The best Cyber Monday deals on iPads, laptops, and PCs [Updated]
The Dell Inspiron 14 3000 doorbuster might be the lowest-priced Cyber Monday laptop deal available.
[Update: Microsoft's online store has select Surface devices on sale, including a Surface Pro 4 tablet with Intel Core i5 processor, 4GB of RAM, and 128GB SSD for $799, and $200 off a base Surface Book (Core i5, 8GB of RAM, 128GB SSD) for $1,249. Lenovo is selling its IdeaPad 110 laptop AMD A6-9200 processor, 4 gigs of RAM, terabyte hard, and 15.6-inch display for $249.99. MacMall matches Hhgregg's price on the iPad mini 2 ($229) and has slashed prices on iPad Pros over $100, and taken $270 off the base Mac Pro desktop. HP has its Pavilion 15z laptop (AMD A9 processor, 8GB of memory, 1TB hard drive, 15.6-inch screen) on sale for $299.99, while Amazon has matched Best Buy's discounts on Apple's MacBook laptops and B&H Photo's $70 savings on the base Mac mini and $150 discount on the base iMac with Retina 4k display.]
Cyber Monday still doesn't have the notoriety of Black Friday, but its origins as a way for online retailers to cash in on holiday shopping dollars has ironically dulled the popularity of the day after Thanksgiving. It might not have the eye-popping doorbusters required to get people in the doors, but often it offers better savings for consumers. If you're still looking to buy a new tablet, laptop, or desktop, here are some of the best Cyber Monday deals we could find.
Tablets
Deals on Apple's iPads were hard enough to find on Black Friday, and they're are even fewer for Cyber Monday. Walmart does have some savings on select models, such as iPad mini 4 and the iPad Pro (both 9.7-inch and 12.9-inch editions), while Best Buy is promising "great prices on select iPad models," though these appear to be tablets with 4G LTE connectivity that require a cellular contract. (According to The Wirecutter, using the code IPADPRODEAL will get you a $125 discount on all iPad Pro 9.7-inch configurations.) Regional retailer Hhgregg is also slashing prices on the iPad Pro ($50 less for the base 9.7-inch version and $70 off for the 12.9-inch one), and has the iPad mini 2 for $229, or $40 off the regular price. If you don't mind a discontinued model, Staples has the 16GB iPad mini 3 for $299. Target is taking 15 percent off everything, so you'd get roughly $60 off the iPad Air 2 32GB configuration and $75 off the one with 128GB of storage.
Amazon continues to sweep up the low end of the tablet market as it maintains its $33.33 price on its 7-inch Fire tablet, which retailers like Best Buy and Staples are also offering. Best Buy joins Amazon itself in selling the 8-inch Fire HD for $59.99. Samsung Galaxy Tab models continue to receive the same across-the-board discount they got over Black Friday, while Walmart is taking $199 off the regular $1,599 price for the Microsoft Surface Pro 4 with Intel Core i7 processor, 8GB of RAM, and 256GB of solid-state storage.
Laptops
As I mentioned the other day, the $100 PCs that deal prognosticators expected over the last couple of Black Fridays have turned out to be few and far between. That trend continues on Cyber Monday, though budget laptop buyers have plenty of choices between $100 and $200. As mentioned above, Target's 15 percent site-wide discount knocks a trio of the laptops it's selling (a pair of Chromebooks along with a Windows 10 notebook) under $150. But there are plenty of other options, such as a pair of $149 laptops at Walmart: the Samsung Chromebook 3 and the Windows 10-running Lenovo N22.
Other low-cost Cyber Monday laptops include the HP Stream laptop at Office Depot for $169.99, the Asus Transformer Book 2-in-1 at Newegg for $159.99, the Lenovo Ideapad 110s at Best Buy for $169.99, and an Asus Chromebook with 4GB of RAM instead of the usual 2 gigs at B&H Photo for $169. But the best price of all could come from Dell, who is selling its own Inspiron 14 3000 for just $129 starting at 2 p.m. on Cyber Monday. Note that many of these bargain notebook have basic specs, such as just 2GB of RAM, 32GB of built-in storage, and/or a smaller 11.6-inch display, whether they're Chromebooks or running Windows 10.
If you're looking to spend (a lot more) for one of Apple's laptops on Cyber Monday, Best Buy will knock $150 off all MacBook configurations it sells -- that is, the specific MacBook notebook, not all lines. Otherwise, B&H Photo is your best bet, taking $100 off the base MacBook Air configuration and $160 off the step-up model with double the storage. It also matches Best Buy's discount on the MacBook, and even knocks $100 off the recently refreshed MacBook Pro, though only cheaper versions without the new Touch Bar.
Desktops
You'll generally have to spend a little more than on a laptop to get a desktop special on Cyber Monday,, though Office Depot/OfficeMax is taking $54.01 to $61 off HP's Chromebox, selling the mini-PC running Google Chrome for as little as $134.99. You'll have to go over $200 to score some other deals, however, such as an Asus 21.5-inch all-in-one PC for $249, the HP Slimline 260-a010 or HP 251-a126 each for $249.99 at Staples, or a Dell Inspiron 3252 for $279 at Walmart. Dell itself doesn't offer as good a special on a desktop as it has for its laptop, but it does have an Inspiron tower with AMD A10 processor, 8GB of RAM, and terabyte hard drive for $299.99 as a noon Cyber Monday doorbuster. Those specs are beefier than those cheaper desktop deals, which often come with Intel Celeron or Pentium processors, 4GB of RAM, and less hard drive space.
Once again, B&H Photo appears to be a good option for discounts on Apple Mac desktops. You can get $70 off the base Mac mini, or $100 off the mid-tier configuration that's normally $699. It's also cutting $100 from the base 21.5-inch iMac, and $150 off the base iMac with Retina 4k display or the 27-inch base iMac with Retina 5k display. It's Mac Pro deal is only on the $3,999 configuration, though you will save $300 off the regular price.