The 6 Best Laptops For College - Spring 2024 Reviews

The best laptop for college we've tested is the Apple MacBook Air 13 (2024). This premium model is near perfect for college students who need a thin, light laptop to write papers, browse the web, and consume media. It provides an amazing user experience, sporting a sharp, bright display, a spacious keyboard, and a gigantic haptic touchpad. Apple's M3 SoC can easily handle light productivity tasks and even some light video editing and 3D graphics. Plus, it doesn't even need a cooling fan, so you won't have to worry about loud fan noise in classrooms and libraries. Its battery life is excellent at 11 to 12 hours of light use, though it takes a while to charge to full. Port selection is its biggest weakness; it only has two USB-C/Thunderbolt 3 ports, and while it can output to two external displays, it can only do so with the lid closed. The 15-inch MacBook Air is also a good choice if you want a bigger screen. It has better-sounding speakers but costs more. We'll have a full review of the 15-inch model soon.

For Windows users, we recommend the LG gram 14 (2023), a 14-inch ultraportable. Like the MacBook Air, it provides a great user experience overall with a nice screen, comfortable keyboard, and responsive touchpad. The display doesn't get quite as bright as the MacBook's, but it's enough for good visibility in most indoor settings. It has a wider port selection, which includes two USB-C/Thunderbolt 4s, allowing you to connect two 4k displays at 60Hz with a single cable. You can configure it with an Intel 13th Gen Core i5 or i7 CPU and up to 32GB of RAM and 1TB of storage. Performance is excellent for a thin and light laptop; these Intel processors can handle light productivity tasks with ease. Besides the display's brightness, the only other downside is that its magnesium alloy chassis doesn't feel nearly as sturdy as the MacBook Air's all-aluminum build. It's definitely lighter at only 2.1 lbs, though.

If you want something less expensive than the Apple MacBook Air 13 (2024) but not overly cheap, check out the Lenovo Yoga 7i 16 (2023). This 2-in-1 convertible has a large 16-inch display, giving you plenty of room for side-by-side windows and making multitasking easier. While there's an FHD+ display option, we recommend getting a QHD+ panel, which looks sharper and gets brighter to combat glare. Don't worry about battery life; even the QHD+ model lasts over 12 hours of light use. There's Wi-Fi 6E, a fingerprint sensor, a facial recognition camera, and a wide port selection, including two Thunderbolt 4s and an HDMI. Its Intel 13th Gen CPUs can easily handle general productivity tasks; however, don't expect to do anything overly intensive due to thermal throttling. The webcam's video quality is decent, as the image looks fairly detailed but has an unnatural tint, and the microphone picks up some background noise.

Another mid-range laptop worth mentioning is the Acer Chromebook Spin 714 (2022). It's also a 2-in-1 convertible, but it has a smaller 14-inch screen and runs Chrome OS. If you like taking handwritten notes, it supports pen input and comes with a stylus that you can dock into the side of the laptop for transport. Its Intel 12th Gen CPU has more processing than you'd ever need on a Chromebook, but know that Chrome OS is limited in the type of applications you can install, so make sure you can do everything through a Chrome browser or an Android app. Unfortunately, this model is getting hard to find because there's a newer 2023 version, which we haven't tested but expect to perform similarly. The upgrades include faster Intel 13th Gen CPUs and a 1440p webcam. You can see the 2023 model on Amazon and Best Buy.

The best budget laptop for students we've tested is the Acer Swift 3 14 (2020). Acer's Swift models aren't exactly considered budget, but because this is an older model from 2020, the price has decreased considerably, making it a great option for those on a tight budget. It's compact and lightweight, and its battery lasts over 13 hours on a full charge. You get a nice FHD IPS display, a decent keyboard, and a wide port selection that includes two USB-As, one USB-C/Thunderbolt 4, a full-size HDMI, and a headphone jack.

