Back to school always means notebooks, supplies, the schoolbag for the youngest, but also the new laptop. In higher education, it is often recommended to have a laptop for note-taking and assignments, but choosing the right one is not always easy.
We’ve put together a top 9 of the Best Laptops For Note Taking to choose from for the start of the school year, for an average budget.
However, you will find there a nice variety of possible experiences, depending on what you need.
Best Laptop For Note Taking
Table of Contents
Taking notes, in the office or in class, requires a good pencil stroke… or a dedicated device! How to navigate among the solutions available on the market? Overview of mobile devices so you don’t miss anything in your future work sessions.
Best Laptop For Note Taking | Comparison Table 2021
Image | Title | Brand | Buy |
---|---|---|---|
Microsoft Surface Pro 6 (Intel Core i5, 8GB RAM, 128GB) | Microsoft | Check Price | |
Lenovo Yoga 730 2-in-1 13.3" FHD Touchscreen Laptop, Intel Core i5 1.6GHz, 8GB DDR4, 256GB PCIe SSD, Webcam, Bluetooth, Fingerprint Reader, Thunderbolt, Backlit Keyboard, Windows 10 | Lenovo | Check Price | |
HP 2020 Newest Pavilion X360 2-in-1 Convertible 14" HD Touch-Screen Laptop, 10th Gen Intel Core i3-1005G1, 8GB Ram, 128GB Ssd, Wifi, Webcam, Win 10 S | HP | Check Price | |
ASUS Chromebook Flip C302 2-In-1 Laptop- 12.5” Full HD Touchscreen, Intel Core M3, 4GB RAM, 64GB Flash Storage, All-Metal Body, USB Type C, Corning Gorilla Glass, Chrome OS- C302CA-DHM4 Silver | ASUS | Check Price | |
Samsung Chromebook Plus V2 2-in-1 Laptop- 4GB RAM, 64GB eMMC, 13MP Camera, Chrome OS, 12.2", 16:10 Aspect Ratio- XE520QAB-K03US Light Titan | SAMSUNG | Check Price | |
Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 – 13.5" Touch-Screen – Intel Core i5 - 8GB Memory - 128GB Solid State Drive (Latest Model) – Platinum with Alcantara | Microsoft | Check Price | |
2021 Newest HP Pavilion Laptop, 15.6" HD Display, AMD Ryzen 7 3700U Processor (Better Than i7-10510U), 16 GB DDR4 RAM, 256 GB PCIe SSD, WiFi 6, HDMI, Type-C, Windows 10 Home + Oydisen Cloth | HP | Check Price | |
2020 Apple MacBook Air Laptop: Apple M1 Chip, 13” Retina Display, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD Storage, Backlit Keyboard, FaceTime HD Camera, Touch ID. Works with iPhone/iPad; Space Gray | Apple | Check Price | |
HP Pavilion 15 Laptop, 11th Gen Intel Core i7-1165G7 Processor, 16 GB RAM, 512 GB SSD Storage, Full HD IPS micro-edge Display, Windows 10 Pro, Compact Design, Long Battery Life (15-eg0021nr, 2020) | HP | Check Price |
Prices and images pulled from the Amazon Product Advertising API on:
Best Laptop For Note Taking | 2021 Products Overview
1. Microsoft Surface Pro 6
- A best in class laptop with the versatility of a studio and tablet
- More power now with the new 8th Generation Intel Core processor
- Ultra slim and light, starting at just 1.7 pounds. Sensors : Ambient light sensor, Accelerometer, Gyroscope
- All day battery life, with upto 13.5 hours of video playback
- Pair with our signature type cover in luxurious Alcantara material and rich colors for a full keyboard experience
- The Microsoft Surface Pro 6 is a versatile tablet cum laptop that is an ideal pick for note-taking and college/business work.
- There is a brilliant 12.3-inch display having a resolution of 2736 x 1824 p with Pixel Sense technology. Reading out from such a display will be a pleasure for your eyes. There will be no difficulty in reading texts and data.
- A stylus can be used to write in notes (to be bought separately) if you still want to have the pen and paper feel. Speed backed by power is something tough to find. But the Surface Pro 6 is an exception.
