The best laptop deals in the Black Friday 2021 UK sales so far

Finding the best laptop has never been more important, given that more people than ever have started working and studying remotely over the past 18 months. If you need to upgrade a tired piece of tech, the annual Black Friday sale is an excellent time to do so – good laptops don’t come cheap, but in the Black Friday sales at retailers such as Currys, Amazon, John Lewis and Argos they’re significantly more affordable. 

So, whether you’re looking for a laptop for work, gaming, or a student laptop to take to lectures, we’ll be curating the very best deals from leading brands (Apple, ASUS, Microsoft and HP, among others) to ensure you find the model that’s right for you. So bookmark this page, and in the meantime read our jargon-free guide to everything you need to know… 

Where to find the best Black Friday laptop deals for 2021

The exact details of the kind of laptop deals that will be on offer this Black Friday haven’t been announced yet, as the big day isn’t until November 26. But that doesn’t mean you can’t get ahead and be prepared. 

Based on last year’s sales, it’s possible to get a fairly good idea of what kind of discounts will be on offer and plan accordingly. At Currys, it was possible to get over £100 off a 13 inch Apple MacBook Air and the super-powerful Dell XPS 13. 

There were countless other laptop deals to be had elsewhere: John Lewis were offering over £200 off the versatile Microsoft Surface Pro 7 and ao.com had a range of affordable ASUS laptops on sale. And, it would be remiss not to mention Amazon, which offers some great Black Friday laptop deals among the thousands of discounted items in its shopping extravaganza.

If you want to get in early and beat the rush, identify the ideal laptop for you ahead of time and bookmark the retailers above to be first on the scene if it’s discounted. We will be regularly updating this page with a curated selection of the very best Black Friday laptop deals, so do check back. 

How to shop for a laptop during Black Friday 2021

Select an operating system

If you want an operating system that mimics your iPhone, you’ll be looking for an Apple laptop (see: MacBooks). Alternatively, you can keep your eyes peeled for a good Windows laptop; the operating system is more common than MacOS and offers the widest range of program compatibility (especially useful if you’re looking to work on your laptop).

At a lower price point, you could also opt for a Chromebook – a streamlined version of MacOS and Windows that gives you access to much of the same basic functionality (internet, word processing, etc) via Google Chrome apps.

Check the specs

You’ll want to invest in something fit for purpose, remembering everyone’s needs are different. Screen size, weight, memory, graphics capabilities and battery life will affect each laptop’s suitability for you, and you may be willing to make sacrifices on one feature to get a great deal on another. Make sure you read the specs in detail so your purchase meets expectations. If you’re not sure what all the jargon means, here’s a handy reference guide.

RAM: This is your laptop’s memory. 4GB is acceptable as a minimum but 8GB or more is recommended for a high performance model, or one you’ll be using every day.

CPU: The Central Processing Unit is the processor responsible for running the programs on your laptop. Look out for models with multiple ‘cores’, since each CPU core optimises performance; an Intel Core i7 processor is the current standard.

GPU: Here, we’re talking graphics cards – the tiny cards which process visuals. Each GPU is nuanced, so it’s worth researching each specifically to ensure it is powerful enough for your needs. High-end gaming laptops will require something special, like Nvidia GeForce or AMD Radeon GPUs.

Solid state drive (SSD) versus hard disk drive (HDD): The whirring sound you can hear if you listen carefully to older computers is the hard disk spinning as it accesses the data stored there. Many laptops now instead come with an integrated circuit called an SSD, which is more expensive but performs much faster. HDDs are still the go-to for cost-conscious consumers (everything simply runs a little bit slower).

Resolution: Screen resolution will determine the quality of the things you read and watch. Every display panel is made of pixels and more pixels mean more detail. Look out for a resolution of 1920 x 1080 or higher. Many brands use additional slang terms like Retina, QHD, and UHD but you’ll want to focus on the numbers themselves to simplify your comparisons.

To touch-screen or not to touch-screen 

Many newer Windows laptops come with this handy feature which can offer a lot to younger people, older people, and artistic types. Some touch screen models will be described as ‘2 in 1 laptops’ as they can be used as a laptop or tablet. If you opt for a detachable keyboard, make sure you test it for comfort beforehand. 

Be realistic

Popular models like Apple’s MacBook Pros are in high demand throughout the year, so they will be considerably more expensive than non-Apple laptops during the Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales. You can find £100s off of older Windows laptops as retailers hope to replace them with newer stock, but it is rare to see price cuts of more than £200 on Apple laptops.

Choose a price bracket

Once you get to grips with your desired specifications, you need to find the best option within your budget. From Black Fridays past, we expect good netbooks and Chromebook deals available for as little as £100, low to mid-range laptops for £300 or so, and high-end and gaming laptop deals around £600.