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The best Prime Day laptop deals: What to expect from the Amazon event

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Amazon’s Prime Day is one of the biggest shopping events of the year, and it’s a fantastic time to buy a new laptop. Laptops are not cheap devices, especially if you want one of the best machines, so the more you can save on this big purchase, the better. Amazon has yet to confirm the actual start date of Prime Day 2019, but rumors suggest that the deals will begin in full on July 15. So if you’re looking to find a great deal on Apple products, Echo or Google Home devices, laptops, or even a new smartphone, you may want to think about waiting for the discounts to drop.

You do, however, have to be careful on Prime Day. As with all Amazon listings, you’ll need to thoroughly review what you’re buying. Fortunately, when it comes to the big day, we’ll be here to help you find the right laptop for you.

The best laptop deals today

While Prime Day is a great time to buy a laptop, there are solid deals running all year long. We aren’t entirely sure about the start date of Amazon Prime Day, so if you’re in the market for a laptop today, you might not want to wait. Here are are some good options:

MacBook Air – $1,099

MacBook Air (2018) Riley Young/Digital Trends

The MacBook Air was completely redesigned in late 2018, making it a great purchase for those looking for a Mac. Finding a good deal on a MacBook isn’t always easy, but you’re getting a hundred bucks off the normal $1,200 starting price when purchased from Apple.

This particular configuration comes with a 128GB SSD, a two-core Core i5 processor, and 4GB of RAM. This device lacks some of the power you’d get from the MacBook Pro, though we found it quite capable for a more casual workload and didn’t have problems with dozens of Chrome tabs and an external 4K monitor.

Dell XPS 13 – $1,176

The XPS 13 is the best laptop you can buy right now, especially if you’re looking for something portable. With its trim bezels around the screen and tiny footprint, it makes for the perfect travel companion. It’s modern without feeling garish, and the use of both aluminum and polycarbonate means it’s both durable and easy to keep clean.

Not only that, but the XPS 13 is powerful, too. This configuration offers the latest quad-core Core i5 processor from Intel, 8GB of RAM, and a 256GB SSD.

HP Spectre x360 – $1,050

Mark Coppock/Digital Trends

HP’s Spectre x360 series has been getting better each and every year, but in 2019, the company really nailed it. Finished with a new “gem-cut” design, this 2-in-1 convertible has a stunning, jewel-like aesthetic that really makes it stand out from the sea of silver MacBook lookalikes.

It comes with the latest Intel Core i7 processor, 1080p screen, 8GB of RAM, and record-breaking battery life, and you can get it for a hundred dollars off the normal price.

Microsoft Surface Pro 6 – $699

Dan Baker/Digital Trends

The Surface Pro 6 has been offered with great sales throughout the past six months, but the $200 price drop it currently has is one of the very best. This configuration of this popular 2-in-1 comes with an 8th-gen, quad-core Core i5 processors, 8GB of RAM, and a 128GB SSD.

We wish Microsoft would sell the Type Cover bundled in with the Surface Pro 6 because of how half-baked the Windows 10 tablet mode is. Fortunately, the current price means you have some extra cash to add on the very important keyboard attachment. This is still one of our favorite 2-in-1s, and it’s a great purchase for anyone who needs to take their work on the go.

What laptop deals can we expect from Prime Day

As we’ve experienced in past years, you can expect a wide variety of different laptop deals on Prime Day. The most common deals are on Chromebooks, budget gaming laptops, and affordable Windows 10 laptops. These cheaper options and slightly older models will get larger discounts, which can leave a lot of outdated junk to sort through. There will, however, be plenty of good deals to find, so make sure to return to this page when the day comes.

If you’re looking for a specific higher-end model — let’s say a MacBook Pro or Dell XPS 13 — you should be able to find something for at least a 10-15% off.

In addition to the actual laptop deals that pop up on Amazon for Prime Day, many other outlets and retailers have sales of their own to compete with Prime Day. That’s especially important if you have a specific laptop in mind, as online retailers like Dell or HP often feature some decent discounts on flagship models.

How to choose a laptop

When shopping for a laptop, there are a number of important things to keep in mind. We use laptops for everything from completing our most important work to bingeing series on Netflix — and the device you buy needs to be well-equipped for it all. We could talk at length about everything to consider when buying a laptop, whether it’s the quality of the display or the particulars of processor performance, but let’s just stick to a few simple tips.

First, always do your research. Don’t buy a laptop straight away without knowing exactly what model you’re buying. Vendors on Amazon are notorious for mislabeling products or leaving out important information. Read into the detailed specs to find the actual model number, and continue your research on from there. Our list of laptop reviews is always a good place to turn for more research as well.

Also make sure to find the specific processor your laptop has. In the title of a particular product page, it may say “Core i5” or “Core i7,” but depending on what generation and SKU it is, your performance results will vary wildly. We wouldn’t recommend purchasing anything older than 7th- or 8th-gen Intel processors, which is always denoted by the number that immediately follows the Core i5 or Core i7.

Lastly, pay attention to the configuration that’s being offered. Processor, RAM amount, and storage size are the most common, but it’s also important to look out for discrete graphics options and screen size. While Chromebooks and budget laptops might get by fine with 4GB of RAM, we recommend 8GB for most people. For storage, 256GB is a good place to start, and you should most certainly stay away from mechanical hard disk drives.

We strive to help our readers find the best deals on quality products and services, and choose what we cover carefully and independently. If you find a better price for a product listed here, or want to suggest one of your own, email us at [email protected].Digital Trends may earn commission on products purchased through our links, which supports the work we do for our readers.

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