Black Friday has proven to be fertile ground for deals on tablets and computers in past years. And 2018 promises to be no different.
Every retailer that sells computers — desktops and laptops, Chromebooks and gaming rigs, tablets and convertibles — will look to clear out inventory before the end of the year. Expect to see lots of markdowns on older machines and configurations featuring Intel’s previous seventh-gen processors. That’s not to say that brand-new systems with cutting-edge tech won’t be on sale. They will be.
We’re also interested to see how increased competition in the tablet market may drive down prices this year. At the high end, the rash of newly announced tablets in October (from Apple, Google and Microsoft) has already yielded one dynamite deal: a brand-new Microsoft Surface Pro bundled with a Surface Pen and Type Cover keyboard for $800 at Costco. And the newest Apple iPad appears to be an early favorite this year, set to sell for $250 — that’s a $70 discount — in multiple stores.
Also: Office Depot, which posted its Black Friday flyer on Friday, appears to be undercutting many other retailers with a handful of superior deals this year. Members of its rewards program will get early access to some of them starting Nov. 21. Plus, the purchase of a computer that costs $300 or more makes you eligible for freebies including Microsoft Office, a SquareTrade protection plan and other tech support services.
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As always, remember the caveats. Some of these deals may already be live today, some will launch over the next few days and others won’t start until Black Friday, Nov. 23. In addition:
- Deal terms vary, so where possible we’ve listed when and where to get the sale price from each retailer.
- The deals below are current as of Nov. 13, and include Amazon, Best Buy, Costco, HP, Office Depot, Target, Sam’s Club, Staples and Walmart. When more deals come in, we’ll include them too.
- CNET may get a share of revenue from the sale of the products featured on this page.
- We linked to the current listing at the retailer’s website when one was available, but of course sale pricing won’t be available until the respective sales begin.
Tablets
Microsoft Surface Pro 6 with Type Cover for $600 ($360 off)
Sarah Tew/CNET
Best Buy has the best Surface Pro bundle we’ve seen yet. You get the newest version of the tablet and the keyboard cover for $600. The pen, which costs $100, is not included. But still — that brings the price of the whole enchilada to $700. Note that Costco is selling the Surface Pro with a better Intel Core i5 CPU — plus the keyboard and stylus — for $800.
2018 Apple iPad (Gold, 32GB) for $250 ($80 off)
Apple made its entry-level iPad even better with the latest version, released in March. This is likely to be the lowest price for it we’ll see this year. Just note this deal is available at Costco (for members only, of course), Target and Walmart and it could pop up elsewhere, too.
Amazon Fire HD 10 tablet with Alexa Hands-Free for $100 ($50 off)
Amazon will discount a bunch of its tablets, including the Fire HD 10, which was already a great value at $150. At $100, this Fire tablet, with its high-res screen, solid performance and 32GB of storage, is a total steal.
While other retailers, including Best Buy, Target and Staples, have announced similar prices for Black Friday, Amazon will begin discounting its own tablets starting Nov. 16:
Laptops
Huawei MateBook X Pro for $1,350 (save $150)
Juan Garzon / CNET
This machine is compact and light, has a stellar sRGB display and very good sound system and delivers solid performance for its size. This is the best price we’ve seen.
Deal available Nov. 17-26 at Amazon, Newegg, B&H and Microsoft stores.
HP Pavilion X360 with Intel Core i7 and 1TB hard drive for $450 ($350 off)
Lots of retailers have deals going on this machine — but none is better than this one from Office Depot. You get a collection of pretty killer components including a Core i7 CPU, 8GB of RAM and an enormous 1TB hard drive.
Staples is selling a similar version for $500.
2017 & 2018 Apple MacBook Pros discounted up to $250
Best Buy is offering discounts ranging between $150 and $250 on the newest batch of MacBook Pros (and some still-current 2017 versions, too). You can max out the discount by choosing more expensive configurations — including this 15.6-inch model that features an Intel Core i7, 16GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD. Nice.
This deal is available now.
HP Pavilion X360 15.6-inch convertible with Intel Core i5 and 1T hard drive
HP
Walmart has a great deal on the convertible version of HP’s Pavilion x360. You get an solid midrange Intel CPU plus 8GB of RAM and a huge 1T hard drive.
Offer available now.
