Best Deals on Laptops, Chromebooks, and Tablets Right Now

The 13-inch Lenovo Chromebook Flex 5 lands in the middle of the pack among models CR has tested. Its processing speeds are midrange compared with other Chromebooks, while its battery life is below average at 11.5 hours of web browsing. In addition to the touchscreen display, this model has a built-in microSD card slot for expanding the storage beyond its internal 64 gigabytes.

Why it’s a good deal: This sale price is the best we’ve seen since Black Friday, when it was $30 cheaper.

The Asus Chromebook C536EA-BI3T3 has one of the fastest processing speeds among the Chromebooks we’ve tested. The battery life is below average in our web-browsing tests at 9.75 hours, and the 4.3-pound weight makes it less portable than other models. But the convertible form factor allows you to fold it into tent mode for watching videos.

Why it’s a good deal: This is a significant discount if you’re looking for a Chromebook with fast processing speeds.

This HP Chromebook 13C-CA0013DX x360 has an impressive battery life, lasting 16.75 hours in our web browsing tests. It’s an excellent choice for keeping up on work while out traveling, with its lower-than-average weight of just 2.8 pounds. It’s also a touchscreen, convertible model for added versatility.

Why it’s a good deal: This model originally retailed for close to $1,000, making Walmart’s price the most impressive we’ve seen.

This 14-inch model has an Intel Celeron processor, 4 gigabytes of memory, and 32GB of flash storage. The model we tested had 64GB of storage. Our testers pointed out the admirable battery life (almost 13 hours for web browsing and almost 8 for more demanding loads) and the comfortable keyboard. Performance is about average and the display is merely so-so, but as long as you treat this as a low-cost productivity device as opposed to the only computer you’ll ever need, you should be okay.

Why it’s a good deal: This is the best price we’ve seen since Black Friday, when the model dropped to $150, a price we likely won’t see again.

This 14-inch Chromebook has a 2-in-1 convertible touchscreen display, so you can fold the device into tent mode for video viewing or use it on your lap like a tablet. It’s similar to the CR Recommended Acer Chromebook Spin 514 CP514-3H-R2D2, but instead of 8 gigabytes of memory and 128GB of flash storage, it comes with 4GB of memory and 64GB of flash storage. The Chromebook runs off of an AMD Ryzen 3 processor and has a dedicated AMD Radeon graphics card, which is unusual for a laptop in this price range and makes it good for casual gaming.

Why it’s a good deal: You save more than $150 on a versatile Chromebook.

Thin, light, and powerful, this MacBook Air model—unveiled in 2020—offers a compelling combination of performance and battery life. Instead of using an Intel chip, as all Apple computers had done since 2006, it’s powered by an M1 processor developed by Apple itself. In our tests, the new processor performed with admirable speed, placing the laptop in the august company of devices powered by Intel Core i7 processors. It also improved the model’s efficiency, resulting in less drag on the battery and an impressive 10.75 hours of web browsing per charge.

Why it’s a good deal: Best Buy still has this model for its Black Friday price.

The 2021 LG Gram 17 can be a great option if you’re looking for a lightweight machine that can still perform. Its web browsing and video playback battery life is one of the longest of all the models CR has tested, a feat you don’t often see on 17-inch laptops. It has a solid state drive that can load up Windows and large programs quickly, and the large 2 terabytes of storage space is great for local backups. While not the best choice for gaming, it does have fast speeds that can handle complex spreadsheets and videoconferencing.

Why it’s a good deal: A more than $300 discount is definitely worth considering if you need a workhorse of a laptop. The price has even fallen nearly $40 in the last two weeks.

This 16.1-inch HP Victus 16 laptop has performance speeds that challenge some of the fastest-rated models in our tests, including for graphics-intensive tasks like gaming and editing media. It has an Intel Core i7 processor, 16 gigabytes of RAM, a 512GB solid state drive, and a Nvidia Geforce RTX 3060 graphics card with 6GB of dedicated memory. Its battery life should last you through most of a workday.

Why it’s a good deal: This is a fairly modest discount, but it’s still a decent savings if you’re looking for an impressive gaming laptop.

Microsoft has several Surface devices to choose from, but the relatively inexpensive Microsoft Surface Laptop Go could be a good option for consumers looking for a smaller laptop, especially at this hefty discount. It has a 12.4-inch display, an Intel Core i5 processor, 4 gigabytes of memory, and a sparse 64GB solid state drive, which you can supplement with cloud storage.

