Lenovo, purveyor of laptops for any use case, has kicked off it's Black Friday discounts well before the official date of November 29. We expect more deals to come during the actual sales that run till December 2, but many of the early deals are well worth a look.
So if your home work laptop could use an upgrade, or your kids need a reliable, powerful laptop for school or university, then now is your last chance to score some serious savings.
Lenovo Black Friday discounts have been applied to a huge range of machines – from the traditional clamshell laptops in the ThinkPad range for the business user, to Legion gaming behemoths for when you're at play. For anyone looking for something more versatile and portable, there are 2-in-1s in Lenovo's IdeaPad Yoga range of devices, while the Chromebooks offer budget options. And on select machines and other peripherals, you could save up to 55%.
If you can't decide what deal might suit best, or what the best deal actually is, don't stress. The TechRadar’s Australian team will do the hard work for you, finding the top Lenovo deals as they drop, and listing them right here.
- Want to save more at Lenovo? Check out the latest Lenovo coupon codes.
Early deals
Gaming laptops
Black Friday Lenovo deals: Key information
When does Lenovo's Black Friday sale begin?
Black Friday 2024 doesn't officially start until November 29 but Lenovo has gotten out the blocks early with Black Friday deals now live on site. Discounts have been applied to a huge range of laptops, spanning all of Lenovo's ranges, with models for students, professionals and gamers alike.
How to get the best Lenovo deals on Black Friday
With all the jargon surrounding a device like a laptop, plus with so many different models to choose from, finding a great deal can be rather overwhelming. If you aren't sure of what you're after, just remember what each range from Lenovo has to offer.
ThinkPads are mostly business laptops that compete against the Dell Vostro line. These machines can very often have some powerful components under the hood, giving you the opportunity to double them up as a gaming laptop as well, as long as you're a casual gamer.
For more hardcore video games, though, you'll need to look at the Legion machines which come with powerful discrete graphics options. However, the newer the GPU, the higher the price, but chances are you can score a decent bargain on a Legion laptop with Nvidia's latest RTX graphics cards this November.
When it comes to getting an Ultrabook or a 2-in-1, look to Lenovo's Yoga range, including models such as the Yoga 6 and Yoga 7. Lenovo’s Yoga laptops have a flexible hinge, allowing them to transform from a conventional clamshell laptop, to a tablet and even into a presentation mode. Effectively, you’re getting three devices in one, representing greater value.
If you want to make the process of choosing the best Lenovo laptop for you that little bit easier, read on and we’ll guide you through the decision-making process.
Know what you want before Black Friday
Draw up a list of what you want from your laptop before the Black Friday sales begin, and take note of any Lenovo machine that has caught your eye. This means your deal-hunting can be narrowed down and more successful, not to mention quicker.
This will also help to stop you blowing cash on impulse buys which you may regret later, especially if a deal for something you actually do want crops up on a later date, and you've already blown your budget.
Size it up
If you've decided on a Lenovo device, the first thing you need to do is consider the size of the machine you want. Lenovo's laptops come in a range of sizes, including 13-inch, 14-inch, 15-inch, 16-inch or even 17-inch.
Smaller notebooks are not only more portable, but are often cheaper as well. Larger devices, on the other hand, offer more screen real estate and, with the increase in space under the hood, you're likely to find more powerful components alongside a bigger battery.
Then there's the weight consideration. If you need to carry your laptop around for work a lot, you'll want to opt for a lightweight, compact notebook that ideally weighs less than 1.5kg.
If it's a desktop PC you're after, consider the space you can spare in the room you're planning to house it in. You can get 24-inch and 27-inch all-in-ones, saving you the need to get a separate PC tower.
Check the spec sheet
Spec sheets can be confusing if you're not sure of exactly what you're looking at. Ultimately, the higher the number, the more powerful the machine. But, for the uninitiated, here are a few handy tips to remember.
As far as performance is concerned, it’s important to consider the core parts of the machine – the processor (CPU), system memory, storage and, specifically for gaming laptops, the graphics processor (GPU).
When it comes to the main processor, you'll commonly find an Intel Core i5 or i7 CPU within the chassis or AMD's Ryzen processors. Both have their merits, and you may be a loyalist to one over the other. Lenovo uses both, so you are free to choose whichever processor is the preferred one for you.
While opting for the latest CPU gets you a seriously powerful machine, the previous generation can still be perfectly capable and can also provide greater discounts.
Store that memory
These days most laptops come with a minimum of 16GB of RAM, which is plenty for the average user who might do some casual gaming or video editing. If you need professional level performance from your machine, then you'll likely need to find one with 32GB of memory.
For your storage needs, you're best off with a solid state drive (SSD). These offer more reliable performance and you’ll find that apps and programs will load very quickly. You'll typically find 512GB of solid-state storage available on most machines. You can get a 1TB or 2TB SSD if you need it, but expect to pay top dollar for it.
Traditional hard drives (which you’ll often find referred to as an HDD or hard disk drive) are a slower medium of storage and are much less common compared to SSDs. Their strength lies in the fact that they usually have far bigger capacity for the price – you can find storage of up to 2TB even in budget hardware.
Graphics and display
Many laptops have integrated graphics, meaning the GPU is built into the CPU but this somewhat limits the visual performance. Integrated graphics – referred to as Intel HD Graphics, or Intel Iris, when it comes to Intel processors – are fine for casual gamers, but nothing more than that. If it's hardcore gaming you want from a laptop, you’ll need a discrete GPU – a graphics solution that sits separate from the processor.
Casual gamers can get by with old models or integrated graphics from AMD and Intel, but if you're a serious gamer, you will want to look out for the RTX series GPUs. Remember, though, the more powerful the GPU the more you can expect to pay.
The majority of laptops these days will have a Full HD (1080p) display as standard. If you're looking for a premium experience, then you may want to consider a 3K or 4K display and display technologies like OLED.
Although a 4K screen looks and sounds like a great idea, for gaming on a budget, it’s worth sacrificing a bit of image quality for a smoother frame rate. 4K displays will also drain your laptop battery a bit faster and, given this is an area where gaming laptops already struggle, you may want to consider what you’re losing to gain 4K.
Stick with TechRadar to get the best Black Friday deals
Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales can get rather overwhelming. With several Lenovo products going on sale at the same time, we understand that it can also be time-consuming if you’re trying to locate a specific model.
That’s why you should visit TechRadar to ensure you get the best Lenovo Black Friday deals this year. We’ll keep an eye on the retailer's Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals, and highlight the very best savings on the best machines.
