With all that in mind, we chose our new favorite laptops for students. All are easy to carry, have great keyboards, good performance, and last all day. Not everyone will need an extremely robust machine to bring back to campus; some of you will find a Chromebook or even a 2 in 1 tablet sufficient. Those who need more power for graphics or video editing will appreciate that our picks pack the muscle you’ll need in frames that won’t weigh in your backpack.
Dell XPS 13
Will Lipman Photography
What else can we say? We have already praised last year’s XPS 13 as the perfect ultraportable, and this year’s model managed to improve on it. It features a larger, taller screen so you can see more of your essay at once, plus a larger keyboard and touchpad. The XPS 13 2020 manages to have a sleeker design than its predecessor as well, so it still fits nicely in your bag.
The laptop also offers the same reliable performance and excellent battery life that we expect from XPS machines. Stay away from the base model as it uses a less powerful Core i3 chipset and 4GB of RAM. We recommend the $ 1,199 version with its tenth generation Intel Core i5 and 8GB of RAM. If you are looking for a versatile and versatile machine, the XPS 13 2020 is your best option.
Buy XPS 13 at Dell starting at $ 1,000
Microsoft Surface Laptop 3
Will Lipman Photography
For a better keyboard and something with a sleeker look, consider the Surface Laptop 3. Microsoft’s line of homegrown notebooks has a crisp design, fast performance, and a great keyboard and trackpad. Seriously, you’ll love typing on those deep, comfortable keys, and the Alcantara fabric covering the cover will feel like a plush mat for your palms.
The 15-inch model in particular offers a ton of power while maintaining a sleek profile thanks to its AMD processor. You will have to live without an SD card reader and HDMI jack, but the USB-C and A options are a good foundation. Also, you will enjoy looking at the large and beautiful screen of the Laptop 3 while you zoom to go directly to As. Surface Laptop 3 is an excellent laptop for those who want a modern and attractive device.
Buy 13-inch Surface Laptop 3 at Best Buy – $ 1,600
Buy 15-inch Surface Laptop 3 at Best Buy – $ 2,100
Apple MacBook Air
Photograph by Will Lipman / Apple
But what about those of you who prefer Mac? Apple updated its Air and Pro lines this year with improved keyboards, making them easier to recommend. It is difficult to write over previous generations, as the keys stick or break frequently.
Now that the typing experience has been greatly improved, the MacBook Air is a great laptop for everyday use, thanks also to its strong performance, battery life, and sharp Retina display. It’s also a much better value now that the starting price is lower and the entry-level specs are more generous. There’s also a handy fingerprint sensor to log in on. Those with more money to spare should consider the 13-inch Pro for its best performance, especially if they expect to edit videos or play games. However, it is important to note that the Pro outperforms with Intel Iris Plus graphics. That’s fine for light gaming, but for more serious tasks like 3D rendering, the 16-inch Pro with discrete GPUs would be better.
Buy MacBook Air on Amazon from $ 1,000
Samsung Galaxy Book Flex
Will Lipman Photography / Samsung
There are few laptops on the market that are as attractive as the latest Samsung Galaxy laptops. The Galaxy Chromebook, for example, has to be the most attractive laptop I’ve ever had in my hands. The Galaxy Book Flex has exactly the same beautiful aesthetic except for a less daring but still unique blue hue.
Despite being incredibly thin and light, the Flex includes a powerful 10th generation Intel Core i7 processor, a comfortable keyboard with long travel and even an S Pen. With this pencil, you can easily take class notes, draw molecular diagrams, or sign documents. The QLED display is also beautiful, and you can use an exterior mode to increase the brightness when you need it. The Flex’s 13.5-hour battery life is also impressive for its size, and beats most laptops on this list.
The main drawback with the Book Flex is that you can only get it with a Core i7 and 8GB of RAM for $ 900. There is no other configuration. That’s actually quite affordable compared to Apple’s MacBooks, but those on tight budgets can skip this and consider the Galaxy Book Flex Alpha cheaper.
Buy Galaxy Book Flex on Samsung – $ 900
Microsoft Surface Go 2
Will Lipman Photography
Maybe you don’t even have the space for a laptop in your life and just really need occasional access to a proper keyboard. So a tablet with a keyboard like Surface Go 2 might suffice. It’s a cute little 10.5-inch whiteboard with a built-in stand, and it runs Windows 10 so you can use all the desktop apps you need. It starts at a relatively cheap price of $ 400, though that only gets you an Intel Pentium Gold processor and 4GB of RAM. If you need more power, you can go for a Core M3 model with 8GB of RAM, which will cost $ 730 (with built-in LTE).
You’ll also want to get the keyboard cover, since Windows isn’t the best operating system for tablets. That will cost you an additional $ 100, bringing your total to $ 500 or $ 830 depending on your setup. Despite its small size, the Go 2 lasts more than a day’s work and should survive a full conference morning and afternoon without the need for a charge.
Buy Surface Go 2 on Amazon from $ 400
Apple iPad Air
Photograph by Will Lipman / Apple
Those who don’t mind a tablet-like operating system might find a suitable option on the iPad Air 2019. It’s not as powerful as the iPad Pro, but it starts at a much cheaper price of $ 499. For that, You’ll get a nice 10.5-inch Retina display, good battery life, and a robust app ecosystem. The iPad Air is compatible with Apple’s smart keyboard, so you can use it as an aspiring laptop and send quick emails or messages to your teachers.
Air’s Aion Bionic processor may not be the fastest Apple chip, but it’s still pretty fast. iPadOS also behaves more like a desktop operating system now so you can edit text more intuitively, save files to your device, and finally pair a mouse for more precise navigation. Art students may also consider purchasing the Apple Pencil, as the Air is a lovely canvas for drawing. Those who want a better tablet everywhere can consider the iPad Pro instead, but the budget will be satisfied with what the Air offers for the price.
Buy Apple iPad Air on Amazon from $ 499
Chromebook Lenovo Flex 5
Nathan Ingraham / Engadget
Not all students require a complete laptop for school; some do most of their work through a browser. If that sounds like you, consider a Chromebook. They have matured in the last year in terms of both design and performance. The latest Chromebooks come with more powerful guts and sleeker finishes, while costing less than their Windows and Mac counterparts.
Our choice of Chromebook is the Lenovo Chromebook Flex 5, for its rugged yet stylish construction, solid battery life, and capable performance for the price. It costs just $ 410 on Amazon, and offers Intel’s Core i3 guts and a 360-degree hinge. We also like the comfortable keyboard and the nice screen here. The 4GB of RAM the Flex 5 offers are a bit miserable, but considering that you’re only running Chrome OS, that amount of memory is enough.
Buy Lenovo Flex 5 Chromebook on Amazon – $ 410
