Best laptop for school or college: rated 18 for every €
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Every college student or school-going child needs a laptop, but with so many choices at so many different prices, figuring out which one to buy can be homework in itself.
Start by checking out these recommendations for the best laptop for your budget or field of study.
In this article I look at what you need for school lessons or your studies, with recommendations for a good laptop.
If you're unsure about your primary direction or your school doesn't have recommended specifications, consider buying a laptop that meets these criteria in each case:
- it is easy to carry in a backpack
- it lasts 8 hours or more on a charge
- it has a high resolution (1080p or higher) screen for easy multitasking
That is the reason this HP Envy 13 at bol.com the best overall laptop is for school. It has all the basic functions you may need and it types and works nice and fast.
There are also a number of laptops that may suit a specific situation and wishes better and I also have a detailed list of tips for buying student laptops that I will put at the bottom of the article for you.
Here in brief the best choices for different situations:
Laptops for school | Images |
---|---|
Best Overall: HP Envy 13 | (view more images) |
Best Budget Laptop for School: Microsoft Surface Go 2 | (view more images) |
Best Apple Laptop: MacBook Air | (view more images) |
Best under 1000 euros: Asus ZenBook Flip | |
Best 2-in-1: Lenovo Yoga 720 | |
Best Chromebook: HP Chromebook x360 | (view more images) |
Student laptop | Images |
---|---|
Students laptop on a budget: Acer Aspire 3 | (view more images) |
For students of the Environment or Technology: Dell XPS 13 | |
Best for Campus Gamers: Lenovo legion 5 | |
For students of construction and architecture: HP Specter Studio x360 G5 | |
For Art and Design students: Asus ZenBook Pro 15 | |
For Economics students: Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon | |
For computer science students: Lenovo ThinkPad T480 | |
For film and animation students: Apple MacBook Pro 16-inch | |
For medical students: Dell XPS 15 | |
For law students: Microsoft Surface Pro 6 | |
For fashion students: HP Specter Folio | |
Best MacBook Alternative: Huawei MateBook X Pro | (view more images) |
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Buy at Bol.comWhat we discuss in this comprehensive post:
- 1 Best school laptops rated
- 2 Best Laptops for Your Study
- 2.1 Student laptop on a budget: Acer Aspire 3
- 2.2 For Environmental or Engineering students: Dell XPS 13
- 2.3 Best for Campus Gamers: Lenovo Legion 5
- 2.4 For engineering and architecture students: HP Specter Studio x360 G5
- 2.5 For Art and Design students: Asus ZenBook Pro
- 2.6 For Economics students: Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon
- 2.7 For computer science students: Lenovo ThinkPad T480
- 2.8 For film and animation students: Apple MacBook Pro 16-inch
- 2.9 For Medical Students: Dell XPS 15
- 2.10 For law students: Microsoft Surface Pro 6
- 2.11 For fashion students: HP Specter Folio
- 2.12 Best MacBook Alternative: Huawei MateBook X Pro
- 3 Laptop buying tips for students: Windows or Chromebook?
- 4 Conclusion
Best school laptops rated
Let's take a closer look at each of these models:
Best Overall: HP Envy 13
Whether you're typing out a 100-page thesis or just taking notes in class, a comfortable, responsive keyboard will help you get more work done faster.
Starting at less than $ 1200, the HP Envy 13 has one of the best keyboards in the industry, along with a lightweight aluminum chassis and nearly 10 hours of battery life.
The 13,3-inch laptop is powered by a fast 8th Gen Core i5 or Core i7 CPU and a PCIe SSD, giving it really powerful performance.
Design
We see so many silver laptops in the market that it can be difficult to tell them apart, but the Envy 13 adds some original details that immediately stand out.
The matte aluminum lid has a small slope at the back that covers the hinge, giving it clean lines.
The glossy HP logo in the center of the lid really pops, while the tapered shape of the chassis keeps the whole system looking sleek and sexy.
Smooth bottom surface is made of magnesium alloy.
Opening the lid reveals an attractive aluminum deck, complete with silver keys to match the aesthetic (MacBooks break the color scheme using brown keys).
