TechJunkie Expert Recommendations
TechJunkie is supported by our readers. When you make a purchase through our links, we may earn a commission. Read More.
In an age where more and more people are working remotely, having a laptop is crucial for maximum productivity. Laptops have evolved over the years, and gone are the days when you need to spend a sizeable sum of money for a reliable and fast laptop. You’ll get to find affordable choices on the market that give you anything and everything you need for a smooth experience. Many budget-friendly laptops have a premium design, and people around you won’t even think you went for a cheaper option. We all know Apple doesn’t price their laptops at a reasonable price, so most of the options you’ll see on this list run on Windows or Chrome OS. It’s good to do your research before buying a laptop, so you know what you’re getting into. Some offers on the market are all talk and would leave you looking for a new one after several months. This is why looking at the internal hardware your laptop comes with is essential. Here are some of the best budget laptops you can get in 2022.
The Lenovo Chromebook Duet 3 is basically a combination of laptop and tablet. It has a 10.1-inch FHD IPS display and a detachable keyboard. It’s a good deal compared to its competitors because other brands don’t include a keyboard. You can quickly detach and attach the keyboard because of the 5-point pogo pin and magnet design. You have two storage options to choose from: 64 GB and 128 GB. Both variants feature 4 GB of RAM. The Duet 3 is easy to bring around because of how slim and lightweight it is. It has a high-quality dual-tone design mixed with some aluminum alloy. Its stand cover has a fabric texture, making the tablet/laptop hybrid look even more stylish. You don’t have to buy a mouse because the Duet 3 has a 10-point multitouch touchscreen display. If you have extra cash to spare, you can invest in a USI pen to use with the Chromebook. The Duet 3 has a 2 GHz Mediatek_8389_Quadcore processor, and its graphic coprocessor is Integrated ARM G72 MP3 Graphics. It runs on Chrome OS, and it impressively boots up quickly. Its battery life is also fantastic for its price because you get 10 hours per charge. The Chromebook has Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity. Unfortunately, it doesn’t have a backlit keyboard or fingerprint reader like more high-end laptops.
Impressive performance for its priceFree keyboard and kickstand10-point multitouch touchscreen display
Keyboard might be too small for someLow storage and RAM
The Acer Aspire 5 is an excellent deal even if it’s priced below $500 because of its top-notch specs. It comes with an AMD Ryzen 3 3200U dual-core processor, which you can boost to 3.5 GHz. It features a 128 GB PCIe NVMe SSD and 4GB DDR4 memory. The Aspire 5’s screen is also great to look at because it’s a 15.6-inch full HD widescreen LED-backlit IPS display with AMD Radeon Vega 3 mobile graphics. On the side of the laptop, you get two USB 2.0 ports, one USB 3.1 gen 1 port, and one HDMI port with HDCP support. Its battery lasts up to 7.5 hours after a single charge, with its maximum power supply wattage being 65 watts. It’s easy to use the Aspire 5 in dark places because it has a backlit keyboard. The laptop is also equipped with an HD webcam, two built-in speakers, and two microphones. Its speakers are fantastic because they come with Acer TrueHarmony, providing more volume and deeper bass. The Aspire 5 comes preloaded with Windows 10 in S mode. The slim and lightweight design of the laptop makes it easy for anyone to store it in their bags.
Bright 15.6-inch displayImpressive speakers with Acer TrueHarmony
Graphics aren't the best7.5-hour battery life Only 4GB RAM
It’s not every day you hear about a budget laptop with a powerful processor, so the Gateway GWTN141 undoubtedly deserves to be among your top choices. The 14.1-inch variant is perfect for employees or students who have to carry their laptops to different places in a day. The GWTN141’s LED display has a resolution of 1920 x 1080. Its selling point is its Intel Core i5-1035G1 processor and the 16 GB DDR4 RAM. Its processor is initially 1.0 GHz, but it can get upgraded to 3.6GHz. You can also store plenty of files in the laptop because it has a 256 GB PCIe Solid State Drive. Its display won’t disappoint because of the integrated AMD Radeon Vega 3 graphics. The unique features the GWTN141 has are the built-in fingerprint scanner and micro SD slot. You also get a 1MP webcam, a USB Type-C data transfer port, an HDMI port, a USB 3.0 port, Bluetooth 5.1, built-in stereo speakers, and two Kensington Locks. The GWTN141 offers 10 hours of battery life, and it runs on Windows 10.
