Welcome to our pick of the best Black Friday laptop deals. We're only a few days away from November 29 (the big day itself), and early offers on Windows 11 machines, Chromebooks and MacBooks are rolling in at a steady pace.
This can all be a bit overwhelming, especially when there are so many offers out there, and there's so much jargon being thrown about. The good news is that we're here to help with this comprehensive guide. I've been covering Black Friday events for well over a decade, and reviewing laptops for even longer, so I'll be using my expert judgement when scouring retailers across the internet to pick only the best laptop deals for a wide range of uses.
I'll also be giving live expert advice throughout the week in this very article, so if you're on the hunt for a new laptop this Black Friday, then this page really is the only one you need. I'll be covering laptop deals for both the US and UK from all trustworthy retailers, so you can buy with confidence.
I've been a technology journalist specialising in PCs and laptops for nearly two decades, and have been covering Black Friday sales on TechRadar over (far too many) years as well, so I know what makes an unmissable laptop deal.
Black Friday laptop deals in the US
- Amazon: up to $300 off Apple MacBooks
- Best Buy: laptops and Chromebooks from $139
- Dell: up to $900 off XPS and Inspiron devices
- Samsung: up to $900 off Galaxy Books
- Target: up to 25% off laptops
- Walmart: MacBook Air M1 for $649.99
Black Friday laptop deals in the UK
- Amazon: deals from £199.99
- Acer: up to 50% off laptops
- Argos: cheap Chromebooks from £179
- Currys: up to £500 off Apple, Lenovo & Acer
- Dell: up to £300 off
- John Lewis: Asus & HP from £159.99
- Samsung: Galaxy Book4 - up to £750 off
Looking for a larger laptop that's still lightweight and easy to carry? Look no further than the MacBook Air 15-inch with M3 chip, which is down to nearly $1,000, a far cry from its original pricing:
MacBook Air 15-inch (M3): was $1,299 now $1,044 at Amazon
Though the increased size does hurt its portability a bit, it provides users with a larger screen, which is worth the tradeoff for many. Not to mention that it still has strong performance, speaker array, and a great design.
Funnily enough, the cheapest Chromebook I'd actually recommend to anyone in the UK this Black Friday is the exact same as in the US (a rare occurrence given how much discounts can fluctuate across the pond) - the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3 Chromebook is currently £100 off at Currys, bringing it down to an extremely reasonable £149.
Again: this laptop is not going to break any speed records. It's a very basic model, but the MediaTek Kompanio 520 processor and 4GB of RAM can still handle the lightweight ChromeOS and give you a perfectly pleasant laptop experience - provided you just want it for emails, word processing, and perhaps the odd bit of Netflix or YouTube.
Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3 Chromebook: was £249 now £149 at Currys
Taking a break from MacBooks for the moment, I wanted to come around and bring you this fantastic Chromebook deal right now at Best Buy. It's not the absolute cheapest Chromebook I've been able to find this Black Friday, but it is the cheapest one I'd actually recommend you buy: the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3 Chromebook brings Lenovo's trusted design and build quality to the ultra-budget space, now even more ultra-budget-ier.
At half the retail price, this $159 Chromebook gives you lightweight laptop functionality for an incredibly low entry cost, making it an ideal first laptop for younger users (especially given ChromeOS's baked-in parental controls) or a solid pick for anyone with a tight budget who just needs a simple work laptop.
Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3 Chromebook: was $319 now $159 at Best Buy
While I'm still on the hunt for Black Friday MacBook Pro deals on MacBook Pro models with M4 chip in the UK, there are a bunch of M3-series MacBook Pro configurations on sale.
One of the best deals I've found so far is this £500 discount on the MacBook Pro 14-inch with M3 Max chip, 36GB memory, and a 1TB SSD in the Silver colorway. Even on sale, this MacBook Pro isn't cheap, but this deal does manage to get one of the most powerful laptops around to just under £3000, which is a great deal for pros who need a seriously powerful workstation.
Apple MacBook Pro 14-inch (M3 Max/36GB/1TB/Silver): was £3,299 now £2,799 at Currys
The new MacBook Pro 14-inch with the Apple M4 chip has been on the market for less than a month, but it's already getting a major price cut for Black Friday at Best Buy.
Apple MacBook Pro 14-inch M4 (16GB/512GB/Space Black): was $1,599 now $1,399 at Best Buy
The model on sale at Best Buy right now is the base configuration of the Apple MacBook Pro 14-inch, but don't let that fool you, as it's still more than powerful enough to chew through all kinds of prosumer workloads like photo and video editing, 3D modeling, and more.
