Best Buy cuts Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3i to $679.99, $620 off list price
Best Buy is selling the 2026 Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3i for $679.99, down from $1,299.99, a $620 discount on a 15.3-inch touchscreen laptop with a Core 7 350 chip and 16GB of DDR5 memory.
The configuration on sale pairs an Intel Core 7 350 six-core processor running at up to 4.8GHz with integrated Intel graphics and an NPU rated at up to 17 TOPS. It carries 16GB of DDR5-5600 memory, expandable to 32GB, and a 512GB solid-state drive inside a chassis that weighs about 3.5 pounds.
The 15.3-inch IPS touchscreen has a 120Hz refresh rate and reaches 400 nits of brightness. Lenovo claims battery life of up to 18 hours. Ports include two USB-A 3.2 connections, USB-C 3.2 with DisplayPort 1.2, HDMI 1.4, an SD card reader and a headphone/microphone jack, alongside Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth, a 720p webcam with a privacy shutter, Dolby Audio and a numeric keypad. The machine ships with Windows 11 Home.
TechRadar said it has seen the laptop sell at this price a couple of times in the past but not any cheaper. The publication initially suspected the list price was inflated, possibly in part because of a component shortage that is pushing prices up, but noted that Lenovo currently lists an 8GB IdeaPad with an Intel Core 3 processor at $900 and an Intel Core 5 model at $1,000. On that comparison, TechRadar described the Best Buy offer as the better pick, since it carries twice the memory and a faster processor than those direct-from-Lenovo listings.
TechRadar's buying guidance said the IdeaPad Slim 3i suits buyers who want a thin, general-purpose Windows laptop with a large touchscreen, 16GB of DDR5 memory and enough processing power for work, study and everyday tasks. It advised against the purchase for buyers running demanding workloads that need a dedicated GPU, or for those who specifically want a backlit keyboard. The publication said it had reviewed earlier editions of the IdeaPad 3i and appreciated their design, affordability and performance on day-to-day tasks.
The deal was reported by Wayne Williams, a freelance writer for TechRadar Pro. Pricing and availability were described as current at the time of the report.
Editor's Summary
Best Buy is offering the 2026 Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3i at $679.99, $620 below its $1,299.99 list price, for a 15.3-inch 120Hz touchscreen model with a Core 7 350 processor, 16GB of DDR5 memory and a 512GB SSD. TechRadar reported that Lenovo's own listings for lower-spec IdeaPad models run $900 and $1,000, making the discounted configuration the stronger value on memory and processor. The publication recommended the machine for everyday productivity and study, while steering buyers who need a dedicated GPU or a backlit keyboard elsewhere.