Struggling with student life? Been there. When I studied for my Masters degree, I relied (and still do) on one of the best student laptops to see me through my dissertation. As a photography graduate, I also needed a laptop that was equipped with a GPU that could handle extensive photo editing and creative tasks, but unfortunately, the best laptops for photo editing don't often come cheap.
Fast forward five years, and we're now in an age of powerful AI laptops. And the best part? They're actually way more affordable than you might think. Even some of the latest releases from big brands like Lenovo and Acer clock in at under £1,000 / $1,000, such as the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 5x 2-in-1 Gen 9 Copilot+ laptop which starts at just $849.99 / £900. I realise that this is still a lot of money to pay for a laptop, especially on a student budget, but AI laptops are in a whole new category, so you should anticipate paying a little more than usual.
I've rounded up my top picks for the best student AI laptops below, equipped with powerful hardware under the hood that's capable enough to see you through your creative studies, and includes AI Copilot assistants that can streamline your workload and deal with the mundane, freeing you up to focus on the more pressing tasks and coursework. Not sure what the benefit of owning an AI laptop is? We have an explainer. If you need some more convincing, take a look at my recent hands-on review of the Samsung Galaxy Book4 Edge.
For the best prices on student tech, be sure to make use of Apple's student discount offers, as well as the Samsung student discount deals for those in education. We also have a roundup of some excellent AI laptop deals in your region right now.
This article is part of our Next Gen Creative Tech week.
