Best Laptops for College Students (2026): MacBooks and Beyond
Best Laptops for College Students (2026): MacBooks and Beyond
2026年大学生最佳笔记本电脑：MacBook 及其他选择
College laptops don’t have to be embarrassing. Nor do they have to be overly expensive. There are a lot of great, well-designed laptops for college students that combine long battery life, easy portability, and the performance needed for everyday coursework. 大学生用的笔记本电脑不必显得寒酸，也不必过于昂贵。市面上有许多设计精良的优秀笔记本电脑，它们兼顾了长续航、便携性以及日常课业所需的性能。
In my decade-plus of reviewing laptops, I’ve tested hundreds of models. If someone asked me what to buy for a college student, these are the ones I’d suggest. 在我十多年的笔记本电脑评测生涯中，我测试过数百款机型。如果有人问我该为大学生买哪款电脑，我会推荐以下这些。
Updated July 2026: I’ve added the HP OmniBook 3 and Dell 14 Plus as picks, and the Dell 14S as an honorable mention. I’ve also removed some options that have become too expensive after price increases. 2026年7月更新：我新增了 HP OmniBook 3 和 Dell 14 Plus 作为推荐机型，并将 Dell 14S 列为荣誉提名。同时，我也移除了一些因价格上涨而变得性价比过低的选项。
The Best Overall College Laptop
最佳综合大学生笔记本电脑
The MacBook Air (9/10, WIRED Recommends) is my choice for best overall laptop for everyone. But college students have specific needs—and often, specific budgets. In addition to being affordable, a college student’s laptop should be lightweight and easy to carry around. The MacBook Neo (7/10, WIRED Recommends) fits the bill perfectly. It’s only 2.7 pounds and starts at just $699. It also has a smaller display, which helps it fit on those tiny lecture-hall desks. MacBook Air（9/10分，WIRED推荐）是我心目中适合所有人的最佳笔记本电脑。但大学生有特殊的需求，且往往有特定的预算。除了价格实惠外，大学生的笔记本电脑还应轻便易携。MacBook Neo（7/10分，WIRED推荐）完美符合这些要求。它仅重2.7磅，起售价仅为699美元。它还配备了较小的显示屏，非常适合放在大学阶梯教室狭小的课桌上。
What makes the MacBook Neo special, however, is its lack of compromise around quality. It’s a gorgeous piece of hardware, with fun colors, an excellent trackpad, a beautiful display, and that Apple “it” factor. I recommend the $699 model, which gets you twice the storage and a Touch ID fingerprint reader. MacBook Neo 的特别之处在于它在质量上毫不妥协。它是一款外观精美的硬件产品，拥有时尚的配色、出色的触控板、精美的显示屏以及苹果特有的“魅力”。我推荐699美元的版本，它能让你获得双倍的存储空间和触控ID（Touch ID）指纹识别功能。
Of course, this isn’t a laptop without downsides. Apple invested its efforts in the front-of-screen experience, but made cuts to performance, ports, and memory to keep costs low. The limitation of 8 GB of memory is my biggest sticking point with this device; it means you’ll need to be mindful of how many applications, tabs, and background tasks you have running at once. Also, the Neo can connect to only one external display at a time. 当然，这款笔记本电脑并非没有缺点。苹果将精力集中在屏幕体验上，但为了降低成本，在性能、接口和内存方面做了削减。8GB内存的限制是我对这款设备最大的顾虑；这意味着你需要注意同时运行的应用程序、标签页和后台任务数量。此外，Neo 一次只能连接一台外部显示器。
The Best Windows Alternative
最佳 Windows 替代方案
Laptop pricing has skyrocketed over the past few months, which has made it harder to recommend some of the flashier new laptops of the year. Fortunately, many really great laptops from 2025 are still available to buy. The Dell 14 Plus is a great example. It’s one of the few laptops you can get for less than $1,000 that doesn’t force you to make serious compromises. It’s not the world’s prettiest device, but the display is surprisingly sharp, bright, and colorful. The computer’s touchpad and keyboard are both high-quality, and it has tons of ports. 过去几个月笔记本电脑价格飞涨，这使得推荐今年一些花哨的新机型变得更加困难。幸运的是，许多2025年的优秀机型仍然可以买到。Dell 14 Plus 就是一个很好的例子。它是少数几款售价低于1000美元且无需做出重大妥协的笔记本电脑之一。它虽然不是世界上最漂亮的设备，但显示屏非常清晰、明亮且色彩丰富。电脑的触控板和键盘质量都很高，并且拥有丰富的接口。
