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Looking for the best laptop to gift for the holidays?
With many years of teaching and EdTech experience, I have personally used, and tested every single laptop on the list. To determine the cost, quality, durability, and overall experience. I will recommend the best laptops to buy these holidays! We will break down best laptops for the holidays! The criteria will be based on price, performance, and dependability.
Number 5
HP Stream 14″ HD WLED $369*
The HP 14’ is one of the most premium laptops for less than $500 bucks. At $369.00, the HP 14’ offers a premium feel, reliable performance, and the price is very attractive. It comes with a year free of Microsoft 365, a $100 value FREE. The official specifications are as follows:
Specification
- Windows 10
- 14″ display 1366 x 768 HD resolution.
- WLED backlight.
- Intel Celeron N4020 Dual-Core Processor 1.1 GHz base frequency, up to 2.8 GHz burst
- 8GB DDR4 1TB hard drive
- Intel UHD Graphics 620
- RPM 5400, 2133-megahertz System Memory
- RAM Speed, 4 megabytes Cache Memory
- 1 USB 3.1 Type-C Gen 1
- (Data Transfer up to 5 Gb/s); 2 USB 3.1 Gen 1 (Data transfer only); 1 HDMI 1.4b
- 802.11b/g/n (1×1)
- Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.2 combo
Number 4
SAMSUNG XE350XBA-K01US Chromebook $299.99 $231*
Chromebooks are different from traditional computers. However, these computers are very capable. For instance, Chromebooks rely solely on Google Chrome for your computing needs. But you will not be able to download traditional programs. Yet, Chromebooks are ideal for Google Classroom, Google Docs, Google Sheets, Zoom, Meets, and many other cloud-based programs.
Chromebooks are affordable and dependable. They will last you years, will stay speedy for years, and will wake you up within seconds. No need to update, since everything is done automatically.
Specification
- Intel 1.10 GHz
- Intel HD 620.
- RAM: 8GB.
- Display: 15.6 inches Full HD 1080P
- Storage: 36GB SSD.
- USB 3.0, headphone jack. Connectivity: 802.11ac Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0 LE.
Number 3
Acer Swift 3 Thin & Light 13.5 $1,199.95*
Let’s start with it has a whopping 16-hour battery life, compared to the average 8-to-10-hour battery life. The Acer Swift 3 Thin & Light 13.5 is one of the most beautiful computers on the market today! A Great device for both work, and play. You can play Xbox games streamed to your Acer device. Such as GTAV, and NBA 2K games.
In addition, it is very thin, light, with a near bezel-less screen. A mobile device for people on the move, such are educators oftentimes. It’s a computer future proof for at least 5 years or more depending on your needs.
It has a very fast processor, with enough RAM. The 13.5″ Touchscreen display offers enough screen real estate for all your computer needs.
Microsoft for years has been working hard to change the negative reputation Windows computers have developed over the years. As a result, viruses and other issues that affected Windows for years are now Windows now a thing of the past. Windows 10 is very efficient, stable, and secure.
Specifications
- 10th (Latest) Generation Intel Core i7-1065G7 Processor (Up to 3.9GHz) | 16GB LPDDR4X Memory | 1TB PCIe NVMe SSD
- 13.5″ Acer VertiView 2K 2256 x 1504 Widescreen IPS LED-backlit Display (3:2 aspect ratio) | Intel Iris Plus Graphics
- Intel Wireless Wi-Fi 6 AX201 802.11ax | Backlit Keyboard | Fingerprint Reader | Up to 16 Hours Battery Life
1 – USB 3.1 Type C port (up to 10 Gbps), DisplayPort over USB-C, Thunderbolt 3, USB Charging, DC-in, 1 – USB 3.1 Gen 1 port (featuring power-off charging), 1 – USB 2.0 port & 1 – HDMI port - Co-Engineered for Mobile Performance by Intel and Acer
Number 2
Microsoft Surface Laptop 13.5″ $999*
Windows computers have dramatically evolved from what we once thought laptops were. Windows computers are now extremely powerful, dependable, while keeping prices competitive, not affordable though.
The latest iteration of the Surface Laptop offers all the ports you need, comes in attractive colors, touch screen functionality, and light and compact. If you prefer Microsoft Windows, this computer is the best way to go, the best of the best!
We strongly recommend this computer for everyone. It is important to highlight that the Surface is the “premium” category of computers.
With sufficient power for all your Notebook lessons, Microsoft Word and PowerPoint, Google Docs, and Slides, as well as video playing, and editing.
The battery on this laptop is exceptional. It offers at least 10 hours on a single charge. Although battery capacity varies depending on what you use it for, playing videos drains the battery quicker.
Specifications
- Super Speedy Intel Core i7-1185G7
- 13.4″ FHD+ (1920 x 1200)
- Intel HD Graphics 615
- Fast SSD storage
- 16GB 4267MHz LPDDR4x RAM
- 512GB SSD
- Iris Xe Graphics, Windows 10 Pro
- USB-C port
- Up to 10 hours of battery life
- 802.11ac Wi-Fi
Number 1
Latest Apple MacBook Pro $1,269*
If you have an iPhone and are familiar with Apple products go with the MacBook, if you have an Android such as a Galaxy smartphone get the Surface laptop. The Surface is one of the most elegant, and stylish computers out there. With a super-premium feel.
It cannot be a list of best laptops without including Apple. The new MacBook Pro is a beauty to the eyes. It comes in different colors. It offers very reliable performance, dependability, for a very competitive price range for a premium computer.
The reason why Apple is not our go-to laptop is the repair cost. The main issue is that if you damage this computer, the minimum cost to repair it will be $500, which is nearly 50% of the original price.
This laptop is made of aluminum, and very premium components, and with enough Ram for all your computer needs.
Specifications
- 8-core CPU delivers up to 3.5x faster performance to tackle projects faster than ever
- 8GB
- Up to eight GPU cores with up to 5x faster graphics for graphics-intensive apps and games
- 16-core Neural Engine for advanced machine learning
- WIFI 6
- USB 4 Thunderbolt
- Up to 15 hours wireless web battery life
Bonus
Samsung Galaxy Book Flex $1,649.99 $1299
Microsoft Windows has evolved from the days of Windows XP, and Windows 7. Although both XP and 7 are legendary operating systems, a need for a change was necessary.
The introduction of Windows 10 on Qualcomm processors was introduced in 2017, now made a reality in many laptops, including the luxurious Galaxy Book 2.
The Galaxy Book 2 is an always-on computer, with more than 20 hours of battery life. That means, this computer is always on like a Smartphone, and the battery will still last you through the day with a spare battery left.
Specification
- 15.6 Inches Max Screen Resolution 1920 x 1080 Pixels
- i7 11th Gen Processor 2.8 GHz
- RAM 16 GB LPDDR4
- 512GB SSD
- Bluetooth, 802.11ax
- Number of USB 3.0 Ports
- Average Battery Life (in hours) 20 Hours, the most for any modern laptop.
The Galaxy Book offers one of the best versatility, performance, and dependability of any laptop on this list. Price does go up for some of the laptops on this list. The laptop here offers the best bang for your buck.