Lenovo IdeaPad 330 Core i5 12GB RAM 1TB HDD for $450 ($100 off)
It’s not the fanciest laptop in the world, but it is slim and lightweight — and this configuration is loaded with knockout components. At this price, it’s worth a serious look.
Note that Staples and Walmart will also have discounted configurations of this model available on Black Friday, though the Staples deal is available in stores only, not online.
Dell XPS 13 for $1,500 ($500 off)
We don’t know exactly which configuration Costco is selling with this promotion — but the XPS 13 is one of the best all-around 13-inch laptops, and this is a significant discount.
HP 15t laptop with Intel Core i7 for $500 ($740 off)
This deal should be worth a look — after HP reveals the full specifications of the model on offer. The 15t touchscreen laptop comes in a wide variety of configurations. This one features a seventh-gen Intel Core i7 CPU but the RAM and storage options remain unknown.
HP Pavilion gaming laptop with Nvidia GTX 1050Ti for $600 ($230 off)
Walmart has solid $200+ markdown on a 15.6-inch laptop from HP. You get a respectable collection of entry-level gaming components, including an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050Ti GPU.
Lenovo Flex 5 with Intel Core i5 and 1T hard drive for $500 ($300 off)
A simply killer deal from Office Depot. The Flex 5’s 15.6-inch display gives you more room for work and, complemented by its speakers, makes it very good for video, music and games. It also has plenty of battery life to get you through the day.
Desktop PCs
Apple 21.5-inch iMac with 1T hard drive for $900 ($200 off)
Sarah Tew/CNET
Best Buy’s discount brings the iMac’s price down to earth. For $900, you get a gorgeous 21.5-inch, 4K-resolution display, a decent Intel Core i5 CPU and a massive 1T hard drive. Note that the 27-inch model will also be on sale for $1,600.
HP Pavilion desktop PC with Intel Core i5 for $370 ($260 off)
Staples was already selling HP’s Pavilion desktop PC at a discounted $510, but will take off an additional $140 starting on Thanksgiving. This setup includes a decent set of components including an Intel Core i5 CPU, 12GB of RAM and a 1TB SATA hard drive.
HP Omen desktop gaming PC with Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 for $1,500 ($500 off)
Best Buy takes $500 off of HP’s gaming PC rig. It’s a pretty nice configuration — Intel Core i7, 16GB of RAM and 2TB hard drive plus a 256GB SSD and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080, which costs hundreds on its own, to top things off.
Chromebooks
HP Chromebook with 14-inch display and Intel Celeron CPU for $210 ($40 off)
Chromebooks are often so inexpensive that retailers have a difficult time marking them down more — even during Black Friday. We haven’t reviewed this particular 14-inch Chromebook by HP but the specs look decent at this price.
HP 11.6-inch Chromebook for $130 ($90 off)
This is some dirt-cheap Black Friday business. This HP machine is a basic one: You get an 11.6-inch display, a dual-core Intel Celeron CPU, 4GB of RAM and 16GB of storage. For $130.
Deal available Nov. 22-24.
Monitors
Dell UltraSharp 27 InfinityEdge Monitor for $300 ($70 off)
Sarah Tew/CNET
The Dell UltraSharp 27 is bright, with good general-purpose resolution and color quality — and Costco has it for the lowest price we’ve seen.
Dell 24-inch UltraSharp LED monitor for $120 ($180 off)
Staples’ discount — 60 percent off the retail price — makes this perfectly serviceable 24-inch LED monitor a great deal.
27-inch HP curved LED monitor for $160 ($120 off)
Staples offers up a worthy deal for this curved 27-inch LED monitor. Solid specs include a 1,920×1,080-pixel resolution, LED backlight and 1800R curvature.
Dell 27-inch monitor for $110 ($90 off)
Yes, this Dell monitor is several years old. But a 27-inch HD display for $110 is the stuff Black Friday is made of. Worth a look, for sure. (Note that Walmart is selling the same model for $120.)
Deal available Nov. 22-24.
HP 22-inch FHD monitor for $80 ($30 off)
Straight up: This may be the least expensive 22-inch monitor we’ve ever seen. Thanks, Office Depot.
Black Friday 2018 deals in each category
Black Friday 2018 deals for specific devices
Black Friday 2018 deals by store
Black Friday 2018: CNET’s complete coverage
First published Nov. 8.
Update, Nov. 13, 12:25 p.m. PT: Adds corrected information about HP Pavilion x360 model at Office Depot.