When August arrives and back-to-school season begins, we start to see sales and price drops on student-centric tech. Laptops see some of the year’s best prices this month, as demand spikes due to students returning to school, going off to college for the first time, and more. We’ll be tracking back-to-school sales all month, and here are four of the top laptop deals we’ve seen so far.
The Best Lenovo Back-To-School Laptop Deals
Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3
15.6-inch FHD screen, AMD Ryzen 7 5825U CPU, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD
Laptops for students are typically designed to come in at a budget price, because you’re already spending for tuition and everything else that comes with the cost of an education. The trick is finding a model that gives you the best possible performance for that price. With a 33% discount bringing it down to five hundred bucks, the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim is a great illustration of that principle. In our comprehensive review, we ran down its pros and cons. We loved the lightweight design, rich port selection and capable performance, but criticized the 1080p screen. That said, the model on sale is way better than the one we reviewed, with more memory and storage.
The Best Dell Back-To-School Laptop Deals
Dell Inspiron 15 Laptop
15-inch FHD display, Intel 10-Core i5-1334U CPU, 32GB RAM, 1TB SSD
$699.00
at Amazon
$849.00
Save $150.00
Dell makes a lot of different Inspiron models, and while we haven’t sat down with this particular one, it’s very similar to the Inspiron 3535, which we have a full review of. The main difference is in the configuration, as this build comes with a surprising 32GB of RAM to back up its more than capable 13th-generation Intel i5 processor. That makes it a very nice choice for students who do a lot of multitasking, or watching Netflix during lectures. The FHD display is touch-enabled as well, which is a nice touch, and it has plenty of ports and connectivity options.
The Best Samsung Back-To-School Laptop Deals
Samsung Galaxy Book4
15.6-inch FHD display, Intel Core 7 150U processor, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD
$599.99
at Best Buy
$899.99
Save $300.00
Samsung’s Galaxy Book laptops are predictably solid performers, and although we haven’t gone hands-on with the baseline Galaxy Book4, we did review the larger-screen Galaxy Book4 Ultra and enjoyed our time with it. This is a midrange laptop with a capable Intel Raptor Lake portable processor that’s more than sufficient for everyday classroom and homework tasks, and a generous 16GB of RAM makes multitasking a breeze. Weighing in at 3.42 pounds, it’s easy to carry with you all day, and 15 hours of battery life will get you through your classes.
The Best Apple Back-To-School Laptop Deals
Apple MacBook Air M4
13-inch Liquid Retina screen, M4 CPU, 16GB RAM, 256GB SSD
$799.00
at Amazon
$999.00
Save $200.00
MacBooks bring a cool factor to the classroom that most PCs have a hard time competing with, and the MacBook Air has always been the ultraportable choice. With a recent price drop and performance upgrade, the 2025 iteration of the Air is one of the absolute best laptops on the market, and Amazon has it on sale at a 20% discount. We gave an Editors’ Choice award to the 13-inch model in our review, gushing over its boosted RAM, swift and stable M4 processor, typically gorgeous screen and quiet, fanless operation. Weighing in at just 2.7 pounds, it’s compact, powerful and a ton of fun to use.
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*Deals are selected by our commerce team
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About K. Thor Jensen
Contributing Writer
