The perfect laptop for college students must be lightweight, stylish, and capable of delivering excellent battery life. Because of the new reality we live in, a student's laptop must also have a high-quality webcam and microphone to help with online classes and remote studying sessions.
Today's market is brimming with Mac, PC, and Chromebook options at every imaginable price point. That’s why we spent a couple of weeks thoroughly researching products from leading brands to determine the best ones worth buying.
It's important to choose a notebook with futureproof hardware specs, headlined by an up-to-date processor. For Intel-powered notebooks, depending on the manufacturer and the specific model, you should look for a 10th- or 11th-generation Core processor. The latest entry-level MacBooks, on the other hand, have Apple's own M1 chip.
We also only considered notebooks with Bluetooth 5.0 and Wi-Fi 6 on board. The former will allow you to seamlessly pair the latest wireless headphones, earbuds, and Bluetooth speakers with your notebook, and enjoy latency-free sound. When connected to a compatible network, Wi-Fi 6 will give you access to fast internet speeds without impacting the battery life of your laptop.
If your school projects involve graphic design and other demanding tasks, you should invest in a notebook with a powerful graphics card. For PCs, the latter is usually an NVIDIA GeForce GTX or RTX component — the higher the product series and model number, the better. Having such a laptop will also allow you to play your favorite gaming titles when you are not cranking out schoolwork.
Battery life is just as important. Save for a couple of products, all our picks should easily make it through a day of classes without the need to visit a power outlet. To avoid any battery-related anxiety, I suggest that you carry a laptop-friendly battery pack.
In addition to conquering course notes, papers, and various projects, a good laptop should also entertain you after class. Some of our favorite options will not only help you stream content and rock out to playlists you love, but also play today's popular video games with uncompromisingly great quality.
Here are the best laptops for college students that have all the above qualities — and then some.
• CPU:Apple M1 chip • Display: 13.3-inch Retina display (2,560 by 1,600 pixels) • Memory: 8GB of RAM, 512GB SSD • Battery Life: Up to 18 hours
The MacBook Air with with an Apple M1 chip is hands down our favorite laptop for college students. It is lightweight (it weighs less than 3 pounds), timelessly elegant, effortlessly powerful, and, starting around $1,000, reasonably priced. It has a fantastic keyboard and trackpad, a superb Retina display, and insane battery life of up 18 hours between charges.
Like all things Apple, the notebook comes with an outstanding selection of original and third-party accessories. If you plan to use the notebook for demanding tasks like graphic design projects, consider the slightly pricier 13-inch MacBook Pro with an M1 chip. It has more graphics power and even longer battery life.
• CPU: 11th-generation Intel Core i7 • Display: 13.3-inch Full HD IPS touchscreen (1,920 by 1,080 pixels) • Memory: 8GB of RAM, 256GB SSD • Battery Life: Up to 13 hours
HP’s 13-inch ENVY is a great PC laptop for college student, because it has a feature-packed and futureproof spec sheet for less than $1,000. The sleek, all-metal notebook has a powerful Intel processor, a crisp and bright touchscreen with thin bezels, and long battery life with fast charging capabilities.
Other key features of the notebook include Bang & Olufsen-tuned speakers, a fingerprint scanner, a hardware switch for disabling the webcam, a fantastic set of wired and wireless connectivity features. For around $200 more, HP offers an even more capable ENVY 14 PC with a slightly bigger screen and onboard NVIDIA graphics.
•CPU: 10th-generation Intel Core i5 •Display: 12.3-inch PixelSense touchscreen (2,736 by 1,824 pixels) •Memory: 8GB of RAM, 128GB SSD •Battery Life: Up to 10.5 hours
The Microsoft Surface Pro 7 is the best 2-in-1 PC for college students. It's beautifully designed and crafted, powerful, and incredibly versatile. It can instantly transform from a tablet to a laptop via a Type Cover (the accessory is bundled in this case). Of course, like all Surface products, the Pro 7 is also compatible with the Surface Pen stylus.
With a Full HD front- and rear-facing cameras, the Pro 7 is also a great tool for video conferencing. Microsoft offers the tablet in a host of hardware configurations, ensuring that buyers can find one that fits in their budget. The slate is available in platinum or matte black.
•CPU: 10th-generation Intel Core i7 •Display: 13.5-inch detachable touchscreen (3,000 by 2,000 pixels) •Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX •Memory: 16GB of RAM, 256GB SSD •Battery Life: Up to 17.5 hours
No laptop comes even close to offering the same combination of craftsmanship, power, versatility, and battery life as the Microsoft Surface Book 3. Thanks to its detachable display, it can seamlessly transform from a powerful laptop to a tablet. The product is pricey, but well worth splurging on if you want the ultimate do-it-all PC.
Like the Surface Pro 7 we already mentioned, the Book 3 is also great for video calls, thanks to a duo of Full HD cameras and high-quality microphones. The product is available in a multitude of hardware configurations. In case you need more power and versatility, consider the 15-inch variant instead. Thanks to built-in support for Xbox Wireless controllers, it's better at gaming, too.
•CPU: 11th-generation Intel Core i3 •Display: 15.6-inch IPS display (1,920 by 1,080 pixels) • Memory: 4 GB of RAM, 128 GB SSD •Battery Life: Up to 8.5 hours
The Acer Aspire 5 is our favorite budget laptop for students. For less than $500 in entry-level guise (this $600 variant with more power, memory, and a fingerprint sensor is great), the full-sized notebook offers good design, up-to-date hardware specs, reliable performance, and the ability to make it through a full school day on one battery charge. Its aluminum cover and backlit keyboard give it a more upmarket look and feel, too.
Thanks to Microsoft Windows 10, the Aspire 5 offers a more feature-packed platform than a similarly priced Chromebook. The product ships with Windows 10 in S Mode, meaning you can only install apps from the Microsoft Store. However, you can upgrade to a full Windows 10 build for free.
• CPU: 10th-generation Intel Core i3 • Display: 13.3-inch 360-degree touchscreen (1,920 by 1,080 pixels) • Memory: 4GB of RAM, 64GB eMMC • Battery Life: Up to 10 hours
The Lenovo Chromebook Flex 5 is sleek, lightweight, and, thanks to a sharp touchscreen with a 360-degree hinge and support for a stylus pen, incredibly versatile. The notebook is also affordably priced, especially considering how feature-packed it is.
Google's Chrome OS platform supports Android apps, making the Flex 5 equally good for school work, as well as for staying entertained after. Lenovo's optional Active Pen stylus is just as reasonably priced and I highly recommend that you opt for it.
•CPU: 10th-generation Intel Core i7 •Display: 15.6-inch Full HD (1,920 by 1,080 pixels), 144 Hz refresh rate •Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 •Memory: 16GB of RAM, 512GB SSD
The latest 15-inch Razer Blade laptop is equally great for conquering a school project or your opponents in today’s chart-topping video games. Unlike most other gaming laptops, the 15-inch gaming rig is also great for use on the go. It’s light, thin, impossibly elegant and superbly crafted, yet as feature-packed as a laptop can be.
With a six-core Intel processor and an NVIDIA RTX 30 series graphics card, the Razer Blade 15 is also as futureproof as a PC notebook can get. You just need to be mindful that, because of its desktop-grade hardware, the notebook can last only up to 6 hours between charges. Variants of the notebook with beefier graphics, more storage, and display panels with even higher refresh rate are also available.
Stefan VazharovSenior Technology EditorStefan is the senior technology editor for BestProducts.com, where he’s been covering the tech industry and testing the latest gadgets since 2015; He previously covered tech products for GSMArena.com and his work can also be found on Popular Mechanics.
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