The 10 best back-to-school laptop deals I'd buy in this year's 4th of July sales

Acer Chromebook 315: was $199 now $179 at Best Buy
This Acer Chromebook 315 is a basic device but it's ridiculously cheap, making it a great buy for light use such as general browsing and schoolwork. It also boasts full-day battery life thanks to the lean but perfectly functional Chrome OS from Google, meaning it's best suited for students or those always on the move. If you have under $200 to spend and need a cheap laptop then you won't find a better option right now.

Acer Chromebook Plus 515: was $399 now $299 at Best Buy
This Acer Chromebook Plus is great value for money if you need a basic everyday device but don't want to compromise too heavily on performance like you would with a sub-$200 laptop. An Intel i3 processor and 8GB of RAM is a decent pairing with the lightweight ChromeOS, so it's capable of general tasks and light use, such as web browsing, sending emails, word processing and watching videos. Just be aware it's missing some advanced features of a Windows machine and has limited storage, but benefits include better performance with cheaper components and excellent battery life. Students and light users: this is the one for you.

Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5i Chromebook: was $499 now $349 at Best Buy
Want a laptop but also think you'd appreciate the flexibility of a tablet? Why not both? This Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5i Chromebook offers a lot of versatility and decent overall performance for light use and everyday tasks. Plus, you have the option to flip it to tablet mode at any time to make web browsing or watching videos even more comfortable. The less demanding ChromeOS ensures cheaper entry-level components such as the Intel i3 processor and 8GB of RAM go further. It also means that battery life is considerably improved compared to Windows machines, with up to 10 hours available on a single charge.

Acer Aspire 3: was $499 now $359 at Walmart
Walmart is here with easily one of the best value-for-money laptop deals available in the 4th of July sales. It's this Acer Aspire 3, which boasts some high-performance and top-end components – even if it is a little out of date. What impresses most is the inclusion of 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD – a rare combo at such a low price – which gets you fast load times and speedy boot times. The Ryzen 7 processor is getting old but it's still fine for a general everyday laptop. It's a small compromise to get some big wins elsewhere regarding overall performance and affordability.

HP Pavilion 15t: was $899.99 now $399.99 at HP
We're slightly taken aback by the massive discount available on this mid-range HP Pavilion 15t laptop. This is a great value-for-money option if you need a solid and modern all-around laptop for everyday jobs, web browsing and admin work. Yes, we're a little disappointed with the miserly 256GB of storage, but other components such as a modern Intel i5 processor and 8GB of RAM ensure performance is decent for the price.

Dell Inspiron 15: was $599.99 now $449.99 at Dell
This Inspiron 15 is my top pick of all the laptop deals in the latest 4th of July sale at Dell. With an Intel i7 processor, 16GB of RAM, and a large 512GB SSD, it's the best buy if you have a reasonable budget and need a device that will comfortably handle your day-to-day computing jobs and light work. Expect solid performance, good multitasking capabilities, and speedy load times, but be aware of the bulky 15.6-inch size and battery life of around 6-8 hours that hamper its portability. Altogether, though, this is a seriously impressive laptop for the price.

MacBook Air M2 (2022): was $1,099 now $849 at Best Buy
Best Buy has the MacBook Air M2 for just $20 more than its lowest-ever price. Even though a newer M3 version is available, we concluded that this is still one of the best laptops you can buy in our MacBook Air M2 review, thanks to the stylish design, clear display, impressive performance, and long 18-hour battery life. For those needing a premium powerhouse for creative apps such as photo editing, video editing and more intense workloads, this is worth the extra investment.

Dell XPS 15: was $1,499 now $1,099 at Dell
This is the lowest price we've seen for one of the most powerful and stylish laptops from Dell. The XPS 15 is still a pricey device, but it's packed with high-end components, including an Intel i7 processor, 16GB of RAM and a huge 1TB SSD. It's impressive raw power at a big discount that will blast through all computing tasks and give you the power you need for advanced and demanding jobs such as video and photo editing.

Samsung 14-inch Galaxy Book4 Pro: was $1,349.99 now $1,149.99 at Amazon
The Samsung 14-inch Galaxy Book4 Pro is $200 off and back to its record-low price, which is immediately tempting if you’ve been looking to invest in a device that looks good and offers excellent performance. It has the latest Intel Core Ultra 7 processor, 16GB RAM, and 512GB of SSD storage. The highlight is its 3K AMOLED touchscreen with 2880 x 1800 which looks far superior to any full HD screen that you’re likely already using.

Dell XPS 14: was $1,699 now $1,199 at Dell
Here's an amazing high-end laptop deal in the Dell 4th of July sale - the newest and latest Dell XPS 14 is a massive $500 off, bringing it down to the lowest price yet. This is a great price for this 2024 machine which features a powerful Intel Core Ultra 7 processor, 16GB of RAM, and a 512GB SSD on its baseline configuration.