Here are the laptops I’d tell any parent to consider for their back-to-school student

We’re in the heart of summer fun, but it’s already time for back-to-school planning, especially if that involves buying a new laptop.

The dizzying number of different laptops and configurations can feel overwhelming, especially if you want something that doesn’t cost too much but will still last a long time. My general guidelines are to first pick the operating system you need (based on personal preference or class requirements), and then get the best specs you can afford. If your school has specific requirements or recommendations, they are likely found on the school website. A quality laptop should also have a good screen, keyboard, and trackpad — and preferably enough ports and some decent speakers.

Unless you’re buying a Chromebook, aim for an M4 processor (for Macs) or an Intel Core Ultra 5 or 7, an AMD Ryzen AI 300 series, or a Qualcomm Snapdragon X processor on a Windows machine, especially if you want your laptop to last at least four years. Aim for at least 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage. If your budget allows for more RAM or storage then go for it, especially if neither is user-replaceable — it’ll help with performance and longevity. If you have to choose based on budget, prioritize RAM, since external storage is easily available.

Taking much of that into account, here are our top picks among current laptops.

Unless you’re going into a field involving lots of graphics rendering or video editing, a MacBook Air should be more than enough computer to last through the student years. The Air is our top laptop recommendation for most people, and that includes students — particularly students in high school or starting college. Nothing else offers quite the same balance of performance, build quality, and battery life as Apple’s entry-level laptop. It’s a speedy little machine that can even handle some heftier content creation work. Its battery can easily get you through a packed day of classes. And it has the best trackpad around. The only major downside with an Air (as with all modern MacBooks) is that you can’t upgrade the storage or memory after you buy it.

Now that MacBooks start with 16GB of RAM, even the base $999 13-inch model is excellent, if a little short on storage space at 256GB. So you may want to consider the $1,199 model with 512GB of storage. For the same price you can get the larger 15-inch model with roomier screen real estate and even better speakers, but then you’re once again starting with 256GB.

MacBook Pros have long been a staple on college campuses for students in creative fields, and the latest base version is one of the best laptops Apple has cooked up in years. Apple’s base model 14-inch MacBook Pro is a step up from the MacBook Air, with the same M4 chip. Its starting price of $1,599 is a significant jump from a $999 Air, but you get better performance and a bunch of worthwhile upgrades. The Pro has more ports than the Air, including an SD card reader and HDMI 2.1. Its screen is a nicer Mini LED panel with higher resolution and faster refresh rate. It’s got more ports, including an SD card reader and HDMI 2.1. It starts with 512GB of storage. And its battery lasts even longer.

These upgrades go a long way in making the MacBook Pro better and more futureproof for heavier creative tasks. Especially since it has a fan to cool its chip, allowing you to use content creation apps like the Adobe Creative Cloud suite for longer — the passively cooled Air starts off fast in these apps, but slows down considerably once its chip starts getting too hot.

Apple has two higher-end MacBook Pros: the 14- and 16-inch models running M4 Pro and M4 Max chips. They’re fantastic laptops with even more processing power than the base M4, plus upgrades like Thunderbolt 5 ports, but they start at $1,999 and $3,199, respectively. An M4 Pro model is a more futureproof option, but these are better fit for a working professional than a student.

The Framework Laptop 13 and 2-in-1 Laptop 12 are notebooks that can grow and change with you. They’re easily repairable, and even years down the road you should be able to upgrade the RAM, storage, ports, and the entire mainboard and processor. They even have optional DIY editions, requiring some easy assembly — which I assure you is a joyously nerdy way to familiarize yourself with the inner workings of your laptop. There’s nothing else like them, and if you or your kid are the tinkering types it’s a fun experience for running either Windows or Linux.

But you don’t have to be going for a computer engineering degree. Even a newcomer can appreciate how Framework allows you to choose modular ports and swap them out at will. You can go all USB-C like a MacBook Air, or you can get funky by mixing and matching USB-A, DisplayPort, HDMI, SD / microSD card readers, and even an ethernet port.

You just have to be willing to pay extra for the Frameworks’ modularity, upgradeability, and easy repairability, as they cost more than equivalent or better-specced laptops from other manufacturers. The newer Laptop 12 isn’t as good a choice for most people because of its price and older Intel chips, but its shock-resistant chassis and convertible tablet form factor make it even more uniquely appealing for younger kids.

The latest, lower-cost Surfaces from Microsoft are great machines with excellent battery life, great standby times when left asleep, and solid performance. They’re Arm-based, which is what gives them that excellent battery life, but can lead to some app compatibility issues. Most common programs run fine, either natively or native-like via emulation. Just do your homework; if certain classes require specific apps, check to make sure they’ll run.

The 12-inch Surface Pro (starting at $799.99) and 13-inch Laptop (starting at $899.99) are well constructed, ultra-portable machines that feel very nice to use. Despite being the cheaper Windows laptops in this list, neither feels like a diminished experience (save for some odd design choices, like a lack of face unlock in the Laptop).

