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For today's college students, no tech is as essential as a good laptop that's designed for productivity and entertainment.
For anyone starting or returning to college and looking for a new laptop, we have five excellent options to choose from.
Overall, the best college laptop is the Dell XPS 13 for many of the same reasons it stands as our best laptop altogether, like ease of use and power.
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Besides tuition, textbooks, and lodging, many college students will need to spend money on a new laptop. The best college laptops will get you through four (or more, depending on your program) years of schoolwork as well as downtime entertainment: games and YouTube, Netflix, Hulu, and Spotify binges.
An ideal laptop for college is one that won't slow down after a couple of years or crash constantly while you're trying to get work done or finish that game. It's also slim and lightweight for carrying around campus, and has ample battery life so that it doesn't die on you at inopportune times. You'll also need to consider your major area of study: some will require you to do computing work that's way more demanding than others or can only run on certain operating systems.
To help you find the best college laptop, we've rounded up the best ones we've tested. Where needed, we've included some picks based on extensive research and our decades of computing expertise and knowledge. Before we get to the recommendations, here is one major aspect to consider: the operating system (OS). Each of the laptops in our guide runs one of the three major OSes: Windows, MacOS, and ChromeOS. Each OS has its own set of pros and cons.
Windows 10: Windows 10 is the most popular computing operating system, and you'll have no problem finding the right software to help get your work done. It's also the best OS for games, if that's how you plan on spending your free time. The downside is that, because it's so popular and open, hackers generally target Windows first, so it's important to run antivirus software regularly and update the OS as security patches get released.
MacOS: Like Windows, MacOS is a fully fledged OS with a robust library of apps. If you need a popular app to get your work done, it's almost definitely available for the Mac. The downside is that MacOS only runs on Apple hardware, which is typically a lot more expensive than Windows alternatives. The two upsides are that MacOS has far fewer viruses than Windows, and it shares many of the same apps as the iPhone. If you're an iPhone user, your photos will automatically sync with your Mac, and you'll be able to send and receive iMessages from your computer, among other things. As you probably guessed, MacOS only runs on Apple computers.
ChromeOS: ChromeOS is different from MacOS and Windows because it's entirely based on Google's Chrome browser, and it requires online connectivity. You won't have access to the same types of software as you would on a Mac or PC, but you can still use Google's G suite to write papers, prepare presentations, create and edit spreadsheets, and more. You can also use third-party applications that are web based, and some services even let you download content for offline access, like Netflix. Because it's not a traditional OS, you also won't have to worry about computer virus infections or your computer slowing down because it's full of random system files. If you need to run Mac or Windows software, this isn't for you. ChromeOS only runs on Chromebooks, which are generally less powerful but more affordable.
The hardware inside of your laptop - often referred to as the "specs" - will determine how well it will run on a daily basis, and how long it should last before it gets replaced. All of the laptops below should have enough processing power, storage, memory, and battery longevity to last for at least an entire four-year term of study.
Of course, the more powerful laptops below will be faster and could last a lot longer, but they're more expensive. You'll have to look within your budget, but we are recommending laptops that work for most college students.
Disclosure: This post is brought to you by the Insider Reviews team. We highlight products and services you might find interesting. If you buy them, we get a small share of the revenue from the sale from our commerce partners. We frequently receive products free of charge from manufacturers to test. This does not drive our decision as to whether or not a product is featured or recommended. We operate independently from our advertising sales team. We welcome your feedback. Email us at reviews@businessinsider.com.
The Dell XPS 13 achieves a sublime balance between the strongest mobile computer hardware to date and a sharp-looking, slim, and lightweight frame for a relatively reasonable price.
Dell's flagship XPS 13 has been the overall best laptop for years, and the situation is no different when it comes to college users because the XPS 13's balance between power, portability, and looks is just as ideal for students as it is for general users, making it the best laptop for most people.
The Dell XPS 13 adopts the latest in Intel processor (CPU) technology: the 10th-generation Core-series chips built on the 10-nanometer (nm) process. Exponentially, there are more transistors on the CPU die than before, meaning even more performance and possibly longer battery life — more than 19 hours of battery life from the Full HD (1080p) version, by Dell's measure.
Older versions of the XPS 13 had a webcam that was positioned at the bottom of the display, which was much maligned. The latest model has the webcam on the top, thankfully, so the camera captures you face-on rather than up your nostrils. The webcam is still just 720p, but it now includes far-field microphones for better audio pickup from far away. Even better, Dell managed to fit two fast Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C versatility at 40Gbps speeds) ports in the XPS 13 and a microSD card slot, while keeping the profile slim.
