Update: The MacBook Air might be dead in the water, but the Acer Swift 3 beats out Apple’s cheapest laptop for half the cost. Better yet, it rivals one of Acer’s own premium Ultrabooks in terms of raw performance. Read on to find out more!
Everyone needs a laptop. Whether for school or work, a foldable clamshell of a computer is necessary to carry out tasks both on the go and sitting stationary at a desk. But not everyone needs the most powerful laptop – sometimes the cheap laptops will suffice. And of course, it’s our job and our passion to recommend the best cheap laptops for you.
- These are the best laptops overall in every category
The best budget laptop has its priorities straight. It makes concessions only in the areas that casual PC users won’t notice. While it won’t run the newest games at the highest settings, you shouldn’t expect it to; the top cheap laptops only promise the bare essentials to get you by. They’re all under 500 bucks, too, so don’t expect any MacBooks.
Rather, the best cheap laptops consist of versatile Windows 10 devices and notoriously cloud-based Chromebooks (many of which are now compatible with Android apps, mind you). Without further ado, here’s the rundown.
It shouldn’t come as a surprise that the Acer Swift 3 was influenced heavily by an Ultrabook double its starting price. From its silvery all-aluminum chassis all the way down to the spacious keyboard and trackpad, the Acer Swift 3 feels like the thinner and sleeker, but significantly less powerful, Acer Swift 7, which itself is a love letter to the now-defunct MacBook Air.
Read the full review: Acer Swift 3
We may never get a low-power, budget-friendly, non-pro Surface 4, but Acer has delivered the closest thing. Appropriately titled the Switch 3 (no, you didn’t miss two Nintendo consoles in the last few months), this Windows tablet becomes a laptop when you strap it on to its included matte black keyboard. And the active digitizer makes it feel much more expensive than it is.
Read the full review: Acer Switch 3
The Asus Transformer Mini T102HA doesn’t have the horsepower to compete with the Surface Pro, but at least the keyboard cover isn’t sold separately. Here you’re paying for the full package in one transaction, including a dependable battery life, a fingerprint scanner for Windows 10 biometric logins and a magnesium-alloy design that’s built to last.
Read the full review: Asus Transformer Mini T102HA
With the Google Play Store now supported on every new Chromebook released, it only makes sense to craft a Chromebook with a 12.3-inch QHD touch display, with a 360-degree hinge and pen support to boot. The Samsung Chromebook Pro may have a keyboard that’s a bit too compact for comfort, but it more than makes up for it, even mastering pen input on the first try.
Read the full review: Samsung Chromebook Pro
If you thought the Android edition of the Yoga Book was impressive, imagine using Windows on a laptop sporting inputs that double as a Wacom digitizer. The Windows 10 version of the Lenovo Yoga Book is exactly that, and while its on-paper specs leave something to be desired, the purely touch-based keyboard is so revolutionary we can’t believe nobody has copied it yet.
Read the full review: Lenovo Yoga Book
With its slick lines and a slim silhouette, the Acer Chromebook 14 makes for a subtle, snazzy laptop. Although its display isn't the most attractive we've seen, it's rich and fine. And, while not amazing, the keyboard and trackpad serve just as well as most. Battery life satisfies as well, even if it falls a bit south of Acer's 12-hour claim in real-world use.
Read the full review: Acer Chromebook 14
- From Australia? Try a fine alternative in the Samsung Chromebook Pro.
Heavy and ready to heft hours of school work, HP's Pavilion 15 makes for a fine deal that bears the known moniker well. Frankly, this is a broke college kid’s laptop. With power that the average pupil needs but at a cost the average student may afford, should be considered before the primo PC aisle, leaving you strapped with a few more clams for more books (or fun).
Read our hands-on review: HP Pavilion 15
Going for under 200 bucks on a regular basis, this 11.6-inch laptop with an HD screen should serve you well as a budget companion device. With 32GB of storage, it’s twice as capacious as most Chromebooks, though the 2GB of slower RAM is something to watch out for. Available in several colors and complete with a microSD card slot, this is one versatile device.
Lenovo has its very own 11.6-inch Windows 10 laptop with an HD screen, but does the Inspiron one better (for a bit more cash) with Pentium processors from Intel as well as a full SD card reader. Lenovo rounds out the package with up to 7 hours of battery life, matching or surpassing rivals in nearly every category. In the budget space, another few bucks can go a long way.
With a starting price of just above 200 large, the HP Stream 14 is a fine value for those seeking a strong if basic web browsing machine. It's cheaper than even some Chromebooks while offering a bigger screen and the fullness of Windows 10. Other 15-inchers lack the ergonomics and aesthetics of HP’s cheapest Windows laptop yet.
Available in a variety of colors, this number from Acer brings things into practically a whole new class, with a 15.6-inch HD display powered by an Intel Core i3 processor. The metallic frame should make using this device feel more like a luxury without the sticker shock. Plus, with up to 12.5 hours of claimed battery life, this should last at least once forgetting to charge it.
Gabe Carey has also contributed to this article
from TechRadar - All the latest technology news http://www.techradar.com/news/mobile-computing/laptops/9-best-budget-laptops-for-under-299-1304028
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