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Prime Day laptop deals 2021: Best early offers on MacBooks, Asus, Huawei and more

Confirmed for June 21, the sale traditionally boasts impressive discounts on big ticket items including laptops (The Independent)
Confirmed for June 21, the sale traditionally boasts impressive discounts on big ticket items including laptops (The Independent)

Amazon Prime Day is bearing down on us, that hallowed time of year when the online retailer slashes prices across its entire site.

Last year’s event was delayed until October by the pandemic, but this year’s Amazon Prime Day returns to its traditional summertime slot. In fact, it’s a little earlier than usual. The two-day sales bonanza is confirmed to take place on June 21 and June 22.

It’s one of the biggest online shopping days of the year, with discounts to be found across every product category from children’s toys and tech to beauty and fashion. The exact deals are a closely guarded secret and never revealed in advance, but as we enter the sixth year of Amazon Prime Day we’ve got a good idea of what to expect.

On this page you’ll find the best Amazon Prime Day deals on laptops. Laptops are always a popular item in the sale, with discounts of more than £800 seen in previous years. Ahead of the event we’ve found some existing deals on great devices, but check back as we approach the big day for the most up-to-date offers on Prime Day laptops.

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It’s also worth keeping an eye on other stores during the sale. In recent years Amazon’s flagrant price-dropping has had a knock-on effect, enticing other retailers to offer discounts on their own sites too.

Our IndyBest team hand-picks every deal we feature. We may earn some commission from the links in this article, but our selections have been made independently and without bias. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent.

Watch: Everything you need to know about Amazon Prime Day 2021

When will Prime Day laptop deals begin?

The official dates for the Amazon Prime Day event are June 21 and June 22, according to a press release from the retailer. The two-day shopping extravaganza will see discounts on everything from tech to fashion and home appliances.

In true Amazon fashion, you may notice a number of early discounts on laptops ahead of the big shopping event. Keep this page bookmarked to make sure you’re always in the know, as we’ll be updating it.

Do you need Amazon Prime to buy Prime Day laptop deals?

Yes. You need to be an Amazon Prime member to get the best laptop deals on Amazon Prime Day. Those who aren’t members can usually access a handful of related deals that pop up on Amazon around the same time, but to find the biggest discounts you’re going to need that Prime account.

Membership costs £7.99 a month, or you can pay an annual fee of £79 a year. As well as unlocking Prime Day laptop deals you get other perks too, such as same-day delivery, movies and television on Prime Video, and Amazon Music.

If you’ve never used Amazon Prime before you can sign up for a free 30 day trial any time before Prime Day kicks off. If you’ve already used up your free trial or your membership has lapsed, keep an eye on the Prime Day landing page for discounts or deals on extending your subscription. Amazon usually makes these available in the run up to Prime Day.

Last year’s best laptop deals in the UK

There were big savings to be had on laptops in last year’s Amazon Prime Day sale. One of the most popular deals was on the ultra-lightweight LG gram laptop (£1,318, Amazon.co.uk) which had over £300 off. Another was the compact Samsung Galaxy Book S (£915.75, Amazon.co.uk), which was reduced to £799.

An enormous £800 was knocked off the price of the Asus ROG Strix gaming laptop (£3,076, Amazon.co.uk). Chromebooks flew off the shelves last year too, the most popular being the 13in Acer Chromebook spin (£686.94, Amazon.co.uk). This Asus Zenbook (£587.64, Amazon.co.uk) sold out quickly when it was discounted by a generous £250.

Asus Zenbook 14 (Amazon)
Asus Zenbook 14 (Amazon)

What to expect from Prime Day laptop deals in 2021

Last year’s Prime Day laptop deals focused on the top end of the market, offering discounts on devices starting at around £1,000. Two major things have happened to the market since then to suggest that we’ll see even better deals this year.

Firstly, the spike in demand for high-end laptops from the rise in working from home is tailing off. Secondly, a global semiconductor shortage put a squeeze on the production of the processors required to build new laptops.

Read more: Best laptop deals in the UK for June 2021

That means there are more budget-category and mid-range 2020 laptops floating around than expected, which manufacturers will be eager to shift before pushing their newest devices in the run up to peak buying season later in the year.

That’s not to say we won’t see deals on the biggest brands too. Prime Day usually has deals on MacBooks, as well as Microsoft Surface and Dell laptops, which we expect to see discounted again this year.

How can you get the best deals?

We’ll update this page with laptop deals as they pop up, so keep checking in for the latest discounts. You should also head over to your Amazon account and add some items to your wish list. Anything that gets discounted will be right there waiting for you in your basket, ready to snap up.

The Amazon app is the best way to stay on top of the Lightning Deals. These are time limited sales that last for a few hours or while stocks last, so switch your notifications on to be alerted as soon as products you’re interested have gone on sale.

Ask Amazon’s Alexa for early Prime Day deals

From 12pm on 18 June, Prime members will be able to ask Alexa what Prime Day deals will be on offer and start shopping for bargains early.

