Chromebooks are referred to as those affordable computers that some institutions provide their students for free. However, are Chromebooks useful for college? Most significantly, are Chromebooks more advantageous for college than laptops?
In terms of pure academic performance, Chromebooks are comparable to laptops for college. You may complete your homework, compose essays, conduct internet research, and even participate in courses online using a top Chromebook. However, laptops are a superior option if you want more than this because they provide faster processing, more excellent storage, and more versatility than Chromebooks.
Therefore, depending on your demands, the explanation in the title may differ:
- A Chromebook is your best option if you can complete your work online and don’t require your laptop for more complicated ones.
- Laptops are better for college if you want more (such as multitasking, picture or video work, or the capacity to play the game) and more extensive storage.
To assist you in making an educated decision and choosing which is ideal for your specific scenario, let’s look at the Pros and Cons of the best laptops and Chromebooks in much more detail.
What Is Better for College: A Chromebook or a Laptop?
The primary benefit of top Chromebooks is their affordable pricing. Very few laptops are available for under $200, and we’ve already given a list of the finest ones. Therefore, picking a Chromebook for college is the ideal option if you’re on a small budget.
Chromebooks are designed to use online. An affordable Chromebook provides practically no local storage (most models offer 16GB of 32GB, even though you can get up to 128GB and sometimes more – but for a price). Everyone has built to operate online.
Even video games. As you won’t be capable of playing any AAA titles on a Chromebook, this is essentially mobile gaming. Chromebooks can run Play Store applications, even games, but you’ll only be capable of playing mobile games on them. There is nothing spectacular here, but you can still play browser-based games.
While laptops cost more and are faster, Chromebooks are less expensive and less storage-friendly. Therefore, you didn’t reasonably expect a $200 laptop (assuming you find any) to be significantly better than a Chromebooks of a comparable price. However, I’d even go so far as to suggest that a $600 Chromebook is often a poorer option than a $600 laptop.
However, you have the opportunity to purchase a much better product if you have $1,000 or more to spend. The thing about laptops is that, if necessary, you can upgrade to a faster, more significant, or more functional model. Not just for gaming but also for having more tabs open, editing pictures and videos, storing more data locally, and other things.
However, most students don’t require that. A quicker, better laptop is always a plus, but an affordable Chromebook would suffice in most situations.
What drawbacks may a Chromebook have?
Laptop vs. Chromebook
The best Chromebooks have certain drawbacks in contrast to laptops, and we’ll mention them here so you can keep them in mind while making your choice.
An internet connection is required.
You won’t be able to accomplish much on an affordable Chromebook without the need for internet access because they design to utilize online. You may edit files offline using Google Docs, but internet access is required to operate a Chromebook fully.
You’re short on storage.
You will undoubtedly encounter issues with storage space on a Chromebook sooner than expected. Most devices have little storage—far less than what is available on the phone. You will thus need to use several cloud storage solutions, and while many websites provide some storage for no cost, you will probably have to pay regularly (or annually) for more.
Cloud hosting should be better than storage space, but that brings us to the first issue: you can’t access your information if there’s no internet.
Chromebooks are often quite sluggish.
The reality that Chromebooks don’t have top-tier specs is one of the factors contributing to their low price. They are not inherently awful or slow, but they have much less RAM and older CPUs, or at minimum, slower models than more recent ones, which might cause them to become sluggish.
Although the Chrome OS and the apps designed for the best Chromebooks don’t require high-end hardware, they can nonetheless become quite sluggish, especially if you’re the kind to run Spotify in the meantime and have many browser tabs open.
There are hardly many Windows programs available.
You’ll discover that some apps can’t be loaded or used on Chromebooks since they use a different system than conventional laptops. For instance, there is a lightweight Android edition of Adobe Photoshop that is incomparable to the Windows version in terms of functionality and intricacy.
Additionally, Chromebooks don’t support many Microsoft products, such as Microsoft Office. Competitors (like Google Docs, Spreadsheets, and so on) are still available, but the “genuine” thing is not.
Not a true game
If you are a gamer, a Chromebook will leave you bitterly dissatisfied. Since AAA games are too resource-intensive for your smartphone, you can only play Android games on it. Additionally, Chrome OS isn’t even available for the majority of AAA games.
Therefore, you won’t have much chance to play your favorite games unless they are compatible with Android smartphones.
Why do schools choose to utilize Chromebooks over laptops?
Despite all the drawbacks, the top Chromebooks are still widely used in schools and universities instead of laptops.
They are preferable choices for institutions with lots of students first and foremost because of their low cost. Additionally, only one student does not require to own a Chromebook. Due to the nature of Chromebooks and the reality that everything has to be done online, students may utilize any of them from one classroom to the following and access all their data by just signing into their Microsoft account.
Additionally, Chromebooks are vital and can withstand damage, which is quite helpful in institutions where younger pupils attend classes. Last but not least, Chromebooks are preferable to conventional laptops since they provide one less possible source of diversion as they don’t indeed allow running older methods.
Conclusion
Yes, Chromebooks are a good choice over conventional computers for college students. Even if they lack the fantastic features that a top-tier laptop may give, in most circumstances, that’s not even necessary. They are appropriate for online learning, schoolwork, and school-based tasks.
Chromebooks are an excellent substitute for conventional laptops since they are affordable, dependable, challenging, and user-friendly.