Best laptops for students 2020

Shopping for a laptop can be stressful – doubly stressful if you as a child are going to learn online for the first time. Children of different ages have a variety of different use cases for laptop and different needs. And as technology evolves, so do the needs of students. So I talked to some experts on the subject: students themselves.

My recommendations here are meant to meet a variety of preferences and prices. But they are a springboard instead of an exhaustive list: every student is different. Before you make a decision, you want to make sure you read reviews and try devices yourself if you can. I will do my best to keep this article up to date with items that are in stock.

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Best laptops for elementary school students

For younger students, a touchscreen device is easier to use than a keyboard and touchpad, says Michelle Glogovac, whose five-year-old son is learning remotely for the first six weeks of the fall semester. Glogovac’s son uses an iPad for Webex meetings with his beaker class. He got it going; Glogovac says he has already learned how to dampen and dampen himself, “a skill that many adults are unfamiliar with.”

That said, it may be worth investing in a keyboard case if you go the tablet route. Glogovac has to enter his son’s meeting codes and passwords for him, which can be wrapped up on the iPad’s flat screen.

As children get older, their best laptop choice will vary depending on their needs. As a parent, it’s important that you and your children synchronize about how they intend to use it and the size of the programs they want.

Kristin Wallace bought a budget HP laptop for her daughter Bella, but did not know how soon the nine-year-old would have 32 GB of storage. “It is really slow and has no room for games. I need a computer with more storage space, ”said Bella, who uses the laptop to zoom in with friends and take virtual guitar lessons and math enrichment lessons. Wallace plans to buy Bella a better device in the coming weeks.

Audio quality is an important consideration for children’s laptops. Lisa Mitchell, an elementary library media specialist, says her students use their devices to watch YouTube videos alongside their online classes. Battery life is also a plus, even for distance learners who may not be far from an electrical outlet. Bella likes to use her laptop around the house and does not want to bring the cable with her.

Sustainability is also worth paying for, according to Mitchell. When you use a tablet, you get a protective case. “If a reasonable price insurance is available as a replacement policy, it is usually worth the extra expense.”

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Best laptops for high school students

High school students do not use them with their laptops for much more than web-based schoolwork and browsing. Do not worry about power – prioritize a machine that is comfortable and easy for your children to use.

“We have just the most basic Chromebook and it’s absolutely perfect,” says Gabrielle Hartley, a lawyer and mother of three who will be taking a mix of personal and online classes this fall. “The most basic Chromebook serves all the needs of the elementary school.”

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Hartley’s son Max, who is in eighth grade, agrees. “I really want a gaming PC or gaming laptop that can fit into a monitor and run video games at 120fps, but I really do not need that,” says Max. “Most eighth-graders will not run video games on their laptops or on software that requires a lot of power.”

Max mostly uses his laptop for Google Classroom applications including Gmail, Slides, Google Docs and Google Sheets. They are very easy to use on his device, which he describes as “a run-of-the-mill Samsung Chromebook.” That said, if your child is starting high school this year, it may be worth checking with their teachers to see which operating system is most compatible with their workflow. Caspian Fischer Odén, a ninth grader from Sweden, told me that he’s having problems with his Chromebook because his school has blocked downloading apps from the Google Play Store.

Even kids with more demanding hobbies think a budget device can get the job done. Sam Hickman, an eighth-grader from the UK who uses his laptop for photo and video editing, says: “For most high school leaders, any processor developed in the last two years can handle all the tasks. process what they can throw at it. ”

So what is worth paying for? A comfortable keyboard, several students told me. Many high school kids are not used to typing for long periods of time. You should also look for a device that is compact and easy for her to carry, especially if she is preparing for in-school. Shoot for an 11- to 13-inch model – certainly nothing bigger than 15 inches.