At 12 x 8,5 x 0,55 inches, the Envy is thin enough to fit in a narrow pocket in your bag, while its 1,3 pounds weight is really easy to carry.
Benefits
- The best keyboard we've seen
- Powerful performance
- Long battery life
Cons
- Bit of tinny audio
Main Specifications: Up to Intel Core i7-8550U CPU; Up to 4K touch screen (1080p standard); Up to 1TB SSD; 1,3 kilos
The HP Envy 13 we have found the cheapest here at bol.com
Best Budget Laptop for School: Microsoft Surface Go 2
As a student, chances are you have a fairly tight budget. If you want to spend around 400 euros, the Surface Go is an excellent choice.
The 2-in-1's durable design is more premium than you'd expect for its price range, and its bright, colorful display rivals the best laptops.
At a measly 0,5 pounds, the Surface Go weighs less than your Algebra textbook. Typical, children's tablets are not a viable option for class, but Microsoft sells a handy backlit keyboard cover with a touchpad for the Surface Go.
In this video you can see how small and easy to carry it is:
With an Intel Pentium Gold 4415Y CPU, the Surface Go doesn't break any speed records, but offers more power than most budget laptops.
Benefits
- Clear and vivid display
- Premium, lightweight design
- Good overall performance
- Facial recognition login
Cons
- Less than average battery life
- Thick edges
- Keyboard and pen cost extra
Key specs: 10-inch 1800 x 1200 display, Intel Pentium Gold 4415Y CPU, Surface Connect port, optional keyboard with touchpad
We searched and eventually here the cheapest found at bol.com
Best Apple Laptop: MacBook Air
Now with a Retina display and more powerful components, the MacBook Air earns its place back on our list of the best laptops for school.
The 13,3-inch machine costs a little more than its predecessor, but the improvements Apple has made in the new version make it worth every penny.
In addition to a more colorful 2560 x 1600 pixel screen, the MacBook Air adds a fingerprint sensor and the versatile Thunderbolt 3 port. These goodies are all packed in a thinner, lighter and fully recycled aluminum chassis.
Benefits
- Colorful Retina display
- Long battery life
- Thin and light chassis
Cons
- Performance below average
- More expensive than its predecessor
Key Specs: 13,3-inch 2560 x 1600 pixel display; Intel Core i5-8210Y CPU; up to 16 GB RAM; Up to 1,5 TB SSD
The latest version can be purchased here at bol.com
Best under 1000 euros: Asus ZenBook Flip
The Asus ZenBook UX333FA is a beautiful, premium laptop that offers fast performance at a reasonable price.
For under 800 euros, you get an Intel Core i5-8265U CPU, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD and integrated UHD 620 graphics.
But perhaps the best reason to buy the ZenBook UX333FA is because of its excellent battery life of 11 hours or more.
Combine that exceptional endurance with a sleek aluminum chassis and it's easy to see why ZenBook is one of the best laptops for school.
Design
The glossy, gold Asus logo in the center of ZenBook 13's hood is like a raindrop falling in the middle of a calm royal blue aluminum ocean, creating a symmetrical ripple effect across the lid.
It was fascinating - until I held it in my hands for a little longer than 5 minutes and found it riddled with fingerprints. So difficult to keep clean.
ZenBook 13's lid extends along the hinge, so when I lifted the lid, the keyboard lifted just a tiny bit, as if trying to greet me.
The keyboard font and hinge rim are soaped in a snazzy rose gold.
I also found the nearly bezel-less display to be incredibly refreshing compared to those on laptops that refuse to contain the bottom bezel.
Benefits
- Excellent battery life
- Slim aluminum design
- Fast performance
Cons
- Badly lit display
- Cramped keyboard
Key specs: Core i5-8265U CPU, 13,3-inch, 1080p display, 256GB SSD; 1,2 kilos
This Asus Zenbook is the cheapest here
Best 2-in-1: Lenovo Yoga 720
With a powerful hinge in the soundbar speaker, the Yoga 720 is as practical as it is beautiful.
This slim and lightweight laptop offers powerful performance and long battery life in a premium package.