The Microsoft Surface Laptop Go scores well in many of our tests, though the performance is a bit sluggish compared with other options. The model is lightweight (2.5 pounds), offers decent battery life (just under 12 hours in CR’s web-browsing test), and has a bright, color-accurate display. There’s a touchscreen for flipping through those photo galleries.

Why it’s a good deal: This is the best price we’ve ever seen for this model, which used to sell for over $300, beating the previous low price by $20.

The Microsoft Surface Pro X, released in fall 2019, has some drawbacks but is well worth a look at this price. It has a 13-inch display that can be detached from the keyboard. That makes it a good pick if you plan to use it like a digital sketchpad or tablet. It also has pretty good battery life, making it a good travel companion. But the ARM processor is a little on the slow side compared with the Intel chips found in other Surface devices. It also creates some software compatibility issues. Our testers, for example, couldn’t run certain antivirus software. Microsoft maintains a list of apps that might not run on the Pro X, so be sure to consult it before purchasing the laptop.

Why it’s a good deal: More than a third off the regular price is a significant discount for any laptop.

With so many models available, Lenovo’s IdeaPad covers a lot of ground and prices. This 15.6-inch IdeaPad 3 has an Intel Core i3 processor, 8GB of memory, and 256GB of solid-state storage. That should be more than sufficient for common tasks like editing office documents and browsing the web, but you may want to steer clear of more demanding tasks like editing video. We tested a model with better specs, including an AMD Ryzen 5 processor, and it performed well in our ratings.

Why it’s a good deal: This is a steep discount on a solid laptop that should serve many consumers well.

If someone in your life has “a gaming laptop” on their holiday wishlist, you may want to jump on this deal. The Acer Nitro 5 (including the last model we tested) has delivered solid performance at not-too-bad prices for years. This model has an Intel Core i5 processor, 8GB of memory, 256GB of solid-state storage, and a dedicated Nvidia RTX 3050 graphics card. That should be sufficient for playing the latest games, particularly on medium settings. It also helps that the laptop has a 1080p display, which requires less horsepower than a 4K display. 

Why it’s a good deal: The sale price for this model has fallen $60 in recent weeks.

The iPad Pro is a machine for power users, and it delivers the level of performance you’d expect from a high-end laptop. The display uses a technology called Mini LED, also present in some high-end TVs, that produces more vibrant images and better contrast than what’s possible with traditional LCD tech. It also has a lightning-fast refresh rate, which makes the animations in everything from video games to simply scrolling around iPadOS look smoother. The Pro has an exceptional camera and Apple’s blazing fast M1 processor, and the company ditched the lighting port in favor of a USB-C connector (meaning you’ll use the same cable that powers newer MacBooks). The model also aced our battery life tests.

Why it’s a good deal: A $300 savings on a top-rated model? Yes, please.

The Galaxy Tab S8 is a great option for people who want an Android tablet with high performance. Just keep in mind that top performance isn’t necessary for simple tasks such as reading email, watching movies, and surfing the web. The Galaxy Tab S7 is also on sale if you need a fast device but want something a little cheaper.

Why it’s a good deal: This is down to the best price we’ve seen all year.

The Google Nest WiFi three-pack provides decent all-around performance, scoring well for throughput at near- and medium-range distances. It may fall a bit short in large homes, though, and it’s “only” WiFi 5 compatible. But at this price, it’s hard to complain.

Why it’s a good deal: This router system typically retails for $350, making this an impressive deal.

If you don’t need (or want) a multi-router mesh setup, this single-unit WiFi 6 model from Netgear should be near the top of your list. It aced our throughput tests at all distances and was easy to set up via a smartphone app or an old-school, web-based wizard.

There’s automatic firmware updating to keep your data safe, plus four Ethernet ports and one USB port for connecting peripherals.

Why it’s a good deal: This is the same low price we’ve seen all month.

This full-sized tower desktop PC has better specs than the CR-recommended HP Pavilion TP01-3003w. It has an AMD Ryzen 7 processor, 16 gigabytes of memory, a 512GB solid-state drive, and a dedicated AMD Radeon graphics card, which makes it a good choice for playing games or crunching numbers.

Why it’s a deal: This is a decent discount, but we have seen it sell for about $100 less in recent months.