Best Chromebook for students 2021: Top expert picks
Is there an advantage to using a Chromebook vs a Windows or Apple laptop?
Chromebook laptops are very flexible — they’re not just a web browser in a box. Sure, you need the internet to get the most from a Chromebook. But, tell me, when was the last time you did any serious work with a Mac or Windows PC without an internet connection? Back in the 2000s? Sure, if your student’s doing video editing, they’ll need a powerhouse Mac. But, for schoolwork, a Chromebook is often all they need.
Besides, modern high-end Chromebooks, as tech expert Mike Elgan points out, “run more apps without dual- or multi-booting than any other computing platform. Chromebooks can run apps from Android, Linux, and Windows concurrently in the same session.” For school purposes, most students will never need those alternatives.
I also like that Chromebooks update frequently and transparently. Unlike Windows 10 PCs, where lately it seems like every upgrade is an adventure, Chromebooks just take their patches and, when you want them to, reboot in a few seconds and just keep on working.
While even the lowest-powered Chromebook is still useful — I got eight years of useful life from the first commercial Chromebook, Samsung’s 2011 Series 5 — like any system, the more resources you have, the better.
But unlike Windows machines, where there are clear benefits to paying for the fastest possible processor and as much RAM as you can cram into the box, the same does not hold true with Chromebooks. Any Chromebook with at least 4GBs of RAM and an i3 or better processor will work well for most students from kindergarten to law school. Sure, if they’re doing serious work with Linux or constantly running multiple Software-as-a-Service apps then you should invest in a high-end Chromebook. Otherwise, get the least powerful machine they need. They, and you, will be fine.
Chromebooks usually have 16GB and up of Solid-State Drive (SSD) for onboard storage. That’s better than it looks. First, Chrome OS is very light, and most of your applications are Software-as-a-Service programs such as Google Docs, so most of that space is available for your files. And remember, all new Chromebooks come with 100GB of free Google One cloud storage for a year.
Like with all laptops these days, there’s a huge demand for Chromebooks. If you know you’ll need a Chromebook for school, get one as soon as possible. They won’t be getting any more common anytime soon, and their prices won’t go down in a hurry either.
Article source: https://www.zdnet.com/article/best-chromebook-for-students/#ftag=RSSbaffb68