Laptop buying guide: 8 essential tips
Posted by ThemeVale on 8th Oct 2021
Laptops are compact enough to carry with you, yet versatile enough to run demanding applications. Notebooks are the best tool for doing serious work or play whether you're at home, on the road or in a college classroom. For those reasons, we've compiled lists of the best business laptops and best college laptops, not to mention our best laptops rankings for most users.
Quick Tips
- 12.5 to 14-inch screens offer the best balance between usability and portability.
- 9+ hours of battery life is ideal.
- Consider a 2-in-1 laptop if you want to use your laptop as a tablet.
- Chromebooks are good for kids and students and their functionality is expanding rapidly.
Pick a platform
- Most laptops come with one of three operating systems: Windows, Chrome OS or MacOS.
- Choosing the right one is a personal preference
- The most flexible operating system, Windows 10, runs on more laptop models than Chrome OS or MacOS.
- All MacBooks come with Apple's latest desktop operating system.
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Google's OS is simple and secure, but more limited than Windows or macOS. The user interface looks a lot like Windows with an application menu, a desktop and the ability to drag windows around, but the main app you use is the Chrome browser. The downside is that many of the "web apps" you use don't work particularly well offline. However, that's changing as all new Chromebooks, including the high-end, Google PixelBook, can now run Android apps. Shop the collectionAbout this item
If you need a device to surf the Web and check email, navigate social networks and chat online, Chromebooks are highly portable and tend to offer good battery life at low prices. They are also extremely popular with schools and parents because they are hard for kids to infect with malware and more functional than most tablets. If you need a Chromebook, look for one with at least 4GB of RAM and 16GB of storage.
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Many PC laptops fall into the category of 2-in-1 laptops, hybrid devices that can switch between traditional clamshell mode, tablet mode and other positions in between such as tent or stand modes. 2-in-1s generally come in two different styles: detachables with screens that come off the keyboard entirely and flexible laptops with hinges that bend back 360 degrees to change modes.
Most of these systems are much better at serving one purpose than the other, with bend-backs being laptops first and detachables offering a superior tablet experience. However, if you don't see the need to use your notebook as a slate, you'll usually get more performance for your money with a traditional clamshell laptop.
