10 Best Laptops for College

The ASUS Zenbook S 13 is a premium, lightweight laptop, making it highly portable and suitable for on-the-go use, especially with its long battery life. With a midrange price, you're getting solid build quality, a vivid OLED touchscreen, and excellent heat management. It has an Intel i7-1355U processor paired with 32GB RAM, which will handle general use very efficiently. Its Intel Iris Xe graphics are fine for casual gaming and moderate creative tasks, but might fall short for intensive 3D rendering or engineering software. The laptop offers a good selection of ports, including Thunderbolt 4, and a comfortable backlit keyboard, although it lacks an Ethernet port and an option for hardware upgrades due to having no available RAM or storage slots.

The Apple MacBook Air 15 (2023) comes with an appealing combination of features for those who prioritize a blend of performance and portability. It has a larger 15-inch display and a powerful Apple M2 chip with ample memory for smooth multitasking and everyday tasks. However, note that it's priced in the upper midrange spectrum. While it has a very slim design and light weight, enhancing its portability, it may not be the first choice for those seeking the utmost in gaming or intensive engineering due to its display limited to a standard refresh rate and integrated GPU. It offers fanless operation for a silent experience and a backlit keyboard. Although excellent for general use, performance may be fair for more demanding 3D and machine learning applications, and good for engineering tasks. Battery life is solid, allowing for extended use between charges. The MacBook Air has a top-tier build quality, excellent keyboard, and great speakers, making it a strong all-around laptop, but the premium price reflects its status as a high-end Apple product.

The Apple MacBook Air (2022) has a premium build quality and is priced in the upper midrange. It features 1TB storage, 16GB RAM, and utilizes the Apple M2 processor, providing very good general-use performance and silent operation due to its fanless design. The integrated M2 GPU accommodates some engineering tasks but might not be ideal for intensive 3D or machine learning workloads. The 13.6-inch IPS display has a resolution higher than Full HD but is not touch-enabled. It offers excellent portability at 2.7 pounds and has a lengthy battery life suitable for all-day use. It runs on MacOS and connectivity includes two USB-C/Thunderbolt ports and USB-C charging, but no support for traditional USB or HDMI without adapters. Suitable for general use, everyday multitasking, and light engineering work, but not aimed at intensive gaming or the most demanding engineering software.

The Apple MacBook Air (2022) is priced in the midrange and features 512 GB of storage and 16 GB of RAM, ensuring smooth operation for general purposes. It has an Apple M2 main processor and GPU, offering balanced performance for everyday tasks and lighter creative work. With a 13.6-inch IPS display, it provides good color accuracy and viewing angles, but it doesn't have touch capability. Its battery capacity allows for up to 15 hours of typical usage, and at 2.7 pounds and 0.44 inches thick, it is highly portable. The MacBook Air has two USB-C ports with Thunderbolt support and charges via USB-C, but it lacks HDMI and Ethernet ports, meaning you might need adapters for certain connections. It comes with macOS pre-installed and has a high-quality backlit keyboard and fingerprint reader but no number pad. It's engineered for silent operation, with no fan noise. Its build and speaker quality are rated best, while 3D and machine learning performance is fair, indicating it's not ideal for intensive gaming or heavy engineering software.

The LG Gram 17 is a midrange-priced laptop that is highly portable, weighing only 2.98 pounds despite its large 17-inch IPS screen with a resolution of 2560 x 1600. It has generous amounts of storage and RAM, ensuring smooth performance for general use. Equipped with an Intel i7-1260P processor and integrated Iris Xe graphics, it's capable of basic 3D tasks and engineering software but is not designed for intensive gaming or high-end machine learning tasks. It offers a long battery life, a full backlit keyboard with a number pad, and multiple USB-C ports, including two that support Thunderbolt 4. The build quality, heat management, and fan noise are rated good. Suitable for users seeking a large-screen laptop that is easy to carry and capable of handling everyday tasks efficiently.

The Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 is a midrange-priced laptop, equipped with an AMD Ryzen 7 processor and an AMD RX 6500M graphics card, suitable for moderate to intensive tasks and light gaming. It sports a high-quality OLED screen with a sharp 3840 x 2400 resolution, perfect for professional creative work. However, it is not the lightest at over 4 pounds, which might affect its portability for users who travel frequently. For connectivity, it includes a variety of ports but lacks an SD card reader. The laptop offers robust security features and is expected to have fair battery life, making it ideal for professionals who need a durable, secure, and reasonably powerful machine. It comes with Windows 11 Pro and its build quality is rated as excellent.

The Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2022) is a midrange priced laptop with a strong balance of performance and battery life, suitable for everyday tasks and even demanding applications thanks to the Apple M2 chip. It has a high-resolution 13.3-inch IPS display with bright and accurate colors, making it good for photo and video editing. Its fanless design leads to silent operation, which is a plus for quiet environments. However, it might not be the best for connectivity since it has a limited number of ports. The MacBook Pro is known for its build quality and operating system stability but comes with a higher price tag compared to some Windows-based alternatives. If you value a lightweight, sleek laptop with strong performance and you're invested in the Apple ecosystem, this could be a great choice, albeit with fewer options for gaming or upgrading.

The Apple MacBook Air 15 (2023) comes with midrange pricing and provides a balance between performance and portability, featuring an Apple M2 chip with integrated GPU, suitable for general use, and light 3D, machine learning, or engineering tasks. It has a high-resolution 15.3-inch IPS display, but does not support touchscreen. Battery life is solid for typical use, up to 15 hours. The MacBook is extremely portable, weighing only 3.3 pounds, and is incredibly thin. It is well-suited for people who prefer a larger screen but still want a light and thin laptop, and it excels in display color accuracy. However, for intensive gaming or heavy computing tasks, it may not be the optimal choice.