Best Laptop Black Friday Deals 2026

The MacBook Air is the laptop we would hand to most people, and Engadget, Tom's Guide and TechRadar all reach the same verdict. It is fast, it makes no noise because it has no fan, and RTINGS singles out its build and keyboard.

At just under $1,150 it is about $90 below its 90-day typical price. That is a real cut, though it sold for about $900 in May, before Apple's price rise. The downsides are the two ports and a screen that refreshes at 60Hz. If you want a bigger display, the 15-inch Air below has the same chip.

The Neo is the cheapest way into a new Mac, and Engadget called it the best $599 laptop it had seen, a verdict from before Apple raised the price. The screen is bright, the keyboard and trackpad are excellent, and PCWorld found nothing about it that feels cheap.

The catch is 8GB of memory, which suits browsing, documents and streaming but not heavy multitasking. Tom's Hardware also points out the keyboard has no backlight. It is not discounted: at just under $700 it sits at its usual price, and it sold for under $600 in March before Apple's June price rise. Buy it now only if you need it now. If you can stretch, the Air above has twice the memory.

For a Windows laptop with the polish of a MacBook, the Surface Laptop is the one to get. Its 120Hz touchscreen is smoother than the 60Hz screens on the MacBook Airs, the X2 Elite chip is faster than the previous generation, and Notebookcheck rates it a very good everyday machine.

Notebookcheck also calls it too expensive at list price for a design that has changed little in two years. At a little over $1,500 it sells above its 90-day typical price, and it went for about $1,400 in July. Wait for a cut. If you rely on older Windows software, the Intel-based Acer below avoids Arm compatibility questions.

The Aspire 14 AI is our pick for a plain, inexpensive Windows laptop that runs every app without thinking about chip compatibility. It pairs an Intel processor with 16GB of memory. Laptop Mag found it enough for the average user, though not for heavy work.

The screen and build are ordinary, and Notebookcheck singled out both. The price is not discounted yet: about $650 is slightly above what it has sold for over the past 90 days, and it fell to about $440 last November. We would hold out for something close to that.

The 15-inch Air is the 13-inch Air with more room: a 15.3-inch screen that fits two documents side by side and larger speakers, which Engadget points to as the other reason to size up. The chip, memory and storage match the smaller model, so the extra money buys screen and sound.

It suits people who use the laptop as their only computer and rarely carry it far. At under $1,350 it is about $90 below its 90-day typical price, though it sold for about $1,100 in May. The same two-port and 60Hz limits apply.

The OmniBook 5 earns its place on battery life. Notebookcheck gave it an Editors' Choice for the best endurance in its class, PCMag rated its power efficiency the best it had seen in years, and The Verge called the battery life ridiculous. It also brings an OLED screen and 1TB of storage.

The trade-offs are real. The Verge found the Snapdragon chip sluggish at times and the speakers weak, the screen is dim outdoors, and Amazon owners rate it lower than reviewers do. The price is the bigger problem today: Amazon is not selling it directly, the third-party price of about $970 is above its 90-day typical price, and it sold for about $450 last December. Skip it unless the price falls well under $700.

The CX34 is the cheapest laptop we would still recommend. PCWorld names it the best Chromebook for its reliable performance and 1080p webcam, and Trusted Reviews praised the port selection.

It runs ChromeOS, so it suits schoolwork and browsing rather than desktop software. RTINGS measured under 8 hours of battery and noted dull colors. Amazon is not the seller right now; a third-party seller lists it under $450, which is about its usual price, and it sold for about $270 last December, so a lower price is worth waiting for.