Alexa, the retailer’s virtual assistant, can be found on the Amazon Echo smart speaker along with the Echo dot (£34.99, Amazon.co.uk) and Echo studio (£189.99, Amazon.co.uk), as well as many speakers, smart TVs, fitness trackers and more sold by Amazon.

Early laptop Prime Day deals in the UK

You don’t have to wait until Prime Day to find deals on laptops at Amazon. Ahead of the big day, there are discounts to be found on some big-brand laptops. Here are our top picks.

Apple MacBook Pro with Apple M1 Chip: Was £1,499, now £1,319.97, Amazon.co.uk

 (IndyBest)
(IndyBest)

Apple deals are often few and far between so we were so excited to see this Macbook Pro on offer with a great saving of £181. The M1 chip technology in this model gives you the power to get all your work done with ease, especially if you are someone who runs big programmes all at once, and the 20 hours of battery life means you won’t have to be caught out without your charger again. The Pro MacBooks have long been a staple favourite at IndyBest and have featured time and time again in our round ups, most recently in our review of the best high-end laptops for great performance. But why pick the Macbook Pro over the Macbook Air? Our reviewer had this to say “Unlike the Air, there is a fan in this model which means the fast performance can continue for even longer. Additionally, the entry-level Pro includes a slightly more powerful graphics chip.”

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Microsoft Surface laptop 3 13in 2019: Was £999, now £810.60, Amazon.co.uk

 (Microsoft)
(Microsoft)

The Surface laptop 3 is a delight to work on, boasting a stylish design, premium finish and sharp display. Amazon is discounting a number of configurations, so you can customise this with your preferred amount of memory or a faster processor and still enjoy a discount. We’ve highlighted the cheapest option here, which uses the Core i5 processor, 8GB of memory and 128GB of storage.

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Huawei MateBook 13: Was £899.99, now £649, Amazon.co.uk

 (Amazon)
(Amazon)

This ultra thin laptop with a 13in screen is good if you use your laptop for running lots of programs, gaming, or video editing. In our best laptops for students guide, our reviewer noted that a similar model, the 14, has a finger print ID power button which the 13 also has, and “makes logging on both secure and effortless” adding that users “will benefit from high processing power.” Another pro of the MateBook 13 is the quick charge technology – you’ll get 2.3 hours of usage from just a 15 minute charge.

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Apple MacBook air 13.3in (2020) 256GB: Was £999, now £899, Amazon.co.uk

 (Apple)
(Apple)

The M1-powered MacBook air has £100 off at Amazon right now, and sits at the top of our list of the best high-end laptops you can buy. Our reviewer was enamoured with the MacBook air’s performance. “The processor is the real standout. It’s so strong that many who have previously sought out the pricier MacBook Pro will find this more than powerful enough for their needs. The extra power has not diminished the Air’s great battery life, however, as this model has six more hours’ usability than the previous model.”

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Asus Zenbook S13 UX393 13.9in: Was £1,499.99, now £999.99, Amazon.co.uk

 (Asus)
(Asus)

The Asus Zenbook S13 is a vanishingly thin laptop with a toughened magnesium alloy chassis, a 4K display, a super fast i7 processor and 16GB of memory. A 14 hour battery life means you can confidently use it all day without worrying about recharging, while the 1TB SSD hard drive gives you oodles of storage to play with. This is an enormous discount on a fantastic laptop, and one that even Prime Day might struggle to beat.

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Asus vivobook L410MA: Was £249.99, now £199.99, Amazon.co.uk

 (Asus)
(Asus)

An entry-level laptop ideal for everyday use, the Asus vivobook has £50 off ahead of Prime Day. This thin and portable 14in laptop comes with a 12-month subscription to Microsoft 365 and 1TB of cloud storage, something students and people working from home will find useful. The touchpad can be turned into a number pad too, for more efficient number crunching on the go.

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LG gram 14Z90P: Was £1,149, now £749, Amazon.co.uk

 (Amazon)
(Amazon)

With its compact, minimalist design, this laptop is one to tuck in your bag when you’re working on the go. Despite its ultra-lightweight design, it boasts a 14in, high resolution screen and up to 25 hours battery life, with a wider touchpad than its predecessors and a speedy core Intel i5 processor for faster, better performance.

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ASUS chromebook C223NA: Was £229.99, now £179, Amazon.co.uk

 (Amazon)
(Amazon)

Another great laptop for students or professionals who are always on the move – it has an anti-glare screen when you’re out and about, while the laptop itself is smaller than a piece of A4 paper. Spilled a splash of your iced latte? No fret, this model is spill-proof and able to repel up to 66ml of liquid. It’ll also hold up for 10 hours on one charge, so there’s no need to lug a charger around all day, while built-in security features offer ultimate peace of mind.

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For the latest discounts on laptops and other tech offers, try the links below:

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