Apple MacBook Air, 13-inch (M5, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD)
(save $150)
MSI Prestige 16 AI+ (Intel Core Ultra X7 358H, 32GB RAM, 1TB SSD)
(save $400)
Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 (AMD Ryzen 9 270, Nvidia GeForce RTX 5060, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD)
(save $650)
No pressure, Amazon, but I have high hopes for Prime Big Deal Days. The retailer’s upcoming “October Prime Day” sale (set for Oct. 6 and 7) will be an opportunity to get the ball rolling on holiday tech deals that erase the steep price hikes we’ve seen so far this year amid the ongoing memory crisis. Laptops have been hit especially hard: Many of the models I’ve tested in the past nine months have gotten anywhere from $100 to $950 more expensive due to increased component costs.
In the weeks leading up to the sale, I’m not seeing a ton of noteworthy laptop deals on Amazon just yet (aside from some so-so MacBook discounts). Most of them involve no-name brands and third-party sellers that you should avoid. Fortunately, other retailers like Best Buy and Walmart are picking up the slack with savings of up to $900 on top Windows laptops and gaming PCs.
Below, I’m keeping a running list of the best early October Prime Day laptop deals I can find across the web. They’ll probably get even better once the sale actually starts, but if you need to upgrade sooner rather than later, you’ve got a bunch of options already.
Best MacBook deal (for now)
The M5 MacBook Air is a fabulous all-rounder with incredibly fast performance, a premium haptic touchpad, a vibrant display, and a polished design. I like the 13-inch size for college students, in particular, because it’s slightly cheaper and more portable than its 15-inch sibling. This upgraded model with 1TB of storage is $150 off on Amazon ahead of Prime Day. I think it could see a $200 discount once Prime Big Deal Days starts, based on its predecessor’s pricing history, but this is still a solid deal in the age of RAMageddon. (If you need more memory, a 24GB RAM/1TB model is also $150 off right now.)
Read Mashable’s full review of the Apple MacBook Air (M5).
More MacBook deals
-
Apple MacBook Neo (A18 Pro, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD) — $689
$699(save $10) -
Apple MacBook Air, 15-inch (M5, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD) — $1,727
$1,799(save $72) -
Apple MacBook Pro, 14-inch (M5, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD) — $1,849
$1,999(save $150) -
Apple MacBook Pro, 16-inch (M5 Pro, 24GB RAM, 1TB SSD) — $2,759
$2,999(save $240)
Best Windows laptop deal (for now)
at Costco (no membership required)
$1,799.99
Save $400
Truth be told, this 16-inch MSI laptop is a great deal even at full price. It has a super sharp (2.8K) OLED touchscreen, a healthy 32GB of RAM, and a beefy Intel Core Ultra X7 358H processor with Intel Arc B390 graphics. The latter is an iGPU that performs on par with an entry-level dedicated GPU, meaning you can play AAA games on this thing. It’s of average weight for a 16-inch PC, but it’s exceptionally sleek for its size (more than a 10th of an inch thinner than a 16-inch MacBook Pro). Costco’s $400 discount on it brings it to the lowest price I’ve ever seen, and better yet, it’s not restricted to Costco members.
More Windows laptop deals
-
HP OmniBook 3 16 (Snapdragon X, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD) — $699.99
$1,149.99(save $450) -
HP OmniBook X 14 (Snapdragon X Plus, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD) — $799.99
$1,099.99(save $300) -
Acer Swift 16 AI (Intel Core Ultra X7 358H, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD) — $999.99
$1,549.99(save $550) -
LG gram Max 17 (Intel Core Ultra 7 355, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD) — $999.99
$1,749.99(save $750) -
Lenovo Yoga 7i 2-in-1 16 (Intel Core Ultra 7 355, 24GB RAM, 512GB SSD) — $1,099.99
$1,649.99(save $550) -
Samsung Galaxy Book6 Pro (Intel Core Ultra 7 365H, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD) — $1,199.99
$1,799.99(save $600) -
Microsoft Surface Laptop, 13.8-inch (Snapdragon X2 Plus, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD) — $1,399.99
$1,599.99(save $200) -
Asus Zenbook A16 (Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme, 48GB RAM, 512GB SSD) — $1,499.99
$1,899.99(save $400)
Best gaming laptop deal (for now)
at Best Buy
$2,299.99
Save $650.00
The Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 is renowned for its sleek, portable design and pretty, bright 2.8K OLED display. Our former tech editor called it “the MacBook Pro of gaming laptops.” (It weighs slightly less than a 14-inch M5 MacBook Pro and is only 0.02 inches thicker.) This configuration with a high-end AMD CPU from early 2025 and RTX 5060 graphics is $650 off at Best Buy right now. It’s the cheapest OLED gaming I could find ahead of Prime Big Deal Days.
More gaming laptop deals
-
Alienware 15 (Intel Core 7 240H, Nvidia GeForce RTX 4050, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD) — $999.99
$1,599.99(save $600) -
Alienware Aurora 16 (Intel Core 7 240H, Nvidia GeForce RTX 5050, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD) — $1,099
$1,639.99(save $540.99) -
Acer Nitro V 16 (Intel Core 7 240H, Nvidia GeForce RTX 5060, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD) — $1,149.99
$1,629.99(save $480) -
HyperX Omen 15 (AMD Ryzen 7 8745HX, Nvidia GeForce RTX 5060, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD) — $1,249
$1,899(save $650) -
Asus ROG Strix G16 (AMD Ryzen 9 8940HX, Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD) — $1,599
$1,999.99(save $400.99) -
Asus ROG Strix G18 (AMD Ryzen 9 9955HX, Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070, 32GB RAM, 1TB SSD) — $1,849
$2,699.99(save $850.99) -
Lenovo Legion Pro 5i 16 (Intel Core Ultra 7 255HX, Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD) — $1,999.99
$2,649.99(save $550) -
Alienware 16X Aurora (Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX, Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD) — $1,999.99
$2,899.99(save $900) -
Asus ROG Flow Z13 (AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395, 64GB RAM, 1TB SSD) — $2,299.99
$2,999.99(save $700) -
Asus ROG Strix G16 (AMD Ryzen 9 9955HX, Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 Ti, 32GB RAM, 1TB SSD) — $2,499
$2,999.99(save $500.99) -
Acer Predator Neo 16 (Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX, Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 Ti, 32GB RAM, 1TB SSD) — $2,599.99
$3,199.99(save $600) -
Lenovo Legion 7a 16 (AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 470, Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070, 32GB RAM, 1TB SSD) — $2,749.99
$3,549.99(save $800)
Source: https://mashable.com/tech/best-early-amazon-october-prime-day-laptop-deals-2026