The 2-in-1 also comes with a number of useful extras, such as an integrated pen slot and webcam cover.
Design
Dozens of tiny holes cover the smooth cylindrical surface allowing the 730's dual speakers to project sound outward regardless of the laptop's orientation (more on the speaker below).
As a 2-in-1, the Yoga converts from a traditional laptop into a tablet and will be a good replacement for most kids of their kids tablet while they aso have a laptop for school work.
The Yoga is a seriously slim laptop. The razor-sharp aluminum slate has a metal finish on the lid and bottom and a striking chrome hinge that bounces off the light.
The polished earth tones add flair and a layer of luxury to the quintessential silver metal laptops we see so often.
Those who prefer a minimalist design will appreciate the limitation put on Lenovo with the Yoga 720's design.
The gray lid is bare except for a stylized chrome Yoga logo in one corner. Open the lid and you will find the same gunmetal finish on the bottom, the keyboard and the touchpad.
Branding on the Yoga consists of a dim Dolby Atmos logo and a Lenovo crest, which sits a few inches to the left of the soundbar on a secondary mini-hinge.
An oval power button is located on the right side of the device and a fingerprint sensor fits just below the right arrow on the keyboard.
Benefits
- Premium design
- Thin and lightweight
- Strong performance
- Long battery life
Cons
- Shallow keyboard
- Display could be better
Main Specifications: Up to Core i7 CPU; Optional 4K screen; Pen lock; Soundbar speaker hinge; Webcam cover; 1,4 kilos
Check the most current prices of the Yoga here
Best Chromebook: HP Chromebook x360
For college students who want a straightforward browser-based operating system and / or all-day battery life, there's the HP Chromebook x360.
This 12,3-inch tablet has Chrome OS, which means you cannot download third-party programs.
However, Google continues to expand support for Android apps.
The best Chromebook for this year, the x360 has a beautiful screen, a comfortable detachable keyboard (included with the laptop) and strong speakers.
Benefits
- Clear, detailed display
- Very long battery life
- Good sound quality
Cons
- A little heavy
- Mediocre performance
Key Specifications: 12,3-inch, 2400 x 1600-pixel display; 4 GB RAM; 32 GB of flash storage; Intel Core M CPU
The price is the same at multiple stores, but here via bol.com it is delivered the fastest
Best Laptops for Your Study
You usually need a little more for your studies than for school, so I have included a separate list for slightly older children and young adults who are going to study.
The best overall laptop when you don't have specific needs to meet for your studies and just want to do a little bit of work on theses and notes is this Acer Aspire 3 which costs less than € 400, depending on the model.
Everything you need without the big investment, you probably need to buy enough things already.
Below my review, plus quite a few more laptops suitable for specific studies.
Student laptop on a budget: Acer Aspire 3
If you're in school or just going to college, chances are you don't have much disposable income.
But just because you can't spend four figures on a laptop doesn't mean you have to settle for something that doesn't meet your needs.
With the Acer Aspire 3 you get almost everything you can ask for and for only 400 euros.
The budget machine has a 15-inch, 1080p display and a powerful Core i3 CPU. Best of all, the Aspire 3 continues to run for an entire day of school, with nearly 9 hours of battery life.
Design-wise, the Aspire 3 is functional in shape - it's bulky, but there's a generous selection of ports and even a DVD drive.
The base model was equipped with an Intel Core i3-8130U CPU, 6GB RAM and a 1TB HDD.
Benefits
- Good performances
- Long battery life
- Affordable
Cons
- Bulky design
Main Specifications: Up to Core i7 CPU; Up to 8 GB RAM, 1080p display
Check out this Acer Aspire 3 here
For Environmental or Engineering students: Dell XPS 13
Dell's new XPS 13 takes everything we love about this highly regarded laptop line and fixes the biggest flaw. Yes, the "nose cam" is a thing of the past.
Dell has custom made a miniature camera that is just small enough to be placed on the thin top edge of the laptop. Incredibly, the camera even takes a pretty good picture.
