Dells budget XPS laptop is only $600 for October Prime Day — save $200 on the best Windows MacBook Neo
SAVE $200: The Dell XPS 13 is on sale for up to 25% off during Best Buy’s Techtober Sale. Two 512GB variants of the premium-built budget laptop are cheaper than ever (starting at just $599.99).
Apple’s mega-popular budget MacBook Neo is only $10 off for Prime Big Deal Days, Amazon’s “October Prime Day” event (live now through Oct. 7). That’s not a huge surprise given the fact that it hardly ever goes on sale, but it does kind of sting when the Neo’s best Windows alternative is a whopping $200 off at a competing retailer this week.
In one of the best laptop deals I’ve seen so far this year, the new Dell XPS 13 is on sale for up to 25% off at Best Buy during its Techtober Sale, which runs through Sunday, Oct. 11. Two models with an Intel Core 5 320 chip, 512GB of storage, and either 8GB or 16GB of RAM are both $200 off — a discount that brings them down to their lowest prices ever, starting from just $599.99. Meanwhile, the MacBook Neo starts at $689 with 50 percent less storage.
Best Buy’s deals are especially great in the wake of the XPS 13’s $100 price hike, which arrived last month amid an ongoing memory crisis. You used to be able to buy the 8GB RAM/512GB SSD variant for $599.99 on Dell’s website if you were a student, but after the price increase, it’s now $699.99 there with its education offer.
Credit: Haley Henschel / Mashable
I tested the Dell XPS 13 earlier this fall and was so impressed by its build quality (not to mention its battery life — with roughly 19 hours of stamina per charge, it outlasts the MacBook Neo and M5 MacBook Air). Unlike many other budget PCs, it has an all-aluminum design that doesn’t reflect its bargain-bin price point. And unlike Apple’s Neo, it comes equipped with a sharp, smooth touchscreen and a backlit keyboard. The XPS 13 is also way more portable than the MacBook Neo, weighing a full half-pound less. It’s a smart pick for a child or younger student.
For what it’s worth, I would splurge on the XPS 13 with 16GB of RAM if your budget allows: Windows 11 uses a lot of memory even when the machine is idling. That said, the 8GB RAM model will be totally fine if you don’t plan on doing a ton of multitasking.
Prime members only have 48 hours to shop Amazon’s Prime Big Deal Days sale. Sign up for a Prime 30-day free trial if you want to save some cash, and follow Mashable’s guide to the best October Prime Day deals and live blog for the latest updates.
