Why You Can Trust CNET Best OLED Laptop Deals: Up to $700 Off Select Models From Dell, Lenovo and More
In the market for a new laptop and really want an OLED display? Here's how you can save some money on one for yourself.
There's a lot to like about an OLED panel, the top reason being that it can give you some of the best image reproduction and fidelity on a laptop that you can find. It's similar to what you might find on an OLED TV, so if you've experienced that and what it can do on your laptop, you'll be pleased to know there are lots of options. Even so, laptops with OLED panels can get pricey, so be sure to check out all the best OLED laptop deals below to help save you some money.
How does an OLED panel achieve this goodness? A quick primer: The pixels in an OLED display can be completely turned off, which means the panel can produce absolute blacks and contrast ratios superior to an LCD screen (where the liquid crystal can only block some of the light). Even an LCD with local dimming can't match an OLED's ability to turn individual pixels on and off. OLED displays also offer a wide color range because primary colors can hit higher saturations that let the display produce more colors. Higher saturation levels lead to more vibrant colors, and with more colors on its palette, an OLED panel can create more accurate colors.
Another advantage? OLED displays feature thinner layers than LCDs and don't require a backlight, which allows for thinner and lighter laptop designs.
Read more: Best Laptop Deals at Amazon, Best Buy and Newegg
You might reasonably think that an OLED is more energy-efficient than an LCD because it doesn't need to power a backlight and can turn individual pixels completely off. We have found, however, that OLED displays tend to hurt battery life. They do offer decent battery life; you just can't expect to get a longer runtime from an OLED laptop in addition to the higher image quality.
With a basic understanding of the advantages of an OLED laptop, let's take a look at the best deals right now. I've included mainstream laptops that have approachable prices, along with high-powered laptops that are currently selling at a discount -- and a Chromebook. Yes, you can get an inexpensive Chromebook with an OLED display. The prices and discounts are valid at the time of this writing, and I'll update this story as sales expire and new deals emerge.
If you're on a budget but still want an OLED panel in your laptop, the Asus Zenbook 14 is one of the best options to consider. While not quite as powerful as some of the other models on this list with an Intel Core Ultra 5 inside, it's still powerful enough to complete all your basic daily tasks. It has 8GB of RAM, a 512GB SSD and a 14-inch 1,920x1,200 display.
Lenovo's Slim Pro 7 is one of the more affordable premium options on the market right now, especially with this discount. It has a 14-inch 90Hz display with a resolution of 2,560x1,600 and is powered by an AMD Ryzen 7 7000 series. Inside, there's 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD, so there should be plenty of power to get you through your daily tasks and some extras.
This Asus 15.6-inch is a solid option if you want a budget-friendly OLED laptop, and it even has its own graphics card under the hood. With an RTX 3050, you'll be able to do some basic and indie gaming on it, while the 1,920x1,080 resolution screen is pretty great to game on or watch shows. You also get a very reasonable 16GB of DDR5 RAM and 512GB of storage.
If you need something that's pretty thin and light, the Vivobook manages that quite handily, and not only that, but it also has a very powerful 13th Generation Core i9 processor, one of the best on the market. The 15.6-inch screen runs a 2,880x1,620 resolution and can hit a 120Hz refresh rate as well as a very impressive 600 nits of peak brightness.
It's not often that you see a gaming laptop with an OLED screen, at least not at this price, so if you've always wanted one, the Legion Slim 5 is perfect. It has an RTX 4060 under the hood, which is pretty powerful, and the 14.5-inch screen boasts 2,880x1,800 resolution. You also get a pretty powerful Ryzen 7 7840HS with 16GB of RAM.
This configuration of the XPS 15 is a serious challenger to your average MacBook. It comes with a very powerful 13th Gen Intel Evo i9 processor, one of the best on the market, as well as an RTX 4060, which is a midrange GPU. If that wasn't enough, the 15.6-inch screen runs at a 3,456x2,160 resolution, and Dell even throws in 32GB of DDR5 RAM and 1TB of storage. Overall, this is probably one of the most versatile laptops out there with an OLED panel.