The rest is what we've come to expect from an XPS 13, including a compact and lightweight chassis, super-fast performance thanks to U-series CPUs, and a beautiful 4K panel flanked by nearly invisible bezels.
Powerful enough to do heavy calculations if necessary for your study choice.
Benefits
- Strong performance
- Slim, lightweight design
- Good webcam
- Beautiful 4K screen
Cons
- Battery life could be better
Key Specifications: Up to Core i7-8565U CPU, up to 16GB RAM, up to 1TB SSD, 13-inch, 4K touchscreen display
It's the cheapest here at Amazon
Best for Campus Gamers: Lenovo Legion 5
When it's time to relax after a long day in class, the Legion Y530 is the way to go. This affordable gaming laptop is thin enough to slip into your backpack and light enough to carry around campus.
For under $ 1300, you get an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 Ti GPU capable of running most games at low settings.
The Legion may not have the RGB flair you'd expect from a gaming machine, but its low-profile blackout design helps it blend into any environment.
The Core i5-8300H CPU that powers the Legion 5 is great for productivity, so you can stream Twitch or YouTube videos in Full HD when you're no longer able to study.
Benefits
- Stylish design
- Relatively portable
- Good overall performance
- Affordable price
Cons
- Boring display
- Bad webcam
Key Specs: Up to Intel Core i7 CPU, Optional GTX 1050 Ti GPU, up to 16 GB RAM, 15,6 inch screen
For engineering and architecture students: HP Specter Studio x360 G5
If tuition fee isn't already burning a hole in their pockets, tech students should consider saving for the HP Specter Studio x360 G5. This beastly laptop is surprisingly thin and lightweight for a workstation, and even portable enough to take on campus.
Better yet, the 2-in-1 has a surprisingly long battery life, despite flaunting a gorgeous 4K display. As a workstation, the Studio x360 G5 offers exceptional overall performance.
Benefits
- Slim chassis with military durability
- Vivid 4K display
- Superb fast performance
- Comfortable keyboard
Cons
- Lid bends
- Bad webcam
- Pricey
Key Specifications: Up to Intel Xeon CPU, Up to 32GB RAM, Up to 2TB SSD, Quadro P1000 GPU; 4K DreamColor screen
Check the prices here at bol.com
For Art and Design students: Asus ZenBook Pro
Art students who need a large canvas to draw on should check out the Asus ZenBook Pro, a premium ultrabook with dual screens.
The highlight of this machine is a unique touchpad that doubles as a 1080p screen.
Dubbed the ScreenPad, the LCD touchpad can transform into a second screen with productivity shortcuts where you can manage your photo editing tools.
While the eye-catching touchpad is enough to keep your eye on this designer laptop, stick with the primary 15,6-inch 4K touchscreen display, which is colorful and bright.
The ZenBook Pro has poor battery life, but it makes up for it with excellent performance and a beautiful design that is sure to impress your colleagues. And at 1900 grams, this powerful machine is portable enough to carry around campus.
For 2000 euros, the ZenBook Pro 15 comes with an Intel Core i9-8950HK CPU, 16GB RAM and a 512GB NVMe SSD. It also has an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 Ti GPU with 4 GB of VRAM, which delivered solid frame rates in our testing.
Benefits
- Unique ScreenPad
- Beautiful display
- Striking, portable design
- Excellent performance
Cons
- Less than average battery life
- Disappointing webcam
Key Specs: Up to Core i9 CPU, Up to 16 GB RAM, Up to 1 TB PCIe SSD, Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 Ti GPU
Check the most current price here
For Economics students: Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon
Whether you're an entrepreneur or aspiring CEO of a Fortune 500 company, the X1 Carbon lets you live in luxury.
The 14-inch ThinkPad X1 Carbon is boardroom ready with a vibrant 1080p or 2K display (with an optional HDR option), an incredibly slim chassis, and one of the best keyboards you can get on any laptop.
The 8th Gen Intel Core CPU is powerful and lasts over 11 hours.
