Image: Gordon Mah Ung/IDG
Though Microsoft is actively encouraging you to buy its Surface Pro (2017) tablet at $200 off, an even better deal lies behind the scenes: a whopping $550 off the top-rated Dell XPS 13 9360, knocking the price down to $749.
Both are part of Microsoft’s 12 Days of Deals.
By far the most compelling offer is the Dell XPS 13 9360, which we considered a great deal when it was selling for $999 just last week. (In Gordon Mah Ung’s XPS 13 9360 review (4.5/5 stars), he calls the 8th-gen Core laptop the “best one yet.”)
(Actually, there might be an even better deal out there: a $699 Dell XPS 13 [normally $1,299]. It’s sold out online, but you could try calling Microsoft Stores to see if it’s in stock.)
In addition to these, Microsoft is offering a slightly bigger, beefier, gaming option: the $1,299 Dell XPS 15 9560 with a GeForce GTX 1050 discrete graphics chip, for a $350 savings.
It’s not the fastest machine on the block (for one thing, it contains an older 7th-gen Core chip) but you can apply the $350 discount to all three configurations Microsoft offers, so if the SSD offered in the $1,299 model (8GB RAM, 256GB SSD) is too cramped for your liking, you can consider the $1,499 model (16GB RAM, 512GB SSD) instead. (Read our XPS 15 9560 review.)
Of course, Microsoft’s primary purpose is to promote its own hardware. As stated above, all configurations of the Surface Pro (2017) tablet can be had for $200 off. It’s a solid Windows tablet that we mainly criticized because of its price.
If you’re a student, consider the excellent Surface Laptop (now $200 off), whose long battery life is a boon. And if you’re all-in on the Microsoft ecosystem, consider the Harman/Kardon Invoke: a terrific-sounding, Cortana-powered speaker that’s now more than $100 off, bringing the price down to $99.
Microsoft’s PC deals page offers even more choices, and you might find a gaming desktop or another laptop that tickles your fancy. What these hidden discounts tell us, though, is that there will be even juicier deals as we tick closer to Christmas.
