Don't buy a MacBook this Presidents' Day - get this amazing Asus Vivobook S 14 OLED offer instead and save $400

Asus Vivobook S 14 OLED with 'Don't miss' text
(Image credit: Asus)

This year's ongoing Presidents' Day sales have made me break my usual advice, by telling people not to buy a MacBook Air. Instead, you should jump on this incredible deal from Best Buy, which is selling the brilliant Asus Vivobook S 14 OLED for just $549.99 - a massive $400 saving from the usual price of $949.99.

This price is so good, that I would even recommend this deal to die-hard Apple fans. With the cutting-edge Intel Core Ultra 5 Series 2 processor, 512GB SSD, and 16GB of RAM, the Asus Vivobook S 14 OLED can easily compete with the M3-powered MacBook Air when it comes to performance, yet it's almost half the price.

And, while the 1920 x 1200 (WUXGA) resolution of its 14-inch screen is lower resolution than the 2560 x 1664 resolution of the MacBook Air's 13.6-inch screen, the OLED tech behind the Asus Vivobook S 14's display is far superior to the MacBook Air's LED backlight tech, so in many cases, the image quality will be better.

Asus also makes fine-looking and dependable laptops, so at this price the Asus Vivobook S 14 OLED could even win over Mac fanatics, since most applications that run on macOS are also available on Windows 11.

Today's best Presidents' Day laptop deal

Asus Zenbook S 14 OLED
Asus Zenbook S 14 OLED: was $949.99 now $549.99 at Best Buy

Display - 14 inches
Processor - Intel Core Ultra 5
RAM - 16GB
Storage - 512GB

This Asus Zenbook S 14 OLED is one of the best premium laptop deals in the latest Best Buy sale. It features powerful components, including an Intel Core Ultra 5 processor, 16GB of RAM, and a 512GB SSD that combine to offer incredible performance and lots of storage. The 14-inch OLED display is a fantastic addition, too, offering a clear and sharp picture in general use and when watching videos.

For the price, you're really not going to find a better laptop - it's not that much more expensive than a lot of Chromebooks, but you have the flexibility and power of a Windows 11 laptop with a stunning screen and plenty of storage space.

If you're dead set against ditching macOS for Windows 11, however, then Best Buy also has the MacBook Air M2 (2022) on sale for $799. This isn't a bad price for the MacBook Air, though it comes with half the storage space (256GB), and the M2 chip is older than the Intel Core Ultra 5 found in the cheaper Zenbook S 14 OLED.

Apple MacBook Air M2 (2022)
Apple MacBook Air M2 (2022): was $999 now $799 at Best Buy

Display - 13 inches
Processor - Apple M2
RAM - 16GB
Storage - 256GB

This deal is for a slightly older MacBook Air model but it's an upgraded 16GB configuration that's perfect for most users. Even though a newer M3 version is available, we concluded that this is still one of the best laptops you can buy in our MacBook Air M2 review, thanks to the stylish design, clear display, impressive performance, and long 18-hour battery life. For those needing a premium powerhouse for creative apps such as photo editing, video editing and more intense workloads, this is a stellar offer on an Apple machine right now.

More Presidents' Day sales today

Matt Hanson
Managing Editor, Core Tech

Matt is TechRadar's Managing Editor for Core Tech, looking after computing and mobile technology. Having written for a number of publications such as PC Plus, PC Format, T3 and Linux Format, there's no aspect of technology that Matt isn't passionate about, especially computing and PC gaming. He’s personally reviewed and used most of the laptops in our best laptops guide - and since joining TechRadar in 2014, he's reviewed over 250 laptops and computing accessories personally.

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