Prime Day has come and gone and Black Friday hasn’t quite reached us yet, and if you’re in the market for one of the best laptops you may be wondering when you can catch a major discount. As it turns out, Amazon has confirmed it will be holding a second major shopping event in 2022. The Prime Early Access Sale will be taking place on October 10 and October 11, and it will be a great opportunity for anyone who missed out on Prime Day deals to grab a new laptop at a great price.
This event will basically be a second version of the popular Prime Day shopping event, with Amazon discounting prices on some of the best laptop brands a near certainty. This event will precede November’s Black Friday sales by more than a month, and will make a great opportunity to get a head start on your holiday shopping. In fact, we’re already starting to get a good idea of what to expect with this second Prime Day event, and we’ve rounded up some of the best early Prime Day laptop deals available.
Today’s Best Prime Day Laptop Deals
HP Chromebook 11.6 — $98, was $225
There are some absolute bargains to be found in the Prime Day Laptop Deals. The best Chromebooks don’t have to cost a fortune if you know exactly what you want from one, especially if you look for Prime Day Chromebook deals. That’s demonstrated by the HP 11.6-inch Chromebook. It’s an attractive option for anyone looking for one of the best Chromebooks for students thanks to being so cheap, while still offering what you need. It has all the basics anyone could require while you work on the move. Utilizing an 11.6-inch screen means that it’s very small and easy to carry around with you. That screen still offers an HD resolution while also including antiglare properties. While 220 nits may not be exceptional for pricier laptops, it’s fairly reasonable in this price range.
Under the hood, you get an AMD A4 processor, along with 4GB of memory. Again, it’s low-end stuff, but Chromebooks use ChromeOS, which is very undemanding. The idea of ChromeOS is that you work via the cloud. Everything you save is kept on the cloud while even the apps you use are cloud-based, such as the wealth of Google apps out there. That also explains why the HP 11.6-inch Chromebook offers 32GB of eMMC storage. That would be low for a Windows-based system, but for a Chromebook, it’s all you need. It also has integrated AMD Radeon R4 graphics, but it’s not like you’ll be doing any gaming on this system. However, you will be able to stream shows and movies via your favorite streaming services.
Perhaps the most distinctive part of the HP 11.6-inch Chromebook is its build quality. It’s built to last. This Chromebook can survive a fall off a desk from up to four feet (so, higher than most desks). It can also withstand a splash from a drink or if someone tugs its power cord too hard. It can even resist attempts to remove keys, plus it has metal-reinforced corners. It’s these features that make it particularly well-suited for younger students who are just starting out with a computer of their own. Throw in long battery life and fast recharging, and the HP 11.6-inch Chromebook is a suitably frustration-free setup for everyone.
HP Laptop 14 — $280, was $430
The HP 14-inch laptop keeps things simple and straightforward, making it an ideal choice from the Prime Day Laptop Deals if you need a reliable Windows laptop without spending a fortune. That’s kind of what you would expect to see from one of the best laptop brands, but it’s nice to see HP offer decent quality at this price range. While it won’t rival the best 14-inch laptops, it’s still more than good enough for anyone on a budget, especially as it comes with Windows 11 Home already installed.
For your money, you get an AMD 3020e processor with AMD Radeon graphics included. This is no gaming machine, but it means you’ll have reasonable performance for working on the move. Alongside that, you get 8GB of memory, which is just the right amount for being productive in this price range. Also, there’s 128GB of SSD storage, which means you have plenty of room to store all your files and apps. SSD-based storage also means that the HP 14-inch laptop is able to boot up and load apps or files much quicker than a regular hard drive.
The HP 14-inch laptop has all those finer details covered too. For instance, its 14-inch screen is surrounded by a 6.5mm micro-edge bezel so you can spend more time looking at the screen than ugly bezels. It also means the HP 14-inch laptop is thinner and lighter than one would expect. You also get long-lasting battery life so you can stay connected all day. To back it up, there’s also HP Fast Charge technology that means it recharges superfast when needed. Even the touchpad has been well-designed with multitouch support ensuring you can work speedily. Other useful details include a multi-format SD media card reader for plugging in memory cards, while there’s also a HP True Vision 720p HD camera with an integrated dual-array digital microphone. The HP 14-inch laptop even tosses in one USB-C port alongside two USB-A ports and an HDMI connection so you have plenty of flexibility in terms of what you hook up to it. It’s well-suited to anyone looking for a productivity-focused device.
Apple MacBook Air M1 — $850, was $999
The Apple MacBook Air M1 is a delight to use, particularly if you also own other Apple devices. Connecting well with your iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, and other Apple gadgets, the MacBook Air might seem expensive on the surface but it’s impressively powerful. That’s thanks to Apple’s own M1 chip, which offers phenomenal performance alongside exceptional battery life. The processor has eight cores and is up to 3.5 times faster than the previous-gen Intel CPUs. Despite having so much power, it still has a battery life of up to 18 hours so you can bring it along on a long day and it’ll keep going.
In addition, 8GB of memory means it’s capable of multitasking at speed, and everything is designed to work well with MacOS. It also has a gorgeous looking 13.3-inch Retina display. Text is sharp and clear, while colors are bright and vibrant. A thermally efficient yet completely fanless design means that you don’t even have to worry about a constant fan noise, as the MacBook’s M1 CPU stays cool and silent at all times.
Additional features include a 256GB SSD, which is plenty of room to store your most important files. It also has a FaceTime HD camera for video conferencing and taking FaceTime calls. Touch ID support lets you use your finger to log in rather than constantly having to type passwords. The backlit Magic Keyboard also looks great, and is particularly useful when working in the evening. Simply put, the MacBook Air M1 is a true delight to use and a great choice for Apple fans. With many productivity apps ready to use right out of the box, it’s ideal for students an professionals alike.
Should you shop these Prime Day laptop deals or wait until Black Friday?
Black Friday is an annual event that sees almost every retailer in existence discounting much of their inventories to kick off the holiday shopping season. This makes it, generally speaking, the best time of the year to find major discounts on popular products, as many retailers use the event to clear out inventory. In fact, Black Friday often sees laptops selling out completely, with little availability and longer delivery windows throughout the shopping season. With it being such a popular event, and with it taking place immediately after Thanksgiving, it’s a great time to grab a discount on a laptop.
However, this second Prime Day event by Amazon presents an unexpected opportunity in the regular holiday shopping strategy. It will be taking place more than a month before Black Friday, and the best time to get a deal is while one is looking you in the eye. You can purchase a laptop at this second Prime Day event with zero risk, as the event is close enough to Black Friday that your return window will still be open when Black Friday rolls around. This means you can grab a laptop deal during this second Prime Day event if you see one you like, and if a better deal turns up come Black Friday, you can grab it and still return the previous purchase.
It’s best to get your holiday shopping done early to guarantee a deal and to guarantee you don’t miss out on the laptop you have your eye on. There will be a lot of opportunity to land one of the best laptops or one of the best Chromebooks. So whether you feel a better deal awaits you on Black Friday or not, grab a new laptop at this second Prime Day event if you see one at a price that works for you.
Editors’ Recommendations
