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Top-Rated Discounts on Laptops During the Ultimate Shopping Event of Oct ‘24 - Exclusive Insights

Amazon’s Prime Big Deal Days sale kicks off tomorrow, and that means substantial markdowns of laptops from all price points. However, smart shoppers know that the days leading up to the event features good sales, too. We scoured the sales for some of the best early markdowns on laptops right now from a wide range of budgets before Prime Day 2024.

Also: The best October Prime Day deals live now

From Apple’s industry-leading MacBook Pro M3 (which is nearly 20% off right now), to accessible and super-affordable Chromebooks (like Asus’ CM14 for just $168), we’ve got you covered when it comes to early deals. There’s no doubt that prices will shift significantly once the main event starts tomorrow, so be sure to stay ahead of the curve with these early deals.

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Our favorite Amazon October Prime Day laptop deals

Apple MacBook Pro M3 14-inch for $1,299 ($300 off): Apple’s M3 MacBook Pro is our tested pick for the best laptop out there in terms of performance and hardware. At just $1,299, this is one of the lowest price points we’ve seen.
Apple MacBook Air M3 13-inch for $899 ($200 off): The MacBook Air with the M3 chip remains one of the thinnest, lightest laptops available. With Apple’s powerful M3 chip on board, this is a laptop that can multitask demanding tasks with ease.
Apple MacBook Air M2 13-inch for $749 (Silver colorway only, $250 off): The previous version of Apple’s MacBook Air with the M2 processor is no slouch. The MacBook Air with 2022’s M2 chip allows for some pretty major savings, at one of the lowest prices we’ve seen.
Microsoft Surface Laptop Snapdragon X Elite for $1,399 ($200 off): This Copilot+ certified laptop features the more competent Snapdragon X Elite chip and 1TB of storage.
Acer Nitro 16 Gaming Laptop for $1,185 ($114 off): This staple from Acer’s gaming series features a 16-inch display with a blazing 165Hz refresh rate along with 1TB of storage.
Asus Zenbook Duo Laptop for $1,598 ($102 off): Asus’ Duo is a game-changing machine with its dual 14-inch OLED displays and powerful hardware, allowing for a wide range of configurations that creatives will love.
HP 17-inch Touch Laptop for $479 (Save $80): For a large-screen laptop with touch capabilities, HP’s 17-inch Touch comes in a variety of bold colorways, and is bundled with a mouse in this QVC deal. This is a solid choice for users that want a large screen to play media, but only need a basic hardware configuration.

Apple MacBook Pro M3 14-inch Save $300

Kyle Kucharski/ZDNET

Current price: $1,299
Original price: $1,599

Apple’s M3 MacBook Pro sets the standard for performance and portability, with 8GB of RAM and a 512GB hard drive. The cool and battery-efficient M3 processor is industry-respected for blazing through productivity tasks and demanding workloads like editing 4K video, graphic design, entertainment, and multitasking.

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Apple MacBook Air M3 (13-inch) Save $200

Kyle Kucharski/ZDNET

Current price: $899
Original price: $1,099

The MacBook Air M3 is as high-performing as it is ultraportable. The latest in Apple silicon provides a powerful and battery-efficient core to a thin and light laptop that is under half an inch thin. With a 13.6-inch liquid retina display, 8-core CPU and 10-core GPU, the MacBook Air set the standard in portability and continues to push the limits for what an ultraportable laptop can do.

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Apple MacBook Air M2 (13-inch) Save $250

Kyle Kucharski/ZDNET

Current price: $749
Original price: $999

If you’re looking to save a little bit more on a light and thin MacBook Air, the previous version with the M2 chip is not a huge jump in processing power, and it’s 20% off. The M2 version features a 8-core CPU and 10-core GPU like last year’s version, as well as the same 500-nit liquid retina display that supports 1 billion colors for vibrant images.

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Acer Nitro 16 Gaming Laptop Save $114

Kyle Kucharski/ZDNET

Current price: $1,185
Original price: $1,299

As one of our favorite gaming laptops , Acer’s Nitro 16 is a high-powered machine for a competitive price, especially as gaming laptops go. You’ve got an AMD Ryzen 7 processor and 16GB of RAM paired with an Nvidia GeForce RTX graphics card, making it a solid machine for someone who doesn’t need the absolute top of the line for gaming but a machine that can blaze through their favorite titles on the cloud.

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Microsoft Surface Laptop (2024) Save $200

Kyle Kucharski/ZDNET

Current price: $1,399
Original price: $1,599

Microsoft’s 2024 Surface Laptop is a fast, lightweight laptop with a fantastic battery, and one of our favorite devices we’ve tested this year. Armed with the Snapdragon X Elite processor, the Surface Laptop runs cool and efficiently, with a gorgeous display and ultraportable body that’s well-rounded enough for any use case.

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Asus Zenbook Duo Laptop Save $102

Kyle Kucharski/ZDNET

Current price: $1,598
Original price: $1,699

The Zenbook Duo challenged what a laptop could look like with its dual-screen form factor, and then committed to its design by making both displays 3K OLEDs with silky-smooth 120Hz refresh rates. Creators will gravitate to these gorgeous displays, but the powerful hardware on board (Intel Core Ultra 9 processor and 32GB of RAM) seals the deal as a performant machine for outside-the-box thinkers.

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More October Prime Day 2024 laptop deals

Kyle Kucharski/ZDNET

Asus ROG Strix G16 for $1,284 ($115 off): As one of the most respected lines of gaming laptops, Asus’ ROG Strix G16 offers commendable hardware (an Intel Core i7 CPU and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 GPU) on a 16-inch, FHD 165Hz display.
Lenovo IdeaPad 1 for $389 (save $61): Lenovo’s IdeaPads are designed to be accessible, well-rounded laptops for a diverse range of users, and the IdeaPad 1 is a solid, affordable option. The 8GB of RAM and 512 GB of memory on board are an accessible configuration for a machine that’s well-equipped for the basics at a price that you can’t argue with.
Asus Chromebook CM14 Laptop for $168 ($110 off) - Asus’ CM14 is a sleek and lightweight Chromebook that comes loaded with the streamlined ChromeOS to get the basics done on an efficient machine. And for this price, you can’t ask for a more affordable device.

FAQs

When is Amazon’s October Prime Day 2024?

Amazon Prime Day event lasts from Tuesday, Oct. 8 through Wednesday, Oct. 9, but there are noteworthy deals both before and after those days.

Are laptops really cheaper on Prime Day?

Amazon hasn’t historically been the premiere destination for laptop deals, but the ones it lists for Prime Day have been too good to ignore. The MacBook deals, for example, were pretty major when they first dropped, since Apple is notorious for being restrictive about sales. The deals on Prime Day have gotten better each year, with more and more manufacturers participating with a broader range of devices.

How did we choose these October Prime Day deals?

We searched for laptop deals on Amazon that are significant markdowns from their regular prices, and on products that we have either gone hands-on ourselves or can vouch for as solid laptops worth consideration. 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.