Amazon’s October Prime Day has arrived, and with it, a host of laptop deals to wade through. I test laptops and watch deals all year round so that I can decipher which deals are worth springing for—and which should be skipped. There are lots of great discounts in this year’s October event, also known as Amazon Big Deal Days, just in time for the holiday shopping season. And because most of the new laptops won’t get announced or launched until 2026, I’m seeing some deeper discounts on some of the best laptops I reviewed in 2025.
The Prime Day laptop deals I’ve found include some solid discounts on the best MacBooks, the best cheap laptops, the best gaming laptops, the best 2-in-1s, and the best Chromebooks. If none of the options below work for you, make sure to read our in-depth How to Choose the Right Laptop guide for all the specs and other info you might need to make an informed buying decision.
Updated 4 AM EST: We’ve added three new deals from day two of Amazon’s Big Deal Days.
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The Best MacBook Deal
The MacBook Air has been excellent for the past few years, but in the latest M4 generation, it’s truly better than ever. The performance, battery life, keyboard, and display are all still top notch, and that hasn’t changed. The GPU performance in particular took a big step up over the M3 chip. That alone would be reason enough to justify buying a MacBook Air (9/10, WIRED Recommends), but there’s a few real improvements in this year’s model that take it even further. It got a webcam upgrade, for one, up from a standard 1080p to a 12-megapixel with features like Center Stage and Desk View.
My favorite new feature, though, is the extra external display support. The M4 MacBook Air can now handle up to two external 4K displays at 144 Hz, making it even better at handling a multi-monitor home workstation setup. For more information, check out our guide on What MacBook You Should Buy.
A Strong Windows Alternative
When people ask me what the “best” Windows laptop is, my mind goes first to the Surface Laptop. Of course, it’ll depend on what your needs are, which is why the Windows ecosystem is so diverse. But the Surface Laptop (7/10, WIRED Recommends) is perfect for what the average person needs, covering the same ground as the MacBook Air. It’s thin and light, has a premium design and build—and most importantly—gets great battery life. This is an area the Surface Laptop struggled with in the past, but no more. My favorite aspect of the Surface Laptop has to be the 3:2 aspect ratio screen, paired with the fast 120 Hz refresh rate. That’s something not even the MacBook Air has.
And while I wouldn’t have minded some more ports, I also appreciate the inclusion of a USB-A port, which prevents me from relying too much on dongles or adapters. It might have come out in 2024, but we likely won’t get a newer model that uses the Snapdragon X2 Elite for six months or so, meaning the Surface Laptop remains a good buy—especially at this discounted price.
High-End Specs in a Cheap Laptop
The Dell 14 Plus (6/10, WIRED Reviewed) has a lot to offer. Dell made a new configuration available that comes with 16 GB of RAM to bring the price down to an astounding $650. And yet, it still comes with a sharp, 2500 x 1600 display (with a 90 Hz refresh rate) and a terabyte of storage. On top of that, the Dell 14 Plus gets great battery life, according to my own testing. That really is an incredible amount of computer for just $650. So yes, you could buy the MacBook Air or Surface Laptop, which have a more premium look and feel. But to get a terabyte of storage in one of those laptops, you’ll be spending well over $1,000.
The Best Cheap Laptop Gets Even Cheaper
I’ve been recommending this budget laptop ever since I reviewed it earlier this year. It’s not because it’s a great laptop in that sense. The display is lackluster, it’s a bit thick, and the touchpad leaves a lot to be desired. But all of that is to be expected at this price. What makes it noteworthy is the chip inside, the Snapdragon X. This efficient Qualcomm chip means that the Asus Vivobook 14 (6/10, WIRED Recommends) performs well and gets really impressive battery life.
These are two areas budget laptops have traditionally struggled, making the Vivobook 14 one of the best in this price range you can buy, especially since it’s usually been discounted by as much as $100. For Amazon’s Big Deal Days event, though, the Vivobook 14 is dropping to a new low of $617, which is $134 off the normal price. I would say, however, that you should buy the Dell 14 Plus at its discounted price over the Vivobook 14. It’s well worth the extra $33.
