I’m a tech expert, and these are the three student laptops you should consider

Sign up to our free weekly newsletter for insider tips and product reviews from our shopping experts Sign up for our free IndyBest email So, your old student laptop is about to pop its silicone clogs. Keys are missing, there’s mystery crud in the HDMI port, it only charges during a full moon and it’s just three more open Chrome tabs away from bursting into flames. It might be time for an upgrade. But if you’re heading back to school, the seemingly endless choice of new laptops is daunting. There are big ones, little ones and ones that turn into tablets for reasons nobody has ever explained convincingly. Well, you’re in luck. I’ve been thinking about and reporting on laptops long enough for my brain to be clogged up with useless information about processors, rendering me incapable of learning new languages or skills, but arming me with the knowledge required to recommend the best student laptops. If you already know you want a MacBook, then your choice is simple. Get the 13in MacBook Air with the M1 chip (£999, Apple.com ). It’s the cheapest MacBook Apple still makes, and it’s about as uncontroversial as student laptops get. If your studies involve things such as video editing and rendering giant files, the more expensive MacBook Pro (£1,349, Apple.com ) starts to make sense. It’s much better at cooling itself down than the MacBook Air, which means it doesn’t have to throttle its performance when things start to get toasty. Bear in mind that Windows laptops are generally a lot more compatible with a wider range of applications. If you’re an engineering student or you’re routinely working with niche, specialist software, a shiny new MacBook could end up being about as useful as a £999 paperweight. You can get Windows running virtually on MacOS, but it will be a compromised experience. With the Apple side of the equation out of the way, I’ll be recommending three Windows laptops here. Two laptops that shouldn’t strain the budget of the average college student, and one that will, but is worth the money. Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today. Already subscribed?