Spec-wise, you can get this laptop with an Intel 11th Gen Core i5 or i7 CPU, up to 16GB of memory, and up to 512GB of storage. The Intel 11th Gen CPUs are a few years old but are still adequate for general productivity tasks like text processing, web browsing, spreadsheets, and video playback. Our only major complaint is the webcam's video quality, as the image looks underexposed, and the microphone sounds staticky.

The Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3i Chromebook 14 (2023) is the best laptop for students we've tested in the cheap category. It's a great option if you only need a simple device to browse the web and write papers. Its compact design makes it easy to carry around, and its battery lasts about 13 hours of light use. The Core i3 configuration (paired with an FHD display, 8GB of RAM, and 128GB of storage) is regularly on sale for around $400 to $500 USD on Lenovo's website. There are cheaper configurations, but we don't recommend them unless you have an extremely light workload.

As for the user experience, its FHD display looks sharp, gets bright enough for use in well-lit settings, and supports touch input. However, the keyboard feels mushy, and the touchpad is small and sometimes unresponsive. Its 1080p webcam is excellent, which is surprising for a budget-friendly Chromebook. Again, ensure you can do everything through a Chrome browser or Android app; otherwise, it's best to go with a Windows laptop like the Acer Swift 3 14 (2020) above.

For students in more technical fields who need a high-performance laptop to run intensive applications, we recommend the Apple MacBook Pro 14 (M3, 2023). Like its M2 predecessor, this new M3 model has a sleek, compact design, a sturdy build, and all-day battery life. It provides a fantastic user experience with its sharp Mini LED display, comfortable keyboard, and gigantic, easy-to-use haptic touchpad. You get tons of ports to connect peripherals and external displays and an outstanding 1080p webcam for video calls. You also get a fingerprint sensor so that you can log in quickly.

Apple's M3 Pro/Max SoCs can easily handle demanding tasks, making this laptop a great option for students in programming, 3D graphics and animation, or science and engineering. The fans remain quiet under load, so you don't have to worry about causing too much noise in a quiet classroom or library. If screen real estate is more important than portability, you can get the larger Apple MacBook Pro 16 (M3, 2023). It's the same device but with better-sounding speakers and a longer battery life. The only downside is its higher price.

The Dell XPS 15 (2023) is also a great choice if you prefer or need Windows. Like the MacBook Pro 14, it's a premium model that provides a great user experience. You can configure it with up to an Intel 13th Gen Core i9-13900H CPU and an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 discrete GPU, giving you plenty of processing power for intensive tasks. You can also play more games than on a MacBook because there's a wider selection of Windows games. That said, there are a few tradeoffs, like its display's limited 60Hz refresh rate and its terrible 720p webcam. The battery lasts over 11 hours of light use, which isn't as good as the MacBook Pro 14 but still excellent.

If you want a laptop that can double as your gaming rig, the ASUS TUF Gaming A16 Advantage Edition (2023) is an excellent option. You can get this laptop with an AMD Ryzen 7 7735HS or Ryzen 9 7940HS CPU paired with an AMD Radeon RX 6700S or Radeon RX 7700S discrete GPUs. These GPUs are capable, mid-range graphics processors that deliver high, consistent frame rates in demanding AAA games at 1080p or 1440p. Display options include a 165Hz FHD+ and a 240Hz QHD+ panel; both are 16-inch panels with VRR support to minimize screen tearing. The RAM and storage drive are user-replaceable, so you can easily upgrade later on. The Wi-Fi adapter is also replaceable—the existing adapter only supports Wi-Fi 6.

Port selection is excellent; you get two USB-As, two USB-Cs (not Thunderbolt or USB4, unfortunately), an HDMI 2.1, and an Ethernet port. What makes this model stand out is that its battery lasts easily through a typical day of light use. It also charges quickly in under two hours, which is pretty impressive for a 90Wh battery. Unfortunately, the cooling fans get pretty loud, and the deck gets toasty under heavy loads. Portability can be challenging, as it's a rather bulky and heavy device.