The base model Dell XPS 13 starts with an Intel Core i3 CPU, a 13.3-inch 1080p screen, 4GB of memory (RAM), and a 256GB solid-state drive (SSD) — starting at $1,000. Dell sells the laptop in Platinum Silver with a black carbon-fiber palm rest, weighing just 2.7 pounds and measuring merely 0.3-inches thin. With several options in between, the laptop maxes out with an Intel Core i7 CPU, 16GB of RAM, a 2TB SSD, and a 4K Ultra High-Definition (UHD at 2160p) touchscreen with Rose Gold and Alpine White color options, with a $2,350 list price.
Pros: Excellent design, long battery life, latest hardware, lots of ports
Cons: Webcam should be 1080p, certain colors locked to higher specs
The best college MacBook
The latest MacBook Air doubles down on its light-and-thin laptop with more powerful hardware and a lower price, making it our favorite Apple laptop for college students.
The newest MacBook Air leverages the redesign released in 2018 — an iteration of the iconic wedge design unveiled in the 2008 MacBook Air — and brings many modern features to, arguably, Apple's most recognizable laptop. Namely, this includes a beyond-HD (2,560 x 1,600), 13.3-inch screen, Apple's Touch ID fingerprint sensor (for login, online passwords, and Apple Pay), headphone jack, and two fast Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) ports. One bummer: Apple removed the SD card slot from newer MacBook Air.
The 2019 MacBook Air display is identical to what's found within the more powerful and pricier 13.3-inch MacBook Pro. As such, this display features Apple's True Tone technology, which matches the screen's color temperature to that of the ambient light surrounding it. This feature is critical for anyone suffering from eye strain and other issues, particularly due to blue light emitted by all computer displays.
Keeping to what earned it such a sterling reputation, the 2019 MacBook Air is Apple's top laptop for battery life, lasting for up to 12 hours of wireless web use. Knowing that, it should be easy to rely on the MacBook Air to hang on for many intercontinental flights — not many, if any, Windows laptops can make this claim.
Apple sells this newest MacBook Air model in gray, silver, and gold colors. For the starting $1,099 suggested price, the laptop is driven by an eighth-generation, fan-less dual-core Intel Core i5 CPU, 8GB of RAM, and 128GB solid-state drive.
You can customize these parts — more powerful processor, more memory, bigger storage — but know that nearly all of these upgrades cost way above market rate. However, because of the way the MacBook Air is designed, you cannot upgrade these components after purchase — at least, not easily.
Apple's computers tend to have a longer shelf life than many of their Windows counterparts. But, if you foresee using a MacBook Air beyond four years of undergraduate studies — post-college job, graduate studies, etc. — paying more now to soup-up the components could extend the laptop's usable lifespan.
The MacBook Air's wide popularity is thanks in no small part to colleges and universities worldwide, whose students adopted the previous model en masse. This is because of the longevity of MacOS and Apple's hardware, seeing these machines through years of study.
Pros: Sharp and vibrant display, Touch ID, light and thin, long-lasting battery
Cons: Fan-less CPU, component upgrades are pricey
The best college 2-in-1 laptop
The Lenovo Yoga C940 is part laptop, part tablet — excellent for both school work and leisure.
The Yoga C940 2-in-1 laptop is Lenovo's latest take on the foldable computing revolution that it helped spark a decade ago. The clever speaker-hinge design has been improved, making way for deeper audio from bigger sound drivers; the hinge also allows the screen to fold all the way back, turning it into a tablet (hence the 2-in-1). Also new in this 2019 model is the adoption of the latest 10-nanometer Intel Core processors.
Even better is that it is easier to open with one hand, with a tiny lip added to the lid, just above the camera. The Lenovo keyboard, thankfully, remains untouched, maintaining the IBM ThinkPad legacy that Lenovo purchased many moons ago. Lenovo is selling the Yoga C940 in the same stylish "Iron Gray" and "Mica" color options as 2018.
Lenovo's focus for the 2019 edition of the Yoga C940 was upping its position as a leading multimedia laptop, introducing bottom-firing speakers into the device's base for even more audio channels (the laptop also supports Dolby Atmos surround sound). Additionally, the stowaway stylus will be helpful for taking notes; it recharges when it's inserted into the laptop.