Benefits
- Long lasting battery
- Light enough for a backpack
- Vivid screen with optional HDR
Cons
- Pricey on a student budget
- Tinny audio
Main Specifications: Core i5 or i7 CPU; 14-inch 1080p or 2K screen; Up to 1TB SSD
For computer science students: Lenovo ThinkPad T480
Night-time coding sessions require incredible battery life, and the ThinkPad T480, with its extended battery life, runs for over 17 hours on a charge.
An 8th Gen Core Intel CPU and 8GB RAM provide ample performance and the laptop has the latest Thunderbolt 3 ports for charging and fast data transfer.
The 1080p screen is on the dull side though, and it's a bit heavier in a backpack than its competitors.
Benefits
- Long battery life
- Thunderbolt 3
- Strong performance
Cons
- Boring screen
- Heavier than competitors
Key specs: Up to 1080p. 14-inch screen; Up to Core i7 CPU; Up to 512 GB SSD
For film and animation students: Apple MacBook Pro 16-inch
Make the most of your creative energy with the updated 16-inch MacBook Pro.
Apple has increased the capabilities with a faster 6th Gen Intel CPU, AMD Radeon Pro 455 graphics and its new Touch Bar.
Video editors and animators will love the Touch Bar, which replaces the function keys with a custom toolset that can be different in Photoshop than in Final Cut.
Four Thunderbolt 3 ports make it easy to connect to multiple 4K displays or easily transfer uncompressed media files to external backup drives.
Benefits
- Beautiful display
- Long battery life
- Fast performance
Cons
- No USB Type A ports
- Gets pretty warm
Key Specs: Up to Core i7 CPU, Up to Radeon Pro 560 GPU; Up to 1 TB SSD. 15-inch screen
For Medical Students: Dell XPS 15
The ideal laptop for a medical student is one with a large screen and a powerful processor for taking notes and running complex programs in the lab.
More importantly, it should have a long battery life, so the laptop won't turn off while med students do their rounds. The XPS 15 offers an excellent combination of performance and endurance.
Its incredible 11 hours and 53 minutes battery life makes it one of the longest-lived 15-inch laptops we've ever tested. Combined with a compact footprint, the XPS 15 is surprisingly good for travel.
It is also very powerful, equipped with an Intel H series CPU. If you have time for yourself, the Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 Ti in the XPS 15 can play the most modern games and streaming TV shows and movies is a pleasure with its clear and vivid display.
Benefits
- Strong overall performance
- Excellent battery life
- Capable GTX 1050 Ti GPU
- Bright, vivid displa
Cons
- Bad webcam placement
Key Specifications: Up to Core i7 CPU, optional GTX 1050 Ti GPU; 15 inch 1080p or 4K screen
For law students: Microsoft Surface Pro 6
With improved battery life, the Microsoft Surface Pro 6 is a great choice for students who need to take a PC around campus, away from an electrical outlet. Better yet, Microsoft's latest detachable has significantly improved performance, allowing it to run programs smoothly.
The back stand of the tablet is ideal for presenting slideshows, and the brilliant 12,3-inch 2736 x 1824-pixel display is captivating.
The Surface Pen and Type Cover cost extra, but they are needed for quick note-taking or legal writing.
Benefits
- Long battery life
- Outstanding performance
- Comfortable keyboard
- Vivid, clear display
Cons
- No USB-C port
- Longzama SSD
- 256GB SSD configuration is pricey
Key specs: 12,3-inch 2736 x 1824 pixel display; Up to 8th Gen Core i7 CPU
For fashion students: HP Specter Folio
With its dazzling Cognac leather finish, the HP Specter Folio is an excellent laptop for students who want to stand out in a lecture hall filled with hundreds of other people.
The Folio isn't just a laptop with a leather case on top - this machine is actually bonded to 100 percent real cowhide.
Perhaps better than the Specter Folio's stylish appearance is the laptop's smart system for switching between different orientations.
A simple push-and-slide motion folds the Folio into a tablet or slides the display into Presentation mode to view content.
While the Folio isn't the most powerful laptop in its segment, the convertible shouldn't have any problems with it streaming from Netflix in high definition or running your university's online courses portal.
