What Is The Best Mac Computer For College Students

First Off: Research Your College

The first, and most important, thing to do is check with your school for specific system requirements. They may have hard-and-fast hardware recommendations.

Some colleges and universities want their students equipped with Windows-based laptops, to cut down on software incompatibility issues or to keep technical support concentrated on one platform. Others don’t care which operating system you use, whether it’s Windows, macOS, or even Linux if you’re a hard-core type. Some institutions have onsite computer repair centers that service only laptops purchased from the university or an affiliated computer store on campus using one of these facilities, the turn-around time will be much quicker than if you were to send it overnight to the original manufacturer.

Best Buy Customers Often Prefer The Following Products When Searching For Cheap Apple Laptops For Students

Browse the top-ranked list of Cheap Apple Laptops For Students below along with associated reviews and opinions.

Browse the top-ranked list of Cheap Apple Laptops For Students below along with associated reviews and opinions.

Best Overall: Macbook Air

In mid-2020, Cupertino announced Apple silicon. Six months later, the first non-Intel-based MacBooks in over a decade arrived, starting with the MacBook Air . The best MacBook for students this year, the latest MacBook Air packs a punch for anyone on a smaller budget, starting with its battery life up to 18 hours between charges, depending on what you’re doing.

At 2.8 pounds, the MacBook Air is the lightest Apple tablet on the market despite having the same screen size as the smallest MacBook Pro model. Along with being less weighty, the MacBook Air also contains the same essential internals Apple’s all-new M1 SoC. The laptop also includes a backlit Magic Keyboard and a Touch ID sensor.

No doubt, the MacBook Air is appealing. However, it comes with drawbacks, including fewer Thunderbolt 3 ports, less display brightness, and more inferior speakers than most MacBook Pro models. It also offers 2 hours less battery life between charges than the 13-inch MacBook Pro . None of the disadvantages should stop you from buying it, however.

The MacBook Air is also our favorite Mac for all users this year.

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Best For Most College Students: 13

MacBook Air M1 base model specifications:

• Processor and Graphics: Apple M1 chip, 8-core CPU with an integrated 7-core GPU, and 16-core Neural Engine
• Memory: 8GB
• Storage: 256GB SSD
• Battery: 49.9-watt-hour li-polymer battery
• Display: 13.3-inch, 2560 x 1600 native resolution IPS display with 400 nits of brightness
• Weight: 1.29 kg

Reliable all-rounder

As we have already discussed, you can never go wrong with Apples 13-inch MacBook Air running on an M1 chip.

The main reason is that its base model more than satisfies the minimum requirement to provide a snappy and responsive system for your daily needs.

Even buying the base model can probably secure you a future-proof machine that can last for at least 5 years until it becomes unsupported by future macOS version updates.

Maximum Portability

The M1 MacBook Airs portability is unparalleled. Such a small, thin, and lightweight device can be carried anywhere. A 13-inch device can fit almost any backpack, which best suits every college student.

Cons

Since its significant selling point is its hyper-portability, having an ultra-thin device means that it will always have limited ports.

Like previous MacBook Air versions, this 13-inch MacBook Air will also force you to live the dongle life.

The M1 MacBook Air only has 2 Thunderbolt 3 USB 4 ports and one headphone jack.

To further add to your frustration, the lack of an SD Card reader may throw some people off, but to be fair, you can only include so many ports in a .63-inch thin device.

Other Laptop Brand Deals

All these laptop brands offer discounts if you buy direct from their online stores:

• Asus: up to 15% off Asus products
• HP: up to 35% off HP products
• Dell: up to 15% off Dell and Alienware laptops
• Lenovo: 20% of Lenovo laptops and accessories
• Samsung: up to 10% off tablets and laptops

Keep in mind that while you can get some great discounts directly from most laptop brands, other online retailers may have better prices on products and might be doing their own limited-time student deals.

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How We Test The Best College Laptops

College students, no matter the season live in a highly mobile situation, where they’re going to want a laptop that can last a while on a single charge. That’s why we test laptops with our afore-mentioned web-surfing-based battery test, which involves setting each laptop’s display to 150 nits of brightness and measuring how long it can last while loading an endless stream of web pages.

On top of that, we test each laptop’s performance with a mix of every day usage, and performance-measuring benchmarks such as Geekbench for the CPU and our own storage speed tests to see how fast these laptops can clone big blocks of data.

We measure each laptop’s display via the readings recorded by our light gun, one of two pieces of hardware that we use to measure how bright a screen can get and how much of the sRGB color spectrum it can produce.

