Best Lenovo laptop for college students 2021

Regan says Nerds on Site is ordering a hundred Chromebooks at a time to keep up with demand. Its a functional computer, but it doesnt have all the bells and whistles. Its a remarkable bargain, and we havent experienced much in the way of breakdown, he says. Alan Zilberman at Laptop MD says that at 2.3 pounds, the laptop is easy to carry. Plus, he notes that the magnesium body makes it very durable and robust. Its also fast-charging and has an impressive eight-hour battery life.

Chromebooks represent a pretty solid value, says Tony Larson, an IT professional. Zilberman likes this option from Samsung, calling it a great devicethat is well rounded and appropriate for any student. Its slim and pretty light.

Our colleagues at the Verge named the XPS 13 the Best Laptop You Can Buy, and many of our experts liked it too. When it comes to a premium laptop thats perfect for a few years of college, the Dell XPS 13 two-in-one is my pick, says Austin Evans, a tech YouTuber. The latest XPS 13 redesign led to a more compact machine but still packs a 13.4 touch screen with a taller 16:10 aspect ratio, giving it a little bit of extra screen real estate. Itll even give you the ability to do a little bit of gaming, he says. The XPS 13 is almost entirely made of aluminum, which makes it very durable and able to withstand drops and scratches, Zilberman says. And the keyboard is designed to last.

Miguel Melendez, a PC expert at B&H Photo Video, recommends the latest version of theMacBook Air, which has Apples own M1 processor. Its really all a student would need, no matter what they are going to study. The M1 chip is very capable and it has been doing very well for any type of user, he says. Melendez also says the 8GB of RAM in the Air is great for students who like to have a lot of tabs open at the same time, or those who need to edit photos or videos. The 256GB of storage is plenty too. I find that most people will use cloud services these days, since that is convenient and you get access to all your data from all of your devices. The Air also has the benefit of being one of the most lightweight options on the market. If this is going to be the device you take with you every day, most will appreciate lighter laptops, he says. I have seen it many times where they get a laptop that is too heavy and have to buy a new one shortly after, because with all the books or other things they might need to have with them, two or three extra pounds make a big difference. Jason Snell, host of the tech podcast Upgrade, is also a fan of the Air. Last year, he bought one for his own daughter as she headed back to college. Zilberman recommends it, too, because of its reliable operating system, updated scissor-style keyboard, and great hardware. Plus, its light, slim, and easy to carry, he says.

I always recommend starting with a 13-inch MacBook Pro, says Tyler Stalman, a photographer and tech podcaster, of what has become the de facto laptop for creators. I love taking photos and making movies, so I feel like that extra power and port you get compared to the MacBook Air is always worth the upgrade, says Stalman. Regan likes Apple laptops for their durability. He even chucks them on the floor from time to time to show his customers how rugged they can be. The Pro has a bright screen, 256GB or more of storage, a smooth trackpad, and up to ten hours of battery life.

If you want more power and a bigger screen and you can deal with a heavier machine, the Mac 16-inch is your best bet, Tiger says. Zilberman agrees, calling the 16-inch MacBook Pro his personal top choice because of its ability to supersede the performance of most laptops or tablets on the market today. Its great for practically any laborious task or application due to its outstanding internals and unmatched reliability compared to all other devices of this nature. It can run multiple operating systems, like MacOS or Windows, which gives you a lot of flexibility when it comes to running certain applications. The only cons of this device are the weight and size. So plan to keep it on your desk for the most part, Zilberman says.

You can get the 15-inch Surface Laptop 4 for as low as $1,299 for 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, which puts it neck-in-neck with the entry-level MacBook Pro, but with a bigger screen, says Verge writer Monica Chin. In Chins testing, she found that Surface 4 can export video nearly 12 times faster than its predecessor, the Surface Laptop 3, and its battery lasts nearly 11 hours. It also has a 10 hour and 52 minute battery life. Chin also says students will be pleased with the Surfaces speaker and webcam quality, since theyll likely be listening to a lot of music and still doing some video calls, even if theyre not 100 percent remote. The Surface delivers a good picture and the dual far-field microphones had no trouble picking up my voice, she says. The speakers, which now support Dolby Atmos 9, sound quite clear, with good volume and bass and percussion that are audible (though not booming).

Keith McCord, the category manager for Consumer Electronics at Adorama, recommends the LG Gram. It runs on the EVO platform, which he says was built with rigorous standards to keep up with the fast pace of today, making it perfect for all kinds of college students. Built on the 11th generation Intel Core platform with Iris Xe graphics, this computer gives you quick start up, long battery life and nearly 3x faster internet thanks to built-in Intel Wi-Fi 6. Its tough, too: This laptop even passed seven tests for military-grade durability, including shock, dust and temperature, McCord says.

The G5 is meant to be a midrange gaming laptop aimed at younger users, but McCord says, Parents, dont fear the gaming label. This computer is built for performance. And with the speed at which media and information is changing, he says the G5 is built to last. This machine will do what you need and do it fast, McCord says. Its equipped with an Intel i5 processor, 512GB Solid State Drive, 16GB of RAM, and a stunning display that is supported by an all-new budget-friendly RTX 3050 graphics card. Its capable of going beyond 60fps in games like Call of Duty: Warzone and Minecraft.

Zilberman likes this two-in-one laptop because it is cost-efficient, with a touch screen, 256GB solid-state drive, and a durable body.The 14-inch screen and 8GB of RAM should be more than enough to get most students through their coursework. The only con is, its not very light, Zilberman says.

Melendez also likes the Ideapad, which he considers a great deal. It comes with Office Home & Student, which is usually something most students will need to purchase, he says. The Ideapad is a tank, with a bright 15-inch screen, 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage. This means its perfect for multitasking, so you can edit photos and work on documents with relative ease. And because of the massive storage capabilities, you can save documents, photos, and videos without having to worry about maxing out your hard drive.