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Best College Laptops For Students | Budget Laptops To Workstations
Student life has always been busy with daily activities, studies, and homework. And that’s what demands the frequent use of laptops in their life. In today’s era, tech devices are not limited to those using it for work only. It’s important that you choose the best laptops for students to make daily tasks easier.
As of now, studying has become more accessible with laptops. Students are better able to enjoy the learning process. They tend to find taking notes easier for their research papers. It also helps them to ace their exams and give better presentations.
Many students want to get the best laptop but get confused on whether they should choose gaming laptops or regular ones.
We have decided to research, test, and rank the best laptop for school and college students. This article can also help them to learn about the configuration of these laptops so they are better able to choose a powerful laptop to meet their personal needs.
Editors Pick For The Best Laptops For Students
College is a time for discovery, exploration, and new experiences. It’s also an expensive time in your life. That’s why we’ve compiled this list of the best college laptops for students to help you stay on budget while still being able to get everything you need. Whether it’s a laptop for students going into business or engineering, we have something for everyone!
HP Envy 13 (2021)
Specifications of HP Envy 13 (2021) | |
CPU | Intel Core i5-1135G7 |
GPU | Irix Xe (or GeForce MX350) |
RAM | 16GB |
Storage | 256GB |
Display | 13.3-inch, 1080p (touch) |
Size | 12.1 x 7.7 x 0.7 inches |
Weight | 2.9 pounds |
The HP Envy 13 (2021) has taken the place of the best laptops for students! The new design of this machine comes with a thunderbolt 4 port and long battery life. Its excellent performance rate intrigued by the Intel Core i5 CPU will make you feel more ecstatic!
Speaking about its slimmer bezel and display, it can beat any other pricier flagship model! The fabulous features, including the sleek chassis, vivid display, and processing power, make it clear why anyone should consider this the best option for students. Although the HP Envy 13 has a few downsides, including the plastic touchpad and no IR camera option.
Attractive design and excellent keyboard
Core i5 CPU is speedy
11+ hours of battery life
No IR camera option
MacBook Air (M1, Late 2020) | The Best Mac For Students
Specifications of MacBook Air (M1, Late 2020) | |
CPU | M1 |
GPU | M1 (integrated) |
RAM | 8GB/16GB |
Storage | 256GB/512GB/1TB/2TB |
Display | 13.3-inch, 2560 x 1600-pixel |
Size | 11.9 x 8.4 x 0.6 inches |
Weight | 2.8 pounds |
If you are inclined to use the macOS than windows 10, the Apple MacBook Air M1 would be the best Mac for students. The integrated M1 chip of this year’s MAC has improved its performance and battery life. Also, its ultrathin design makes it one of the fastest ultrathin laptops among the MAC series.
Speaking about the price, you can consider this as the mid-range budget laptop that costs around $999. And such a price tag comes along with 14 hours of battery life and unrivaled performance. So, you can already guess this machine competes with the latest windows 10 student laptop. You can get even better performance from this one!
The MacBook Air M1 is equipped with no fan inside to ensure it doesn’t make any noise. Besides, you get the 13.3-inch display and 0.6-inch thick portable base model weighing around only 2.8 pounds. Although the MacBook Pro can give a rather slightly faster performance than this one. However, this Air model is not bad as a student laptop either compared to the price range.
Outstanding battery life
Slim unibody aluminum chassis
iPhone and iPad app support
Great speakers and Magic Keyboard
Dell XPS 13 (Late 2020) | Best Premium Windows 10 Laptop
Specifications of Dell XPS 13 (Late 2020) | |
CPU | Intel Core i3/Core i5/Core i7 (11th Gen) |
GPU | Intel Iris Xe |
RAM | 8GB/16GB |
Storage | 256GB/512GB/1TB/2TB |
Display | 13.4-inch, 1920 x 1200 or 4K |
Size | 11.6 x 7.8 x 0.6 inches |
Weight | 2.8 pounds |
The Dell XPS 13 is the best premium windows 10 laptop for college students. You can consider this as a serious workhorse as well.