Be sure to check out all of our guides to get you ready to go back to school:

Best For Money For College Students: 13

13-inch MacBook Pro M1 base model specifications:

• Processor and Graphics: Apple M1 Chip, 8-Core CPU with an integrated 8-core GPU and 16-core Neural Engine
• Memory: 8GB
• Storage: 256 GB SSD
• Battery: 58.2-watt-hour li-polymer battery
• Display: 13.3-inch, 2560 x 1600 native resolution IPS display, with 500 nits of brightness)
• Weight: 1.4 kg

The Budget All-Rounder

The 13-inch MacBook Pro M1 is a jack of all trades.

On first look, it just seems like the slightly improved version of the M1 MacBook Air.

However, this is for the students who would like to spend more money for additional power, but not so much for the sake of their budget.

This is the best choice for students who need a little extra kick of the 16-inch MacBook Pro but with the portability of the 13-inch MacBook Air .

Difference from the Intel-based 16-inch MacBook Pro

In addition, the 13-inch MacBook Pro M1 can be seen as a budget 16-inch MacBook Pro since it is much cheaper.

However, it still can do what the larger MacBook can, but with some compromises such as a smaller screen real estate and without a dedicated GPU.

Difference from the 13-inch MacBook Air

Its difference from the 13-inch MacBook Air is that the MacBook Pro M1 has a CPU fan or an active cooling system, which allows it to run more stable at a higher temperature.

The MacBook Air is technically fanless, so the 13-inch MacBook Pro M1 can better sustain peak performance without throttling.

So, who is the 13-inch MacBook Pro really for?

Cons

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We Test Laptops More Thoroughly Than Anyone Else

Our tests go further than those carried out by other organisations, and because Which? is independent and does not accept advertising or freebies , you can trust our reviews to give you the full, honest and impartial truth about a product.

When testing laptops in the Which? test lab we monitor, measure and test more than 260 different criteria to ensure that we have every base covered. Everything from battery life and screen brightness to button dimensions and USB data transfer rate is considered.

Asus Zenbook Pro Duo 15

Asus

For creative work like video editing, 3D design, architecture, music production or similar disciplines, you need something a little more powerful than the average laptop for students. You need a capable processor, a powerful GPU to handle all the 3D calculations, and a gorgeous, high-resolution display to show it all on. Or how about two of them?

The Asus Pro Duo 15 features not just one gorgeous OLED display, but two, giving you some of the best color clarity and contrast of any laptop out there, whilst also opening up the potential for heaps of touchscreen controls, right at your fingertips. To power this bevy of pixels, it comes equipped with a top-tier 10th-generation Intel CPU, and pairs it with an Nvidia RTX 3070.

The GPU there is monstrously powerful, and though the CPU isn’t quite cutting edge, it has eight cores with 16 threads and more than enough thermal headroom to maintain a high clock speed whatever task you throw at it. This is a stunning laptop no matter what you want to do with it, but the second screen gives it some amazing touchscreen options for artists, designers and editors alike.

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Hp Envy X360 Convertible 15 Graphics

The Envy x360 came with an integrated AMD Radeon graphics and performed smoothly while watching videos or playing games. Playing Sid Meiers Civilization VI Gathering Storm in 1080p, our unit scored an average of 35 frames per second, which is above the 28-fps premium laptop average. The Latitude followed with a score of 20 frames per second, and the Surface Pro 7+ closed us out, scoring just 15fps.

When we ran the 3DMark Fire Strike benchmark, the Latitude 7320 scored below the 4,798 average at 3,615. The Latitude led our group with 4,227, with the Surface Pro 7+ scoring 3,215 to put this benchmark behind us.

Should I Choose A Macbook Or Imac For College

If portability is your primary concern, a MacBook Air is ideal. For a bit more power, a MacBook Pro is your best choice. But if you just want raw power, and you dont need to take your computer on the move, then an iMac or Mac mini is the way to go. But whichever one you choose, theyre all great Macs for students.

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Macbook For College Students

In todays colleges, it is absolutely imperative for students to have a working laptop. While there are many manufacturers on the market, many students choose Apples MacBook line because of their tried-and-true products and seamless multi-device ecosystem. However, the hefty price tag can make MacBooks intimidating.

While all Apple laptops are high quality, the hardware, computer size and performance ability vary from model to model. Apples interface is similar throughout the entire line, making it easy for you to compare features and decide what works best for you.

How Much Cpu Do I Need

Recommended: i7 Chip

An i7 chip is needed for computer science classes. However, be aware you have higher financial costs, but more power. For regular software development, programmers do not need i7 to code and build software. Unless you plan to intensively use the CPU for specific programs, like Microsoft HoloLensEmulator, then the core i5 is good enough, though i7 is preferred.