2. Lenovo Yoga 730 2-in-1 Laptop
- Unprecedented Power - The Yoga Series are the world’s first convertible laptops the Yoga 730 is offering an 8th Gen Intel Core i5-8250U 1 6GHz up to 3 4GHz which easily handles multitasking situations Featuring the latest Intel processor 8G DDR4 provides lightning-fast boot-ups and transfer times massive amounts of storage and advanced communication power 256GB PCI-e SSDs are great for major gaming applications multiple servers daily backups and more
- Visual Enjoyment and Swift- With the razor-thin 5 9mm bezeled screen the Yoga 730 displays movies video and Skype calls in clear high-definition With 300 nits brightness you’ll see every detail Experience truly immersive sound with Dolby Atmos which creates a three-dimensional audio space Log in to your laptop in less than 2 seconds with an optional fingerprint reader — thats 3 times faster than the average time it takes to type in a password
- Designed for Flexibility - Weighing in at a featherlight 1 12 kg / 2 47 lbs and polished in premium aluminum the Yoga 730 will complement your style no matter where the day takes you Thanks to Rapid Charge technology fifteen minutes of charging will give you two hours of use—and with up to 11 5 hours of battery life to begin with you’ll never be slowed down by a dwindling battery
- More than just connectivity - Featuring the revolutionary connection technology of dual Thunderbolt 3 USB-C ports the Yoga 730 offers swift versatile connection to high-res displays high-performance data devices and more—all while charging at faster speeds
- Best Windows Yet - The Window 10 defends your desktops using built-in security tools that always stay current with the latest threats Proactively safeguard your organization with enterprise-level security on all apps and devices Get all the features of Windows 10 Home operating system plus enterprise-grade security powerful management tools like single sign-on and enhanced productivity with Remote Desktop and Cortana
3. HP Pavilion X360 2-in-1 Convertible
- Latest 10th Generation Intel Dual-Core Core i3-1005G1 CPU at 1.2GHz Base Frequency, up to 3.4GHz with Intel Turbo Boost, 4MB Caches.
- 14 Diagonal HD SVA Anti-Glare Micro-Edge WLED-Backlit Touch Screen (1366 x 768); 360° flip-and-fold design
- 8GB system memory for advanced multitasking; 128GB solid state drive (SSD)
- HDMI output expands your viewing options; Built-in media reader for simple photo transfer; Wireless/Wired connectivity (WiFi 5 - 802.11 ac); Built-in HD webcam with dual array microphone
- Windows 10 Home in S mode. No Optical Drive.
4. ASUS Chromebook Flip C302 2-in-1 Laptop
- The flexible 360 Degree hinge and 12.5 inches full HD touchscreen lets you use the C302 in tablet or laptop mode
- Intel Core Processor with 64GB storage and 4GB RAM for fast and efficient performance with a bright backlit illuminated keyboard
- Extremely lightweight at 2.65 pounds with the protection of a sleek aluminum metal body
- Starts up in seconds and lasts all day, thanks to a long battery life rated upto 10 hours
- Make sure latest chrome version is upto date and is using the device in stable channel
- Note: Check user manual in technical specification before use
5. Samsung Chromebook Plus V2
- TWEIGHT 2-in-1 DESIGN At just under 3 pounds, the Chromebook Plus is incredibly lightweight. You can easily fold it into tablet mode for comfortable viewing and browsing
- BUILT-IN PEN Experience the power of the incredibly precise built-in pen that never needs charging. Its always ready to write, sketch, edit, magnify and even take screenshots
- DUAL CAMERA Fold your laptop into tablet mode to capture clear shots and even zoom in for a closer look with the revolutionary 13MP world-facing camera with autofocus
- CHROME OS AND GOOGLE PLAY STORE Create, explore and browse on a bigger screen with the tools you use every day —all on the secure Chrome OS
- POWER AND PERFORMANCE Tackle anything with a long-lasting battery and Intel Celeron processor. Store more with 64GB of built-in memory and add up to 400GB with a microSD card.Bluetooth v4.0
- More space for what matters. Get Google One with 200GB of cloud storage for 12 months when you purchase a new Samsung Chromebook. Enjoy plenty of space for all your files, photos, and more. Redeem offer until 1/31/22
6. Microsoft Surface Laptop 3
- Clean, elegant design — Thin and light, starting at just 2.79 pounds, Surface Laptop 3 is easy to carry
- Choose from rich tone-on-tone color combinations: New Sandstone, plus Matte Black, Cobalt Blue, and Platinum
- Improved speed and performance to do what you want, with the latest processors – Surface Laptop 3 is up to two times faster than surface Laptop 2
- More ways to connect, with USB-C and USB-A ports for connecting to displays, docking stations and more, as well as accessory charging
- All-day power on the go, with up to 11.5 hours of battery life, plus standby time when you’re away. Go from empty to a full battery with fast charging - up to 80% in about 1 hour
- Free Upgrade to Windows 11 when available (see below).
7. HP Pavilion Laptop
- 【Processor】AMD Ryzen 7 3700U Quad-Core Processor (Base Frequency at 2.30GHz, Up to 4.00GHz at Maximum Boost Clock, 4 Cores, 4MB Cache, 8 Threads) | Radeon RX Vega 10 Graphics
- 【Display】15.6-inch diagonal HD BrightView micro-edge, WLED-backlit display (1366 x 768); 82% screen to body ratio, enjoy your photos, movies, and games with the crisp quality.
