With a desktop’s power and a phone’s mobility, a laptop is one of the most convenient and budget-friendly inventions ever made. It’s your entire workspace at your fingertips. We’ve scoured the web for the best bang for your buck and found incredible deals on three highly reputed brands, Apple, Acer, and Asus. Don’t hesitate to get your hands on your own traveling office when you can save up to $200 with these laptop deals on Best Buy and Amazon.
Apple MacBook Air (latest) — $900, was $1,100
Apple has its fingers in just about every pie on the digital market. One of its more popular products is the MacBook, a favorite among users for its sleek display and professional vibe that exudes success. Not only does it look good, it feels good, too. And with its latest Air variant, it’s lighter, thinner, and more portable than ever.
The MacBook Air features a 13.3-inch retina display with 2,560 x 1,600 resolution that manages to pack nearly 300 pixels per inch without them ever being visible to the naked eye. This makes every action on the laptop feel buttery smooth with barely any jitter or visible lag.
Under the hood, the MacBook Air uses an eighth-generation Intel i5 processor, allowing it to handle most everyday activities. It may struggle a bit, however, if you decide to do any heavy gaming or hardcore video editing, as its Intel UHD Graphics 617 card isn’t the most impressive. Its default SSD storage size is also a mere 128GB. You can always choose to go for the larger 256GB model though, which is also on sale and only costs an extra $200. Plus, the iCloud is available for users. Thankfully, the MacBook Air has configurable options for its processor, RAM, and storage size, so you can tailor the system to your liking. Other than that, it’s a fully capable laptop that functions wonderfully with its 8GB of RAM to carry you through the day.
And it wouldn’t be an Apple product if user convenience wasn’t one of its bestselling aspects. The MacBook Air’s Touch ID and Force Touch trackpad allows you to cut out the extra clicks and waiting time that come with manually typing and opening multiple files simultaneously just to complete one action. The laptop can last a great amount of time, reaching upward of 12 hours. This means you can comfortably leave the clunky chargers at home, worry-free.
All in all, the Apple MacBook Air is an ever-reliable and safe go-to option for anyone searching for a professional laptop. Our suggestion? Take advantage of the current $200 discount. Though the $900 price tag on Best Buy may still be a bit steep for some, if you can afford to take it at one of its lowest discounts yet, it’s a purchase you won’t regret.
BUY NOW
Acer Spin 3 — $640, was $700
The Acer Spin 3 is a 2-in-1 convertible laptop that isn’t just unique for the sake of it. Its biggest selling point is its innovative and fully functional 360-degree flip-and-fold design. This allows you to rotate the monitor and manipulate where and how it stands for maximum optimization and utility, offering a wide variety of versatile modes for every occasion such as laptop, audience, tabletop, presentation, and even tablet.
Its 14-inch screen comes in Full HD — that is, 1,920 x 1,080 resolution — and has integrated multitouch functionality to replace the mouse if the situation calls for it. This adaptivity allows users to fully utilize its tablet and tabletop modes with ease. As for its specs, the Acer Spin 3 uses an eighth-generation Intel i5 processor with 8GB of RAM, similar to the MacBook Air. Handling multiple tasks at once without needing to rest is a non-issue. The storage space isn’t bad either. With a 256GB SSD, this laptop can store most — if not all — of your files.
However, with all these benefits, some of its features had to be compromised, one being its graphics card. Using only a low-end Intel UHD Graphics 620 card, the Acer Spin 3 is only slightly better than the MacBook Air, limiting what you can do despite all its power. Another of its cons is its painfully short battery life. It only lasts around six hours, making it extremely dependent on its charger. But if you’re only looking for a reliable laptop for basic computing tasks and nothing too intense, then these issues shouldn’t be a problem.
If you’re looking for a laptop that can get the job done — as long as it isn’t too graphics-heavy — then the Acer Spin 3 is fully dependable for the versatile user. It may have its faults, but considering the incredible benefits that come with it, it’s not a bad purchase. It’s available on Best Buy for only $640, with $60 slashed off from its retail price. It’s definitely not for everyone, but for those it does appeal to, there may be no better laptop.
BUY NOW
Asus VivoBook 15 — $470, was $550
For the techie on a budget, you can’t go wrong with the Asus VivoBook 15. The laptop isn’t just built for looks. Its 15.6-inch screen boasts a NanoEdge display that beautifully complements its slim chassis with virtually no bezels. This offers users an 88% screen-to-body ratio that practically blends into reality with its indistinguishable borders, making it perfect for videos and Full HD cinema. However, while its screen size is great, the quality … not so much. In fact, it can be quite dull at times. Thankfully, if you aren’t picky about the visuals, it’s a negligible afterthought.
Its keyboard is designed for ease of use while typing. There’s a slight tilt that makes the keyboard much simpler to use due to angular positioning, allowing full view of its ergonomically designed keys. Another upside to the VivoBook’s ErgoLift hinge is the space beneath the keyboard that improves sound clarity and provides a deeper bass. Its AMD Radeon Vega 8 graphics card is also capable of handling most games with only some needing to be set as low as possible.
The machine uses an AMD Quad Core R5-3500U processor that hits up to 3.6GHz, being faster than some Intel i7 processors. This way, you can multitask with ease — and in style — using its standard 8GB of RAM for your everyday functions. On its side, you’ll be pleased to find that the VivoBook 15 is capable of connecting to practically everything a computer would need to without the use of an adapter. With ports for USB Type-C, HDMI, microSD, and USB 3.1 and 2.0, the world is your oyster. And yes, it has Bluetooth. As the cherry on top, its trackpad is built with a fingerprint sensor to make something as minute as your logins as convenient for you as possible. One downside, however, is that it only lasts from four to seven hours. If the laptop is going anywhere, its charger would have to be close by.
Despite its short battery life and underwhelming screen quality, the Asus VivoBook 15 feels like a downright steal. For only $470 on Amazon, you are definitely getting what you pay for. If you’re on a budget and need a good working laptop, then the Asus VivoBook 15 might just be what you’re looking for.
BUY NOW
Check out our curated deals page for more awesome discounts on all your laptop needs like monitors and Bluetooth speakers.
Digital Trends may earn commission on products purchased through our links, which supports the work we do for our readers.
Editors' Recommendations
- These are the best cheap student laptop deals for October 2020
- Best Buy laptop deals: The best offers for November 2020
- The best MacBook for 2020
- Microsoft Surface Laptop Go Review: A sensible compromise
- These are the best cheap MacBook deals for October 2020
