It’s November, which among other things means Black Friday deals and discounts on laptops of all kinds from retailers and laptop manufacturers. Black Friday itself is on Nov. 25, but the sales engine is already up and running, and there are some excellent deals to be had throughout the month.
ZDNET has rounded up its top picks for early laptop deals ahead of Black Friday, from Amazon, Walmart, Best Buy, and laptop vendors.
Best early Black Friday 2022 laptop deals overall
Below are the 10 best early laptop deals we found. Further down the page, you’ll see other interesting laptop deals we spotted at Amazon, Walmart and Best Buy.
- Current price: $2199
- Original price: $2899
When ZDNET reviewed Dell’s XPS 15 in 2020, we described it as setting ‘a new high bar’ for 15.6-inch laptops’, while the 2021 model was dubbed ‘the standard against which other laptops are measured’. Clearly, it still carries a premium price tag, even with $700 shaved off the list price, but you’re getting a top-notch configuration that will suit a wide range of demanding professionals.
Key specs: Intel Core i9-12900HK processor | 15.6-inch 3.5K OLED touch screen | 32GB RAM | 1TB storage | Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050Ti GPU (4GB)
Read review: Dell XPS 15 9510: It’s good to be king
- Current price: $949.99
- Original price: $1249
If you’re seeking a smart-looking, durable and capable laptop with the flexibility of a 360-degree rotating screen to enable tablet-mode operation, HP’s Spectre x360 14 is an excellent choice. You’re still paying $950 for this premium 2-in-1, but you’ll get an up-to-date Core i5 CPU, two Thunderbolt 4 ports and excellent battery life from the IPS screen model.
Key specs: Intel Core i5-1235U processor | 13.5-inch 1920 x 1280 IPS touch screen | 8GB RAM | 512GB storage | Intel Iris Xe Graphics (integrated)
Read review: HP Spectre x360 14 review: A compact 2-in-1 with a superb 3:2 OLED screen
- Current price: $3229
- Original price: $6729
If you’re a 3D designer, architect, engineer, scientist, video editor or VR developer, or other power user, you need serious computing power — often in a reasonably portable form factor. The ThinkPad P1 Gen 5 isn’t exactly lightweight at 1.81kg, but its 16-inch screen makes it less unwieldy than a 17-inch mobile workstation. The high spec of this model doesn’t come cheap at $3229, but that represents a very considerable 52% saving off Lenovo’s list price.
Key specs: Core i9-12900H vPro processor | 16-inch 2560 x 1600 IPS screen | 32GB RAM | 1TB storage | Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Laptop GPU (16GB)
Read review: Lenovo ThinkPad P1 review: Workstation power in a portable package
- Current price: $599.99
- Original price: $929.98
Microsoft’s Surface Pro 7+ differs from the standard 7 model by supporting a removable/upgradable SSD and offering up to 15 hours of battery life compared to 10.5h. Mobile broadband (4G LTE) is also an option on the 7+ model, although that’s not present on this tablet-plus-keyboard cover offer, which comes in at 35.5% under Microsoft’s list price.
Key specs: Intel 11th-generation Core i3 processor | 12.3-inch 2736 x 1824 PixelSense touch screen | 8GB RAM | 128GB storage | Intel UHD Graphics (integrated)
Also: The best Surface PC: Every Surface device is Windows 11-ready
Also: Surface Pro 7+ for Business: Here’s what makes it different
- Current price: $379
- Original price: $499
Lenovo’s Chromebook Duet 2-in-1 Chrome OS devices have been well received on ZDNET, with the 10.1-inch model taking the budget spot in our best-list and the 13.3-inch version, featured here, boasting a ‘fabulous’ OLED display. Back in January our reviewer reckoned $499 was ‘a great price for a great machine’. Now you can get it for 24% off.
Key specs: Qualcomm Snapdragon 7c Gen 2 processor | 13.3-inch 1920 x 1080 OLED touch screen | 8GB RAM | 128GB storage | Qualcomm Adreno Graphics (integrated)
Read review: Lenovo IdeaPad Duet 5: Great Chromebook, great tablet
- Current price: $2302
- Original price: $2800
The Razer Blade 14 delivers a ‘perfect balance of power and portability’, according to ZDNET’s roundup of the best gaming laptops. With a powerful AMD processor and Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 graphics, along with a 165Hz screen, it packs a lot into a 1.78kg chassis. Quality specs mean a hefty price tag, but it’s available here at 18% off.
Key specs: AMD Ryzen 9 5900X processor | 14-inch 2560 x 1440, 165Hz screen | 16GB RAM | 1TB storage | Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 (8GB)
Also: The best gaming laptops: Top rigs for on-the-go gaming
- Current price: $399.99
- Original price: $479.99
Coming in at a sliver under $400 (16.7% off), the 15.6-inch Acer Aspire 5 is a relatively thin (18mm) and light (1.76) Windows 11 laptop whose quality belies its modest price. There’s plenty of connectivity, including four USB ports, an RJ-45 Ethernet port and an HDMI connector. With battery life quoted at 10 hours, it’s an excellent budget choice.
Key specs: AMD Ryzen 3 5300U processor | 15.6-inch 1920 x 1080 LCD screen | 8GB RAM | 256GB storage | AMD Radeon Graphics (integrated)
- Current price: $599.99
- Original price: $729.99
If you’re looking for a good-value all rounder, the 15.6-inch Asus VivoBook S15 is well worth considering. This stylish Core i5-based laptop with 8GB of RAM and 512GB of SSD storage was good value at its list price of $729.99; at $599.99 (17.8% off) it’s even better.
Key specs: Intel Core i5-1135G7 processor | 15.6-inch 1920 x 1080 IPS screen | 8GB RAM | 512GB storage | Intel Iris Xᵉ Graphics (integrated)
- Current price: $999
- Original price: $2899
The world’s first foldable PC when it launched in 2020, the original ThinkPad X1 Fold (there is now a 16-inch model) has a 13.3-inch 4:3 OLED screen that can operate as a large table, or fold down the middle to work in ‘book’ or clamshell mode — the latter either with an on-screen or physical add-on keyboard. ZDNET found the X1 Fold intriguing in early 2021, but found it hard to recommend at the original asking price. At $999 — 65.5% off Lenovo’s list price — this innovative device is well worth another look.
Key specs: Intel Core i5-L16G7 processor | 13.3-inch 1536 x 2048 foldable OLED touch screen | 8GB RAM | 512GB storage | Intel UHD Graphics (integrated)
Read review: Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Fold review: An innovative shape-shifting tablet/laptop
More early Black Friday 2022 laptop deals at Amazon
Here are some other laptop Black Friday deals happening right now at Amazon:
More early Black Friday 2022 laptop deals at Walmart
Here are some other laptop Black Friday deals happening right now at Walmart:
More early Black Friday 2022 laptop deals at Best Buy
Here are some other laptop Black Friday deals happening right now at Best Buy:
We searched for Black Friday laptop deals at retailers like Amazon, Walmart and Best Buy, and also at the websites of leading manufacturers like Lenovo, HP, Dell, Apple, Acer and Asus. 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.
Black Friday 2022 is on Nov. 25, 2022, but deals aren’t limited to that day. We will be tracking the best deals up to Black Friday and beyond.
Cyber Monday is the Monday after Black Friday — that is, Monday, Nov. 28, 2022.