- RAM is upgraded to 16GB high-bandwidth RAM to smoothly run multiple applications and browser tabs all at once; Hard Drive is to 256GB PCIe NVMe Solid State Drive allows to fast bootup and data transfe.
- 【Tech Specs】1 USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-C (Data Transfer Only, 5 Gb/s signaling rate); 2 USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-A (Data Transfer Only); 1 AC smart pin; 1 HDMI 1.4b; 1 headphone/microphone combo | Webcam | Wi-Fi | Windows 10 Home 64-bit
- 【Included in the package】Bundled with Oydisen Cloth
8. Apple MacBook Air Laptop
- All-Day Battery Life – Go longer than ever with up to 18 hours of battery life.
- Powerful Performance – Take on everything from professional-quality editing to action-packed gaming with ease. The Apple M1 chip with an 8-core CPU delivers up to 3.5x faster performance than the previous generation while using way less power.
- Superfast Memory – 8GB of unified memory makes your entire system speedy and responsive. That way it can support tasks like memory-hogging multitab browsing and opening a huge graphic file quickly and easily.
- Stunning Display – With a 13.3” Retina display, images come alive with new levels of realism. Text is sharp and clear, and colors are more vibrant.
- Why Mac – Easy to learn. Easy to set up. Astoundingly powerful. Intuitive. Packed with apps to use right out of the box. Mac is designed to let you work, play, and create like never before.
- Simply Compatible – All your existing apps work, including Adobe Creative Cloud, Microsoft 365, and Google Drive. Plus you can use your favorite iPhone and iPad apps directly on macOS. Altogether you’ll have access to the biggest collection of apps ever for Mac. All available on the App Store.
- Easy to Learn – If you already have an iPhone, MacBook Air feels familiar from the moment you turn it on. And it works perfectly with all your Apple devices. Use your iPad to extend the workspace of your Mac, answer texts and phone calls directly on your Mac, and more.
- Fanless Design – Your MacBook Air stays cool and runs quietly even while tackling intense workloads.
- AppleCare – Every Mac comes with a one-year limited warranty and up to 90 days of complimentary technical support. Get AppleCare+ to extend your coverage and reduce the stress and cost of unexpected repairs.
- Environmentally Friendly – MacBook Air is made with a 100% recycled aluminum enclosure and uses less energy for a smaller carbon footprint.
9. HP Pavilion 15 Laptop
- INSTANT GRATIFICATION – Experience a laptop with premium performance, so you can spend less time getting more done; it’s like a small PC that’s compact enough to go where you go with a long-lasting battery to power you through your day
- EPIC ENTERTAINMENT – With audio by B&O, a larger screen-to-body ratio, and a 15.6-inch Full HD micro-edged screen to maximize your view, entertainment on your laptop feels like bringing the theater home (1)
- IMPRESSIVE GRAPHICS – The Intel Iris Xe Graphics gives you a new level of graphics performance with crisp, stunning visuals, plus the convenience of a thin and light laptop (2)
- UNSTOPPABLE PERFORMANCE – Get things done fast with the 11th Generation Intel Core i7-1165G7 processor, which delivers instant responsiveness and best-in-class connectivity (3)
- MEMORY AND STORAGE – Enjoy up to 15x faster performance than a traditional hard drive with 512 GB PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD storage (4) and experience improved multitasking with higher bandwidth thanks to 16 GB of RAM
- WORK ON THE GO – Get work done on the go with a long battery life of up to 8 hours (5) while HP Fast Charge lets you go from 0 to 50% charge in approximately 45 minutes (6)
- OS AND WARRANTY – Do more with better peace of mind thanks to the HP 1-year limited hardware warranty and the seamlessly integrated Windows 10 Pro operating system (7)
- EFFORTLESSLY CONNECTED – Enjoy a smoother wireless experience with Wi-Fi 6 (2x2) (8) and Bluetooth 5.0 combo (9), all your connections are solid and up to 3x faster file transfer speeds than Wi-Fi 5 (10)
- FULL-SIZE KEYBOARD – Work comfortably with a full-sized keyboard, integrated numeric pad, and a Precision Touchpad
- ENVIRONMENTAL RESPONSIBILITY – Stay energy-efficient and sustainable with a laptop that is Energy Star certified (11), EPEAT Silver registered (12), and built with a low halogen display (13)
How to choose the right laptop for Notes Taking At the start of the school year? follow the Guide
What will a laptop be used for at school?
