With black Friday approaching and Christmas following shortly after, many people are looking to invest in a new laptop for themselves or as a gift to others. With such a huge variety of options available on the market today, deciding which one to purchase can be challenging.
Knowing more about the features and benefits of some of the leading models, and knowing what to look for in general when buying a laptop, can help you make a wise purchase decision. In this article, explore what to look for when buying a laptop.
Table of Contents
Long battery life
Gone are the days of running to find a plug socket 3 hours into your work. Now, a battery life of 10+ hours is the industry standard; anything less is probably not worthwhile. Some laptops are now capable of running for 16+ hours before they need to be recharged, such as the Asus ExpertBook B9450F.
Speed
Speed is another make-or-break factor when it comes to quality. Since Apple released its Macbook range with their new M1 chips, slower laptops can longer compete. Speed may be the primary feature that determines whether many people purchase a laptop or not, as there is simply nothing worse than a sluggish computer!
Memory
Memory also has an effect on speed, as laptops need some ‘thinking space’. When memory is full, laptops become slower. Finding a laptop with a decent amount of memory is essential if you want to keep your machine running at peak performance for as long as possible. You also need somewhere to store your documents and multimedia files.
Quality display
The technology behind laptop screen displays has made massive progress in recent years, and now, laptop screens look clearer than my living room window! The Dell XPS13 for example, boasts a 4K display, and its extremely high resolution screen makes it ideal for graphic designers and other creatives. It does have a slightly below average battery life though, so it’s important to find an ideal balance between all of these features.
Ergonomics
This term refers to a method of designing and engineering products to make them pleasurable to humans physiologically and psychologically. This could be as simple as making the keys on your keyboard a certain shape to minimise the strain on your hands while typing. Or it could be as complex as applying a specific pixel density ratio to reduce eye-strain for users.
Ergonomics are a big draw for people nowadays, especially as designers and engineers become much better at creating ergonomic products. ‘Hush keys’, for example, are another way designers have sought to implement pleasing features, as the tip tapping of keys can become quite annoying.
Most leading laptop models have the aforementioned features, so the ergonomics of the design could be the deciding factor in whether or not you make a purchase. You can typically go to places that recycle laptops and see the disregarded remains of laptops that don’t have any of these features. So be sure to pay attention to this list to avoid disappointing somebody this Christmas!