The newer Dell 14S came out more recently with the intention to replace the 14 Plus. The new model comes with an OLED display and superb battery life. While it’s a solid option, it starts at a pricey $1,350, and the screen has a lower resolution. For a college student, the Dell 14 Plus is the better buy right now. 较新的 Dell 14S 最近发布，旨在取代 14 Plus。新款机型配备了 OLED 显示屏和出色的续航能力。虽然它是一个不错的选择，但起售价高达1350美元，且屏幕分辨率较低。对于大学生来说，Dell 14 Plus 目前是更划算的选择。
A Featherlight College Laptop
轻如鸿毛的大学生笔记本电脑
If the idea of buying a laptop with only 8 GB of RAM in 2026 seems questionable, I recommend the Asus Zenbook A14 (WIRED Recommends, 8/10). Not only does it come with 16 GB of RAM, but it’s the lightest laptop you can buy right now at just 2.4 pounds. You’ll hardly notice it in your laptop bag when you’re trekking across campus. 如果你觉得在2026年购买仅有8GB内存的笔记本电脑不太靠谱，我推荐华硕 Zenbook A14（WIRED推荐，8/10分）。它不仅配备了16GB内存，而且是目前你能买到的最轻的笔记本电脑，仅重2.4磅。当你背着它穿梭在校园时，几乎感觉不到它的重量。
The price of the Zenbook A14 varies quite a bit, typically between $600 and $1,000, but there’s often a deal available that makes it an affordable option. There’s also the 2026 model, which comes with the second-gen Snapdragon X2 chip. At $1,600, though, it’s just not worth the extra cash—especially for a college student on a budget. Zenbook A14 的价格波动较大，通常在600美元到1000美元之间，但经常有促销活动，使其成为一个经济实惠的选择。此外还有2026款机型，搭载了第二代骁龙 X2 芯片。不过，1600美元的价格并不值得额外投入——尤其是对于预算有限的大学生来说。
The Best Cheap College Laptop
最佳廉价大学生笔记本电脑
The options listed above are fairly affordable, all coming in at less than $1,000. But even if your budget is $600 or less, trust that you can still get a solidly performing laptop with good battery life. The HP OmniBook 5 frequently sells for around $600 or less, making it an adequate MacBook Neo alternative. Better yet, HP’s laptop ships with more memory and storage. The OLED panel display is fantastic too, and the laptop is remarkably thin. The only significant downside is the touchpad, which feels clumsy to use. 上面列出的选项都相当实惠，价格都在1000美元以下。但即使你的预算在600美元或更低，请相信你仍然可以买到性能扎实且续航良好的笔记本电脑。HP OmniBook 5 的售价经常在600美元左右甚至更低，使其成为 MacBook Neo 的一个合格替代品。更好的是，这款惠普笔记本电脑配备了更大的内存和存储空间。其 OLED 显示屏效果极佳，且机身非常轻薄。唯一的明显缺点是触控板，使用起来感觉有些笨拙。
HP Omnibook 3 (2026)
惠普 Omnibook 3 (2026款)
If you need a super-cheap Windows laptop, though, there’s really only one I’d recommend that’s cheaper than the OmniBook 5, and it comes from the same family. I tested the HP OmniBook 3 and found that it shares a lot of the positive qualities of its older sibling. The OLED screen is great, as is the keyboard and overall build quality. Most important, the battery life is top-notch for a device of this price. It’s not as thin as the OmniBook 5 though, and the 1920 x 1200 resolution stretched across the 16-inch screen is unfortunate. There’s also a 14-inch version, which I think is a smarter buy. 如果你需要一台超便宜的 Windows 笔记本电脑，那么比 OmniBook 5 更便宜且我唯一推荐的机型，就来自同一个系列。我测试了 HP OmniBook 3，发现它继承了其“兄长”的许多优点。OLED 屏幕表现出色，键盘和整体做工质量也很棒。最重要的是，对于这个价位的设备来说，它的续航能力是一流的。不过，它没有 OmniBook 5 那么轻薄，而且在16英寸屏幕上使用 1920 x 1200 分辨率显得有些遗憾。此外还有一个14英寸的版本，我认为那是更明智的选择。