Technology is a big part of everyone’s lives, taking over many different areas and serving as a useful tool. It is no surprise then that people of all ages need laptops to help complete their daily tasks. While many things can be done on a cheap mobile phone, there are some things that require more advanced features. From doing homework to completing college applications, or even to other recreational activities like gaming and online shopping for tech gifts, laptops can be highly beneficial and necessary for teenagers. The best laptops will let your teen do everything that they need to.

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There are many different options available, and it can be a little overwhelming trying to decide which one is the right pick for you, or for your teenager. Picking the right laptop for your teen's needs can be crucial, and with the amount you’ll likely spend on a laptop, you’ll want to get it right. We’ve split some of the best choices into different categories, giving you insight into the best laptop overall, the best laptop for gaming, and even the best budget laptop for teens. All you need to do is figure out what needs you or your teenager have and what category fills those needs best. Whether you want a touchscreen laptop, a gaming laptop, or just a general-use laptop, we’ve got you covered.

Apple's laptops are known for speed and reliability, something which should be considered when buying a laptop for a teenager. The 2022 MacBook Air featuring the all-new M2 chip is no exception to this. Offering lightning-fast speeds and a hugely reliable OS, this is the perfect pick for any teen who is looking for an all-around laptop. While you might not be able to play the latest and greatest games, you can definitely surf the web and use it for more creative purposes like photo-editing and other media creation/manipulation, or for school work and other general uses.

The new M2 chip offers amazing performance at a good price. However, if you are on a tight budget there are definitely cheaper options with solid performance. Giving you 8 cores of U performance and up to 10 cores of GPU to use, meaning you should rarely, if ever, feel bogged down and held back by the laptops speed. The MacBook Air M2 is an incredibly versatile laptop, that is very lightweight and can perform well for many different purposes.

The Acer 315 Chromebook is the perfect choice if you are on a tight budget and are looking for a laptop for general use, for things like browsing the web, doing homework, and consuming media. This is a Chromebook, and so it doesn't have all the latest bells and whistles that some of our other picks feature. But for the price, it's hard to argue against it.

This Chromebook is designed for students and other light s who don't need and aren't after blistering performance. Under more heavy loads, the Chromebooks Celeron N4020 U can suffer, and you might experience some slowness. But if you stick to the Chromebooks purpose and use it for more light work you'll have no problems whatsoever. For budget buyers, this is a great pick that has a large screen for all your browsing and media consumption needs and offers decent performance, all for a very affordable price.

If your teen is an avid gamer then this is a great laptop choice for them. The IdeaPad Gaming 3 packs a serious punch and can handle most modern games that you throw at it. Combining the power of an AMD Ryzen 5 6600H U and a dedicated NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 GPU, this laptop is for serious gamers and can easily handle almost anything. Offering snappy performance and quick response rates with a 120hz refresh rate display, you can rest assured that every click and keystroke will count.

As well as being able to handle gaming and everyday use, the Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming 3 can also be used by creators and harness the power of an RTX 3050 graphics card for any creative needs. Whilst the Lenovo Ideapad Gaming 3 is not the most powerful gaming laptop out there, it's a great starter gaming laptop for teens for the price. However, even though the IdeaPad Gaming 3 is quite robust and sturdy, it can quite easily suffer from damage if care is not taken.

When it comes to choosing a laptop for an aspiring creator then the two biggest considerations should be the U, as most creative programs need a lot of power to work smoothly, and GPU for any renders and extensive image/video editing. For both of these, the Acer Swift X 14 is a great choice.

Offering powerful performance with the 13th-generation Intel i7 processor and a dedicated NVIDIA RTX 4050 graphics card, this laptop can power through any creative processes, and help get your teen on their way to achieving their dream of becoming a creator of any kind. The 4050 GPU is one of the more budget choices for graphics cards, but it's plenty powerful for most creative needs.

The Swift X SFX14 will also let your teen do any regular tasks with absolutely no issues. With 16GB of RAM, this laptop is as snappy as it is sleek. It's built to be powerful and portable, and while it is a touch expensive, it's necessary to get the specs and features required for creators.

One of the most important aspects of laptops is the display. They can easily make or break a laptop, and nothing is worse than having a small screen that you struggle to read text on. The HP 17.3-inch laptop definitely does not have this issue. Its large screen ensures that text is clearly legible from a more comfortable viewing distance, and is the best pick if you're looking for a larger screen for your teen so that you don't have to worry about eye strain. It comes equipped with an Intel Core i5-1235 U, a solid mid-range processor that will help you to power through any general tasks, like schoolwork and surfing the web.

It comes with a standard set of ports to use, with a USB-A 3.2, and a USB-C, as well as an HDMI port for an external screen, ensuring that it covers multiple use cases. The HP 17.3-inch laptop gives you a large screen with decent hardware as specced. But buyers have the option to upgrade the RAM, display resolution, and processor to get even more out of the laptop.

If you're looking for stunning visuals, then the ASUS VivoBook K513 with OLED display is the perfect choice for you and your teen, especially if the teen in question enjoys consuming content. You can be assured that every stunning detail will be visible, and the laptop's sleek and elegant design really makes it stand out. Although the laptop suffers from a shorter battery life than most, this can be forgiven when considering that it is powering the screen which offers beautiful visuals.

The 11th gen Intel Core i5 processor isn't the newest in the series, but there isn't a noticeable drop in day-to-day performance. And with 12GB of RAM, you can rest easy knowing that this laptop is fast and snappy, apart from offering great visuals. Your teen can browse the web with ease and complete any daily tasks that they might need to, for things like school homework or updating their social media profiles.

What Is The Best Laptop For Teens?

Choosing the right laptop for teens can be a tricky task since there's a lot to consider and lots of options to choose from. For general use and the best overall pick, there is only really one option, an Apple MacBook Air M2 laptop. It's the lightweight alternative to Apple's flagship laptop range, the MacBook Pro, that comes at a more affordable price and can help your teen achieve everything that they need to. It comes in a variety of colors to suit your teen's style and is lightweight and incredibly versatile.

For those that are more budget conscious and are looking for something that gets the job done that can let their teen do their school work and surf the web, then the Acer Chromebook 315 is the best budget choice for a reason. It might not offer blisteringly fast performance, but it can perform all the basic tasks that your teen might need for school, or just general use. There are also options for specific use cases, with the Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming 3 laptop for avid gamers and the Acer Swift X 14 for photo and video editors and creators.

FAQs

What is the best laptop for a 14-year-old?

For a 14-year-old, it is better to opt for a more budget-friendly option and get something like a Chromebook, like the recommended Acer 315 Chromebook, or an affordable Windows 11 laptop. These will let your teen complete the most basic tasks, but also not break the bank if they damage it somehow.

Which laptop is best for high school students?

For high school students it's best to consider the use case, and what you want to be able to do with your laptop, as well as the price. Younger high school students may not be responsible enough for an expensive laptop with all the latest bells and whistles, whilst older ones may be looking for more responsibility and more features.

How much is a good student laptop?

For high school students, we recommend spending between $400-600, you can get a good-performance laptop that will let you complete homework and be good for more general use. For college students, it might be wise to spend $600-1200 depending on what you need it for, especially if it will be used for more creative endeavors, this ensures you have a faster and more powerful spec and don't have to worry about your laptop holding you back.

What's the difference between a Chromebook and a laptop?

Chromebooks are less powerful and only use the Chrome OS operating system, whereas laptops can be more powerful and use any operating system like Windows or MacOS. Chrome OS is a browser-first OS and doesn't require high-end specifications to run. However, it also doesn't have standard app and can take some getting used to.