This device is equipped with the 11th Gen Intel Core i7 processor with an integrated Intel iris Xe graphics card. So, you can rely on this Dell XPS for video editing as well. It also holds a battery life of around 11 hours.
The XPS 13 is a powerful laptop that also comes with a pretty design. It’s because this one is lightweight and has a smaller size than the previous models. Although, that didn’t impact on adding its feature like the keyboard and larger trackpad. Additionally, it also has a near-bezel-less screen display of 13.4-inch with accurate color grading.
Powerful performance
No bezels whatsoever
Excellent battery life
Apple MacBook Pro (13-inch, M1, 2020) | Best Business Laptop For MacOS Power Users
Specifications of Apple MacBook Pro (13-inch, M1, 2020) | |
CPU | M1 |
GPU | M1 (integrated) |
RAM | 8GB/16GB |
Storage | 256GB, 512GB, 1TB, 2TB |
Display | 13.3-inch, 2560 x 1600 |
Size | 12 x 8.4 x 0.6 inches |
Weight | 3.1 pounds |
This MacBook Pro M1 is considered the best business laptop for macOS power users. It’s an upgrade version of the MacBook Air M1, which has the custom SoC for laptops. The M1 elevates the performance of the MacBook Pro and the battery life to the next level with the highest performance per watt.
To be precise, this device is the powerful PC among all the other ones. The slim and sleek chassis, including the longer battery life of 16 hours, makes it the perfect laptop for workstations.
Although, its webcam is a downside. That’s because it only has the 720p camera for video conferences. Howbeit, that’s upgraded camera equipment if you look back on the previous model’s specs.
It also offers ARM-based architecture, which lets you easily connect all your mobile or iPad apps on the laptop. The substantial improvements seen in the latest MacBook Pro are complemented by the latest macOS version, Big Sur. Big Sur is a gorgeous overhaul of the desktop OS as the largest update since OSX launched ten years ago.
Excellent battery life
Lightning-fast SSD
Great webcam
Acer Chromebook Spin 713 | Best Affordable Laptop
Specifications of Acer Chromebook Spin 71 | |
CPU | Intel Core i5-10210U |
GPU | Intel UHD |
RAM | 8GB |
Storage | 128GB |
Display | 13.5-inch, 2256 x 1504 |
Size | 11.8 x 9.3 x 0.7 inches |
Weight | 3.0 pounds |
The Acer Chromebook Spin 713 is the best affordable laptop of these all. This is the greatest Chrome OS gadget for users since it offers a lot of flexibility. By flexibility, we mean it allows you to doodle, take written notes, or discuss a project with a classmate simply by folding the display back. So, you get the excellent 2-in-1 feature, including a 13.5-inch display and Intel Core i5 CPU.
Rest assured, this outstanding device can provide you with faster performance and longer battery life of 12 hours.
Overall, the Chromebook Spin 713 is the best laptop for all high-school and college students for its flexible conception, high performance, beautiful display, and excellent battery life.
Exceptional battery life
Speedy performance
Versatile form factor
HP Envy x360 13 (2020) | The Best 2-In-1 LaptopAsus TUF FX705GM 64GB Affordable Laptop
Specifications of HP Envy x360 13 (2020) | |
CPU | AMD Ryzen 5 4500U |
GPU | AMD Radeon Graphics |
RAM | 8GB |
Storage | 256GB |
Display | 13.3-inch, 1080p |
Size | 12.1 x 7.7 x 0.7 inches |
Weight | 2.9 pounds |
The HP Envy x360 13 is an ultrabook with a 2-in-1 facility of a tablet and tent. So there, you can flip it over to any type and work faster with the AMD Ryzen processor that’s built-in along with its aluminum design.
