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Laptop guide, October 2026: Googlebooks, Copilot+ PCs and a gaming laptop deal, weighed

A new laptop category launched on October 4, Copilot+ PC discounts are steep, and a gaming laptop dropped $650. Here's what each one costs, what you give up, and whether to buy now or wait.

Sahil · · 7 min readPrices checked Oct 2–7, 2026.

Research-based. I haven’t used or tested these products myself. How I appraise

These prices were checked up to Oct 2, 2026 and may have changed. Check the retailer before you buy.

The short appraisal

  • Best value in early October: Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 5x Gen 11 (Snapdragon X2 Plus, 16GB, 512GB) at $649.99 from Lenovo with code SLIM5SAVINGS on Oct 5. 9to5Toys calls it the lowest it has tracked. Ignore the “$1,500 regular” anchor: another seller listed the same configuration at $899.99.
  • The new category: ASUS Googlebook 14 ($1,299) and Lenovo Googlebook 15 (from $1,099.99). They’re interesting, but they’re brand new, they work best with an Android 17+ phone, and they come with an AI subscription that starts billing after 12 months.
  • Gaming: HyperX OMEN 15 (Core Ultra 7 255H, RTX 5060, 16GB, 1TB, 15” 2K 165Hz) at $1,249 at Walmart, against a $1,900 regular price.
  • The counterpoint: NBC Select puts laptops on its October skip list. Black Friday is November 27.

Who should skip

  • Googlebooks at launch price. Wait for independent reviews and the first discounts.
  • Any laptop with less than 16GB of RAM in 2026.
  • Windows on Arm if you depend on niche Windows software, some VPN clients or anti-cheat games.

Where to buy

The Slim 5x price is Lenovo’s own with code SLIM5SAVINGS, per 9to5Toys on October 5; Lenovo’s page blocked my reader on October 7. Copilot+ PC prices are Best Buy’s Techtober sale, via 9to5Toys. The OMEN 15 price is Walmart’s, per 9to5Toys on October 2.

October has turned into a second laptop season. Amazon’s Prime Big Deal Days (October 6–7) advertised “up to 40% on select PCs and laptops from Dell, HP, and Asus” (Amazon). Best Buy’s Techtober sale runs all week (TechRadar). And a new kind of laptop, the Googlebook, went on sale in the US on October 4. This appraisal sorts through all of it with dated prices. I haven’t used these laptops. Specs come from manufacturers, and prices come from the retailers and deal trackers I cite.

The deal with the clearest value: Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 5x Gen 11

9to5Toys reported on October 5 that Lenovo is selling the IdeaPad Slim 5x Gen 11 at $649.99 shipped with promo code SLIM5SAVINGS, “the lowest price we have tracked for this laptop to date” (9to5Toys). The same post measures that against a $1,500 regular price. Newegg Business listed the same 16GB/512GB configuration (model 83RL0000US) at $899.99, out of stock, on October 7 (Newegg Business), so the real saving is nearer $250 than $850. Lenovo’s own page blocked my reader on October 7, so the price and the code were not re-checked there.

What you get, per that listing:

  • Qualcomm Snapdragon X2 Plus, with an 80 TOPS NPU for Copilot+ features
  • 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD
  • A 15.3-inch display (Lenovo’s feature text mentions OLED or LCD touchscreen options, so confirm which panel your configuration has)
  • 1080p IR webcam, USB-C and USB-A, microSD reader, backlit keyboard

Appraisal. At $649.99, 16GB and 512GB in a current-generation chip is a strong spec sheet for the price. Two caveats. First, this is a Windows on Arm laptop. Most mainstream apps run, but if you depend on a niche Windows program, a specific VPN client or anti-cheat games, check compatibility first. Second, a “regular $1,500” price is a reference point the retailer chose, and another seller’s $899.99 shows how soft it is. The fact that this is the lowest price 9to5Toys has tracked matters more than the size of the discount.

Best Buy Techtober: Copilot+ PCs at a glance

The same 9to5Toys post lists Best Buy’s Techtober prices on other Copilot+ PCs (9to5Toys):

Laptop Key specs Techtober price Regular
HP OmniBook X Flip 14” 2-in-1 2K OLED touch, Ryzen AI 5 430, 16GB, 512GB $700 $1,300
Lenovo Yoga 7a 16” 2-in-1 2K LCD touch, Ryzen AI 7 445, 16GB, 1TB $850 $1,550
LG gram Max 17” 2.5K touch, Core Ultra 7 355, 16GB, 512GB $1,100 $1,750
Microsoft Surface Pro 13” Snapdragon X2 Plus, 16GB, 256GB $1,200 $1,500
ASUS Zenbook S14 3K OLED touch, Core Ultra 9, 32GB, 1TB $1,500 $1,900
HP OmniBook X Flip 16” 2-in-1 3K OLED touch, Core Ultra 9, 32GB, 1TB $1,650 $2,250
HP OmniBook Ultra 14” 3K OLED touch, Core Ultra X9, 32GB, 1TB $1,900 $2,400

Appraisal. The HP OmniBook X Flip 14 at $700 stands out if you want an OLED 2-in-1 for little money. The LG gram Max 17 at $1,100 is the pick if you want a 17-inch screen for about $1,100. Best Buy’s listing doesn’t give price history, so I can’t tell you whether these are record lows. Compare the same model across Best Buy, Amazon and the maker’s store before you buy.

