The best laptops for college students | Engadget

We also recommend you spend a little more and get at least the Core i3 model with 8GB of RAM instead of the meager 4GB that the base model offers.Buy XPS 13 at Dell - $930If you’re looking for an excellent typing experience, look no further than the Surface Laptop 4. Both the Surface and the XPS are great options, but the latter offers an OLED panel and thinner bezels that make it look more modern.Buy Surface Laptop 4 at Microsoft - $999For those whose priority is a lightweight design, the Galaxy Book Pro series should be at the top of your list. It’s also super thin at 0.46 inches thick, and despite its compact size it manages to house three USB-C ports (one of them supporting Thunderbolt 4), a microSD card reader and a headphone jack.It also packs an Intel Core i5 or i7 processor and at least 8GB of RAM, along with a 68Whr battery that delivers a similar runtime to the Dell XPS 13 and Surface Laptop 4. Unfortunately, Samsung is still stuck on a 16:9 screen format, which will feel outdated in a year or two, but is hardly a dealbreaker.The Galaxy Book Pro’s keyboard isn’t as comfortable as the Surface Laptop 4’s but it’s pleasant enough, and the trackpad is enormous. Plus, the $1,100 base model comes with an Intel Core i5 chip, 8GB of RAM and 512GB of storage, making it a competitive offering against the Dell and Surface laptops.