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Best laptops for high school students

High school laptop needs may vary based on their interests, but most do not require powerful machines with a lot of bells and whistles – especially if they come with glitches or serious downsides that can interfere with schoolwork. Miles Riehle, a student at Laguna Beach High School, has a high end Surface Pro 7, but finds it overwhelming. “There are so many other things I don’t use often,” he said. “Something simpler is perhaps a little straightforward.”

The best operating system may depend on what your child is accustomed to. Aryan Nambiar, a student at Barrington High School in Illinois, has an iMac at home and enjoys an iPad for his schoolwork. Riehle says he would prefer a Chromebook because he has an Android phone and often uses Google services.

But almost every student I spoke to agreed that the most important feature of a high school laptop is portability. Children who attend personal classes can carry their device with them for most of the day with a stack of other books. Look for a 13- or 14-inch screen, or a lighter 15- to 17-inch model.

Students also recommend something cool. “Most high school kids I’ve seen will throw their laptop in their bag without too much worry,” says Moses Buckwalter, a student at Penn Manor High School. Backpacks can also be jostled in the hall. Distance students can still get into trouble at home. “Anything can happen,” says Aadit Agrawal, a high school student from India. “My own brother scratched my laptop with his nails.”

Battery life is another important feature. “It can be a real struggle to load a place while you’re in class,” says Cas Heemskerk, a sophomore from the Netherlands. Unlike students, many high schools do not often have time to clean up their devices, so try to find something that can last a whole day.

Many students recommend a touchscreen with stylus support. Nambiar uses the feature for his biology class, where he does a lot of visual modeling. “The touchscreen is always a bonus for drawing charts, although if you are using a laptop, it should be quite a process to submit a chart that you are drawing,” says Nambiar. Riehle uses a Surface Pen to fill out school forms and annotate PDFs. Agrawal finds it useful to take notes on the same screen as his online lessons.

Depending on the situation for broadband in your area, you may also want a laptop with multiple connectivity options. Agrawal’s online classes are sometimes interrupted by powercuts, so he recommends an LTE model. Matej Plavevski, a junior at Yahya Kemal College in northern Macedonia, advises looking for an Ethernet port in case slower connections limit meetings. That’s hard to find on smaller laptops, but there are plenty of affordable dongles and docks to consider.

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Best laptops for students

College kids are entitled to spend a little more money than other age groups. Some (especially in STEM courses) can expect to do some fairly demanding work. Assad Abid, an electrical engineering undergraduate from Pakistan, has to run simulation software for his assignments. Aakash Chandra, a student at New Horizon College of Engineering in India, does a lot of coding, in addition to creative work in Premiere Pro and Photoshop, and gaming. Students also note that it is worthwhile to pay for a laptop that will follow a few years after graduation. That means you do not have to worry about finding and financing your next device until you are (hopefully) settled into a job.

But among advanced, capable devices, there is still a wide range of options. Students stress that a university laptop should be light. Expect it to move between classes, meals, meetings, the library, and other campus locations. “It’s a boon that I can carry my laptop as well as some notebooks without feeling like I have six hours a day too much,” says Haseeb Waseem, a senior at Villanova University who takes a mix of person and virtual classes this fall.

Photo by Monica Chin / The Verge

Another universal prized feature: battery life. Waseem, who uses an HP Specter, says the juice all day gives him “the flexibility to study in many different locations, and even outside.”

Speakers and webcams are often overlooked, even in top-end devices. But students say it’s worth looking for good when you start high school this year. Zoom will be a big part of university life this semester: many children will attend virtual classes, while others will still meet with clubs, study groups, and professors, as well as hang out online with friends. Waseem is not happy with the audio and video quality of his laptop, which he says makes it difficult to pay attention in class and interact with other students.

Many students will need to invest more in areas tailored to their interests and needs for schooling. Chandra’s dream laptop would include a stylus and touchscreen for its creative work as well as a high end GPU. Waseem, who uses his laptop for a hodgepodge of activities, including streaming, encoding, social media, video chatting, and Microsoft Office work, would prefer a large screen to keep track of his multitasking.

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