Additionally, choosing a laptop with a comfortable keyboard, bright display, and a fast CPU is tiresome. Hence, the x360 us made to meet all these criteria. We observed that Envy x360 13 could surpass laptops with the tenth Gen Intel chip in our testing, using a Ryzen 54500U CPU.
Howbeit, if you can overcome the need for an IR camera. It may be the ultimate money-saver laptop that can help you overcome the lack of a Thunderbolt 3 port and IR camera.
1080p display is bright and vivid
Stylish and compact aluminum design
Long battery life
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon (8th Gen) | Best Laptop For Business Students
Specifications of Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon (8th Gen) | |
CPU | 10th Gen Intel Core i5/Core i7 |
GPU | Intel UHD |
RAM | 8GB/16GB |
Storage | 256GB/512GB/1TB SSD |
Display | 14-inch, 1080p or 4K |
Size | 12.7 x 8.5 x 0.6 inches |
Weight | 2.4 pounds |
The Lenovo ThinkPad is one of the best laptops for business students. Its 10th Gen CPU, along with the 1080p and 4K display option, makes it perform even better. This is a laptop with hours of battery life. So, when you work long hours a day, you can remain stress free.
This ultimate device has an inevitably lightweight chassis. Therefore, it’s easier to carry anywhere and you get to use the best-classified keyboard on this laptop to make your experience great.
Although it would be better if it came with better graphics. And there is no SD card slot, which is considered another downside of the product.
Bright, vibrant 1080p and 4K display options
Class-leading keyboard
Fast performance
Best Laptop Choice for College
As you can see, our editors pick, the HP Envy 13, has beat all the others and took first place for the best laptops for students! In fact, you can think of this as the best laptop choice for college.
We have examined the beast for quite a few months. Which is how we got the actual performance result of the Envy 13.
This ultraportable laptop is built with an 11th Gen Intel CPU. So, you will get some speedy performance for sure. It also offers a great screen resolution, comfortable keyboard, and lightweight design. Therefore, this device is considered an excellent choice for students.
The MacBook Air (M1, Late 2020) is the best fit for Mac lovers. You can consider this macOS among the most affordable laptops. It comes with a 13.3-inch display and an integrated M1 GPU. It’s 2.8 pounds put this in the category of lightweight laptops.
The 13-inch MacBook Pro M1 also acts as the best alternative to MacBook Air M1. So, you can go for this premium design if you don’t like the M1.
If you believe that MacBook Air will be a little expensive for you, you can choose instead the compatible windows laptop, Dell XPS 13. It’s equipped with the 11th Gen Core i7 processor and the same 13-inch display as the MacBook Air!
If you don’t intend to get a new laptop right away, you might want to wait for the next batch to arrive. At the CES 2021, several of which will be on the stand over the next few weeks and months, we have seen scores of new models unveiled. These include Intel 11th Gen Intel CPU laptops, 5000 series AMD chips, and 30-series Nvidia GPUs.
Choose A Laptop With Power & Excellent Performance
While choosing the best laptops for students, one should be aware and check the power and performance of his laptop.
The first thing you ought to evaluate is portability and the screen size. A larger screen laptop tends to have less portability balance than the smaller one. Therefore, college students seem to like the 13-inch laptops better. For instance, the Dell XPS 13 has a 13.4-inch display for better portability and screen real estate balance.
The battery life is the second item you need to consider. A shorter battery life will not let you operate the device for very long, therefore, it’s better to have at least a laptop that supports 9 hours of battery life.
And last but not least, the performance of each laptop is substantially affected. So, you must focus on that sector. We would recommend going for the devices that include Intel H-series or U-series Core i5 CPU. And the RAM should be at least 8 GB with a 256 GB of minimum storage capacity. You can also choose the AMD Ryzen 7 processor as an alternative to Intel.
The Verdict
If you’re a student, then laptops are crucial to your day to day studies. They can help you stay connected with classmates and professors alike for academic purposes.
Check the specs to ensure that it’s the right laptop for your needs and more!
We hope we have answered any questions on laptops with this blog post.