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Macbook Vs Macbook Air

MacBook Air is more compact and thinner, with a screen size of 12 with a Retina display. While MacBook only weighs roughly three pounds and is only 13.1 mm in width, the Air is roughly two pounds. It has a more powerful touchpad that is bigger and supports force touch. The keyboard design is also more advanced. However, a MacBook is more expensive than a MacBook Air. It has a less powerful CPU and only one USB-C port, which means that users would have to buy adapter hubs for HDMI or USB 3.0. In short, the MacBook Air is cheaper, has a more powerful CPU than a MacBook and has more connection ports. However, it has a less advanced keyboard and touchpad.

Best Laptop For Middle School

The middle school students I spoke to dont use their laptops for much more than web-based schoolwork and browsing. Dont be too concerned about power prioritize a machine thats comfortable and easy for your child to use.

We just got the most basic Chromebook and it is totally perfect, says Gabrielle Hartley, an attorney and mother of three children who take a mix of in-person and online classes. The most basic Chromebook serves all the needs of the basic middle schooler.

Chromebooks, like this one from Acer, are a good choice for students who use Google Classroom.

Hartleys son Max, who is in eighth grade, agrees. I would really like a gaming PC or gaming laptop that can plug into a monitor and run video games with 120fps, but I really dont need that, Max says. Most eighth graders arent going to be running any video games on their laptops or any software that requires a lot of power.

Max mostly uses his laptop for Google Classroom applications, including Gmail, Slides, Google Docs, and Google Sheets. Theyre very easy to use on his device, which he describes as a run-of-the-mill Samsung Chromebook. That said, if your child is starting middle school this year, it could be worth checking with their teachers to see what operating system is most compatible with their workflow. Caspian Fischer Odén, a ninth grader from Sweden, told me he has trouble with his Chromebook because his school has blocked downloading apps from the Google Play Store.

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Best For A Solid Basic Classic Clamshell

Pros

• Comfortable keyboard and touch pad
• Multiple color options
• Attractive styling and excellent build quality
• USB Type-A port

• No face recognition camera or keyboard backlighting
• Internal storage tops out at 256GB
• Middling audio quality

For students, a laptop is as essential as textbooks and a school IDand not just for taking notes and doing homework. It should also be able to handle your big extracurricular activities: keeping up with your social networks, streaming movies, listening to music, posting photos, gaming, video chatting with the ‘rents back home.

Laptops have been more essential than ever for students in 2020 and 2021, as many colleges and universities implement a mix of in-person and remote learning to meet social distancing requirements made necessary by the ups and downs of the coronavirus pandemic. If you’re learning from home a few days a week and heading to campus the rest of the time, a laptop you can use wherever you are is essential.

And especially in these trying times, a laptop for a college student needs to respect your budget while lasting for the long haul, preferably through four years of undergrad and maybe a year of grad work. Lucky for you, we have a bunch of recommended models that fit that description perfectlyand since most of them are below $1,000, they won’t drain your savings account in a big way .

Here are the basics you should keep in mind while looking for a laptop for college.

Hp Envy X360 15 Webcam

The 720p IR webcam on the HP Envy x360 is par for the course for integrated webcams. The colors in my test shots came out nicely saturated, especially my tawny complexion. Details were sharp, capturing minute aspects of my beard and facial features. The most remarkable part about the webcam is the shutter button located to the left of the power button. With one simple press, you can make sure your privacy is kept secret.

Overall, the webcam delivers solid performance during video conferencing, but if you want a higher resolution shooter, check out our best webcams page.

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Why You Should Trust Us

Andrew Cunningham has been testing, reviewing, and otherwise writing about PCs, Macs, and other gadgets for AnandTech, Ars Technica, and Wirecutter since 2011. He has been building, upgrading, and fixing PCs for more than 15 years, and he spent five of those years in IT departments buying and repairing laptops and desktops as well as helping people buy the best tech for their needs. He has also used every Mac laptop that Apple has released over the past two decades.

Buying Guide For Best Laptops For University Students

If youre headed to university, youre going to need the right laptop one thats going to be able to keep up with you all day long, and for four years straight. These days, picking out a laptop is no small feat: Youll need to make several crucial decisions that you cant really take back, like screen size, amount of RAM, and even operating system.

Whether youre a Computer Science major who needs a rugged laptop for late-night coding marathons, or a English major who just needs something to write papers with, weve got you covered.

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How Much Storage Should I Get

Recommended: 512 GB, Minimum: 256 GB, Overkill: 1 TB

As for storage, 1 TB would be way more than enough while 128 GB would not be sufficient. Mac users should also install Windows on their Macs through Oracle or VMware because some software works better on Windows . With 512 GB, after splitting the storage by using two systems, there would be storage left for the system. It is also recommended that users buy an external hard drive, a USB flash drive, or use cloud storage to save backup copies of important files because you will need them if the computer crashes. Most files are archived so you can store them on an external hard drive, which is a lot cheaper than the built-in storage. The key to choosing storage is to find the optimal that is able to store all the files you need with you and then buy an external hard drive to store everything else.