The laptop you bring to college is important. Not only is it the device you'll be using through some of the most formative years of your life, but it's also often the one that you'll take to your first job, too. The problem is that the internet is full of laptops that aren't worth the money, especially if you're scrolling through lists of laptops on Amazon or Best Buy.
Good news! I've tested each of the following laptops myself and can wholeheartedly recommend them. More than that, I've been digging through the deals to find the best prices on the best laptops you can buy for Back to School season. Below, you'll find lots of good cheap laptops, as well as some great Chromebooks and gaming laptops that'll do just as well for schoolwork. You can even find some deals on laptop accessories for good measure.
Top Back-to-School Laptop Deals
Laptop Deals
Best MacBook Deal for College
If there is a quintessential college laptop, it's the MacBook Air M4 (9/10, WIRED Recommends). It's been that way for many years. And even as Apple Silicon has transformed the MacBook Air into something far more capable, Apple has kept prices low enough to still make it the go-to choice. Right now, the starting configuration at Amazon is cheaper than it was on Prime Day at $800. That's even cheaper than the student discount offered by Apple.
What makes the MacBook Air such a perfect college laptop is its long battery life and portability. It's still one of the thinnest laptops you can buy today at 0.44 inches thick, and it weighs just 2.7 pounds. It's the kind of device that can go with you across campus and last well into the evening of studying all on a single charge. You can choose between the 13- or 15-inch model, both of which are nearly identical, except the latter has more screen real estate and better speakers.
Best Windows Laptop Deal for College
When I initially tested the Dell 14 Plus (6/10, WIRED Review), I gave it a hard time because of the $1,100 MSRP. But over the past month or so, Dell has kept a pretty generous discount intact. Right now, the starting configuration costs $750, which might not sound that cheap at face value, but when you consider what you're getting, you realize just how good a deal this.
First off, that $750 gets you a whopping 1 terabyte of storage and a higher-resolution display (2560 x 1600), matching the MacBook Air in sharpness. It can even match the MacBook Air's battery life claims. And no, while it's not as thin or sleek as the MacBook Air, in exchange, you get extra storage and more ports, making this my go-to pick for back-to-school season this year.
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