Laptops were once considered a luxury item, but now, they (or desktop tower PC alternatives) are often necessary for work and study. Thankfully, there is now a hugely diverse ecosystem of laptops suitable for different budgets and intended uses, whether you need a first laptop for your child, a gaming rig, or you want to gift someone a device for productivity. If you’re stuck for ideas regarding laptops suitable to give as gifts, check out our top picks below. We will keep an eye out for the best deals we can find, too, and will update our recommendations accordingly. Must read:

The best cheap tech gifts for under $100The best cheap tech gifts under $75The best cheap tech gifts under $50The best cheap tech gifts under $25

The best laptop gift ideas 

Below are the best laptop gift ideas ZDNET has found online. 
Also: What are laptop docking stations and which is best for your setup? Sure, the specifications aren’t the best we’ve seen on the market, but they are still fair considering the price point. At the moment, this laptop is discounted by $90. Stocks tend to sell out quickly so you should order this laptop ahead of time. Also: The 18 best Apple deals happening right now: iPads, AirPods, and more on sale As an added bonus, the laptop’s 360-degree hinge and 2-in-1 design mean you can flip it around to operate in a tent shape or close the keyboard and display together to become a tablet. The laptop runs on Windows 11 Home.  While extravagant, perhaps, the Acer Predator Triton 500 is a laptop gift option if you’re looking for a device with great specifications. The laptop is equipped with a 15.6-inch display, an Intel Core i7 processor, 32GB RAM, 1TB SSD storage, Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 Graphics, and a backlit keyboard, among other features.  At $2000 for a refurbished model, you are saving over $1000 on the typical RRP.  Apple MacBook Air laptops are a great choice if you need a gift idea for students or people who frequently travel for work. This particular model, currently available at Best Buy, comes with a 13.6-inch Liquid Retina display, Apple’s M2 processor, 8GB RAM, and 256GB SSD storage.  Also: The 23 best laptop deals right now The MacBook Pro range is weightier than the Air line but trades portability with improved specifications and a larger screen size. With casual use, you can expect up to 17 hours of battery life on a single charge. The Samsung Galaxy Book Flex2 Alpha comes with a 13.3-inch Full HD QLED touchscreen display, an Intel Core i7 processor, 16GB RAM, Intel Iris Xe Graphics, and 512GB SSD storage. This laptop operates on Windows 11 Home. You can expect up to 10 hours of battery life on a single charge.  The laptop operates on Windows 11 Home. At the time of writing, Lenovo has included this laptop in doorbuster sales.  For added safety, you can go into the laptop’s settings and opt for different levels of parental control. 

The best laptop deals at Walmart

Below are other laptop deals ZDNET has found at Walmart.

The best laptop deals at Best Buy

Below are other laptop deals ZDNET has found at Best Buy.
While choosing these products, we tried to include options to suit a range of budgets while also keeping age ranges and their intended use in mind.  If you intend to use your laptop for work and at home, for example, you will probably want a model with at least a 15.6-inch display. However, if you will be traveling with your new device, you might prefer a more lightweight and easily portable 13.3-inch laptop.  Gamers might opt for a larger screen still and higher resolutions, whereas with daily tasks such as email and study – with the occasion video call or social media check – you can easily get away with mid-range specs, such as 8GB/16GB RAM.  Unless you are a Linux fan, you then need to decide what operating system you are the most comfortable with. The most common options are either Microsoft Windows or Apple macOS.  You tend to see many Apple MacBook Airs and Pros around campus, and the majority of courses won’t require a laptop that must run high-powered, specific software packages.  However, if the course is creative, things can become a little more complicated, as you will probably want to focus on a screen of at minimum 15.6-inch, at least 16GB RAM, and a high-quality graphics card.  1TB is usually adequate for apps, software, games, and music. However, in any case, you can purchase portable hard drives to boost your storage space – and create backups of your valuable data.  But gifts can come in all shapes and sizes, so we also rounded up the best gifts by category, price, and retailer – plus, the hottest tech toys for kids in 2023. Gifts by category

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Gifts by price

The best cheap tech gifts under $100The best cheap tech gifts under $75The best cheap tech gifts under $50The best cheap tech gifts under $25

Gifts by retailer Gifts for kids