Table of Contents Hide
- Best Black Friday 2021 laptop deals
- ASUS 15.6″ Chromebook C523NA Full HD Touchscreen Laptop
- Microsoft Surface Laptop Go
- MacBook Air (M1, 2020) 13 inch
- Microsoft Surface 4
- HUAWEI MateBook D15 2021 11th Gen Intel Core i5 Laptop
- Lenovo Ideapad 11.6″ 2-in-1 Laptop
- HP Pavilion 14-DV1629SA 14″ Laptop
- HP ENVY x360 Convert 13.3″ Two-in-One Laptop
- ASUS E410MA 14″ Laptop
- HP 17-CP0009NA 17.3in Ryzen 3 8GB 256GB Laptop
- How to shop for a laptop during Black Friday 2021
- Select an operating system
- Check the specs
- To touch-screen or not to touch-screen
- Be realistic
- Choose a price bracket
If you need to upgrade a tired piece of tech, the annual Black Friday sale is an excellent time to do so. The sales bonanza kicked off with some tempting discounts applied to laptops, more deals have been released today and prices could get even better as we head towards Cyber Monday.
Whether you need a business laptop, a laptop for work or one to take to uni, we’re hunting down the very best Black Friday laptop deals from leading brands (Apple, ASUS, Microsoft and HP, among others) at retailers such as Amazon and John Lewis. We’ll keep this page constantly updated as new deals drop.
To help you along, at the bottom of the page you’ll find our jargon-free guide to how to find the best laptop for you, including specs, operating system and price point.
Best Black Friday 2021 laptop deals
ASUS 15.6″ Chromebook C523NA Full HD Touchscreen Laptop
Powered by Google’s operating system Chrome, this super-lightweight laptop has a 10-hour battery life and built-in touchscreen. The dual speakers, fast quad-core Intel® processor and built in anti-virus protection make it a great laptop for students.
Microsoft Surface Laptop Go
Amazon are offering 30 per cent off the Microsoft Surface Go, which came top in the Telegraph’s guide to the best laptops for everyday use. Our reviewer said: “This is an excellent, excellent laptop all told. One of the best laptops in history? Quite possibly. The Surface Go takes everything I loved about the Surface Laptop 3 and slashes the price to a figure normal people might actually be tempted by.
“As ever, Microsoft have included brand new 10th Gen Intel Core i5 processors across all models, though you can get different levels of RAM at different price points. The other big thing to talk about is the battery which is excellent. Microsoft claims it can make 13 hours on certain settings; I’ve managed about 10 and a half, but either way it’s impressive. Even more so when you can consider go from 0-80pc with an hour’s charge.”
MacBook Air (M1, 2020) 13 inch
Although Apple doesn’t like (or need) to offer discounts itself, Black Friday is a great time to find them at retailers like Very – who are offering a meaty discount on the 2020 MacBook Air, also featured in the Telegraph’s guide. It’s the thinnest, lightest MacBook yet, with the longest battery life (18 hours) and lightning-fast responses from its new Apple M1 chip.
Microsoft Surface 4
With a bigger screen than the Surface Go above, the souped-up Surface 4 is ideal for creative use as well as everyday browsing, working or streaming. It was also featured in the Telegraph’s guide to the best laptops and praised for its amazing (18 hour) battery life and ultra-fast processor.
HUAWEI MateBook D15 2021 11th Gen Intel Core i5 Laptop
If you ever suffer from tired or strained eyes after too long staring at a screen, this clever Huawei laptop is a great investment. It has Flicker Free and Low Blue Light certifications, so it’s a lot gentler on gentler on peepers when they have long hours of work to do. It also has fingerprint recognition for powering on, a powerful 11th Gen Intel Core Processor and is lightweight. In our best laptops guide, another model in the same Huawei Matebook series was included due to its 2.5K visuals, which we considered to be ‘one of the best screens you can get on a laptop’.
Lenovo Ideapad 11.6″ 2-in-1 Laptop
This 2-in-1 laptop/tablet is perfect for those who want to work on the go. It is feather-light and weighs just 1.2kg, plus has up to 10 hours battery life. But be warned: Lenovo laptops typically sell out fast on Black Friday.
HP Pavilion 14-DV1629SA 14″ Laptop
Get eight hours of battery life with this stylishly thin Windows 11 laptop, which means you can work all day without interruptions (with a handy Fast Charge feature for when you do get low on power). Meanwhile, the 11th gen Intel® Core™ i5 processor makes multitasking or running multiple programs easy.
