is big, bold and really rather good. It's also got quite a high price tag to boot. One of the most popular deals right now is for a 16GB version of the handset in gold, courtesy of mobilephonesdirect.

It will cost you £43.50 per month on Vodafone and comes with unlimited minutes, unlimited texts and 4GB of 4G data every month (following 3 months of unlimited data). There's no upfront charge so the overall cost of this deal is £1,044, which is definitely expensive but those are some generous allowances.

Cheapest Apple iPhone 6 Plus deal

The cheapest iPhone 6 Plus deal is still pricey, but considering what you get for your money it's pretty good value. At the moment the lowest cost deal you can get for Apple's phablet is for a silver 16GB handset on EE throughmobilephonesdirect.

This deal comes with 500MB of 4G data, 500 minutes and unlimited texts each month. It'll cost £14.99 a month for two years and comes with an upfront cost of £499.99. Over the course of the contract this deal will add up to £859.75, so it's expensive, but it sets you up with one of the biggest and best phones around.

Samsung Galaxy S5

One of the most popular deals this week for the Samsung Galaxy S5 gets you a refurbished version of the phone in blue on Three with 600 minutes, unlimited texts and 1GB of 4G data.

It's just £27 per month and there's no upfront cost so overall it's £648, which is good value for a flagship even if it is refurbished.

Cheapest Samsung Galaxy S5 deal

While the deal above is good you can get the Galaxy S5 even cheaper. This week's lowest cost deal is for it on Vodafone and comes courtesy ofmobilephonesdirect. This nets you a refurbished black version of the handset with 100MB of data (following three months of unlimited), 100 minutes and unlimited texts.

The deal costs £14.50 per month for two years and will cost you £172.99 upfront, for a total of just £520.99 which isn't bad at all even considering it's a refurbished handset.

Samsung Galaxy Alpha

While the Galaxy S5 is still Samsung's main flagship, the company has since released a metal-clad marvel that's clearly aimed at the iPhone crowd.

A particularly popular deal at the moment is for it in gold on Three with 600 minutes, unlimited texts and 1GB of 4G data. That's through phones.co.ukand costs £29 per month with no upfront cost, for a total of £696 over 24 months.

Cheapest Samsung Galaxy Alpha deal

This week's cheapest Galaxy Alpha deal is a mere £22.50 per month with a £28.99 upfront charge.

That's for the Samsung Galaxy Alpha in white on Vodafone throughmobilephonesdirect and it comes with 100 minutes, 100MB of data (after three months of unlimited data) and unlimited texts. Overall it comes out at just £568.99, which is a pretty good price, though the allowances could be better.

Samsung Galaxy Note 4

Samsung's latest is a phone of monstrous proportions and the price tag is pretty hefty too, but it's probably worth the money as our glowing review attests and if you shop around it needn't be extortionate.

One of the more popular ways to get it right now is in black, fromphones.co.uk on a Three contract with 600 minutes, unlimited texts and unlimited 4G data. That will set you back £38 per month along with an upfront cost of £44.99, so in total it will cost £956.99 over 24 months. The best part of a thousand pounds might make it a stretch but for this phone with unlimited 4G data it's not a bad deal.

Cheapest Samsung Galaxy Note 4 deal

If the above deal is too pricey the Note 4 can be had for a fair bit cheaper. Right now the most affordable deal gets you a black Galaxy Note 4 for just £26.50 per month plus £85.99 upfront on a Vodafone contract. In all that will cost you just £721.99.

That's through mobilephonesdirect and the allowances are a little lacking, as it comes with just 100 minutes, unlimited texts and 100MB of data (following three months of unlimited data), but considering the Note 4 has a SIM free RRP of £629 that's still reasonable value.

HTC One M8

One of the most popular HTC One M8 deals of the week is for the handset in grey. The deal works out at £30.99 per month with £36.99 upfront for unlimited minutes, unlimited texts and 2GB of 4G data.

It's available on EE through mobilephonesdirect and the overall cost comes in at £780.75 over 24 months. The HTC One M8 is getting on a bit but that's still not a bad deal.

Cheapest HTC One M8 deal

The above deal is already good value, but right now you can get the HTC One M8 cheaper. 

The cheapest overall deal this week is just £18.50 per month with an upfront charge of £143.99.

For that you'll get a refurbished version of the phone in silver with 100 minutes, unlimited texts and 100MB of data, though for the first three months it gives you unlimited data.

That's with a 24 month Vodafone contract and is available throughmobilephonesdirect. In total it will cost you £587.99. The allowances aren't the best but it's still great value if you can afford to pay a sizeable chunk upfront.