Normally a very premium item in the best of times, this $200 discount for Black Friday makes it a lot more accessible for students and Mac fans on a tighter budget.
Should you buy a MacBook Pro?
Apple's other laptop series is the MacBook Pro. As the name suggests, these laptops are designed for professional-level tasks, which means they are much more powerful than the MacBook Air - and they come with higher price tags to boot.
Modern MacBook Pro laptops come in two sizes, 14-inch and 16-inch, and come with Apple's latest and most powerful chips. Only last month, Apple launched new MacBook Pros with the extremely powerful M4 Pro and M4 Max chips. These are particularly adept at creative tasks such as 3D animation, game development, music production and video editing.
They come with much higher amounts of memory and storage space, and they feature some of the best displays you'll find in a laptop. All of this means prices can be very high, so if you're a creative professional looking to invest in a mobile workstation that will blast through tasks with ease for years to come, they are brilliant machines. However, if you don't need the extremely high level of performance they offer, you'll be much better off going for a MacBook Air.
Should you buy a MacBook Air?
When it comes to the MacBook Air, the latest model comes with an M3 chip, 16GB of unified memory and 256GB SSD to start. This is available in two sizes: 13-inch and 15-inch. The M3 chip is an excellent all-round performer, and the choice in screen size will depend on what you feel most comfortable working on, with the smaller model offering more portability.
Apple also continues to officially sell the MacBook Air with M2 chip, again in 13-inch and 15-inch sizes. This older model is cheaper than the M3 version, and while the hardware isn't quite as cutting edge, the M2 remains an excellent performer for day-to-day tasks. It also features the same design and screen as the newer model, so you're not making too many compromises if you want the cheapest MacBook out there.
Apple has also made a tweak to the base models of both the M2 and M3 versions, and they now come with 16GB of unified memory rather than 8GB - so you get a hefty upgrade for the same price.
Some retailers may still sell the 8GB models, and as they try to clear stock we've seen some big price cuts for these versions. I'd still recommend getting the 16GB model if your budget stretches to it, as those models will be more future-proof. But for the absolute lowest price for a MacBook Air, the 8GB model could be a real winner during Black Friday.
In the UK, the same model gets a £150 price cut. Not quite as good as the offer our US cousins get, but you're again getting a gorgeous thin and light laptop with plenty of memory and powerful M3 chip at a price that puts a lot of Windows laptops to shame.
In my opinion, the best deal right now for a MacBook Air is this one from Amazon:
MacBook Air 13-inch (M3): was $1,099 now $844
Why is this so good? For a start, that big price cut gets it below $900, making an already fantastic-value MacBook even better value.
This deal is also for the new model of the MacBook Air - so you get the M3 chip, currently the most powerful chip in a MacBook Air, as well as 16GB of unified memory. This means it's an excellent buy for students or people looking for a thin and light MacBook that will last for years.
The MacBook Air M1 is a few years old by this point, but it is still a powerhouse of a laptop, especially for one as light and portable as it is (and quiet too, thanks to its fanless cooling).
Powered by first-generation Apple Silicon (the Apple M1 chip), this laptop absolutely changed the game when it came to laptop performance and longevity, with some of the best battery life you're going to find anywhere on the market.
This configuration, available now at Walmart, features the 8-core version of the Apple M1 chip, 8GB unified memory, a 256GB PCIe SSD, and a 13.3-inch Retina display. The Rose Gold colorway is sold out, but you can still get it in Silver and Space Gray, all for the lowest price I've ever seen for an M1 MacBook Air.
Then there are MacBooks. These laptops are made by Apple and run the macOS operating system. While macOS does things a bit differently from Windows 11, you shouldn't worry if you're making the leap, as you'll soon get accustomed to its user interface - and pretty much any program you use in Windows 11 will have a macOS version - even Microsoft products like Microsoft Office.
Currently, there are two main types of MacBook - the thin, light and affordable MacBook Air, and the much more powerful (and expensive) MacBook Pro. However, each of these actually come in various sizes and specifications.
UK browsers can enjoy a nice discount on that Acer Chromebook Spin 714 too - not quite as large a reduction as seen over in the US, but still a very respectable £150 off at Currys - and this model packs a larger 512GB SSD, too, letting you download and store more apps and files locally.
Anyone who wants to use ChromeOS but doesn't want to compromise at all on the feature set and build quality of their laptop should definitely give this one a look. With a 1200p touchscreen, strong port selection, and a smart stylus that quick-charges when slotted back inside the chassis, this is the perfect Chromebook for the busy professional on the go.
