Best laptops for teachers 2023: Portability, battery life, budget, and more

With its superb battery life, lightweight form factor, and powerful CPU performance, the Samsung Galaxy Book3 Ultra has a lot to offer. The 1080p webcam is a nice addition for remote learning, too. As for the battery life, our tests showed that it trounced the competition with 13.1 continuous hours of use, which means you can kiss those outlet-hunting days goodbye.

The Galaxy Book3 Ultra features the a 13th-gen Intel Core i7 CPU, the new Nvidia GeForce RTX 4050 GPU, 16GB of RAM, and 512GB of SSD storage. With that kind of power this machine should have no problem handling productivity tasks as well as day-to-day use. It also comes with a 16-inch OLED display that boasts a resolution of 2880×1800 and a refresh rate of 120Hz. Visuals should be both vivid and detailed. If you’re looking for a laptop that ticks all of the productivity boxes and more, then the Galaxy Book3 Ultra is well worth consideration.

The Acer Aspire 5 is a great option for budget-conscious teachers out there. It’s reasonably priced and performance is fast enough for everyday tasks like writing e-mails, online research, and grading homework. The keyboard has loads of room, which is perfect for longer typing sessions. While that’s all well and good, the internal bits are really what makes this laptop a good value buy.

This laptop has an Intel Core i5-1135G7 CPU, 8GB of RAM, and 256GB of PCIe SSD storage. The 14-inch display has a resolution of 1080p and a matte coating. The keyboard is a high point, with a spacious layout. Our tester found it to be “quick, accurate, and comfortable.” That said, the design is a little utilitarian and the touchpad takes some getting used to. All in all, the pros far outweigh the cons.

For the eco-conscious teacher, the Acer Aspire Vero 14, made from 30 percent post-consumer recycled plastics, is a great option. Acer should be commended for its design of the Vero 14, which is not only eco-friendly, but attractive and includes a few unique touches that help it stand out. It’s no slouch in the performance department either, sporting a Core i7 processor, Iris Xe integrated graphics, 16GB of RAM, and a fast 1TB M.2 NVMe SSD. The Vero 14 is an attractive ultraportable for the eco-conscious educator.

Lenovo’s flagship line of Yoga laptops have always been top tier 2-in-1s, but the latest Gen 8 version has taken it a step further. Lenovo’s new Yoga 9i upgrades previous versions with a new 13th-gen Intel processor and a beautiful OLED screen. Thanks to the aforementioned Core i7 processor, Intel Iris Xe integrated graphics, 16GB of DDR5 RAM, and a 512GB SSD, there is plenty of performance for everyday productivity tasks. It’s also a sleekly designed svelte laptop that’s just over half an inch thick and weighs a mere 3 lbs. There are some great extras for teachers with this laptop as well. These include the 1080p webcam which helps you look nice for online lessons and meetings, an OLED touchscreen display, and an included stylus pen for when you want to flip it around to use in tablet mode.

Admittedly it’s a bit pricey, but all of the great performance and features you get with the Yoga 9i make it good value for the money. 2-in-1s in general make great tools for teachers as they are flexible enough to fit into any setting and they can fulfill multiple roles. And for anyone looking to purchase in a 2-in-1, the Yoga 9i should be at the top of their list.

Apple’s line of MacBook Pro laptops are known for their attractive design, incredible efficiency, and great performance. But they are also extremely expensive. Now HP has created a worthy competitor with the Dragonfly Pro. They partnered with AMD to create a svelte laptop that packs the latest Ryzen 7 processor with 8 high-performance cores and a powerful Radeon 680M graphic card. The design of the laptop is spot on—it’s thin and attractive with a high quality feel made from aluminum and polycarbonate. The main drawback is that, just like the MacBook Pro models, this laptop takes a minimalist approach to ports, meaning that those who rely on plug-in accessories will need to find work arounds. Also, while the display is good enough, it just doesn’t quite live up to Apple’s best. Still, for a laptop that is significantly cheaper than any of the MacBook Pro models, this Dragonfly Pro laptop from HP is an excellent option.

If you prefer using ChromeOS over Windows, the Acer Chromebook Spin 514 is a fantastic option. It has great battery life and a spectacular keyboard and touchpad. According to our reviewer, the Spin 514 features a “wide keyboard layout with large, easily located keys.” In addition to the dual USB-C ports with power delivery and a sophisticated-looking design, CPU performance is also quite peppy.

The Spin 514 comes equipped with an AMD Ryzen 5 5625C CPU, AMD Radeon graphics, 8GB of RAM, and 128GB of SSD storage. The display, which folds back 360 degrees thanks to the 2-in-1 form factor, features a resolution of 1920×1080 and is touch-enabled. The picture should be clear enough for day-to-day use like checking e-mail and social media feeds. The $699.99 price tag is a little high for a Chromebook, but if you’re working with a flexible budget, then this machine won’t disappoint.