If you are reading this comparison while being a high school student, there is no doubt that it will not be very useful to you; not that a laptop would be out of place in your work, but rather that high schools still struggle to accept these types of tools in their classrooms. It is rather the post-baccalaureate studies that we think of DUT, university, BTS and obviously licenses, masters, etc. In these cases, the computer is intended to be essential: lecture in the amphitheater with the speaker at a speech rate too high for a pen and a pencil, group work, work-study or internship reports, in short. The scenarios where a laptop PC turns out to be much more than useful are numerous and that is why it is advisable to get one for the start of the school year.
Isn’t that too bulky?
Yes and no. You just have to make the balance: is it better to transport a 1.5kg or even 2kg computer, or several notebooks, binders, blocks of sheets? Although it is always important to keep manual writing with you, the computer will allow you to reduce the space occupied in your bag and therefore the weight of it. And if the difference is not high enough for you, the argument of practicality remains: like an e-reader, the laptop allows you to have everything in one place.
Which operating system to choose?
While most college students swore by Windows laptops a few years ago , things have changed a lot since then. With macOS and Chrome OS (even Linux for the brave and courageous), new experiences have entered the field, bringing their positive points. Obviously, we are not going to list all the points of each system, but we offer a summary consistent with the theme of this buying guide:
- Chrome OS : Exclusive to Chromebook from Google, this OS is extremely lightweight and is based as the name suggests on the Chrome browser. The experience is therefore not completely new for those who already know the browser but remains different from Windows and macOS. No sophisticated and powerful software on the program, no extreme storage, and no 4K screen (or very rarely): the Chromebook is limited to what is necessary for note-taking, simple work (it is possible to take advantage of Android applications, useful for photo editing for example), even web or mobile development.
- Strengths: The autonomy always excellent / the ease of use / the omnipresent cloud / the Chromebooks are always very light / the price often interesting;
- Cons: Not suitable for students who need the Adobe suite, for example, / without internet connection, Chrome OS becomes very limited;
- Recommended for those who need very little for their lessons.
- Windows 10 / 10S: the OS is well known to everyone. Completely, compatible with almost all existing software, allowing you to take notes as well as video for solid models, Windows has a lot of advantages. But also has a lot of flaws, such as the autonomy or the heating of the computers that host it. Its “S” version, lighter, looks like what Google offers with Chrome OS.
- Strengths: Very great compatibility for software, the possibility of doing a lot of things / the most famous OS and therefore the easiest to use for ordinary people / very varied prices;
- Weak points: Some computers tend to heat up under Windows, the OS is quite heavy / autonomy is never really excellent and you must always have your charger with you / unfortunately tends to bug over the months. Better to prioritize the “S” version in this case;
- Recommended for those who are cautious and cautious about other operating systems, or who want a powerful computer at a lower price than elsewhere.
- macOS: Also exclusive to a brand, namely Apple, the OS of the apple company wants to be a direct competitor to Windows. Over the years, more and more software has been developed on this OS which no longer has to be ashamed at this level against its competitor, and which beats the same in terms of optimization. But Apple requires some limitations are still present, especially at the level of the closed ecosystem.
- Strengths: Computers running macOS are often durable and very well optimized, which makes them a real investment over the years / the design of the OS is clean and pleasant;
- Cons: The price of computers under macOS is always very high / the closed ecosystem prevents the use of any hard drive for example / some MacBooks prefer to heat to remain silent rather than to cool properly;
- Recommended for those who do not want (too much) daily worries or who simply love the Apple ecosystem.
How important is it to have a powerful computer and what to take into account?
It will depend on your studies. If you need to edit videos, create visuals, or do 3D modeling, it’s clear that a Chromebook isn’t for you. It will be necessary to move towards a MacBook or a computer under Windows rather powerful and obviously more expensive. But for the rest, it is not necessary. The important points to take into account are above all:
- Battery life: You are going to need to use your laptop for up to 8 or 10 hours a day. It is clear that if its autonomy is 3 hours, that will not suit you, especially as extension cords and multiple sockets are generally rare commodities in the classroom.
- RAM: Just because you plan to do office automation doesn’t mean you have to skimp on RAM. Except for products that are well optimized or that will not be too abused, 4GB of RAM will be too little. We advise you to plan on at least 8GB for a MacBook or a computer running Windows 10 (not S), in order to avoid wasting time in the middle of seeing your computer crash by opening Chrome tabs ;
- Storage: If its size does not necessarily matter (unless you use the computer for personal use as well), it is better to bet on an SSD or eMMC (for small computers). The reason is simple: a computer using this type of storage will launch its applications faster, saving time;
- Weight: The last very important element is therefore the weight. In the end, it’s relatively simple to understand: if the laptop is heavy, you will potentially have back or shoulder pain. Since it is designed to be carried all day long, taken out of the bag, put back in the bag, then re-taken out… etc., prioritize a computer below the 2 kg mark.
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