The shopping season is upon us. From mobile phones to laptops, annual sale events like Cyber Monday are one of the biggest, when all products are available at jaw-dropping discounts. When it comes to buying a laptop, it is important to know what you are looking for in terms of features, pricing, etc.

Consider the following tips before buying one this Cyber Monday:

Choose a platform
Whether it is a MacBook or Windows, before choosing any laptop during the Cyber Monday sale, it is important to decide your preferred operating system. Technically, Windows is more flexible than its counterparts, as it is available on most laptops. macOS is exclusively available on MacBooks, and has a completely different user interface (UI) than Windows. However, an important point to note here is that unlike Windows, macOS does not support touchscreen functionality. Chrome OS, another operating system, is available on Chromebooks. Although simple and secure, it is not as flexible as macOS or Windows. One of the reasons why people avoid buying a MacBook is because of its premium pricing. However, you no longer have to miss out, as plenty of stores, such as Adorama, are offering discounts on MacBooks this Cyber Monday.

Choose between clamshell and tablet
Nowadays, laptops come with hybrid functionality, and many are preferring tablets with detachable screens over traditional clamshell models. Other laptops come with flexible hinges that let them bend back 360 degrees. So, it is important to consider your working habits before deciding on a model.

Inches matter
While you are shortlisting your favorite laptop on Cyber Monday, it is also important to consider its screen size. For instance, laptops with 11-12-inch screens are highly portable, and best for surfing the internet and writing or editing documents. Laptops bigger than 14 inches are typically used by software engineers, architects, and designers.

Check the battery life
If you wish to buy a laptop for daily internet surfing, writing documents, or general entertainment, then a battery life of a few hours should be sufficient. However, for people who multitask and use heavy software, it is advisable that they look for laptops that have a battery life of more than seven hours.

Look at the specifications
Checking specifications is the most important aspect of buying any electronic gadget. Laptops come with a host of specifications. While the most basic laptops have Intel/Celeron under their hood, professional laptops have processors upwards of Intel Core i5. The latest in Intel processors include the core i9 and i10 generations. Apart from this, experts recommend choosing a laptop with a RAM that is higher than 4GB and internal storage of at least 512GB. Gamers, designers, video editors, and the like should consider buying a graphics chip to ensure seamless work sessions. You can buy a laptop with a solid-state drive (SSD) if you are not looking for high internal storage. For instance, the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 7 is a 14-inch laptop that comes with an intel i5 processor, 8GB RAM, and a 512GB SSD. It is available on Staples with a discount of more than 20 percent.