But, if you look around, there are still some great deals on the best laptops. You can score a solid Windows 10 or ChromeOS laptop for under $350. You can find a great deal for a laptop that can handle video calls with teachers, virtual classes, big projects, and everyday homework. To help you choose the best budget laptop for your needs, ZDNET experts analyzed the five best devices on the market right now. We’ve broken down features and price points so you can make the best choice, whether the laptop’s for you or your student. The HP 14 is an excellent entry-level laptop that you can harness as a workhorse for work and school. Its features are complete with a 14-inch HD display, 4GB of RAM, and an AMD 3020e processor with built-in graphics. Plus, 64GB is enough storage to save your files for easy access during crunch time. The HP 14 offers a solid 10-hour battery along with a fast charge feature that can boost the battery from 0 to 50% in 45 minutes. Plus, the laptop features a decent keyboard, excellent selection of ports, and a very capable 720p webcam for all those Zoom sessions you’re hopping on. The Dell Chromebook 3100 is designed to last. The laptop has been rigorously tested to survive minor drops, while rubberized edges protect the device against damage on impact. Plus, the keyboard is spill- and tamper-resistant, withstanding up to 12 ounces of liquid. You can depend on this lightweight, durable laptop to survive your student’s backpack. And for the price, this deal is hard to beat. The Lenovo IdeaPad 1 is a lightweight laptop with a decent processor and solid battery life wrapped up in one thin package. Overall, this device is a portable laptop that features a decent array of ports along with enough power and battery life for daily tasks in the home, school, or office. The Lenovo IdeaPad 1 also features Dolby Audio, which offers spectacular sound quality considering the low price of this budget notebook. Short of buying a Chromebook from Google, Samsung’s offerings are the next best thing. And the Chromebook 4+ brings a lot of hardware to the table at a competitive price. The device features a big 15.6-inch FHD display, 64GB of storage, and 10 hours of battery life in a sleek package. If you need more space for your documents and spreadsheets, you have the option to increase storage to 64 or 128GB for an additional $50. The Lenovo Chromebook C340-11 is a Chromebook with the Lenovo touch. The device offers a 10-hour battery life, 360-degree hinge so it can switch from laptop to tablet, and the convenience of Chrome OS. Touchscreen technology allows this laptop to level up into a unique category: The two-in-one. Although priced at under $300, this device feels elite. The first decision you need to make is whether you want a Windows machine or a Chromebook running ChromeOS. Both operating systems have their strengths: Windows offers continuity from the desktop experience, while ChromeOS offers simplicity. Think about how you intend to use the laptop when making this choice. Some of these systems run Windows 10S, which is a version of Windows 10 that can only run apps from the Windows app store. This has both pros (increased security and reliability) and cons (fewer options), so bear this in mind if you plan to take this path. Next, prioritize what you want from the hardware. The $350 price point won’t buy you everything, so you’re going to have to choose which features you value most. Do you absolutely need a big display, more storage, or more RAM? But, if you want a basic system capable of browsing the web (keep the Google Chrome tabs down to a minimum) or making documents and spreadsheets, then these are the systems for you. The Envy TE01 is the most affordable HP desktop on the market, and its price starts at $450. In comparison, everything on this list is under $350. While you may get lucky with a great sale or discount coupon from certain retailers, a desktop that sells for under $400 is very, very rare. If you want an everyday Chromebook, you can easily find one for $500 or less. Plus, kids can easily use these devices to attend virtual class or complete homework. Chromebooks are offered at such low prices because they’re more stripped-back than a typical Windows option. They have less powerful processors, less RAM, and much less storage space. However, they’re often enabled for cloud-based storage, so you can offload documents, photos, and music to your favorite cloud storage provider while freeing up space on your local drive. While 16GB is a limited amount of storage, it should be more than enough for reports, slideshows, and virtual class attendance. And if your older students need more space, they can offload documents and images to cloud-based storage services like Google Drive or Dropbox.
