UPDATE: Oct. 8, 2024, 4:40 a.m. EDT This story has been updated with new deals and current availability.
Amazon isn't usually loaded with great laptop deals on any given day (especially compared to the competition), but things tend to pick up a bit during the retailer's major sitewide sales.
With Prime Big Deal Days starting — that would be Amazon's members-only "October Prime Day" sale, set for Oct. 8 and 9 — the Mashable Shopping team is on the lookout for the best, most worth-it discounts there starring Apple MacBooks, Windows PCs, Chromebooks, and beyond.
Amazon didn't release a ton of great laptop deals in the lead-up to the sale, but the floodgates are finally starting to crack open in the eleventh hour: Three Acer laptops and a pair of LG gram convertibles have fallen to all-time lows. Note that the latter are Prime exclusives; if you're not a member, you can get around the paywall by signing up for a free 30-day trial.
Amazon also has some MacBook Pros and Airs on sale separately from its pre-Prime Big Deal Days programming. That includes the 13-inch M2 Air and the 14-inch M3 Pro, two of our favorite MacBooks, which have fallen to their own record-low prices at the time of writing. They may not appear on the sale's official event page, but we encourage shoppers to consider these deals, too.
We'll couch these recs with a warning that anything on sale now could theoretically get even cheaper when Prime Big Deal Days officially starts at 3 a.m. ET Tuesday. (That's when we're expecting the bulk of Amazon's best laptop offers to arrive.) But if you need to upgrade ASAP and can't wait until then, these are great deals as things currently stand. Below, we go deeper on specs and pricing.
Note: Deals marked with a ? have dropped to an all-time low price.
Best MacBook deal
Why we like it
Read Mashable's full review of the 13-inch Apple MacBook Air (M2).
The previous-generation MacBook Air from mid-2022 earned a 4.6/5 rating from Tech and Games Reporter Alex Perry, who commended its "[rock]-solid battery life," "dreamy keyboard," and peppy M2 chip. It has "enough horsepower to handle everyday tasks with ease," he wrote. It's a Mashable Choice Award winner and the MacBook we recommend for shoppers on a budget — especially now.
It normally retails for $999, but Amazon has it on sale for just $749 (or $250 off) ahead of Prime Big Deal Days, which is its lowest price since launch. As far as we can tell, the only other time it's gotten that cheap was over Labor Day weekend at Best Buy, and it was limited to paid My Best Buy members.
More MacBooks on sale
Apple MacBook Air, 13-inch (M3, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD) — $899 $1,099 (save $200)
Apple MacBook Air, 15-inch (M3, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD) — $1,099 $1,299 (save $200)
Apple MacBook Pro, 14-inch (M3, 8GB RAM, 512GB SSD) — $1,299 $1,599 (save $300) ?
Apple MacBook Pro, 14-inch (M3 Pro, 18GB RAM, 512GB SSD) — $1,799 $1,999 (save $200)
Best Windows laptop deal
$1,299.99 Save $500.00
Why we like it
Portability and versatility are the names of the game for this 14-inch hybrid laptop, which weighs about the same as a 13-inch M3 MacBook Air. This particular configuration packs a newer Intel Core Ultra 5 155H processor with 16GB of memory, which are solid specs for multitasking. It also comes with a compatible LG Stylus Pen for drawing and taking notes on its IPS touchscreen.
Amazon currently has it priced at $799.99 for Prime members, which is a whopping 38% off its $1,299.99 MSRP and its lowest price to date. (Before now, it's never dipped below $999.99.) For comparison's sake, it was stuck at full price on the LG website when we last checked.
More Windows laptops on sale
Acer Swift Go 14 (Intel Core Ultra 7 155H, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD) — $699.99 $999.99 (save $300) ?
LG gram Pro 16 2in1 (Intel Core Ultra 7 155H, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD) — $1,099.99 $1,599.99 (save $500 with Prime) ?
Best gaming laptop deal
$999.99 Save $265.00
Why we like it
The Nitro 16 is a big-screened budget gaming laptop that's equipped with an AMD Ryzen 5 7640HS CPU from early 2023, Nvidia GeForce RTX 4050 graphics, a flashy RGB backlit keyboard, and a 165Hz display. Its measly 8GB of memory is a drawback, but that's totally workable if you only plan on playing lower-end games like Fortnite and Minecraft. (Otherwise, you can put your savings towards a memory upgrade.)
At $734.99, or 27% off, this is its own all-time low on Amazon. Meanwhile, Best Buy and the Acer website are still selling it for full price.
More gaming laptops on sale
Acer Predator Triton Neo 16 (Intel Core Ultra 9 185H, Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070, 32GB RAM, 1TB SSD) — $1,499.99 $1,899.99 (save $400) ?
