Ben Madilynn
The best laptop for college we’ve tested is the Apple MacBook Air 13 (2024). This premium model is ideal for college students who need a thin, light laptop to write papers, browse the web, and consume media. Apple’s base M3 SoC is well suited to light productivity tasks and even some 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. It provides an amazing user experience, sporting a sharp, bright display, a spacious keyboard, and a gigantic haptic touchpad. Its battery life is excellent, though it takes a while to charge to full. Port selection is its biggest weakness as it only has two USB-C/Thunderbolt 3 ports, and these ports will only output to two external displays if the lid is closed. The Apple MacBook Air 15 (2024) is also a good choice if you want a bigger screen with better-sounding speakers, but it costs more.
For Windows users, we recommend the HP Spectre x360 14 (2024). Also a premium ultraportable, this 14-inch model feels incredibly well built and provides an amazing user experience with its 120Hz 2.8k OLED display, spacious keyboard, and haptic touchpad. It has Wi-Fi 7 wireless connectivity, an excellent 4k webcam, and a decent port selection with one USB-A and two USB-C/Thunderbolt 4s. Plus, you can flip the screen around into tablet mode since it’s a 2-in-1 convertible. Pen support is present if you want to take handwritten notes, though you may have to buy the pen separately, depending on the retailer. Two things to bear in mind: the display doesn’t get nearly as bright as the MacBook Air’s, so visibility may be more of an issue in well-lit environments, and OLEDs are susceptible to permanent burn-in, meaning you’ll have to take some active measures to prevent it, like hiding the taskbar.
