The holiday shopping season brings plenty of discounts – everyone is looking for the perfect gift at an affordable price. And some of the biggest deals year after year are on the hottest tech products like laptops.

If you’re in need of a new laptop, there’s no better time to buy than the end of the year. Here’s why the holiday season is the perfect time to upgrade your current laptop to an even better model.

New Laptops Are Released in Late Fall

Every year, Laptop Mag reports that laptop manufacturers releases laptops during the same three seasons:

  1. Back-to-school season, which runs from June to September
  2. The holiday season, which runs from September to December
  3. Spring, typically between February and April

So, two of the biggest seasons for brand-new laptop releases happen in the last half of the year. This means right now is the smartest time to shop – the latest laptops are already on display at your favorite retailers both in-store and online.

If you’re looking to upgrade your current laptop, right now is when you should be comparing prices and doing your research. With all of the newest options laid out online, you can easily search for your favorite laptop brand, the hottest models, and the specs you need. That way, when the laptop you want goes on sale, you’re prepared to buy.

Laptops See Deep Discounts During the Holidays

Although back to school season is touted as the season for laptop deals and discounts, it’s smarter to wait until the holidays arrive. Black Friday, which signals the start of the holiday shopping season, offers the very first deals on the hottest laptops of the year.

And if you wait until after Christmas to upgrade your laptop, you could save even more. Laptop Mag reports that prices can fall even lower once everyone is finished shopping for the year – and because retailers still want to make sales, they often mark laptops down even further during the last week of December.

Once all of your holiday shopping is finished, you have the perfect opportunity to shop for yourself and get an upgraded laptop. And you could score a great, affordable deal on some of the newest, most sought after laptop models of the entire year. Search for and compare offers leading up to the holidays, as well as from December 26 to January 1, and you’ll be able to find the right discounts for your price range.

The Best Laptops to Buy Right Now

As the holidays begin and deals for Black Friday begin appearing online, you’ll want to do your research so you’re prepared to shop. And that research starts with comparing different laptops, checking out what the newest models have to offer and which are worth their price tags.

You’ll also want to start looking for deals expected on Black Friday and comparing those to discounts available right now. Sometimes, Black Friday discounts aren’t always the very lowest price – and if you start your search for an upgraded new laptop now, you’ll know if a deal is truly the very best.

Here are some of the best laptops available at great discounts right now.

Lenovo IdeaPad (15.6-inch): $329

Marked down from its already affordable price of $500, the Lenovo IdeaPad is a no-nonsense, no frills laptop that gets any job done fast thanks to the latest Intel processors, DDR4 memory, and a ton of storage. Its HD screen makes everything from simple tasks to intricate online work bright and crisp.

Apple MacBook Air (13-inch): $1,399

Apple’s laptops rarely see discounts, but when they do it’s a deal to snap up fast. And right now, the 2017 MacBook Air is discounted by $400 from its original price tag of $1,799. With the new Apple Touch Bar above its keyboard, a 3.1GHz Intel Core i5 processor, and 8GB of RAM, the Air is a speedy laptop that’s perfect for everyday work, streaming, or browsing.

Dell XPS 13: $1,199

Since its release, the Dell XPS has been one of the best – and most sought after – laptops available. And though it’s in high demand, the XPS is now on sale, marked down to $1,199 from the retail price of $1,469. With an Intel Core i7 processor and 256GB of SSD space, this is a true steal from Dell.

HP Spectre x360 13t: $950

The 2-in-1 laptop is the latest craze in computer design, and the HP Spectre x360 13t is the perfect example of a laptop that can truly be both a tablet and a true laptop. The Spectre series has received rave reviews, and the x360 model offers a 13.3 inch touchscreen, a rotating hinge so you can flip the laptop’s screen and lay it flat, and an Intel Core i5 processor with 8GB of RAM. And that’s all for under $1,000, a $200 discount from the retail price tag.