The Samsung Galaxy S7 is here, well almost here. Announced to great fanfare at Mobile World Congress this sleek new phone is a brilliantly-conceived overhaul of the current model and will be an instant hit with current Galaxy owners looking to upgrade from the likes of the Galaxy S5. Its metal and glass body, fast new processor, improved camera and expandable storage means it should please everyone.
I've taken a look around the major networks (plus Carphone Warehouse) to find the best, straightforward offers we can on the new handset. In addition I've scoured smaller companies as well for some of the best-value deals, presuming you don't mind cancelling unwanted insurance add-ons or even claiming cashback.
As you're buying a high-end handset, I've presumed that you want a hefty contract to go with it - in terms of minutes, texts and, most importantly, data. We've looked for contracts with at least 2GB of data or more, as we're expecting you're going to be using your phone a lot.
All the deals here are for the standard 32GB Galaxy S7, not its larger S7 Edge sibling, and are 2-year contracts. I'll tell you upfront, monthly and total cost of ownership (TCO) over the contract. Our current favourite deal is with Carphone Warehouse.
EE
EE's most popular plan is its 4GB plan. You pay £50 upfront for the handset and then £45 a month. TCO over 2 years is £1,130. You also get unlimited minutes and texts, as you'd expect at that price.
EE's 2GB a month of data isn't great value, as you only save £5 a month and £20 upfront, which is £140 over the two years. You're also 'limited' to 1000 minutes of free calls a month. It's a saving if you're sure you don't need the extra data, but I'd go for the bigger package at these prices.
If you want more data still then you can step up to a 10GB plan for only £5 more a month. Plus you save £40 on the upfront cost, down to just £10. Total cost over two years is £1,210.
Vodafone
My favourite pick from Vodafone is its Red Value 8GB Bundle. You pay £99 upfront for the handset and then £50 a month. TCO over 2 years is therefore £1,299. You also get unlimited minutes and texts, as you'd expect at that price.
That doesn't sound brilliant admittedly, but Vodafone throws in 24 months worth of Netflix, Now TV, Spotify or Sky Sports Mobile TV. That's worth up to £10 a month if you were going to sign up to say Spotify anyway, cutting a whopping £240 off your TCO and slicing it down to £1.059 - which is good value for an 8GB contract.
If your data needs are truly huge then 25GB a month will set you back £61 a month, but at only £9 upfront the total cost is £1,473. Factor in the free Spotify deal again and you're back to £1,233, which is a tad more than EE will charge you for its 10GB plan.
Three
Three's deals are surprisingly straightforward. You get 2GB of data and all the texts and minutes you want for £41 a month, with a £29 upfront cost, totalling £1,013 TCO. Not enough data? Then simply add £3 a month (£72 TCO) to the cost to go 4GB, another £3 for 8GB and another £3 for 12GB - giving TCO's of 4GB (£1,085), 8GB (£1,157), 12GB (£1,229). These are competitive prices if you're not interested in Vodafone's streaming-service bundles.
O2
Most of O2's plans don't stand out from the crowd, for example 5GB of data a month for £1,220 is unlikely to win your business. O2 does have one interesting deal though if you're really keen on having the latest handsets. Sign up for its 30GB data deal at £59 a month (£10 upfront, £1,426 TCO) and you get a free upgrade to a new handset after a year. The terms and conditions are long and complex and you'll have to keep your phone to tip-top-shape, but they will waive the upgrade fee to a new handset, an S8 for instance, in 12 month's time.
Carphone warehouse - top pick
Head over to Carphone warehouse and there's a whole bunch of other deals available for the networks above. The best offer is on Vodafone with 11GB of data and unlimited texts and calls. You pay £100 upfront for the handset but then just £36 a month. TCO over 2 years is just £964.
Shopping Around
If you don't want to pay anything upfront then Uswitch has a good deal on EE. There's 4GB of data and unlimited texts and calls. You pay nothing upfront for the handset and then just £40 a month. TCO over 2 years is just £960. If you have £100 to spare then the Carphone warehouse deal above is better value of course.
