Suraj 
Two years since COVID-19 hit the world, and we’re still feeling the effects. Admittedly, the vaccination drives help, but many things have changed drastically. One of the key transformations is online learning. This revolution will continue in some form or the other – online coaching classes, tuition from expert teachers across the country, extracurricular activities or hobby lessons. Working or learning from home has become a very real option now, and the hunt for the best laptops out there doesn’t end.
Or maybe it does. Here. A short, definitive list (that keeps getting updated) for different budgets should help you make a smart choice.
We’ve categorized these laptops on 3 different price ranges – 25-35k, 35-50k and 50-75k (INR). Anything below 25k would only be good for basic browsing, checking emails or document editing. Most laptops in this price range are underpowered to handle long duration video calls or resource-heavy tools like Zoom, Google Meet or Microsoft Teams. Anything above 75k would fall into the PRO segment and will be an overkill to use as a device just for online schooling (unless you intend to use it for 3D modelling, Animation etc.)
I have recommended what I found were the best options in each of these price brackets. This list is based on the technical specifications, suitability for most common tasks for schools across various grades, availability in the market, value for money, support and reviews from real users.
Disclaimer: This is not a paid promotion, no brand is aware of this review at the time of writing.
#1 Best Laptops for online schooling (Grade 1-5)
Price Range: ₹25,000 to ₹35,000
This is the most popular segment. Why? There are plenty of products and the demand is very high owing to the lower cost of ownership and value for money. These are best suited for online schooling/live video classes for younger kids (Grades 1-5). It can handle some collaboration tools without glitches. Good for – Zoom, Google Meet and Microsoft Teams. However, it may not support resource-heavy features like background removal/blur, effects etc. Also, these may not provide the best audio experience if used for online music classes unless you buy good quality external speakers and mic or headset.
Lenovo V15 AMD
- AMD Athlon Silver 3050 U Processor
- Integrated AMD Radeon Graphics
- 4GB RAM
- 1TB Hard Drive
- Windows 10 Home
Acer Aspire 3
- Athlon Silver 3050U
- Windows 10 Home
- AMD Radeon Graphics
- 4GB RAM
- 1TB Hard Drive
ASUS VivoBook 14 (2020)
- AMD Ryzen 3 3250U Processor
- 14″ Full HD Display
- Integrated Graphics
- 4GB RAM
- 1TB Hard Drive
- Windows 10
#2 Best Laptops for online schooling (Grade 5-12)
Price Range: ₹35,000 to ₹50,000
These are best suited for both online schooling/live video classes and for offline learning like coding, basic video editing etc. These can handle collaboration tools like Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams and Webex (with an upgraded RAM). However, these may not perform well for tasks like HD video editing, learning animation software etc. that require much higher resources like RAM and Graphic cards.
HP 15S-GR0011AU (2021)
- AMD Ryzen 3-3250 Processor
- 15.6″ Full HD Display
- Integrated Graphics
- 8 GB RAM
- 1TB Hard Drive
- Windows 10
Dell Inspiron 3505
- 15.6″ FHD AG Display
- AMD Ryzen 3 Processor
- 8GB DDR4 RAM
- 256GB SSD
- Windows 10 + MS Office
#3 Best Laptops for online learning (College & Beyond)
Price Range: ₹50,000 to ₹75,000
If you are looking for a laptop for a young, dynamic college-goer, then remember, his/her needs are not going to end with online video classes alone. Apart from attending online classes, their activities will involve a lot of offline work on the laptop. It could be setting up an Apache or IIS web server, coding and testing a complex J2EE software for college projects. Or it could revolve around hobbies – including editing high-quality photos and videos as part of photography or cinematography classes, composing and editing music, recording vocals etc. or just about anything that might interest them. And that’s how flexible a laptop in this range should be.
Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 5 (82FG0148IN)
- 11th Gen Intel Core i5 Processor
- 15.6″ (39.63cm) FHD IPS Display
- Nvidia GeForce MX450 Graphics Card
- 16 GB DDR4 RAM
- 512GB SSD
- Windows 10 / MS Office
HP Pavilion 14-DV0084TX
- 11th Gen Intel Core i5 Processor
- 14″ (35.56cms) FHD
- 2GB NVIDIA MX450 Graphics Card
- 16GB DDR4 RAM
- 512 GB SSD
- Windows 10 / MS Office
- Built-in Alexa
HP 14s-DQ2535TU
- 11th Gen Intel Core i5 Processor
- Integrated Graphics
- 14-inch(35.6 cm) HD
- 8 GB DDR4 RAM
- 512GB SSD
- Windows 10 / MS Office
So, this list should meet most of your requirements while still being within your budget. If you can afford more, then the new MacBook Air and MacBook Pro (with the M1) chip is great for die-hard Apple fans.
As always, we are hungry for feedback and your comments will motivate us in working harder to bring to you the best of infotainment and decision-making aids like this article in future too.
And hey, if you want to know a list of online courses you (or your kid) can take with their new laptops, here you are!
