Though a smartphone can handle more and more of your daily workload, it still can’t replace a tried and true notebook when it’s time to hunker down. But which laptop to buy is the eternal question and a tough one. There are so many choices available that the task to buy a laptop can become an arduous struggle. Mostly, it is difficult to decide one from the other because of nearly similar specifications and looks.
With laptop sales steadily declining, no one manufacturer could get everything right. While several very good notebooks launched in the last year, there wasn’t a ‘one true laptop’ you could point to and say “this is the best machine for most people” the way you could about the MacBook Air years ago. Every good notebook seemed to have one or two nagging annoyances be it missing ports, an awkward design flaw, some overactive fans or a price that’s just too high that kept it from being great.
But if you need a new laptop, you need a new laptop. There are still some notebooks that are well worth a look, from the budget to the ultra-premium. The top 3 to consider along with their important details are listed below:
Acer Chromebook 14 has an all aluminum alloy body unlike the plastic bodies of fellow Chromebooks by other brands. Chromebooks are laptops running on the Google’s Chrome operating system. It possesses great style, strength, and durability.
It is thin, compact, and light and still packs a bigger screen with your choice of HD or full HD resolution, IPS technology and a low reflection anti-glare screen that altogether makes for great viewing and productivity. This laptop is inexpensive and remarkable to use.
It gives 12 hours of battery operation. It has 3 times faster wireless dual-band MIMO 802.11ac technology. Stream, download, and share to your heart’s content. This laptop comes with a spill-resistant keyboard.
The built-in webcam supports High Dynamic Range imaging, which will make your Google Hangouts more dynamic, especially for the people that you’re talking to. They’ll see you, or whatever you’re sharing, in greater clarity and detail.
Specifications
- Type – Value
- Platform – Google Chrome OS
- Processor Name – Intel Celeron N3160
- Processor Speed – 6 GHz
- RAM – 4GB
- Graphics Card – Intel GMA HD 3150
- Storage Capacity – 32 GB
- Screen Size – 14 inches
- Resolution – 1920 x 1080
- Weight – 7 lbs
- Battery Rundown – 11:50
If you are a digger for technology at its very best, the all-new Spectre x360 is one great option to seriously consider. A simple twist of the screen turns it into a tablet. Refined craftsmanship meets unquestionable power. This machine does more than just meeting expectations – it transcends them. You can view and edit high-resolution photos on a 4K display with 8 million pixels of detail or sketch and draw.
The laptop is sculpted from a single block of aluminum using a precise computer controlled process. Mind blowing innovation meets perfection in design. One look at the Spectre says it all. It is refinement at its best.
The laptop comes with a universal pen which can be used to draw, write or simply navigate through the laptop without leaving any marks on the screen. The panel is certified by Windows Ink. It depends on your imagination what you can do with this amazing new gadget.
It has a discrete graphics card which can provide editing graphic heavy, high-definition files needing a level of performance. The NVIDIA GeForce 940MX graphics card makes sure all your heavy photo and video editing, watching videos or working on digital media becomes one smooth experience. It helps you sail through all of that effortlessly.
It has a 15-hour battery life, amazing performance from lightning fast 7th Generation Intel Core Processor, up to 16GB of RAM, and faster PCIe storage. The new Spectre x360 has all the power you need to take on the world.
It is a beauty to look at. With an extremely sleek and lightweight design, this laptop will redefine your idea of ‘thin’. It is a sure head turner.
It comes with dual or quad HP speakers, HP Audio Boost, and custom tuning by the experts at Bang & Olufsen. Like all HP laptops, the audio is perfect. This laptop is not just eye-candy, it is definitely a game changer for HP.
Specifications
- Type – General Purpose, Ultraportable, Tablet
- Platform – Windows 10
- Processor Name – Intel Core i7-7500U
- Processor Speed – 7 GHz
- RAM – 16GB
- Graphics Card – Intel HD Graphics 620
- Storage Capacity – 512 GB
- Screen Size – 3 inches
- Resolution – 3840 x 2160
- Weight – 83 lbs
- Battery Rundown – 8:18
3. Apple MacBook Pro (15 Inches)
The MacBook Pro 15 inches isn’t just a slimmer, more attractive and speedier refresh of Apple’s laptop. It also changes the way you use the Mac. There is now a Touch Bar which can be used to scroll through videos or do any other task on the machine without taking your hands off the keyboard. A single touch of your finger logs you into the laptop.
The design is lightweight, unbelievably thin, and comes with a gorgeous Retina display with improved contrast and blistering CPU and graphics performance. The limited number of ports can be a huge problem for people who use lots of peripheral devices. It only has a headphone jack and four USB-C Thunderbolt connections.
The traditional USB 2.0 port and SD card slot are amiss. This makes it quite difficult to be used with older devices. But other than that, this laptop is sure to surpass all previous models in its performance. Be prepared for a great Mac experience.
The MacBook Pro’s function row has been replaced by the Touch Bar. The Touch Bar is actually a multi-touch LED strip that offers different sets of controls based on the application you are using. Mac has finally introduced Touch ID. You can now log-in or authorize an Apple Pay payment with your fingerprint.
As compared to its previous models, the MacBook Pro’s 15.4-inch, 2880 x 1800 Retina display is brighter and has more contrast. The same super-flat butterfly keyboard is in play here as all others preceding it. It is as usual very comfortable and great to use.
If you are a multitasking guru, this laptop is for you. The system never slows down or crashes no matter what. It comes with a 512GB PCIe-based SSD which copies about 5GB of data in 7 seconds, for a transfer rate of 727.04 MBPS. It features discrete AMD Radeon Pro 455 graphics, making it ideal for video editing, design work, and some light gaming.
Specifications
- Type – General Purpose, Media, Ultraportable
- Platform – Mac OS
- Processor Name – Intel Core i7-6820HQ
- Processor Speed – 7 GHz
- RAM – 16GB
- Graphics Card – AMD Radeon PRO 455
- Storage Capacity – 512 GB
- Screen Size – 6 inches
- Resolution – 2880 x 1800
- Weight – 99 lbs
- Battery Rundown – 11:19
The End Debate
If you are driven solely by brand image, go for Apple without further ado. But if that is not all that impresses you and you possess a more critical and evaluative mind for technical stuff especially gadgets, there are a plethora of great options available in the market that will not just have more features and fewer limitations, the perfection, and refinement of their design will amaze you.