The perfect slim and light back-to-school MacBook alternative has $450 off

Lenovo back-to-school laptop deal — (Image credit: Lenovo / Future)

We're big fans of the MacBook Air here at Creative Bloq, and we consider it to be one of the best student laptops. That said, after Apple hiked its prices this year, it's well worth considering a Windows alternative. The Lenovo Slim 7i Aura Edition is the perfect candidate now it's reduced by $450 off to $1,049 at B&H Photo.

For context, the 15-inch M5 MacBook Air with 16GB of unified memory and 1TB SSD storage will set you back $1,729, even with the current $70 discount. The Lenovo Slim 7i Aura Edition gets you the same amount of memory and storage, plus an OLED touchscreen, for $680 less!

This laptop is closely related to the Yoga Slim Aura Edition that we tested last year, but it has an Intel Core Ultra 7 processor instead of the Snapdragon X. That should eliminate any concerns about compatibility with everyday creative programs.

If you can make do with ChromeOS, I'd also consider this fantastic Chromebook deal at Best Buy for an even cheaper back-to-school laptop. But if you want Windows for access to fully fledged desktop software, this is one of the best offers I've seen as the Labour Day sales kick off.

The Lenovo Slim 7i Aura Edition weighs just 2.8lb (1.27kg), making it perfect for slinging in a bag and taking to school or campus. This configuration boasts 16GB of RAM and 1TB of storage plus a solid complement of ports for connectivity.

Processing power and battery life easily compete with those of a MacBook Air. The integrated Intel graphics rather than a dedicated GPU mean it's not a device for high-end video editing or 3D modelling, and display resolution is lower than that of a MacBook Air at 1920 x 1200. But, there's the advantage of the improved contrast that comes with an OLED display, and it's a touchscreen – something that Apple still doesn't offer.

For comparison, you can check other MacBook prices below.

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Erlingur is the Tech Reviews Editor on Creative Bloq. Having worked on magazines devoted to Photoshop, films, history, and science for over 15 years, as well as working on Digital Camera World and Top Ten Reviews in more recent times, Erlingur has developed a passion for finding tech that helps people do their job, whatever it may be. He loves putting things to the test and seeing if they're all hyped up to be, to make sure people are getting what they're promised. Still can't get his wifi-only printer to connect to his computer.