As part of Best Buy’s “Techtober” sales event, I stumbled upon the best laptop deal I’ve seen in a while. It’s for $450 off the Acer Swift 16 AI (8/10, WIRED Recommends), costing $800. Now, I’m not saying $800 qualifies this as a “budget” laptop, but you have to check out the specs on this thing to see why I’m raving about the discount.
The laptop not only comes with 16 GB of RAM and a terabyte of storage, but also a 16-inch OLED screen with a 2,880 x 1,800 resolution. That OLED screen even has a 120-Hz refresh rate. You won’t find a 16-inch laptop with a display this gorgeous at this price anywhere else. Importantly, it also comes with an Intel Core Ultra 7 256V CPU, an efficient processor known for getting great battery life and decent performance. Our own testing resulted in 13 hours of YouTube video playback, which isn’t quite as long as other laptops with this chip. But as our reviewer put it, it’s likely good enough for most users.
Photograph: Julian Chokkattu
Look, the Acer Swift 16 AI wouldn’t be my first choice based on looks alone. It’s a bit chunkier than I’d prefer at 0.79 inches thick. There are certainly more attractive and portable 16-inch laptops out there, such as the LG Gram Pro 16 (6/10, WIRED Reviewed). Another really solid option I’m seeing is the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Aura Edition for $900. It has a slightly smaller 15.3-inch screen, but it’s a match with the Acer Swift 16 for specs, including the CPU and OLED display. The advantage is a prettier design and a much thinner chassis, at only 0.55 inches.
Best Buy’s Techtober runs through October 12, which just so happens to align with Amazon’s October Prime Day sales event, also known as Big Deal Days. That being said, there will be a lot of great laptops on sale during Prime Day, so make sure to check back for the list I curated of all the best laptop deals happening this week.
