These MacBook-Style Laptops Are on Sale for Labor Day
Labor Day sales are already in full swing, and Lifehacker is sharing the best deals based on product reviews, comparisons, and price tracking tools before they’re gone. You can also sign up for our Add to Cart newsletter to get the best deals delivered to your inbox.
I grew up on a PC, but I get it. Sometimes, there’s nothing better than a MacBook. Easy to carry, stylish but unassuming—that’s what many people want a computer to look like. Luckily, PC makers have noticed, too, and if you’re a Windows user but want to see what’s going on with Apple’s form factor, there are plenty of laptops that try to give you the best of both worlds. And with Labor Day sales on, now’s a great time to buy one.
There are two serious contenders in the MacBook-like PC laptop market. As expected, one of them is Microsoft itself. The company’s Surface Laptop line does a great job of maintaining Apple’s thin and light design while initially offering a slightly lower price. The Surface Laptop also has, in case you couldn’t tell from the name, a touchscreen, something Apple doesn’t have. And while its Qualcomm-made ARM chips aren’t as powerful as Apple’s own M-series ARM chips, they offer similarly efficient battery life. Overall, it’s probably the closest you’ll get to Apple in a Windows MacBook, and entry-level configurations of both the 13.8-inch and 15-inch models are currently on sale. If you’re looking to save some cash, there are also sales on the higher-end models of both devices. The 512GB version of the 13-inch model is currently discounted at Best Buy to match the entry-level configuration (be sure to check out the link before you order).
There is a reason to choose a different company, though. Probably the biggest downside to Microsoft laptops is that their ARM chips, while battery-efficient, can sometimes cause compatibility issues with Windows programs that expect a different architecture. It’s all a bit technical, but that’s where Dell’s computers come in handy. They’re currently available starting at $350 and run on more traditional AMD or Intel chips that can run most applications without issue (assuming your specific setup is powerful enough for them). You can also find unique form factors here, like laptops that can turn into tablets , which aren’t available from Microsoft. There are plenty of options to choose from on Dell’s site , but my favorite is probably the Dell 16 Plus , which currently starts at $750. This model gets a large 16-inch screen, an above-average Intel Core Ultra 7 chip, a decent 16GB of memory, and a generous 1TB of storage. Unless you need a discrete graphics card for gaming (if you do, I wrote about another great deal from Dell ), this is a great option for almost anyone. Or you can spend another $150 and get the same laptop with 32GB of memory.