Fourth of July’s best tech deals: laptops, games, and more

Celebrate the birthday of our nation the Verge Deals way, by saving up on some fun tech in time for summer instead of, you know, doomscrolling over the state of everything† The 4th of July holiday means different things to different people, but either way, we’re about to take you on a journey to see the 4th of July’s best deals on a variety of technology from the internet.

Various retailers are celebrating the summer holidays with great discounts and promotions on their products. For example, Belkin is offering a site-wide discount on its charging peripherals, and Apple is already offering a few promotions for anyone looking to buy a new tablet or laptop. There is something for everyone. It’s also worth noting that many of these deals remain in effect after the holiday weekend, so feel free to take your time rather than spend your long weekend looking for creative ways to spend your last paycheck.

Laptop Deals

While July 4th laptop deals may be a little thin right now, there are a few highlights that we think deserve your attention. For starters, the 14-inch model of the HP Specter x360 is currently discounted to $1,049.99 from the usual $1,519.99 price at HP. This convertible laptop is equipped with an Intel Core i7-1195G7 and has a 1920 x 1280 touchscreen powered by the somewhat capable Intel Iris Xe graphics. This configuration of the Specter x360 has 8 GB of RAM and 512 GB of storage that can be expanded if needed with the built-in microSD card slot. Read our review†

If you’re looking for something a little more portable and soft, Best Buy has a Microsoft Surface Pro 8 bundle with the Type Cover keyboard for only $899.99† The 128GB configuration of the Surface Pro 8 is usually $1,249.99 when it comes with the keyboard, easily making it the best price we’ve seen yet. The Surface Pro 8 is a 13-inch tablet that can be turned into a laptop in no time thanks to its surprisingly powerful hardware, featuring an 11th Gen Intel Core i5 processor and a 120Hz refresh rate display. Read our review†

Microsoft Surface Pro 8

The new Surface Pro 8 is Microsoft’s biggest upgrade in years. The excellent 2-in-1 touts Thunderbolt 4 support, a 120Hz display, a better camera and a more modern design.

Apple deals

can have school only rented out for the summer, but for anyone looking ahead to the fall semester, Apple is currently running a promotion for anyone looking to buy a MacBook, iMac, or iPad for the new school year. Currently, you can get a $150 Apple Gift Card to spend at a later date when you buy a MacBook Air† MacBook Proor iMac from Apple’s educational website.

13-inch MacBook Pro with M2 (2022)

The latest configuration of the 13-inch MacBook Pro can be equipped with the new M2 CPU and can be configured to have up to 24 GB of unified memory.

MacBook Air with M1 (Late 2020)

The MacBook Air is Apple’s entry-level laptop, equipped with the company’s new M1 chip and in three different colors (silver, space gray and gold).

2021 iMac with M1 (24″)

Apple’s latest desktop computer features the company’s blazing-fast M1 processor, a 1080p FaceTime HD camera, a sharp 4.5K Retina display, and upgraded speakers.

Alternatively, you can get a $100 gift card when you buy one iPad Air or iPad Pro† This promotion also applies to purchases or pre-orders made with Apple’s education discount that: is approximately 10 percent off the regular purchase price of eligible hardware in the Apple Store†

2022 iPad Air (Wi-Fi)

The latest iPad Air retains the iPad Pro-esque redesign of the 2020 model, but ditches the A14 Bionic processor in favor of Apple’s lightning-fast M1 chip. It also comes in one of five colors and features a 12MP front-facing camera with support for Apple’s Center Stage feature.

gaming offers

• Both Steam and Nintendo are currently discounting a significant portion of their digital library, giving you the chance to fill your summer gap with sales of some excellent titles. If you need a recap of all the games currently discounted, we’ve put together a post featuring some of our favorites. It’s more of a coincidence that these sales run through July 4, but either way, gamers should be jumping on these deals because they probably won’t be back until later this year.

• If you are looking for new PC hardware, Newegg is currently discounting various graphics cards, laptops and gaming monitors as part of the Summer Prime Day-esque sale.
• The Gigabyte Gaming OC RTX 3080 graphics card normally retails for $899.99, but is currently discounted to $759.99 when you use the code VGAGBET244 at the cash register. This is the best price we’ve seen for this powerful graphics card yet, making it a deal worth looking into if you’re waiting to upgrade your GPU to something that won’t require further investment for years.
• If you need a GPU that is a little more reasonably priced, you can get the MSI Ventus GeForce GTX 1660 Super discounted to $269.99 when you checkout with the code VGAEXCBN2† This configuration of the 1660 Super typically retails for $399.99, making it the lowest price we’ve seen for this graphics card yet. This GPU should be more than enough for running basic games that aren’t too graphically demanding.

Here are some additional game offers:

MSI Optix AG321CR

The 32-inch MSI Optix AG321CR is a curved 1080p gaming monitor with a 165Hz refresh rate. Completing its impressive feature list, the AG321CR also includes AMD Freesync compatibility, a 1ms response time, and RGB lighting accents.

Acer ED270R

This 27-inch curved monitor from Acer has a resolution of 1920 x 1080, a refresh rate of 165 Hz and has AMD FreeSync support. While it may not support higher resolutions, the ED270R offers an excellent collection of features at a relatively low price.

Miscellaneous technical deals

If you want to keep track of how many calories you can burn running to distract yourself from the seemingly endless stream of bad news happening around the world (or just run to enjoy the rush), Polar lists several popular models of its fitness down. wearables by a whopping 33 percent. Here’s an overview of some of the discounts currently on offer:

Polar Ignite 2

This fitness tracker from Polar is very similar to a conventional watch, but contains a wide spectrum of health tracking functions. In addition to heart rate and sleep tracking, the Ignite 2 is also capable of pushing notifications from your phone and controlling music playback.

Polar Unite

Polar’s most budget-friendly option, the Polar Unite covers all the basic features you’d expect from a fitness-focused smartwatch, but at a much more affordable price point than its competitors. While you sacrifice some of the more granular features like built-in speed and cadence measurements, the Polar Unite remains a cost-effective solution for anyone wanting a smartwatch that tracks basic fitness stats.

If you need a watch that’s truly built to withstand the elements, Polar is also discounting the Polar Grit X from its usual price of $429.95 to just $300.96. In addition to a robust suite of fitness tracking features, the Grit X can run for up to 40 hours on a single charge, and can provide you with useful route planning information.

Belkin Boost Charge Magnetic Wireless Power Bank

This MagSafe power bank is compatible with the iPhone 12 and 13 and has a capacity of 2500mAh. The battery pack easily attaches to the back of your phone without blocking the camera and can replenish a depleted iPhone 12 to 50 percent.