You can look at it as simply picking your preferred form factor: a traditional clamshell laptop or a convertible tablet with keyboard cover. The Laptop is the better buy, because the Surface Pro’s must-buy keyboard cover is an extra $150 (or $250 bundled with the stylus) — meaning its true starting price is around $850.

If you need or prefer a Chromebook for school and favor a traditional clamshell laptop, the Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14 is the best one. It’s a great Chromebook for older students, and a solid machine for just about anyone who wants a no-nonsense everyday computer. For $750 you get a fantastic touchscreen OLED display with deep contrast and vivid colors, a great keyboard, and marathon battery life. It’s a package that’s well built and totally silent thanks to a fanless design.

The Arm-based MediaTek processor is what gives the Lenovo its zippy performance and battery stretching into a second day of use. It can also lead to some small compatibility issues if you venture into using Linux apps (they need to be Arm compatible), but that’s unlikely to affect most users.

The Chromebook Plus 14 has some other small flaws, like lackluster 5Gbps data speeds on its USB ports and an only-okay trackpad, but it nails most everything else. And, again, paying only $750 for a 14-inch OLED panel this nice is a rare treat.

If you want a 2-in-1 convertible Chromebook, the Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 714 is your bag. The 2024 Acer may now be getting outclassed by the freshly launched Lenovo, but it’s still one of our top picks since it’s so versatile.

The Chromebook Spin 714 and its Intel processor offers a great balance of performance, battery life, and specs for the money. It has speedy Thunderbolt 4 ports, and its x86 architecture allows for free rein to install and tinker with Linux apps.

Now that this latest version of the Spin is a year old (though still current), it can occasionally be had for $200 off. So if you want a top-flight Chromebook you can find for a decent discount, the Spin is a great choice.

If you’re shopping for a younger student and don’t want to spend a ton, but also don’t want to risk buying something crappy, the 14-inch Asus Chromebook Plus CX34 is a safe bet. It’s one of the cheapest Chromebooks with the Plus designation, which means it meets a certain level of performance, battery life, and quality. Chromebook Plus laptops have better-than-average screens, and they should be able to last through a school day without needing a charge.

The CX34 normally costs $600 these days, but it sometimes sells for under $400. That’s the sweet spot, getting you excellent build quality, a nice screen, and a sleek design for an affordable price.

The CX34’s 1920 x 1080 / 250-nit display may feel a little cramped and dim compared to the 16:10 screens on the Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 714 and Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14, but it offers a sharp picture with minimal glare. It’s got a great keyboard that Asus claims to have tested as spill-resistant, giving a bit more peace of mind when entrusting it to a child. The Asus remains a go-to choice for something you can have younger students use that lasts some years.

Sometimes bigger is better, and the Asus Zenbook S 16 is a total treat of a Windows thin-and-light laptop. It’s got AMD Strix Point processors that are powerful enough for even some light gaming, and the star of the show is its 2880 x 1800 16-inch OLED touchscreen capable of a smooth 120Hz refresh rate.

The Zenbook S 16 is one of the pricier options we have here, with a standard price of $1,799.99, but it sometimes goes on sale for as much as $500 off. This is a very capable option for high school or college students who need to run Windows and prefer a big screen for easier multitasking. And its thinness makes it very portable for a 16-inch machine, making it less of a hassle to tote a large laptop around campus. Asus also makes a 14-inch version — we expect it to be similar, but we haven’t tested the smaller model.

The downside of the Zenbook’s powerful chip and thin chassis is that it’s not the battery champ some of the other options here are. It’s still enough to get through an average day of classes, but it’s going to need a charge in the late afternoon if you have a lengthy sprint of back-to-back lectures or you’re cramming late into the night.

Treating your kid to a gaming laptop may seem like you’re inviting them to slack off, but if you want to splurge on one device for both schoolwork and play you can’t go wrong with Asus’ ROG Zephyrus G14. The G14 is as “normal” as gaming laptops get, with a design that doesn’t scream cringe-gamer too much (aside from some small ROG branding). Unlike many other gaming laptops, the Zephyrus has solid battery life that can get you through your day’s classes — assuming you save the gaming for when you plug in at the end of the day.

The $1,799.99 base model uses a capable AMD Ryzen 9 270 processor and discrete Nvidia GeForce RTX 5060, which is enough power to play just about any game, even the latest big-budget ones, albeit not at the highest settings.

An important part of what makes the G14 special is how good the rest of the laptop is. It’s got a crisp and lovely 14-inch OLED with 2880 x 1800 resolution and 120Hz refresh, a great keyboard, and a very good trackpad. It offers a bunch of ports, and it doesn’t run overly loud or hot when tackling the basic productivity stuff.

You’d be spoiling your kid a bit (maybe a lot of bit) with a laptop like this, but you can meet their school needs while also treating them to the world of PC gaming.