Best Overall: Asus Zenbook 14
Though there are many better laptops for college students at higher price points, the ASUS ZenBook 14 hits the sweet spot as an affordable laptop for getting work done. Its no graphical powerhouse, but it wont break the bank either, and looks and feels like a much more expensive device. If graphics performance is something you cant do without, the MSI GF65 features the latest Nvidia GPU and is reasonably priced for a gaming laptop.
Where College Will Be In The Fall And What Form It Takes Are The Biggest Current Questions For Students And Their Families Which Laptop To Use That Doesn’t Have To Be One Whether For Remote Learning Or Carrying Around Campus Start Your Best Laptops Short List With These Top
PROSGood value, especially for a MacBookMuch-improved performance, thanks to Apples new M1 processorExceptional battery lifeHigh-quality keyboard, touchpad, and displayMultiple color options
Port selection limited to two USB Type-C connectionsStill no touch-screen option
PROS
Relatively heavy for a 14-inch ultraportableDim 250-nit display
PROSHDMI port and microSD card reader
CONSEven older USB 2.0 portsDisappointing battery life
PROSAggressive pricing, given components and build quality
CONS
PROSHandy tablet gestures and Android phone integrationDecent cameras
Only one USB port and no headphone jackCramped keyboard
PROSSnappy Intel “Ice Lake” processorRobust battery life
PROSHigh-refresh display with support for AMD FreeSyncPotent Ryzen 4000 series processor16GB of RAM in under-$1000 test configurationGood battery life and speakersWi-Fi 6 support
Single-color keyboard, versus RGB keyboard of the Alpha 15CPU runs hot under loadCan’t quite match gaming frame rates of GeForce GTX 1660 Ti notebooks
PROSPleasing light design, with aluminum constructionBacklit keyboardSolid port and slot selection, including USB Type-C and microSDEight-hour battery life
PROSIdeal for classrooms and small offices.Good selection of ports.Decent performance and battery life.
CONS
PROSReasonably priced accidental damage coverage
CONSDisplay limited to 1,366 by 768 resolutionNo SD card reader
No face recognition camera or keyboard backlightingInternal storage tops out at 256GBMiddling audio quality
Asus Zenbook Pro Duo 15
Asus
For creative work like video editing, 3D design, architecture, music production or similar disciplines, you need something a little more powerful than the average laptop for students. You need a capable processor, a powerful GPU to handle all the 3D calculations, and a gorgeous, high-resolution display to show it all on. Or how about two of them?
The Asus Pro Duo 15 features not just one gorgeous OLED display, but two, giving you some of the best color clarity and contrast of any laptop out there, whilst also opening up the potential for heaps of touchscreen controls, right at your fingertips. To power this bevy of pixels, it comes equipped with a top-tier 10th-generation Intel CPU, and pairs it with an Nvidia RTX 3070.
The GPU there is monstrously powerful, and though the CPU isn’t quite cutting edge, it has eight cores with 16 threads and more than enough thermal headroom to maintain a high clock speed whatever task you throw at it. This is a stunning laptop no matter what you want to do with it, but the second screen gives it some amazing touchscreen options for artists, designers and editors alike.
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A Screen With An Unusual Resolution
Yes, the Surface Laptop Gos screen is more than an inch smaller than the screen of the smallest Surface Laptop 3, but many people wont find this to be a drawback. For one thing, a smaller screen enables the laptop to be slimmer and lighter. Also, the Surface Laptop Go maintains the relatively rare 3:2 screen aspect ratio of the rest of the Surface Laptop family. This is taller and narrower than the customary 16:9 orientation used on laptops, which means that you can see more of a vertical document, like a web page, or more lines of an Excel spreadsheet before you have to scroll down.
The only potential downside to the Surface Laptop Gos screen is its relatively low native resolution of 1,536 by 1,024 pixels, which makes for a density of 148 pixels per inch . Given the screen size, this is essentially equivalent to a full HD resolution, which is adequate for a sub-$1,000 laptop, but its significantly lower than the resolutions of both the Surface Laptop 3 13-Inch and the MacBook Air . The difference means noticeably grainy text at times when viewing the Surface Laptop Go from a comfortable distance of two feet. Still, the screen is otherwise high-quality, with 10-point touch support and more than enough maximum brightness to be viewed in a sunlit-flooded living room.
Lenovo Best For Business
Lenovo is a Chinese technology company that focuses on the manufacturing, design, and development of smartphones, tablets, laptops,desktops, and other related gadgets.
Lenovo is one of the biggest producers and sellers of laptops and notebook computers. Lenovo sells its products all over the world and has factories and facilities in over 60 countries like the US, Japan, China, Germany, and other notable countries.
The Chinese company also understands that design plays a big role in branding. Most Lenovo laptops are known for their strong build, long battery life, and comfortable keyboards. Which is exactly what the company intended to be, this creates an image for the ideal business laptop.
Lenovo understands that not all of its customers have money to spare for top-tier laptops. With this in mind, they also sell budget laptops that have decent specs and performance.
When it comes to laptops, Lenovo is one of the top and most reviewed brands. What makes Lenovo laptops so popular is that each model of their laptops specializes in a single thing. So they have laptops designed for travelling, for gaming, for working, for art, and for editing. In short, Lenovo laptops are one of the best business laptops around and you should buy Lenovo brands if youre a business-oriented person.
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Lenovo Chromebook Duet 2
Courtesy of Lenovo
The Chromebook Duet from Lenovo combines two of the best features of Chromebooks: flexibility and affordability. The MSRP starts at just $299, but it can often be found for less. Its also an extremely light and compact option . Well-regarded by reviewers, this 2-in-1 Chromebook is a great option for K12 students.
This is not a blazingly fast device, but its well-equipped for general school use with a 10.1-inch Full HD display, an 8-core MediaTek processor, a single USB-C port, 4GB of RAM and a choice of 64GB or 128GB of solid state storage. Its also equipped with dual cameras, including a 2MP webcam. Battery life is rated at up to 10 hours.
One of its strengths is a detachable keyboard. Securely connected by magnets, it provides a decent typing experience with minimal flex. Pop it off, and the Chromebook Duet becomes a tablet , which is ideal for running Android apps, reading, or drawing.
Courtesy of Google
The remains a top pick for students who prefer a Chromebook.
Googles Chromebook is thin and light , with a premium, painted magnesium case. Even the entry level model is equipped with 8GB of RAM. The 13.3-inch Full HD display is crisp, bright, and colors pop. The backlit keyboard ranks among the best for typing and it also features a dedicated Google Assistant button. The built-in DuoCam is better than most laptop webcams, with a full 1080p resolution at a smooth 60 fps. To seal the deal, the Pixelbook Go boasts 12-hour battery life.
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The Best Student Laptops In 2021
Reasons to avoid
Rather than running Windows or Mac OS, this student laptop is based on Google’s ChromeOS operating system. It’s designed to be super-simple to use and runs apps from Google’s Play Store, just like an Android phone or tablet. As such you won’t be able to use Windows software like the Office suite, but the Google’s own cloud-based productivity apps like Docs and Sheets are genuinely viable alternatives.
Despite its low price, this is one of the best Chromebooks you can buy right now, with its standout feature being its 14-inch Full HD 1080p screen. It’s an IPS panel, so you needn’t worry about restricted viewing angles or weak contrast. Be sure you go for this Full HD version of the HP Chromebook 14 though, as other models are available with lesser screens, and we don’t reckon the marginally lower price is worth the significant reduction in display quality.
Of course, one of the best student laptops that’s this cheap is never going be an image-editing powerhouse, and the Intel Celeron N3350 processor, 4GB of RAM and 32GB onboard storage all represent the minimum of what you can get away with for web browsing or HD YouTube viewing. But the payoff for having such power-efficient hardware is up to 11 hours battery life from a device just 33.7 x 22.6 x 1.83 cm large and a mere 1.54kg light.
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Best Student Laptops : The Very Best Laptops For Students
These are the best student laptops for going back to school, blended learning and studying remotely
ByRobert Jones, Yasmine Crossland Last updated 2021-09-01T13:03:06.323Z
Studying today, no matter if you are at school, college or university, is markedly different from a few years ago, with a new emphasis placed on online remote learning. There’s significantly less face-to-face time, more virtual seminars and lessons, as well as more resources being delivered purely online.
All of that means that it is now more important than ever to own one of the best student laptops of 2021.
Laptops for students are not just for writing essays now but for taking part in those critical online sessions, so you need one that can handle video calls as well as documents. And with so many online classes, video meetings and virtual collaborations, students are spending more time on their laptops than ever before and to work optimally you don’t want to scrimp on an underpowered model.
We’re now in the pre-new academic year summer months, and that is good news for student laptop shoppers as plenty of retailers are currently discounting some great systems that are perfect for school and college.
So how do you choose the best student laptop? Price is important, of course, but it shouldn’t be your sole criteria. That’s why our guide covers so many options, manufacturers and operating systems: every student is different and that means their requirements will differ.
Apple Laptops For College
Apple is one of the companies that played abig role in shaping the world we know today. Founded by Steve Jobs and SteveWozniak in 1970s, the company grew to become of the biggest tech giants in theworld. Although this company manufactures a wide range of products, includingiPhones, their most famous products are computers.
Actually, the first product this companydeveloped was Apple I, a sort of predecessor of what we now call a PC. Over theyears, Apple switched their focus from making desktop computers to developinghigh-performance laptops. Although nowadays, there are both desktop and laptopcomputers developed by Apple, the latter do get a lot more attention.
Today, there are several series of laptop computersmade by Apple, the so-called Mac computers. Mac actually stands for Macintosh,which is a sort of apple fruit. Today, there are several Macs in production,including those from the MacBook series, but also MacBook Pro and MacBook Air.
What makes Mac laptops so popular amongusers is that theyre incredibly reliable. The reason is not just that top-qualityparts are used for their construction its also because these devices usesoftware thats developed with their hardware in mind. Basically, in the caseof Macs, both software and hardware is made by one company Apple.
Pros of Apple Laptops
- Pricey
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Dont Overlook A Laptops Weight
The last thing you want in a laptop is one that you have to lug instead of carry, and with full days going between classes on campus, the lighter the computer, the better. Something in the range of one to two pounds is ideal, and make sure you check the weight before you buy some computers can top out at close to six pounds. Trust us: Your back will thank you. Surprisingly, touchscreen laptops can sometimes be heavier than regular ones, so make sure youre looking at the right set of specifications when youre weighing this decision.
Your Student Needs The Right Balance Of Power And Price Size And Features Well Help You Hit The Sweet Spot
Courtesy of Asus
The 2021 school year is here and once again, laptops are in the spotlight. Students have always appreciated the mobility of a laptop, but pandemic-driven remote learning and hybrid schooling have made them essential.
This year, there are more choices than ever as well as new twists to consider. AMD Ryzen mobile processors are competing with Intel, and Apple has new MacBook models powered by its M1 chip.. To help you make the right choice, weve narrowed the field down to 10 of the best laptops for students in 2021.
Two things to remember when laptop shopping for a student. First, a webcam is now a must-have feature. Most current laptops are equipped with one but if not, youll need an external USB-powered webcam. And second, check with your school administration before making a purchase. Some courses have specific hardware and/or software requirements. There have also been issues over the past year with some remote exam-proctor solutions not being compatible with Chromebooks.
As always, remember to leverage your student status for educational discounts. For example, Microsoft offers up to 10% off select devices for students and parents. Apple also offers student discounts year-round and runs a yearly special promotion for students. This years will get students a free pair of AirPods with a qualifying Mac purchase.
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The Best Laptops For Design Students
The 13-inch Apple MacBook Pro M1 2020 is the best laptop for design students.
The best laptop for design students overall is the the Apple MacBook Pro 13-inch . There are many reasons for this, but the foremost among them is the system’s superb 13.3-inch LED-backlit Retina display. This panel delivers a 500 nits peak brightness, 2560 x 1600 pixel resolution and, critically for design students involved in graphic design, P3 color gamut support. This is one seriously accurate and vibrant screen.
In terms of hardware spec, Apple’s mighty M1 processor handles both CPU and GPU work, and when specced along with 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage space delivers a system that is perfect for graphic design of all types. You’ve got the processing power and speed to handle illustrating, designing, 3D model work, rendering and editing and that included editing both 4K and 8K video.
On top of all this you’ve got the now typical first rate Apple fit and finish, super strong and intuitive macOS operating system, and highly portable dimensions. It also comes equipped with Apple’s very well received Magic keyboard, which makes typing even at length a pleasure.
As we noted in our Dell XPS 13 review we found it to be powerful, rocking a great screen, supremely well built, and compact, too which are all the qualities that make it a great laptop choice for design students.
Design students shopping on a budget should consider the MacBook Air M1 .
Best Laptop Brands For College Students
Computers or laptops are fast becoming a necessity for all college students. But while deciding, it’s always suggested to go through computer reviews and compare the specifications and prices. This article would tell you why your requirement is important in selecting a laptop model among the top laptop brands.
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Computers or laptops are fast becoming a necessity for all college students. But while deciding, it’s always suggested to go through computer reviews and compare the specifications and prices. This article would tell you why your requirement is important in selecting a laptop model among the top laptop brands.
Like selecting any electronic device, even selecting a laptop computer is not an easy task and can get very overwhelming for college students as well as their parents. With a wide variety of brands and models available in the market, its easy to be fooled by the flashy ads of most brands. It is always best to do a bit of homework and read reviews about the laptops ideal for college students. But find out first whether your college allows use of laptops and notebooks in the classroom. For most freshmen, a desktop computer or a laptop is required for class notes, for completing homework and for research.
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About Our Trusted Experts
Andy Zahn has written about computers and other tech for Lifewire, The Balance, and Investopedia, among other publications. He has reviewed numerous laptops, and has been building gaming PCs of his own since 2013.
Patrick Hyde lives in Seattle where he works as a digital marketer and freelance copywriter. With a Masters degree in history from the University of Houston and a job in Seattle’s booming tech industry, his interests and knowledge span the past, present, and future.
How To Choose The Best Laptop For School College Or University
How much should I spend on a student laptop?
Depending on what your studies involve and whether you plan on using your laptop for play as well as work, you can spend anywhere between a couple of hundred and a couple of thousand pounds on a student laptop.
If you’re on a tight budget or buying a laptop for your child to use for schoolwork, we recommend checking out our list of the best cheap laptops and the best laptops for kids.
However, if you want a device that will last you a number of years and has the capability to support a spot of light gaming, we recommend spending between £500 and £1,000. In this price bracket, you’ll find laptops that offer impressive performance coupled with attractive build quality.
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Do I need a fast processor and loads of RAM?
Processors and RAM arent too important if you just want a laptop for writing essays on even a cheap Chromebook is good enough for Google Docs and searching the internet.
However, if your studies require the use of more demanding software for photo or video editing, 3D design, or crunching databases, its worth putting money towards a more powerful CPU. Intel’s Core i5 and i7 processors are a solid choice, while AMD’s Ryzen range of processors often rival Intel’s in terms of performance but come with a smaller price tag.
How much storage do I need?
What else do I need to look out for?
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