The best laptop deals right now

• Current price: $900
• Original price: $1,350

This excellent Samsung Galaxy Book3 deal is worth considering. $900 is not too much to spend on a robust, future-proof laptop, and if you need a reliable model, there is a substantial $450 discount. The Samsung Galaxy Book3 is a 2-in-1 model sporting a 15.6-inch Full HD AMOLED touchscreen, an Intel i7 processor, 16GB RAM, and 512GB SSD storage. 

• Current price: $750
• Original price: $1,000

Best Buy often offers discounts on the Apple MacBook range, and one deal we particularly like the look of is for an Apple MacBook Air. If you need a light, portable laptop for travel and work purposes, the $250 discount is attractive, and while this isn’t the latest model, it’s still relatively cheap for an Apple laptop. This model has a 13.3-inch display, Apple M1 chip, 8GB RAM, and 256GB SSD storage.

• Current price: $169
• Original price: $229

Walmart’s deal on the HP Stream laptop is worth considering if you need a budget-friendly machine suitable for travel and portability. I particularly like this laptop for its easy parental controls, having set one up recently for a friend who wanted to give their 12-year-old their first laptop in a safe manner.

The HP Stream is a 14-inch Windows 11 laptop with an Intel Celeron processor, 4GB RAM, and 64GB eMMC storage. Sure, it’s not the most specification-heavy, but at only $169, this laptop is a steal. 

• Current price: $200
• Original price: $250

A budget-friendly option is the ASUS Vivobook Go 15 laptop, available at Amazon.

A $50 discount is available for this thin and light machine, equipped with a 15.6-inch Full HD display, an Intel Celeron N4020 processor, 4GB RAM, and 64GB storage. The Vivobook Go 15 is not built for power-hungry apps but is instead a great option for daily tasks and web surfing. 

Keep in mind, however, that functionality may be limited as the laptop comes with Windows 11 Home in S Mode as default. 

Our favorite deal right now is for the Samsung Galaxy Book3. This business-ready laptop comes with a 15.6-inch Full HD AMOLED touchscreen, an Intel i7 processor, 16GB RAM, and 512GB SSD storage. Currently available with a $450 discount, bringing the price down to $900, we consider this laptop an excellent option for business users who want a reliable workhorse for years to come.

We searched for laptop deals at retailers like Amazon, Walmart, and Best Buy, and also at the websites of leading manufacturers like Lenovo, HP, Dell, Apple, Acer, and Asus. We also used various price trackers to ensure that a claimed deal wasn’t spurious.

We have concentrated on quality products from leading vendors, as discounts on these laptops are likely to be most sought-after by potential buyers.

When compiling the list of the best deals, we considered the following:

• Price: Naturally, the price point of our recommended laptops has to include a worthwhile discount. While some discounts are small in relation to an overall price tag – for example, $30 off a $150 device – and other discounts are in the hundreds of dollars, we wanted to ensure that in any case, it’s value for money.
• Features: We included a range of laptops with features sure to appeal to you, including different screen sizes, processors, memory options, and storage. Furthermore, these laptops include varying levels of security, parental lock options, and display resolutions.
• Use cases: At ZDNET, we also took into account different use cases. You might be in the market for a budget-friendly, basic laptop for a child, for example, or you may need a future-proof laptop suitable for work. Or, it might be a gaming device you’re after. So, we have compiled a set of recommendations based on different purposes. 

The right specs depend on your needs and how you intend to use your new laptop — whether for gaming, studies, video calling, or simply daily internet surfing. We break it down for you below:

• Processing power/CPU: The processor is the computer’s brain and handles the basic programming tasks. Gamers will want a higher processor that can even boost to a higher GHz threshold for AAA games like Death Stranding and Halo Infinite. Higher processor outputs will also apply to content creators who need a laptop to handle editing video software, but if you’re using your laptop for general work or just surfing the internet, you can opt for a lower processor. 
• Graphics card/GPU: Again, gamers and content creators will want a higher graphics card to reflect the beautiful imagery for their gaming. I personally recommend that gamers opt for at least an RTX 3060 at the moment. However, again, internet surfers and workers shouldn’t worry too much about the graphics if you’re focusing on building out Word documents.
• Storage: For those that focus on lighter laptop use, 256GB of SSD storage will be plenty of space for your laptop. However, if you need more storage for high-resolution photos, videos, or more, you’ll want to opt for 512GB of storage or even 1TB.
• RAM: In conjunction with the CPU, RAM is used to help the computer multi-task and is vital to running programs. ZDNET expert Adrian Kingsley-Hughes breaks down RAM needs here, but at minimum, especially for working, you should opt for around 8GB, and gamers will potentially want more.

Again, it depends on your needs. Those who aren’t gamers can opt for a regular laptop with high specs, but content creators or those who work with heavy editing software should opt for a designer’s laptop or a gaming laptop. Not because, of course, you want to have the best gaming specs on the side, but because those laptops come with powerful CPUs, GPUs, and high RAM to handle the heavy requirements that software needs.

When you’re considering your budget for a new laptop, you have to consider what you want to use the device for. 

If you’re a gamer who needs a high-spec laptop with a decent graphics card, top-of-the-range display and high refresh rate, you should expect to pay more than $500 – $600 — and potentially beyond $1,000. However, if you need a laptop for basic tasks, studying, and streaming, you can easily get away with a basic laptop for a few hundred dollars. 

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