The base model of the Folio comes with a Core i5-8200Y CPU, 8GB RAM and a 256GB SSD. Upgrading to a Core i7 CPU increases the price to $ 1.399.
Benefits
- Luxurious leather finish
- Versatile 2-in-1 design
- Long battery life
- Great keyboard
Cons
- Bad audio
- Average performance
Key Specifications: 100 percent genuine leather chassis; Intel Y-Series i5, i7 CPU; 8 GB or 16 GB RAM; Available in Cognac / Ash Silver or Burgundy / Luminous Gold
View the most current prices here
Best MacBook Alternative: Huawei MateBook X Pro
Art students attending college may be tempted to buy an Apple MacBook - and for good reason.
But the Huawei MateBook X Pro is the better laptop, and it doesn't even come close in price.
The MateBook X Pro essentially takes the design of the MacBook Pro and brings a better keyboard, improved internals and USB-A port - all for hundreds of dollars less.
For the money, you get an 8th Gen Intel Core i7-8550U CPU, Nvidia GeForce MX150 GPU, 16GB RAM and a 512GB SSD. A stunning 14-inch, 3000 x 2000 touchscreen display capable of producing a wide variety of colors (124 percent of the sRGB spectrum) is perfect for art and design students.
Benefits
- Beautiful 3: 2 screen
- Great keyboard and touchpad
- Slim, premium design
- Long lasting battery
Cons
- Hard to find
Main Specifications: Up to i7-8550U CPU; 3K screen (3.000 x 2.000 resolution); Nvidia MX150 GPU
This Huawei Matebook is available here at MediaMarkt, for example
Whatever laptop you have, you'll also want to bring a few extras, such as a comfortable mouse, a well-equipped backpack, and maybe a solid all-in-one printer.
And don't forget to preload some antivirus software before you go to campus. If you're going to use a multi-monitor setup in your room, try a good docking station, via USB or Thunderbolt 3.
Laptop buying tips for students: Windows or Chromebook?
As the school year begins, parents everywhere are asking the same question: Should I let my child buy a Chromebook or Windows PC?
While Chromebooks once had better battery life and lower prices, Windows devices have caught up with these features, but other important differences remain.
As of now, IDC predicts consumer Chromebook sales will reach 3,9 million units this year, up 29,4 percent year-over-year.
That's tremendous growth, especially while the PC market is expected to shrink 3,7 percent overall. So what attracts consumers to Chromebooks, and should you consider one instead of a Windows laptop?
Which class is your child in?
The simplicity of Chromebooks makes them best suited for elementary school through high school students.
However, older high school students may need specialized apps not available on Chromebooks, especially if they are working on music composition or coding.
What do they use in school?
An important factor in deciding which laptop to get your child is knowing what their school is giving them to use.
Many schools use Chromebooks for their ease of signing in with your account.
That means they are also signed into their Google Drive folder, complete with all of their Google Docs and other school work. Sure, you can get those on a PC, but if your kids use Chromebooks at school, they'll probably have the easiest time getting one for home use too.
Chromebooks also allow for more collaboration in the classroom with the help of the Google Classroom software. This suite of tools streamlines the process of allocation distribution and feedback and organizes all data in one place.
Google Classroom also provides an easy way for educators to create web pages to distribute their syllabi and attach lectures. These tools are also available to educators on the go as Google Play and iOS apps.
Chromebook Benefits:
- simple
- safe and
- secure
- easy sharing
In addition to giving kids the same interface they use in schools, using a Chromebook at home helps keep track of all their work.
On the phone, Cyrus Mistry, a senior product manager at Google, explained that when students go home, they can get whatever they have at school.
Mistry went on to say that because "when [kids] go home and use a completely different Chromebook, if students log in with their school address, not only does their entire work load, with all their bookmarks, all their Google content, but all their non-Google content, all their Android apps and paid apps, appear and install immediately as soon as they log in".
While Windows PCs allow for multiple users, Mistry called the Chromebook the "world's most shareable device'', talking about how family members can handle it without a hitch. "Mom [or Dad] can log in and they get access to their entire world," he said, "and when they log out, nothing they did on that device will affect [other users] partitions."
