The Verge Named Affordable Laptops for High School and College Students
The Verge has published a roundup of affordable laptops for high school and college students amid rising computer prices due to a shortage of RAM and storage devices. The publication believes that prices may continue to rise next year, as the entire volume of memory to be produced through 2027 has already been allocated.
For middle and high school students, The Verge named the MacBook Neo, starting at $599, as the top budget option. The laptop is equipped with an A18 Pro chip and comes with 8 GB of RAM and 256 GB of storage in the base model. The author praised the quality of the trackpad, screen, and speakers but pointed out the model’s limitations: two USB-C ports, a slow storage drive, no backlit keyboard, and a 20-watt charger.
For college students, the publication recommends the MacBook Air: the 13-inch version starts at $1,299, or $1,199 for students. The base configuration includes 16 GB of RAM and a 512 GB faster storage drive. A 15-inch version is also available for $1,499. The Verge advises considering Apple’s refurbished models if they’re sold at a significant discount.
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Among the Windows laptops in the selection is the Asus Zenbook A14, featuring a Qualcomm Snapdragon X Plus processor, 16 GB of RAM, a 512 GB storage drive, and a 14-inch OLED display. Its price can drop to as low as $700 during sales. The Acer Aspire 14 AI is cited as a more budget-friendly alternative: for $500–600, it offers an Intel Lunar Lake processor, 16 GB of RAM, 512 GB of storage, two USB-A ports, two Thunderbolt 4 ports, and HDMI 2.1, although it falls short of its competitors in terms of screen quality, speakers, and build quality.
The list also includes the HP OmniBook 3 with a 16-inch display and a Snapdragon X processor for around $500, the refurbished Lenovo ThinkPad T14 Gen 4, and various Chromebook models. The publication considers the Asus Chromebook Plus CX34 an affordable option for browser-based work and educational tasks, while the Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 514 is a more productive 2-in-1 with stylus support. For Windows laptops, The Verge recommends choosing models with 13th-generation Intel processors, AMD Ryzen 7000 or newer, and, if possible, look for configurations with at least 16 GB of RAM and 512 GB of storage.