The new category: Googlebooks

Googlebooks are laptops running Googlebook OS with Google’s Gemini built in, designed to work closely with Android phones. Two went on sale in the US on October 4.

ASUS Googlebook 14 (CX9406CAA) Lenovo Googlebook 15
Price $1,299 (MSRP) From $1,099.99
Availability ASUS Store and Best Buy, from Oct 4 From Oct 4
Processor Intel Core Ultra 5 325, NPU up to 47 TOPS Intel Core Ultra 5 325, up to 47 TOPS
Memory / storage 16GB; 256GB or 512GB 16GB or 32GB; 256GB or 512GB
Display 14” 3K (2880×1800) OLED touch, 120Hz, 1000 nits HDR peak 15.3” 2.8K (2880×1800) OLED touch, 120Hz, 500 nits
Battery (maker’s claim) 70Wh, up to 18 hours (ASUS internal test) 70Wh, 12.5+ hours
Weight 2.18 lb From 1.29 kg (under 3 lb)
Ports 2× Thunderbolt 4, 2× USB-A, HDMI 2.1b, audio 2× Thunderbolt 4, 1× USB-A, HDMI 2.0, audio
Wireless Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6.0 Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6.0

Sources: ASUS via GlobeNewswire, Oct 4; Lenovo StoryHub, Sept 28.

The fine print on Googlebooks

  • The phone matters. ASUS’s footnotes say setup features need a phone running Android 17 or above, and that cross-device features need a compatible Android device and an internet connection. iPhone owners lose a chunk of the pitch.
  • The AI subscription starts billing later. Both makers bundle 12 months of Google AI Pro. The fine print says it then charges $19.99 a month (or the then-current price) unless you cancel. The trial must be redeemed by March 31, 2027. ASUS counts that bundle towards “up to $500 in additional value”. Value you didn’t ask for isn’t savings.
  • Many headline features need the internet and an adult account. Magic Pointer and proactive suggestions require an internet connection, are limited to users 18+, and “some features may require subscription for higher usage,” per ASUS.
  • Battery claims are lab claims. ASUS’s 18 hours is based on local FHD video playback at 50% brightness with headphones. Lenovo’s figure is from “optimal laboratory and network conditions”.

Appraisal. On paper the ASUS Googlebook 14 is the more premium of the two: brighter screen, lighter, more ports. The Lenovo is $200 cheaper and has the bigger screen. But both are first-generation devices on a new operating system, and launch prices on new categories rarely last. Unless you’re an Android household that wants Gemini everywhere, waiting for independent reviews and the first discounts is the saraf’s advice.

Gaming: HyperX OMEN 15 at Walmart

9to5Toys reported on October 2 that Walmart has the HyperX OMEN 15 at $1,249 shipped, down from a regular $1,900 (9to5Toys):

  • Intel Core Ultra 7 255H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060
  • 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD
  • 15-inch 2K IPS, 165Hz display
  • Backlit keyboard, understated chassis, plus 2 months of Xbox Game Pass Premium

9to5Toys says similarly specced models “are fetching upwards of $2,000” at HP’s own store and at Best Buy.

Appraisal. An RTX 5060 laptop with a 1TB drive and a 2K 165Hz panel at $1,249 is a sensible mid-range gaming buy. Check the RAM upgrade path before you buy, because 16GB is the floor for modern games. If you want more GPU, see my GPU fair-price guide for what desktop cards cost in October.

What I left out: an MSI Stealth 16 AI+ with an RTX 5070 Ti was reported at $1,549.99, but I couldn’t confirm which retailer was selling it at that price, so it isn’t in this guide.

Buy now or wait?

NBC Select’s October Prime Day guide lists laptops among the categories to skip, saying to wait for Black Friday and Cyber Monday for a bigger selection and lower prices. Its rule for a “good” deal is the lowest price in at least three months plus a recent drop (NBC Select).

How I’d apply that in early October:

  • Lenovo Slim 5x at $649.99: passes NBC’s price rule, since it’s the lowest 9to5Toys has tracked. If you need a laptop now, this is the one with the evidence behind it.
  • Best Buy Techtober Copilot+ PCs: good discounts, but no history. If you can wait seven weeks, wait.
  • Googlebooks: wait. They launched at full price days ago.
  • OMEN 15: a strong price against HP’s own listing. If gaming season starts now for you, it’s reasonable to buy.

How to buy a laptop without regrets

  1. RAM and storage first. 16GB and 512GB is the sensible floor in 2026, and most thin laptops can’t be upgraded later.
  2. Check the chip family. Snapdragon means Windows on Arm, Intel and AMD mean traditional x86, and Googlebooks run Googlebook OS. Make sure the apps you depend on run.
  3. Screen specs matter more than processor tiers for most people. OLED, brightness and resolution are what you look at all day.
  4. Read the return window at the retailer you buy from, especially for holiday purchases.
  5. Count subscriptions as costs, not value, unless you’d pay for them anyway.

Sources