Thanksgiving might still be a bit away but Black Friday deals are already rolling in. Big name brands like Apple, Dell and Lenovo are seeing decent discounts so if you’re in the market for a new laptop, now’s the time to upgrade. Regardless of if you’re looking for a laptop for work, play or both, there’s a fantastic deal that suits your needs. Act fast, because these prices can expire or sell out at anytime. And if you’re thinking of buying someone a special holiday gift, these deals can help you do so for less.
Our team of experts at CNET has thoroughly tested a huge number of computers to assist you in making a decision on the best laptop to buy this holiday season. And we’ve combed through the myriad laptop deals this week to present the top options remaining from reputable retailers like Amazon, Best Buy and Walmart.
LAPTOP DEALS OF THE WEEK
Deals are selected by the CNET Group commerce team, and may be unrelated to this article.
Best early Black Friday laptop deals
This 2024 laptop has a touchscreen display, 16GB of RAM and 512GB of SSD storage. It also has the Snapdragon X Elite processor, AI capabilities through Copilot Plus and gets up to 20 hours of battery life.
We love the M3 MacBook Air as it’s a super powerful machine. This discount makes it even sweeter to upgrade to a model with a 15.3-inch Liquid Retina display, an 18-hour battery life, 256GB of storage and 16GB of RAM.
Whether for streaming or light gaming, this Chromebook — priced at just over $200 — is a bargain. The laptop can charge from zero to 50% in 45 minutes, and it has 64GB of storage and 16GB of RAM.
This 16-inch gaming laptop has 16GB of RAM and a GeForce RTX 5060 along with a 1TB SSD. It’s not top-end, but it’s a very solid choice for pretty much everyone who wants to game on the go and still enjoy solid specs.
More early Black Friday laptop deals:
When is Black Friday?
This year, Black Friday is Nov. 28. It always lands on the Friday after Thanksgiving, which falls on the fourth Thursday of November. There are hundreds of price cuts and sizable sales from the biggest online retailers already available.
What should you look for in a Black Friday laptop deal?
One of the biggest considerations is which laptop configuration is on sale. With the best laptop deals, typically only a specific version of the laptop is discounted, and making any changes to the hardware, specs or even color could affect the price. This means that sometimes you find that, for example, a model with 512GB of storage is actually cheaper than the 256GB option. Be careful when you’re adjusting specs, and look out for sudden price changes. Ultimately, you’re looking for the biggest savings compared with not only the price but the usual “street” price for a laptop. Don’t be fooled by list prices. Use price comparison sites or shopping extensions to make sure the discounted price is actually a good deal.
Which retailers usually offer the best Cyber Monday laptop deals?
You can usually find laptop deals at a variety of retailers. Major retailers like Amazon and Best Buy, plus smaller competitors like Adorama, B&H Photo and Newegg tend to offer sales on more specific models, while manufacturers such as Dell, HP and Lenovo usually host larger sales that cover more models and configurations. If you’re looking for a specific model, you’ll want to keep checking back throughout the holiday shopping season for the latest batch of deals.
Will tariffs interfere with Black Friday deals?
President Donald Trump’s “reciprocal tariffs” have plenty of us feeling antsy about prices. According to a recent CNET survey, 64% of shoppers said they’ve bought or plan to buy a tech product soon to avoid price increases or shortages. But Trump imposed a 10% baseline tariff in April, plus additional tariffs on Chinese goods and a 50% tariff on all steel and aluminum imports. That means you’ll likely see higher prices on many things soon.
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