Best laptop for students 2022
Great options regardless of your budget or requirements
A laptop is a crucial tool for many people. Despite the reintroduction of in-person courses and lectures, this is especially true if you are a full-time student.
A laptop can handle all of your academic computing needs, including essay writing, test prep, and communication with classmates and teachers. The abundance of options, however, makes it challenging to choose which device to buy.
There isn't a one-size-fits-all solution that will satisfy the needs of every student; rather, what a person needs from a laptop depends significantly on the subject matter they are studying and their leisure activities.
In order to accommodate various student types, we tried to include a variety of possibilities in this chart. Everyone should find something here, but if your preferred device is lower on the list, don't worry; we can still recommend all of these to students.
Most are in the more cheap area of the market, but it's worthwhile to look at our chart of the best budget laptops if some are out of your price range. On the other hand, if money is no object, you might want to have a look at our selection of the best laptops available.
Best laptops for students 2022
1. Huawei MateBook 14s (2021) – Best Overall
We had to make room in this list for the MateBook 14s because it is currently the best laptop you can purchase.
This is yet another example of how well Huawei is doing with its laptops in terms of striking a good mix between price and performance. Under the hood, Intel's 11th-gen chips, which excel at nearly all daily productivity tasks, aid in the latter.
Of course, having a top-notch 14-inch display with a 90Hz refresh rate is beneficial. Even though the webcam is still only 720p, Huawei has managed to reposition it above the display while maintaining slim bezels.
Other benefits include an all-day battery, a great keyboard, and numerous ports, which are frequently absent on contemporary laptops. The price may be the main deterrent for students, but if your budget allows it, it's absolutely something to think about.
The 2022 version is now available, however other than new Intel CPUs, nothing has changed.
Read our full Huawei MateBook 14s (2021)review
2. Apple MacBook Air (M1) – Best Mac
The MacBook Air has undergone a number of changes since its debut, but the switch to Apple's own M1 chip is likely the most significant.
With the M1 chip, the new Air offers genuinely remarkable performance in a thin and light design, with battery life being substantially longer than with the Intel model.
If you've used a recent model, you'll be familiar with a lot of the new MacBook Air's features thanks to its essentially unaltered appearance, albeit the recently introduced Magic Keyboard is a significant improvement over the previous model's butterfly keys.
You might not need to spend any further money on software thanks to Apple's very complete suite of included applications, which is another easy-to-forget benefit.
You might not need to spend any further money on software thanks to Apple's very complete suite of included applications, which is another easy-to-forget benefit.
A 2022 MacBook Air is now available, however due to a new CPU and redesign, it is substantially more expensive. The best bargain can be found here.
Read our full Apple MacBook Air (2020) M1 review
3. LG Gram 16 – Best Big Screen
The most recent LG Gram is an excellent alternative if you want more screen space but don't want to give up a slim and light design.
If you don't mind a 60Hz refresh rate, the gorgeous 16-inch 2560 x 1600 display with its thin bezels makes for an immersive viewing experience. Thanks to 8 or 16GB of RAM and Intel's newest Alder Lake processors, everyday performance is likewise extremely good. Along with an 80Wh battery and a fingerprint sensor integrated into the power button, the device has a good number of ports and weighs less than 1.2kg.
The high asking price is the only reason it’s not higher in this list. If you’re a student with cash to splash, it’s a stunning bit of kit. For a more affordable 16in option, consider the Huawei MateBook D 16.
Read our full LG Gram 16 (2022) review
4. Samsung Galaxy Book 2 360 – Best Convertible
The Galaxy Book 2 360 is not expensive, which is unusual when adding convertible capabilities to a thin and light laptop. You can purchase a great all-arounder with a 360° hinge for less than $1,000/£1,000.
The 13.3-inch OLED display, which supports touch and offers a fantastic, detailed viewing experience, is unquestionably the standout. Although a 65Wh battery doesn't sound particularly impressive, it should easily last you all day without recharging. Although a discrete GPU is not an option, performance is maintained by Intel's 12th-generation CPUs.
The trackpad isn’t great and you’ll probably want to connect an external webcam, but aside from that there’s a lot to like. Samsung has nailed the basics here, even if you’ll find better value for money elsewhere.
Read our full Samsung Galaxy Book 2 360 review