STACK #231 January 2024

TECH FEATURE

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It’s the most wonderful time of year – the kids are going back to school! Laptops are an essential tool to succeed in the new school year, and whether it’s essays, creative arts, or a bit of fun when the homework is all done, there’s no shortage of tech options for all grades and needs. LAPTOPS

Words Michael Irving

2-IN-1S

Resolution: How detailed a display is. This is described in numbers of pixels (e.g. 1920 x 1080), or shorthand names like FHD. You won’t find anything under HD (1280 x 720) nowadays, which is fine for many people, while higher-end devices can stretch up to 4K (3840 x 2160). Processor: Most laptops run Intel processors, which are the brains of the device. Their names tell you which generation they belong to (currently 12th or 13th) and their class (i3, i5 or i7), with higher classes able to handle more tasks concurrently. Clock speeds are measured in GHz, while RAM, which also helps speed up processing, is measured in GB – in both cases, higher equals faster. Storage: How much the device can store, measured in GB or TB (1TB equals 1,000GB). Most now use SSD, which are faster and more stable than HDD. What the spec does that mean? Specs lists can quickly make your eyes glaze over. If you don’t know your HDMIs from your USBs, here’s a brief explainer on some common terms to help you make a more informed decision.

A 2-in-1 is exactly what it sounds like – two devices, a tablet and a laptop, rolled into one! That means they get the power of a laptop and the convenience of a keyboard, but can also be folded back into a tablet form, complete with touchscreen. A 2-in-1 could be the ideal back-to-school partner for a student doing creative work as well as the regular maths and English.

Our picks

Dell Inspiron 14 7430 This zippy 2-in-1 is a multitasking master, thanks to a powerful processor and RAM. The 1TB SSD provides plenty of room for a full school year’s worth of work with enough left over for some after school fun and games. 14” FHD+ touch display 13th Gen Intel Core i7, up to 5GHz 16GB RAM 1TB SSD HDMI/USB-A/2x Thunderbolt 4.0 Bluetooth v5.2 Wi-Fi 6

HP Pavilion X360 Send students back to school in style with the HP Pavilion X360 2-in-1. Also includes a microSD card reader to greatly expand the storage space, and a fast-charge option to recover 50% of the battery in just 30 minutes. 14” FHD touch display 12th Gen Intel Core i7, up to 4.7GHz

16GB RAM 512GB SSD HDMI/2x USB-A/USB-C/microSD Bluetooth v5.2 Wi-Fi 6

Disclaimer: Battery life based on manufacturer testing and can vary significantly based on usage, network and feature configuration, signal strength, settings and other factors.

CONNECTIONS

HDMI Video and audio output, for connecting laptops to monitors or TVs.

Wi-Fi How your laptop connects to networks and the internet. Each generation is progressively faster, with Wi-Fi 6E being the latest version.

USB-A The classic boxy USB port, for connecting accessories like mice or charging other devices.

USB-C/ Thunderbolt

Bluetooth Wireless connection for devices like mice. Higher versions (like v5.2) are faster.

Newer versions with smaller oval ports, for faster data transfer to external drives or monitors.

JANUARY 2024

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