AI-enhanced Windows laptops are already getting big Black Friday discounts – as a laptop expert, these are my 3 favourites

(Image credit: Lenovo, Microsoft and HP)

Want to upgrade to a cutting-edge, AI-enhanced Windows laptop this Black Friday? The latest models feature brand-new CPUs from AMD, Intel and Qualcomm that enable Microsoft’s Copilot+ AI assistant and generally help accelerate AI workloads. They also tend to have the latest features, such as infrared webcams for facial recognition logins, Thunderbolt 4 or USB 4 that can support multiple monitors, plus Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4.

The secret sauce in these new AI-focused devices is the NPU – a special processor that can very efficiently handle certain workloads. Microsoft's Copilot+ AI assistant is one good example of those, and as well as having ChatGPT built in, it includes other great features like live translation, and there are many updates coming in the near future that will make it much more useful. NPUs are handy for other tasks too, like efficiently tackling the background blurring when on a video chat, so your laptop battery lasts longer when unplugged and runs cooler and quieter when plugged in.

Most of the AI-focused Windows laptops are only newly launched, and so far haven’t seen much in the way of price reductions. But now we’re in the final week of Black Friday sales, some great Copilot+ laptop deals have finally dropped. For example, my favourite laptop using the very new Intel Ultra 7 (Series 2) CPU is the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Aura. I was just at the Australian launch (and our review is still in progress), but I was very impressed during testing, and it’s currently a bargain thanks to an early 28% discount from Lenovo.

Save AU$802

I think AU$1,997 is a cracker of a deal for this just-launched laptop. The Slim 7i Aura features the new Series 2 Intel Core Ultra 7 258V CPU, a big 15.3-inch 2800 x 1800 touchscreen display and premium features like a facial recognition webcam and Wi-Fi 7. Amazon (as usual) has a few of the specs wrong, so note it has an (excellent) IPS display, rather than OLED. You can also grab the Aura from JB Hi-Fi for the same AU$1,997 or buy direct from Lenovo for AU$2 more.

Also consider the 14-inch Yoga Slim 7x Snapdragon laptop for AU$1,999 (was AU$2,909)

If that Lenovo doesn’t suit your particular needs, I have a couple of other favourites that are also on special.

Save AU$600

This premium 2-in-1 from HP uses on of the latest Intel Core Ultra CPUs for solid performance and amazing battery life. It has a 14-inch 2.8K OLED display and comes in Core Ultra 5, 7 and 9 variants – all of which are 20% off for Black Friday. This deal is for the more affordable Ultra 5 model, but if you need more processing power or RAM, consider the deals below. You can also grab the standard (non 2-in-1) model of the Ultra with a Ryzen 9 AI CPU from AU$2,159.

• Flip with Ultra 9 / 32GB: was AU$3,999 now AU$3,199
• Flip with Ultra 7 / 16GB: was AU$3,699 now AU$2,719

Microsoft Surface Pro 11 and Surface Laptop 7 from AU$1,798 at JB Hi-Fi
Save up to AU$600

The Microsoft Surface Pro and Surface Laptops are some of the best Copilot+ machines available. If you don’t like the convertible Surface Pro, the excellent Surface Laptop is available in 13.8-inch and 15-inch sizes. Read our Microsoft Surface Pro 11 review, or take a gander at our Microsoft Surface Laptop 7 review for the full breakdown. JB Hi-Fi doesn't stock all models with 32GB+ RAM, so if you don't see what you're after, also take a look at the Microsoft Store.

Those aren’t the only AI-ready models discounted either – there’s a whole heap of major retailers offering big discounts on 2024 Copilot+ laptops, including:

Lenovo: up to AU$910 off cutting-edge laptops
HP: save 23% off next-gen AI laptops
Amazon: a well-discounted range of Copilot+ laptops with fast shipping
JB Hi-Fi: loads of Copilot+ laptops with big discounts
The Good Guys: up to AU$800 off the latest AI-ready machines

Not enough? For even more laptop deals, check out our dedicated Black Friday laptop deals page, where I’m adding fresh bargains every day. Or browse the best MacBook deals, and take a look at our main Black Friday deals page for everything else.

Find more discounts in our live coverage of the best Black Friday deals in Australia as well as the best Amazon Black Friday deals

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Lindsay is an Australian tech journalist who loves nothing more than rigorous product testing and benchmarking. He is especially passionate about portable computing, doing deep dives into the USB-C specification or getting hands on with energy storage, from power banks to off grid systems. In his spare time Lindsay is usually found tinkering with an endless array of projects or exploring the many waterways around Sydney.