Best laptop deals in the UK for May 2024: Cheap offers on top models

Tip tap away on a discounted tech

The Evening Standard's journalism is supported by our readers. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Unsplash

Saskia Kemsley2 May 2024

Just like smartphones, laptops have become an essential accessory we can’t be without.

Whether working from home, travelling abroad or streaming the must-watch show of the moment, trusty laptops make all of this - and more - possible.

They also serve as essential backup devices for other pieces of tech, from smartphones to digital cameras and recording equipment. This means that when laptops flash that ghastly blue screen of death, we’re not just losing our daily work companion – but we’re potentially losing a whole host of precious data and memories which we didn’t get around to storing in the Cloud.

This is why it’s essential to cross-check the current charge cycle of your computer with what the model you own is supposed to run. That way, you can start shopping for sparkly new tech before your laptop decides to give up the ghost.

Not sure where to start when it comes to searching for a new laptop? We’ve got a few pointers to help.

How to shop for a new laptop online

If you mainly watch television or videos on your laptop then you’ll want to prioritise pixel quality for a true-to-life picture. Look out for laptops which offer 4K and sharp resolution (Full HD or 1080p).
If you’re a gamer then the GPU (graphics processing unit), will be the most important aspect to focus on. Get a laptop that explicitly states it's a gaming one as that will have a better GPU integrated than a normal laptop. For screen size, between 15 to 17 inches is about right.
If you use your laptop predominantly to work from home you’ll want something with a long battery life. Nine hours or more is ideal, and something with a speedy response time (5ms).
If your laptop is for the whole family or to be shared with others then you’ll want to think about how much storage the laptop offers. We’d recommend looking for laptops with storage between 512GB to 1TB and RAM of at least 8GB. Also consider durability if it’s going to be used by small children or clumsy big kids.

If you love being creative on your laptop then you might want to think about an Apple product as its software is easy to use, has great graphics and newer models offer 4K video editing.
If your laptop is travelling around as much as you then look for a smaller screen and make sure it is as lightweight as possible. You may want to aim for a 12.5 to 14 inch screen and anything under 2kg for its overall weight.