Best Black Friday Notebook and Tablet Deals
With the busiest shopping day holiday approaching, the country’s largest retailers have begun to launch the black Friday laptops and tablet computer transactions, including apple, DELL, HP and Samsung to produce a variety of popular devices. Here are the deals that have caught our eye so far.
Chromebooks
Acer 11.6-inch 2-in-1 Touchscreen Chromebook, $200
Available at Costco, this Acer Chromebook—routinely priced at $250 and up—will grant you access to apps on the Chrome Web Store and the Google Play store. The screen folds all the way back into tablet mode, so you can watch videos or read magazine stories while lounging on the couch. We haven’t tested this model, but our staff has awarded other Acer Chromebooks high marks for Acer as10d31 laptop battery life and responsive keyboards.
HP Chromebook 11.5 Convertible, $219
Available at Target, this HP Chromebook (often priced at $300) runs Chrome OS and has a touchscreen that can be folded into tablet mode—just like the Acer Chromebook above. But the HP model adds a spill-resistant keyboard, which may be useful to families with children.
Laptops
Dell Inspiron 15.6-Inch Windows 10 laptop, $360
Available at Best Buy, this Dell laptop, which usually sells for more than $500, is a rare opportunity to experience Windows 10 with a powerful Intel Core i5 at such a low price. (Note: The fact that it’s the 2016 version of the Core i5 may explain the savings.) This model also has a touchscreen and 2TB of hard drive space, which should be more than enough to hold all your apps and photos. Consumer Reports’ testers haven’t reviewed the model, but they’ve given high marks to other Dell Inspirons in the past.
Lenovo IdeaPad 320 15.6-inch Windows 10 laptop, $450
Available at Costco, this Lenovo IdeaPad generally sells for $600 at Amazon. This model does one better than the above Dell by using the latest, eighth-generation Intel Core i5 processor, which means improved performance in tasks such as photo editing. Consumer Reports’ testers have not yet had a chance to review the model, but earlier IdeaPads have performed well in our ratings, with testers admiring attributes such as the laptop’s small size and lengthy battery life.
HP Pavilion 15.6-inch Windows 10 laptop, $700
Also available at Costco, this HP laptop usually sells for $1,000. It comes equipped with the eighth-generation Intel Core i7 quad core processor, which means you’ll fly through tasks like editing photos and applying filters in Photoshop and crunching numbers in Microsoft Excel. With 4GB of video memory, the laptop’s Nvidia processor should be able to handle demanding games at 1080p. The model has yet to enter our labs, but previous 15.6-inch Pavilions have scored well with our testers.
Apple MacBook Air (Core i5, 128GB SSD), $800
Apple’s computers don’t go on sale very often, which is why it’s worth noting that Best Buy will be selling this MacBook Air for about $200 less than you’d normally find it. The MacBook Air line, while no longer the newest of Apple’s thin and light lineup (those honors now belong to the MacBook), still ranks highly in Consumer Reports’ testing, with our technicians highlighting aspects like the Apple a1175 notebook battery life and comfortable keyboard.
Tablets
16GB Samsung Galaxy Tab A, $180
Available at Target, this WiFi model will be discounted a full $100—and the offer includes a free $20 Target gift card. That makes it a very good value for anyone looking for a deal on a fully capable, Android-based tablet. Our testers lauded the model’s 10.5-inch display, which features accurate colors and wide viewing angles (for those moments when everyone on the couch wants to see the video), as well as the device’s ability to transfer files via USB (something Apple’s iPads can’t do without additional adapters). What’s more, the microSD card slot allows you to expand on the paltry 16GB of built-in storage.
32GB Apple iPad, $250
Available at Target, this recently revamped, entry-level WiFi iPad usually sells for $330 at Apple. It may lack some of the niceties found on the iPad Pro below, but it’s still one of Consumer Reports’ highest rated tablets, granting users access to Apple’s highly regarded iOS app ecosystem for a price that just a few years ago seemed like an impossibility.
64GB iPad Pro, $530
Available at Target, this 10.5-inch WiFi model sells for $650 at Apple. It’s one of Consumer Reports’ highest rated tablets, drawing praise from our testers for its excellent battery life (around 20 hours) and its excellent display. The iPad Pro can also be paired with the optional Apple Pencil ($99), which allows you to sketch and take notes directly on the tablet.
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