The Best Gaming Laptop Deal
Gaming laptops tend to fall into one of two camps: cheap and crappy or blinged-out and expensive. In the middle ground, where the best value often is, it can be harder to find deals. One of the best options for Amazon’s Big Deal Days this year is the Asus ROG Strix G16. It makes for a happy medium between performance and portability. Don’t get me wrong—it’s still a tried-and-true gaming laptop with all the key hallmarks that distinguish it as such. It’s also not exactly what I’d call cheap. But the RTX 5070 Ti GPU inside will be sure to impress in the latest AAA games, thanks to the 12 GB of VRAM inside. Perhaps the even bigger discount, however, is the RTX 5060 model, which is $300 off, bringing the price for that starting configuration down to $1,200.
A Great Surface Tablet Deal
The Surface Laptop, the Snapdragon X chips really helped the Surface Pro 11th Edition (6/10, WIRED Recommends) realize its full potential. All of a sudden, this Windows tablet had the battery life and performance to truly compete with the iPad Pro. But it’s the OLED screen that really gives the Surface Pro the pop it needed. While the OLED version of the Surface Pro had been overly expensive when it launched, it’s now much more affordable. Just remember: you still need to purchase a Type Cover keyboard to get the full 2-in-1 experience. Once you do, there’s no better 2-in-1 laptop you can buy.
The Best Chromebook Deal
The Acer Chromebook Plus 515 (8/10, WIRED Recommends) isn’t new, but it was one of the first “Chromebook Plus” models, offering higher specs without too much of a cost increase. And even today, it remains a dependable Chromebook for a great price, now $100 off for a total of $320. And what you get is a solid-performing Chromebook, thanks to the Intel Core i3-1305U and the 8-GB of RAM. It also comes with a crisp, 1920 x 1080 resolution touchscreen too. At 0.79 inches thick, it’s not going to blow you away with its portability, nor is the look anything to write home about. But at $320, it’s a great deal.
An Affordable 2-in-1 Chromebook Tablet
Chromebooks are known for being great student laptops, and no device embodies that better than the Lenovo Chromebook Duet Gen 9 (8/10, WIRED Recommends). This compact, 11-inch 2-in-1 is extremely portable, making for the perfect device to travel with, whether on a plane or just across campus. At just over two pounds, it’s easy to throw in a backpack or purse. And despite its price, it has a glossy, 1920 x 1200 display, which looks really crisp at 11 inches. You’ll have to learn to deal with the cramped keyboard and touchpad, as well as the limited ports, but for the right person, the Lenovo Chromebook Duet Gen 9 is a device unlike any other.
An Affordable 16-Inch Laptop
Some people really want a large-format laptop. Maybe it’s because they have poor vision or because they won’t be using an external monitor. Whatever the reason, a 16-inch laptop often costs a bit more, especially one with premium specs like the Acer Swift 16 AI (8/10, WIRED Recommends). It’s currently selling for $450 off, bringing the price down to just $800. And yet, you’re getting 16 GB of RAM, a terabyte of storage, and a high-resolution 2880 x 1800 display (with a 120 Hz refresh rate). It’s even fairly thin at 0.63 inches.
The Best Laptop For Content Creators
There’s still no other laptop like the M4 Pro or M4 Max MacBook Pro (7/10, WIRED Recommends). It somehow has both incredible performance and great battery life. Some Windows laptops with discrete GPUs have plenty of performance, but its battery life can’t hold up. Of course, the MacBook Pro also has a super-bright Mini-LED screen, lots of ports, and world-class speakers. These are thick computers compared to the MacBook Air, of course, but it’s well worth it for the extra performance if you really need it. So, if you’re someone who actually knows they need the promise of additional power, the M4 MacBook Pro remains a no-brainer. Just remember: the base M4 model won’t give you that uplift you’re looking for, as performance will be similar to the M4 MacBook Air.