10-hour battery lifeIntel Core i5-1035G1 processor & 16GB RAM256GB SSDBuilt-in fingerprint scanner
Brand is not that popular
The HP Envy X360 can win you over instantly because of its sturdy and premium build. At first glance, no one could tell that this laptop was below $800. It’s packed with an 11th generation Intel Core i5-1135G7 2.4GHz processor, which means it’s powerful enough for heavy programs and different PC games. It features Intel Turbo Boost technology and Smart 4-core, 8-thread processing performance. The X360 comes with 8GB RAM, and you can pick between 256 GB, 500 GB, or 1 TB SSD. The laptop has a fantastic 13.3-inch full HD touch screen LED IPS display. You can rotate its screen all the way to the back and treat it like a tablet whenever you’d like. Thanks to its Intel Iris Xe graphics, all the programs, websites, games, or movies you’ll see on its screen look terrific. The laptop also comes with an HP Wide Vision HD Camera with a camera shutter, backlit keyboard, and fingerprint reader. If you decide to buy a mouse for the X360, HP already has you all set because they have included a high-quality cloth mouse pad with each unit. The laptop has Wi-Fi connectivity, Bluetooth connectivity, and a built-in microphone. It even comes with one micro SD card reader, one HDMI port, and two USB 3.0 Type-A ports. The laptop’s built-in speakers are also impressive for the price because there are three speakers featuring Bang & Olufsen Audio.
Foldable and rotating designModern and compactTouchscreen display
Some might not like the 16:9 ratio of the screen
If you’re looking for a laptop that’s compact and easy to carry, you can go for the Lenovo IdeaPad Chromebook Flex 5 laptop. This laptop is yet another budget-friendly laptop/tablet hybrid. It features a 13.3-inch touchscreen display, which you can easily rotate 360°. It has a luxurious and modern design, and its slim bezels allow you to maximize its full HD display. The laptop runs on Chrome OS, and it has an Intel 10th gen i3 processor. It isn’t the fastest option on the market because it only has 4 GB RAM, and its 64 GB storage might make you want to spend a little extra on an external hard drive. The Flex 5 lasts about 10 hours per charge, and it has a backlit keyboard, a built-in webcam, two user-facing stereo speakers, an audio jack, one USB Type-A port, and two USB Type-C ports. The Flex 5 features Bluetooth 5.0 connectivity and Intel Wi-Fi 6 capabilities. This laptop is excellent for beginners; however, those who plan to do heavy loads of work might want to go for a laptop with higher memory and storage.
360° convertible designTouchscreen display
Low RAM and storage
The MSI Katana GF66 might not be the cheapest option on this list, but it’s an excellent deal for its price range. Its 15.6-inch full HD display will let you enjoy any website you’re looking at, and its 144 Hz refresh rate is perfect for playing games. It features an 11th Gen. Intel Core i5 processor, 8 GB RAM, a CPU speed of 2.7 GHz, and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 4 GB graphics. Users will also be able to save large files or games with large file sizes because this laptop has a 512 GB SSD. This laptop’s exterior design has a theme fit for gamers, and its keyboard lighting even adds to the overall aesthetic. The operating system is preloaded with Windows 10 Home, but you can get a free upgrade to Windows 11. The MSI Katana GF66 might be a little over your budget, but it would be a good compromise if you plan to do a lot of gaming when you’re not working or studying.
Large 15.6-inch display144 Hz refresh rate512 GB SSD & 8GB RAM
Design is not that travel-friendly
82 Articles Published
We're not just tech junkies, but we're also tech experts. Each and every "Best of.." list on TechJunkie is curated by our content-area subject matter experts to provide a well-rounded, unbiased perspective to help and inform you, our reader. Our lists are constantly reviewed and updated, so you can be sure you're reading relevant and up to date information.
Copyright @2024 TechJunkie
Copyright @2024 TechJunkie
If you don’t see an app that should be here, let us know what it is