HP ENVY x360 Convert 13.3″ Two-in-One Laptop
Can’t decide whether to invest in a laptop or a tablet? With the HP ENVY you get both. Use it as a laptop with a proper keyboard, then flip it backwards on its hinge to watch a film or surf the web as you would on a tablet. Even better? It’s reduced by £200 for Black Friday.
ASUS E410MA 14″ Laptop
Save £80 on this sleek and portable laptop from ASUS. It’s light, so is a perfect choice for those who have to travel around with their device for much of the week, but despite its daintiness, it packs in 4 GB of RAM and128 GB of storage.
HP 17-CP0009NA 17.3in Ryzen 3 8GB 256GB Laptop
Those who spend extended hours typing will appreciate the lift hinge design and large click pad on this HP 17 Laptop. It means that typing and scrolling is a lot more natural and comfortable, and should hopefully help prevent pressure on wrists and fingers. Great visuals and long-lasting battery life add to the appeal.
How to shop for a laptop during Black Friday 2021
Select an operating system
If you want an operating system that mimics your iPhone, you’ll be looking for an Apple laptop (see: MacBooks). Alternatively, you can keep your eyes peeled for a good Windows laptop; the operating system is more common than MacOS and offers the widest range of program compatibility (especially useful if you’re looking to work on your laptop).
At a lower price point, you could also opt for a Chromebook – a streamlined version of MacOS and Windows that gives you access to much of the same basic functionality (internet, word processing, etc) via Google Chrome apps.
Check the specs
You’ll want to invest in something fit for purpose, remembering everyone’s needs are different. Screen size, weight, memory, graphics capabilities and battery life will affect each laptop’s suitability for you, and you may be willing to make sacrifices on one feature to get a great deal on another. Make sure you read the specs in detail so your purchase meets expectations. If you’re not sure what all the jargon means, here’s a handy reference guide.
RAM: This is your laptop’s memory. 4GB is acceptable as a minimum but 8GB or more is recommended for a high performance model, or one you’ll be using every day.
CPU: The Central Processing Unit is the processor responsible for running the programs on your laptop. Look out for models with multiple ‘cores’, since each CPU core optimises performance; an Intel Core i7 processor is the current standard.
GPU: Here, we’re talking graphics cards – the tiny cards which process visuals. Each GPU is nuanced, so it’s worth researching each specifically to ensure it is powerful enough for your needs. High-end gaming laptops will require something special, like Nvidia GeForce or AMD Radeon GPUs.
Solid state drive (SSD) versus hard disk drive (HDD): The whirring sound you can hear if you listen carefully to older computers is the hard disk spinning as it accesses the data stored there. Many laptops now instead come with an integrated circuit called an SSD, which is more expensive but performs much faster. HDDs are still the go-to for cost-conscious consumers (everything simply runs a little bit slower).
Resolution: Screen resolution will determine the quality of the things you read and watch. Every display panel is made of pixels and more pixels mean more detail. Look out for a resolution of 1920 x 1080 or higher. Many brands use additional slang terms like Retina, QHD, and UHD but you’ll want to focus on the numbers themselves to simplify your comparisons.
To touch-screen or not to touch-screen
Many newer Windows laptops come with this handy feature which can offer a lot to younger people, older people, and artistic types. Some touch screen models will be described as ‘2 in 1 laptops’ as they can be used as a laptop or tablet. If you opt for a detachable keyboard, make sure you test it for comfort beforehand.
Be realistic
Popular models like Apple’s MacBook Pros are in high demand throughout the year, so they will be considerably more expensive than non-Apple laptops during the Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales. You can find £100s off of older Windows laptops as retailers hope to replace them with newer stock, but it is rare to see price cuts of more than £200 on Apple laptops.
Choose a price bracket
Once you get to grips with your desired specifications, you need to find the best option within your budget. Usually, good netbooks and Chromebooks can be as little as £100, low to mid-range laptops for £300 or so, and high-end and gaming laptop deals around £600.
Want more Black Friday deals? Read our guides to the best deals from Apple, Dyson and Sky. Browse the best Black Friday deals on beauty, fashion, gaming, tech and electricals. Or search for the exact product you want, with our Black Friday guides to deals on popular TVs, iPads, mobile phones, laptops and mattresses.
