The 6 Best Laptops For College - Winter 2023 Reviews
If your school workload consists only of lighter tasks like text processing, web browsing, and video playback, get the Apple MacBook Air 13 (2022) instead, the successor to the very popular Apple MacBook Air 13 (M1, 2020). This new model has a fresh new design with a slightly larger display and thinner bezels, a better 1080p webcam, and a more powerful M2 SoC. The display is brighter this time around, enough for use outdoors in broad daylight, and you still get a comfortable keyboard and a large and responsive touchpad. It only has two USB-C ports, but there's now a dedicated MagSafe charging port, freeing up the USB-C port you would otherwise use for charging.
While the M2 Macbook Air is a fantastic device that we wholeheartedly recommend, it's still an expensive laptop, even more expensive than the older M1 model. The good news is that Apple still sells M1 MacBook Air alongside the newer model. Of course, there are a couple of tradeoffs, like its older design, slightly dimmer display, and a less powerful but still very capable M1 SoC. These compromises are fairly minor, so it's up to you to decide whether it's worth paying more for the M2 model.
If you prefer or need to work on Windows, the Dell XPS 13 (2021) is the closest direct competitor to the MacBook Air. It's also a well-built 13-inch laptop with a bright display, comfortable keyboard, and responsive touchpad. It gives you roughly ten hours of battery life, which is about the same as the M2 MacBook Air. Dell managed to squeeze a webcam with Windows Hello facial recognition support into the XPS 13's incredibly thin bezels; however, the image quality is decent at best and not as good as the M1 or M2 MacBook Air. It also has two USB-C ports, but they support Thunderbolt 4, allowing you to connect up to two 4k displays at 60Hz.
laptops for high school students
Top comment
"Despite being great in general it has some mayor flaws, one of them being its weight. Carrying this laptop around school felt like I was carrying a bag with several books inside at first, but after a couple days I got used to it (I only carry the laptop and an iPad) but if you are planning on carrying this laptop and several other things I would really recommend you check other options before choosing this one. ...An Awesome Laptop...My son loves this laptop and uses it at college. Note that the Webcam activation button is on the side of the PC."
Best Laptops for Students
What are the best laptops for students?
There are a few features that every student's laptop requires. Highly durable devices are essential as most student laptops get knocked around a lot. Students appreciate a battery that can make it through the school day without a charge. Smaller, lighter devices are helpful because backpacks get heavy fast. When considering additional features, the right laptop depends on the student's age and area of study. For example, touchscreens are useful for younger students who don't yet know their way around a keyboard, while college students majoring in engineering will need more powerful devices that can run graphics-intensive applications.
At Dell, XPS and Inspiron laptops offer some of the best options for students.
What should students look for in a laptop?
The size of a laptop is important – thin laptops will add less weight to heavy backpacks. Anything larger than a 15.6-inch screen will be hard to fit in a backpack, while anything smaller than a 13.3-inch screen will be uncomfortable to work on. For college students, a laptop with more recent processors with help the device last a full four years of school. With the rise of online storage options, many students can consider a smaller storage drive to save money. And students who are gamers will want to look carefully at the laptop's graphics card and the monitor refresh rate to ensure that their gaming experience is satisfactory.
A student’s curriculum and interests will play a big role in choosing the right laptop. The best laptops for writers will have a comfortable keyboard that lets students type away all day long without strain. A laptop for architecture or engineering students running CAD will need devices with lots of RAM, faster processors, and the latest graphics cards. And students interested in editing video will need a display with a higher resolution and superior color performance.
