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Best Prime Day laptop deals to shop for October 2024

Amazon laptop on green background with "laptop deals" text above Amazon laptop on green background with
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The clock is ticking on Amazon’s Prime Day sale, but you still have a few hours to score a good deal. As well as hundreds of bargains on everything from robot vacuum cleaners to kitchen appliances and 3D printers, you can also save big on laptops. There are serious discounts available on models from top brands like Apple, HP, Samsung and more, with some prices slashed by more than $400.

Hey, did you know? CNET Deals copy is free, easy, and saves you money.

Amazon’s October Prime Day ends at the end of today, with many deals expiring at 11:59 PM PT. To help you make the most of these bargains before they’re gone, we’ve rounded up the best Prime Day laptop deals you can buy now. Keep in mind that some Amazon deals are exclusive to Prime members, but you can also find plenty of offers at competing retailers like Best Buy and Walmart.

Want to save even more on Prime Day? You can earn a $150 Amazon gift card immediately after Prime Visa card approval.

Our favorite Amazon Prime Day laptop deals

Get the lowest price yet on Apple’s M1 MacBook Air. Even though it’s a few years old now, this Air is still powerful enough for most people and a super affordable way to fit a silicon-powered Apple machine in your bag. In our collection of the best laptops of 2024our editors selected this model as the best laptop for students.

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While not the most recent model, this 2022 version still has a powerful M2 chip and gives you many of the great specs of the M3 at a lower price. Additionally, this is the lowest price this Macbook Air has been listed for on Amazon in 30 days.

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This 13-inch MacBook Air has an M3 chip, 8 GB of memory and a 256 GB SSD drive. The MacBook Air M3 was chosen as the best laptop in our overview best laptops of 2024. It’s currently listed on Amazon for $894, a $205 discount exclusively for Prime members. There are several colors available at this price.

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With the ultra-fast M3 chip and Liquid Retina XDR display, an HD camera and a battery life of up to 18 hours, this is a top laptop that is currently enjoying a rare $200 discount if you opt for the silver variant.

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In their roundup of the best laptops for college, our CNET review team experts Matt Elliott and Joshua Goldman called the Acer Chromebook Spin 714 the “best Chromebook to last for years.” It’s versatile, with a touchscreen and hinge, and durable. And right now, Best Buy has taken $270 off the price.

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More Prime Day laptop deals:

Is Prime Day the Best Time to Buy a Laptop?

Prime Day offers a huge range of products on sale, including laptops. However, you don’t have to limit yourself to Amazon for great deals. Often, outlets like Best Buy and Walmart offer incredibly competitive prices during Prime Day events.

In general, Prime Day is a good time to buy a laptop at a discount, although Black Friday tends to offer the very lowest prices if you can hold out until later in the holiday shopping season. Supplies are usually more limited, so plan ahead in both cases.

Check this out: How to hack Amazon Prime Day: shopping advice and deals

Should I buy a Chromebook or a laptop?

Chromebooks are a budget-friendly option that may appeal to students looking for a cheaper laptop for college. They work well with basic functions like web browsing and essay writing, but don’t have all the features of a normal laptop. The biggest difference is that Chromebooks run Google’s Chrome operating system, unlike the Windows or MacOS systems you might be used to on a laptop. This operating system is a bit more limited and many software programs are not natively compatible with it.

Ultimately, the best choice will depend on your needs and budget. If you’re a student looking for the cheapest option for some homework and browsing, a Chromebook is a good choice. If you need a device for gaming, video editing, or professional use, you might be better off spending a little more for a basic laptop. Make sure you read up on the differences between Chromebooks and laptops before you decide to buy either.

Read more: Lenovo Duet 11 is the best 2-in-1 Chromebook ever. Here’s why

When is Amazon October Prime Day 2024?

In 2024, Amazon’s Prime Day event in October, officially called Prime Big Deals Days, started on October 8. The event runs through October 9 at 11:59 PM PT.

Are Prime Day deals only for Prime members?

Yes, Amazon’s Prime Deal Days sale requires a Prime subscription if you want to receive any of the exclusive Prime offers. You don’t have to pay do subscribe as long as the event is within your Prime trial period. That means you can start your one-month trial right before the event and take advantage of the savings for free. For more information on this, check out our guide to getting Amazon Prime benefits without paying for a subscription.

How does CNET select October’s best Prime Day deals?

Our team of expert shoppers has spent years helping buyers understand which big sales and deals are legitimately good and which are more routine. That includes Black Friday, Prime Day, Memorial Day and countless other shopping events. We’ve gotten really good at weeding out scams and superficial deals on all kinds of tech, so you only see the best deals on laptops, tablets and other devices.

At CNET we look for real discounts, quality ratings and remaining sales time when choosing a deal to show you.

  • Real discounts mean exactly that. We look at the price history of that product to ensure that no manufacturer is inflating prices to make the discount appear more substantial than it is.
  • Quality ratings are important for any product, but especially for deeply discounted items. If you don’t get enough mileage out of the unit you buy, the discount wasn’t worth it.
  • The remaining sales time is a large part of our control process. If a deal is likely to be short-lived or limited to remaining stock, we will let you know in advance. So you won’t be disappointed if you come back later and find the deal has been discontinued.

Amazon’s Prime Day is one of the best times of year to invest in a laptop because you’ll find your favorite options at great discounts. Whether you’re looking for a MacBook, Windows laptop, or a Chromebook, you can take advantage of huge savings at several retailers.

The average lifespan of laptops ranges from three to five years. Some last even longer if they are properly maintained and cared for.

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