Windows 10, on the other hand, can get quite complicated. Not only does the operating system pump your screen with notifications, ask if you're likely to recommend Windows 10 to a friend, but it actually wants you to use Cortana, and learning to use a digital assistant might be low on your list of priorities for your child.
In addition, Windows system updates have a bad history of upcoming and forced restarts at inopportune times (although Microsoft is trying to fix this). And if you're trying to get your child a laptop for their schoolwork, all the free games in the Start menu, including Minecraft and Candy Crush Soda Saga, can distract and hinder their productivity.
Chromebooks work on Chrome OS, which offers a much smoother and easier way of life. The operating system security and update protocols are dead simple; update the download to a minor version of the operating system in the background.
How does that work? Mistry told us that "while you are connected to partition A, updates are downloaded to partition B in the background and when you restart [Chrome OS] tests the new version and applies it to partition A if the revision is passed" .
Another plus for parents: Chrome OS doesn't have the ability to just install apps from the web. Your kid should get those titles from the Google Play Store and you can using Android parental controls toezicht to stop that.
Word docs or Google docs?
Ask your children or their teachers how their homework is accepted. Do they live in Google Docs or send Microsoft Office files?
If your kids are using Microsoft Word, Excel, and other programs, Chromebooks aren't useful. Sure, those apps are available as Android apps on those Chromebooks that support the Google Play Store, but they're not good enough to replace the original.
You can export files between Word and Excel and Google Docs and Sheets, but those conversions are rarely 100% perfect. And I'm sure the last thing you want is to hear your child scream that Microsoft Word messed with formatting their command, which made them spend more time fixing it.
But if your kids say their class is all about Google Docs and the other G Suite apps, like Sheets, you're best off with a Chromebook.
Windows 10 is still an attractive choice for families and students. But as the focus on Chromebooks starts to rise, Windows laptops still have something to offer.
First of all, you often find the most complete versions of apps on Windows, such as Adobe Photoshop, while competitors may lack options.
Another example of this is Microsoft's own Office suite, a must-have for many, but the best for Windows. Aaron Woodman, general manager of Windows marketing, emphasized this, saying via email that "Windows 10 runs desktop Office apps, while competitors like Chrome and iPad only offer web apps."
So, yes, while iOS versions of Office for iPads and the Android versions of Office apps are on Chromebooks - and office365 gives you access to these programs via a browser - none of the above features are complete compared to Windows equivalents. .
Then he highlighted how Windows wins in terms of accessibility features that make computing easier for a large number of users.
Windows 10 also has a head start when it comes to pen computing. For example, with OneNote's Ink Math Assistant feature, students can write math problems and equations and immediately receive a step-by-step proof to help them determine how to properly solve the problem, ”said Woodman.
Yes, iOS and Chrome OS all support styli, but Woodman boasted that Windows 10 does it best, with "the most robust and intelligent digital inking capabilities in Microsoft Office applications (OneNote, Word, PowerPoint)."
Woodman also stated that "is the most complete set of learning experiences on Windows". He highlighted the newly released Minecraft: Education Edition, which allows Minecraft owners to learn basic chemistry by playing around with the Chemistry Tools Pack.
Conclusion
If your child already lives a Google life - which is what schools promote - Chromebooks are a fantastic option. These notebooks also allow for more seamless sharing around the house, so you can use that Chromebook after the little one goes to sleep.
But if your child is more advanced - or needs more help - it might be better to buy them a PC. Windows 10 offers more complete versions of Office apps, a wide range of accessibility options and superior styli usage.
At the end of the day, it's time to talk to your kids and see what they are using and what they need. Leave a comment below if you have any questions to answer!
Lees meer: the most educational robots for your child
Always something to do for the holidays or rainy day?
Play Choice now has the ultimate activity book collection, with over 60 pages of fun coloring pages and educational puzzles.
Joost Nusselder, the founder of Speelkeuze.nl is a content marketer, father and loves trying out new toys. As a child he came into contact with everything related to games when his mother started the Tinnen Soldaat in Ede. Now he and his team create helpful blog articles to help loyal readers with fun play ideas.