Laptop prices suck these days, so here are some Prime Day deals that help a little
Laptop prices suck these days, so here are some Prime Day deals that help a little
If you need to buy now and you want to buy new, here’s what you can save.
If you need to buy now and you want to buy new, here’s what you can save.
by


Photo: Antonio G. Di Benedetto / The Verge
is a reviewer covering laptops and the occasional gadget. He spent over 15 years in the photography industry before joining The Verge as a deals writer in 2021.
The RAM, storage, and component crunch has come for new laptop prices. Plenty of models have gone up in price after being on the market for months, and so have those that’ve been on shelves for over a year. Plus, many new models are releasing at higher prices than the previous generation. So, it really isn’t the best time to buy a new laptop. But what if you need one or really want one now, and you prefer to shop new?
Well, I’m not here to tell you that Amazon’s Prime Day makes everything better. But the discounts certainly don’t hurt.
As usual, we’re doing our best to surface the best Prime Day tech deals. And here, we’ve pulled together the biggest discounts happening not just on laptops, but also on keyboards, mice, webcams, or other worthwhile PC accessories. And since Prime Day has counter-deals running at other retailers like Best Buy (and its Tech Fest Sale), there are also laptop deals for non-Amazon shoppers alike.
The best deals on MacBooks
- The days of multi-hundred-dollar discounts on MacBooks are behind us for now, but the base 14-inch MacBook Pro with an M5 chip for $1,549 ($150 off) at Amazon and Best Buy is still a solid deal. It’s powerful enough for the average content creator, comes with 16GB of RAM and 1TB of storage, and has lots of ports. Read our review.
$949
Apple’s 2026 MacBook Air has an M5 chip and starts with 512GB of storage that’s significantly faster than previous generations. It’s still as excellent as ever despite a higher base price. Read our review.
- The 14-inch MacBook Pro with an M5 Pro chip (15-core CPU / 16-core GPU), 24GB of memory, and 1TB of storage is $2,034 (around $165 off) at Amazon and $2,049 at Best Buy. It’s a pretty nice step-up model from the standard M5 MacBook Pro, with a bit more RAM, a more powerful chip, and faster Thunderbolt 5 ports.
The best deals on Windows laptops
$1089
Microsoft’s slightly smaller, entry-level Surface Laptop trims some of the size and a few features from its bigger 13.8-inch counterpart, but it maintains excellent battery life and solid performance. It’s just a shame it’s price went up. Read our review.
- The Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3x was one of the laptops I tested against the MacBook Neo and… it got smoked. But a 512GB config for $449 ($251 off) at Walmart? Not bad. The speakers are an assault on your ears and the trackpad ain’t great, but if you can live with those shortcomings, you get a decent laptop with a competent Snapdragon X processor and marathon battery life. Just read our review and be aware of its shortcomings.
- Like the Lenovo above, the Acer Aspire 14 AI is another MacBook Neo contender I tested that’s on sale. It’s $589.99 (about $288 off) at Amazon, exclusively for Prime members. Best Buy has it for anyone, sold via Acer, for $599.99. Let me set your expectations: The screen on this laptop is pretty washed out, the speakers are tinny, and the build quality feels cheap. But what you’re getting a deal on is a great Intel Core Ultra 7 256V “Lunar Lake” processor that’s a solid performer while also being quite power efficient. It also has plenty of ports (including Thunderbolt 4) and can even do some light gaming.
- For a higher-end Acer offering, the Swift X 14 AI is selling for a new low of $1,559.99 ($140 off) at Amazon for Prime members. The 14-inch laptop has a 2880 x 1800 / 120Hz OLED, AMD Ryzen AI 7 350 CPU, RTX 5060 discreet graphics, 32GB of RAM and 1TB SSD. It even has a haptic trackpad that should be a nice upgrade over Acer’s mechanical ones that can be a bit basic.
$750
Asus’s Zenbook A14 is a bit of a MacBook Air wannabe, but it’s a compelling alternative if you value a superlight Windows laptop with long battery life. The last-gen 2025 model sports an Arm-based Qualcomm Snapdragon X Plus chip, a nice 14-inch OLED display, and a sleek textured beige finish.
The best deals on gaming laptops
$1450
Asus’ ROG Zephyrus G14 is the go-to choice for a portable gaming machine that’s great at regular laptop duties. It’s got a lovely OLED display, great keyboard and trackpad, and solid battery life. There’s a new Intel model that’s much pricier, but the 2025 version with AMD chips is still a great choice.
- The 2025 Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 is $1,574.99 ($575 off) at Best Buy. The larger version of the Zephyrus twins sports a 240Hz OLED display and a thin profile to make it travel friendly. This configuration includes an Intel Core Ultra 9 285H CPU, RTX 5070 GPU, 16GB of RAM, and 1TB SSD.
- HP’s Omen 16 gaming laptop from last year is $1,619.99 ($600 off) at Best Buy through a third-party seller. The 16-inch laptop is configured with an AMD Ryzen 9 8940HX processor, RTX 5060 graphics, 32GB of RAM, and 1TB SSD. Not bad for around $1,500, but while its screen’s 144Hz refresh is nice, the resolution is only 1920 x 1200.
- For a little more money, you can get a Lenovo Legion 5i at Walmart for $1,589 ($261 off). This 15-inch Legion has an Intel Core i9 14900HX CPU, RTX 5070 GPU (the 8GB VRAM version), 16GB of RAM, and 1TB SSD. You’re getting less RAM than the HP Omen deal, but in exchange it’s got a better GPU and 2560 x 1600 OLED display with 165Hz refresh rate.
$1600
An affordable mid-ranger from Acer running RTX 5070 or 5070 Ti graphics, a 16-inch 240Hz display, and lots of ports.
- Acer’s Nitro V 16S AI gaming laptop is selling for $1,099.99 ($300 off) at Amazon, exclusively for Prime members. It’s got an AMD Ryzen 7 260 CPU, RTX 5060 GPU, 32GB of RAM, and 1TB SSD. The specs are close to the Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 deal above, but it’s much chunkier, has more RAM, and its display is larger but a lower-res LCD.










