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With many of us in Australia working from home, a reliable laptop has become a necessity. But, because you're not going to update it every year, it can be worth spending a little extra on something that you know will give you the performance you need. Thankfully, Lenovo discounted plenty of its laptops across Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
November's Black Friday sales weekend offered the best chance to make some huge savings on a wide range of laptops, which this year included some top-of-the-line Lenovo machines.
No matter your budget, Lenovo still has a laptop for you. Whether it's an affordable Chromebook for writing a few documents, to more of a Pro-spec machine for video editing and gaming, you'll be able to find it during Lenovo's sale.
Lenovo's catalogue offers all the usual suspects – 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.
If you’re uncertain as to which deal suits you best, TechRadar’s Australian team will do the hard work for you, finding the top Lenovo deals and listing them right here.
The best Lenovo Black Friday deals for 2022
Gaming laptops
Pro & business
Everyday
When does Lenovo's Black Friday sale begin?
Black Friday 2022 fell on November 25 this year, and the aptly titled Cyber Monday followed it up on November 28.
However, the days of Black Friday sales being strictly for just a weekend are long gone. These days, in Australia, offers begin to roll in a few days ahead of the Friday itself, although most do end at 11:59pm AEDT on Cyber Monday. Some retailers, though, keep the sale going for a little longer if stock is still available.
Lenovo didn't wait for Black Friday, though. The laptop maker has weekly sales on its Australian site, so it pays to keep an eye on their latest prices and regular discounts. Where typically these regular sales offer discounts of up to 45%, Black Friday offered up to 55% off on select machines.
How to get the best Lenovo deals on Black Friday/Cyber Monday
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 IdeaPad range, which also includes some Yoga notebooks. However, the Yoga range straddles both the ThinkPad and IdeaPad lines, offering something for everyone across a variety of price points.
In Australia, Lenovo only offers a couple of Chromebooks – the 10-inch IdeaPad Duet 2-in-1 and the 13-inch IdeaPad Duet 5, the latter being the more powerful but expensive option.
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. The latest Intel processors are currently in their 12th generation, while AMD's is the series 6000. Both are denoted with the generational number in front of the model, for example, AMD Ryzen 7 6800U or Intel Core i7-1260P.
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 8GB 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 16GB 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 256GB or 512GB of solid-state storage available on most machines. You can get a 1TB 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. 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 Nvidia's range of MX or GTX GPU options, 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 display as standard. If you're going to be watching a lot of video content on your machine, then you may want to consider a 4K display and even the display technology, such as OLED.
Although a 4K screen looks and sounds like a great idea, it’ll take a serious toll on your machine’s core components and sometimes it’s worth sacrificing a bit of image quality for a smoother frame rate. 4K displays will also drain your laptop battery faster and, given this is an area where gaming laptops already struggle, you may want to consider what you’re losing to gain 4K.
Keep the receipts
Make sure you keep hold of your receipts in case you're not happy with any of your purchases and want a refund – it's also worth checking the refund policy of websites before buying on Black Friday.
Some retailers may offer longer warranties than others, which could be a deciding factor when buying a laptop on Black Friday. Most PC manufacturers offer a two-year warranty, but under Australian consumer law, you’ll typically be covered for three years.
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.