For anyone looking for a more premium Chromebook, the Acer Chromebook Spin 714 is an excellent choice right now - almost a third off at Amazon. This Chromebook features a 12th-gen Intel Core i5 processor, Full HD touchscreen, and 360-degree hinge for swapping into tablet mode (with a garaged stylus too!) for a more versatile laptop experience.
I'd call the $749.99 entry price for this Acer Chromebook a bit steep - given that Chromebooks are meant to be affordable alternatives to Windows laptops - but cut down to $529 for Black Friday, it's an absolute bargain. You're getting a clean and premium design with fast performance for almost a third off the retail price, and I love to see it.
Chromebook hunters over in the UK will also be able to take advantage of some hearty Black Friday discounts - like this HP Chromebook Plus 15, which is down to £279 (a saving of £170) at Currys right now.
'Plus' Chromebooks are usually a bit pricier, but also adhere to a strict set of requirements laid down by Google to provide the best possible ChromeOS laptop experience. These include a certain level of processing power - delivered here by the Intel Core i3 chip - as well as minimum requirements for the RAM and storage capacity plus a mandatory Full HD webcam. All these features combined inside HP's unassuming Chromebook chassis make for a solid productivity laptop for any office worker or student.
Over in the Chromebook department, there are some super-cheap ChromeOS laptops available right now thanks to Black Friday sales at a range of retailers.
First up is this HP Chromebook 15, which is cheaper than half-price at Best Buy right now thanks to a hefty $220 reduction - an excellent deal for a laptop that was already pretty good value for money.
Equipped with an Intel N200 CPU and 8GB of RAM, it's not going to run all the latest games and dazzle you with its graphical performance, but if you're looking for a straightforward workhorse laptop for everyday tasks like answering emails and browsing the web, this is a solid pick. Thanks to the low hardware requirements of ChromeOS, you should have a smooth experience.
Next, there are Chromebooks. These are usually much cheaper than Windows 11 laptops, and also boast impressively long battery lives, making them ideal for students in particular.
Chromebooks run Chrome OS, rather than Windows 11, which is a lightweight operating system based on Google's Chrome browser. Chrome OS has evolved over the years, and there are lots of apps available for all kinds of tasks.
When I say Chrome OS is lightweight, what I mean by that is that it is designed for efficiency over power and features. This allows it to run on less powerful hardware than other operating systems which is why Chromebooks are often a lot cheaper than other laptops, and why their batteries last longer. The downside is that this does mean Chromebooks don't come with all the features you'd expect from traditional laptops, and many apps that you can use in Windows 11 or macOS don't work in Chrome OS - though there are usually alternatives. We've got a dedicated guide to the best Black Friday Chromebook deals if you feel these are the best type of laptop for your needs.
If you're in the UK, then Dell has the excellent Inspiron 16 laptop for sale with a big £170 discount. This gets you an AMD Ryzen 7 8840U processor, 16GB of RAM and 1TB storage, plus a lovely large 16-inch screen to work on.
So, let's kick off with some awesome early Black Friday deals on laptops. Now that we are only a few days away from the big day itself, prices are steadily dropping - and in some cases, I can't see prices going much lower on November 29 (the day Black Friday lands on), so it's safe to jump on any of these deals.
As usual, Dell has got some great Black Friday deals on, like its Inspiron 15 laptop that comes with a 12th gen Intel Core i7 processor, 16GB of RAM and 1TB of strorage for just $470. That's an excellent price for a well-built and reliable everyday laptop.
Let's start with a bit of buying advice. Before buying a new laptop, have a clear idea of what your budget is and what you want to use the laptop for. There are a lot of different types of laptop out there, so knowing what kind will suit your needs will make things a lot easier.
You'll likely see laptops fall into three main categories: laptops, Chromebooks and MacBooks.
Laptops are usually Windows 11 devices, and these come in all shapes and sizes. There are plenty of budget laptops out there that are good picks for people who just need something to browse the web and write up documents. There are also powerful gaming laptops, premium thin and light laptops, 2-in-1 devices and more.
With Black Friday now fast approaching, Black Friday laptop deals are coming in thick and fast, so we've overhauled this guide to give you live buying advice and highlighting the best deals as they pop up.
Buying a new laptop at any time of the year is a big consideration, and during sales events like Black Friday, you might feel a bit lost or overwhelmed, with all kinds of specs and jargon flying around. How can you tell what's a genuinly good deal, and what's not? I'm here to help, and I'll be checking out laptop deals from Amazon, Best Buy, Currys and Argos – plus loads more.
