Basis of Presentation Narrative (Details) $ in Millions	3 Months Ended
Jan. 28, 2018 USD ($)
Accounting Policies [Abstract]
Excess tax benefit from share-based compensation	$ 51
Accounting Standards Update 2016-09
New Accounting Pronouncements or Change in Accounting Principle [Line Items]
Increase in cash provided by operating activities	146
Increase in cash used by financing activities	$ 146

Effective Income Tax Rate Reconciliation, Share-based Compensation, Excess Tax Benefit Amount

No definition available.

Name:	amat_EffectiveIncomeTaxRateReconciliationSharebasedCompensationExcessTaxBenefitAmount
Namespace Prefix:	amat_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	duration

- References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_AccountingPoliciesAbstract
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Amount of cash inflow from realized tax benefit related to deductible compensation cost reported on the entity's tax return for equity instruments in excess of the compensation cost for those instruments recognized for financial reporting purposes.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 718
-SubTopic 20
-Section 55
-Paragraph 24
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=96864182&loc=d3e11374-113907

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_ExcessTaxBenefitFromShareBasedCompensationFinancingActivities
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Amount of cash outflow for realized tax benefit related to deductible compensation cost reported on the entity's tax return for equity instruments in excess of the compensation cost for those instruments recognized for financial reporting purposes.

+ References

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_ExcessTaxBenefitFromShareBasedCompensationOperatingActivities
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Line items represent financial concepts included in a table. These concepts are used to disclose reportable information associated with domain members defined in one or many axes to the table.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_NewAccountingPronouncementsOrChangeInAccountingPrincipleLineItems
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_AdjustmentsForNewAccountingPronouncementsAxis=us-gaap_AccountingStandardsUpdate201609Member
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type: