Having the right laptop is essential whether you take classes in person or virtually. The best laptops enable you to tackle all school assignments and projects while providing portability and enough power capacity to get through your school routine. Luckily for you, we have compiled a list of the best laptops for college students while paying attention to performance, value, and flexibility. Let’s get started.
- MacBook Air (M1, 2020)
The MacBook Air (M1, 2020) is Apple’s most affordable laptop, and while many may not consider this laptop budget-friendly, it is well worth the money for students.
Rather than employing Intel technology, Apple developed its SoC (system-on-a-chip) for every MacBook and Mac desktop. The performance is fantastic, easily outperforming prior MacBook Air models, and the battery life is significantly enhanced — up to 14 hours of it.
iOS apps now run on the laptop, providing you access to a broader library of apps than ever before and benefits with your other Apple products. Meanwhile, this laptop’s screen supports the P3 color gamut, making it ideal for students studying photography or video production.
- Microsoft Surface Laptop 4
Apple may manufacture good Photoshop computers, but Microsoft has released a fantastic device, the Surface Laptop 4, which can match the MacBooks.
So, what is it about this laptop that makes it so appealing to students? It doesn’t only have a beautifully thin and light design, but it also boasts a fantastic PixelSense touchscreen that’s a joy to use with apps like Adobe Photoshop. It also has an excellent keyboard, powerful hardware, and long battery life.
The Surface Laptop 4 is more than capable of running any graphic design application you can imagine. This laptop is as near a MacBook Air competitor as you’ll find, so you can rest assured that this will suffice if you don’t like macOS. Now that Windows 11 is available, you may update for free.
- Acer Swift 3 (2021)
The Acer Swift 3 is a perfect example of what makes a good student laptop; it is economical without sacrificing too much performance, and it’s powerful enough to handle routine tasks like online browsing and document creation. Sure, you won’t get the MacBook Air’s glitzy design, but for the money, it’s hard to beat this level of quality and performance.
It is also portable enough for you to carry around school or campus, yet it has a build meaning it won’t break easily. The current model includes several notable hardware enhancements, making it a better performer than its predecessors and improved battery life.
The downsides to this laptop are the speakers, which are pretty average, meaning you will need a headphone for better audio quality, and the webcam is of poor quality. However, it is okay to attend video lectures.
- Microsoft Surface Go 3
One of Microsoft’s most cheap 2-in-1 tablets is the Surface Go 3. You’ll have to buy the keyboard separately (as well as a pen if you’re taking a course that requires one), but it is a better alternative for students than an actual laptop when combined with its accessories.
Although this laptop is not as powerful as the newly introduced Surface Pro 8, it remains an excellent choice for students seeking a computer or tablet that they can use to create documents and browse the web and relax with some Netflix binge.
Its use as a tablet during lectures makes it convenient for taking notes, and creative students can use it for digital graphics and design work. Its tiny size makes it easy to throw into a bag while on the go.