The Yoga C940 starts at $1,250. That price gets you a 10th-generation Intel Core i5 CPU, 8GB of RAM, a 256GB SSD, and a 14-inch, 1080p touch-capable display, along with two fast Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) ports, one USB 3.1 port, a fingerprint reader for security, and a webcam privacy shutter. Naturally, there are multiple upgrade options available at checkout. Lenovo includes a battery that's rated to last for up to 15 hours on a charge, by the company's claim, and in one hour can recover 80% of its charge. That all sounds like a perfect fit into space-strapped college life.
The Acer Chromebook 15 offers the best value laptop for students on a budget.
For anyone seeking to squeeze as much value out of their money as possible, we recommend the Acer Chromebook 15. This Chromebook features plenty of parts and niceties found in much pricier laptops — such as a 15-inch 1080p screen, top-firing speakers, and USB-C connectivity.
This not only allows you to watch movies and other videos — as well as do web-based work and other tasks — at native resolution on a relatively large display, but also enjoy the fuller-sounding stereo audio made possible by top-firing speakers. As for the USB-C connectivity, that runs on the USB 3.1 standard, meaning data transfer speeds up to 5 Gigabits per second (not the fast 40Gbps speed of Thunderbolt 3) as well as DisplayPort support for connecting additional screens and device charging.
The Acer Chromebook 15 also has a webcam with high-dynamic-range, or HDR, for deeper color support in video chats, and an 802.11ac Wi-Fi radio — the most widely used standard today. Suffice it to say, you're getting the niceties of a $600 laptop for almost half the price.
As for the price, the Acer Chromebook 15 includes a dual-core Intel Celeron CPU, 4GB of RAM, a 32GB SSD, two USB-C ports, two USB 3.0 ports, an SD card reader, and a battery that's rated for up to 12 hours of use. It's tough to ask for much more from a laptop at such a price.
With that said, you get what you pay for: It has a serviceable but basic design, and it has an even smaller hard drive than the Google Pixelbook Go (see below), so you would definitely need extra storage — either cloud or external drive. And like the Pixelbook Go, you have the same Chromebook limitations. But for many college students who don't need the frills or plan to run any intensive web apps, the Acer is a great option.
Pros: Large 1080p screen, long battery life, top-firing speakers, plenty of ports
Cons: No biometric login, small local storage
What else we considered
The best college Chromebook: Google Pixelbook Go
Google's latest is the best college Chromebook because it combines a sleek design with an incredible keyboard and a surprising level of hardware fidelity for its starting price.
If your budget allows and you want a Chromebook that's a bit more powerful than the Acer Chromebook 15 we recommend, check out Google's newest Chromebook, the Pixelbook Go, which is essentially its best answer to the Apple MacBook Air — offering terrific performance but for hundreds less.
With its attainable starting price, the Pixelbook Go provides a shockingly luxurious portable computing experience that similarly-priced laptops couldn't come close to. For example, the Pixelbook Go has a 1080p touch-capable display with a 1080p camera, in addition to 8GB of RAM. These parts aren't even found inside the latest entry-level Dell XPS 13, which contains a merely 1080p non-touch screen, 720p camera, and half as much RAM — for hundreds more cash.
However, the Pixelbook Go does come a bit short on storage, at least local storage. With merely 64GB of space in the entry configuration, it leans heavily on Google Drive cloud storage, which starts at $1.99 per month (or $19.99 per year) for 100GB more space (online connectivity required). Still, most other Chromebooks at this price point offer either the same or less local storage. Finally, the Pixelbook Go's battery can last for up to 12 hours, by Google's measure, putting it in line with the MacBook Air in terms of longevity.
We adore the Pixelbook Go for its silent and comfy keyboard as well as its overall offering of premium hardware for a relatively budget price. At its starting configuration, this is the undoubted best Chromebook for the money — easily recommended, although not the cheapest Chromebook you can buy. However, if you're looking at the priciest model — with an Intel Core i7 CPU, 16GB of RAM, a 256GB SSD, and a 4K Ultra HD screen — we'd recommend seeking a high-end Windows or MacBook laptop instead.
The reason why we aren't recommending this for college students is that we think the Acer Chromebook 15 is a terrific option and cost less money. The Pixelbook Go is a great laptop (it is one of our top picks in our best laptops guide), but for this particular audience, the Acer is the better Chromebook recommendation.
Pros: Excellent display, incredible keyboard, lightweight and slim, long battery life
Cons: Fan-less CPU, pricey upgrades, no biometric login, small-capacity storage
Want more recommendations? Check out our other laptop buying guides
If you want even more laptop recommendations from the Insider Reviews team you can check out the following guides, which are updated regularly with new computers as they're released.
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