Laptops are perfect for work or leisure and can be used in every and any environment. There are a large variety of features, prices, and sizes which makes choosing the right laptop for your career needs a challenge. Here is a quick guide to help you on your way.
1. Pick an Operating System (a.k.a OS)
Most laptops today come with one of the three following operating systems: Windows, Chrome OS, or macOS. While Chrome and Windows can be used on almost any device, macOS is for Apple MacBooks only. There is no right or wrong answer when it comes to an operating system, as it comes down to personal preference more than anything else, but it might be beneficial to work on the same system as others in your field of work. If you have a work PC as well as a personal laptop, it is a good idea to try and get them to be the same OS.
2. Decide If You Want a 2-in-1
More and more laptops today fall into this category. This is a device that can switch between the traditional “clamshell mode”, to a tablet mode as well as other positions, such as tent or stand mode. These devices either have 360-degree hinges that allow the keyboard to fold behind the screen, essentially making it a tablet, see the Lenovo YOGA range, while others have screens that are completely detachable from the keyboard, see the Microsoft Surface 3 range. These options usually come with some sort of touchscreen pen to improve the user experience and are great if you work as a designer and want to sketch something out on your screen.
3. Choose the Right Size
It is important that you choose the right size laptop for your career needs. Laptops are typically categorized by the size of their screen or display. Screens that range from 13-14 inches are a good place to look if you want something that is easy to carry around with you, but 15 inches are the most popular size at the moment. If your laptop is on a desk all day every day and you don’t need to carry it around, then a bigger 17-18 inches device could be great.
4. Pick Your Specs
It is important that you pick your specs according to what you do. If you are going to enter into a work environment that uses intensive software that could potentially take a toll on your laptop make sure that you have an appropriately sized processor as well as enough RAM to run big programs. As seen in the article Best Laptop for Web Development & Design: Top Picks & Buying Guide, you will want a high-quality display. Invest in an OLED screen as they are the best picture quality.
Regardless of your work environment, SSD is the way of the future, so make sure that your laptop comes with a Solid State Drive and not just your typical hard drive. Lastly, get something with more than 7 hours of endurance battery life. No one wants their laptop to be tethered to the wall in order for it to work correctly.
We hope that you found this article helpful!
