A cinephile? Looking for a laptop for the best Netflix experience? We’ve got you covered. In this post, we’ll explain what types of laptops are great for watching movies, and what features you should look for when buying.
Who doesn’t like movies? They are a great source of entertainment, excellent for killing time when you need to. And if you’re someone who spends long hours outdoor, you may want to invest in a laptop for outdoor entertainment. But are laptops good for watching movies and Netflix?
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- 1 Entertainment in a backpack
- 2 Things to Look for When Buying
- 3 Best laptops for watching movies and Netflix
- 4 Conclusion
Entertainment in a backpack
There was a time when laptop displays weren’t very good for watching movies. Most laptops featured low-resolution screens with poor contrast and color accuracy. The audio quality of the in-built speakers wasn’t great as well. On top of that, laptops didn’t last more than a few hours on the battery.
Related: 9 Gaming Laptops with Incredible Battery Life
But nowadays, there are many laptops in the market with high-end 4k displays. Many laptops feature high-qualitystereo speakers, and battery backup has also gotten much better. Today, you’ll find a lot of laptops that are perfect for watching movies and Netflix on the go.
Things to Look for When Buying
If you want a laptop for watching movies, you’ll want to consider a few things before making a purchase. To provide the best movie experience, Your laptop should have a big, high-res screen with excellent color accuracy. You also want decent sound quality and a more-than-average battery backup.
Display
For movies, a bigger display is preferable. If your laptop has a smaller screen (e.g: 13-inch), it may put a strain on your eyes. But a laptop with a large display is also bulkier, which reduces portability. We recommend a laptop with a 15-inch display for a good balance between size and portability. But if you don’t care about mobility and want a laptop with a bigger display, get a 17-inch laptop.
As for the resolution, get a 2k or 4k display. At the very least, get a laptop with an FHD monitor.
Audio quality
While it’s easy to plug in a pair of headphones for watching movies, you should check the quality of the built-in speakers. A good pair of stereo speakers is pretty common in laptops these days. Many laptop brands feature audio enhancement techs like Dolby Surround in HP laptops, Audio by Harman in Lenovo laptops, etc.
Battery backup
The battery backup of the laptop is also important. You can’t always keep your laptops plugged in while watching Netflix. For starters, look for a laptop with at least 6 hours of battery backup.
Portability
If you travel often, the portability of the laptops matters. You don’t wanna buy a machine that might potentially cause back pain, do you? Ultrabooks are excellent in this regard. All of them weigh less than 3 pounds and take very little space in a bag.
Even if you don’t go for an ultrabook, make sure that your laptop doesn’t weigh more than 4 pounds.
Best laptops for watching movies and Netflix
Now let’s explore our selections for the best laptops for watching movies. Note that the list is in no specific order. We added various types of laptops so that you can choose one according to your profession or necessity.
1. Apple MacBook Air M1 – All-rounder
- CPU: Apple M1 chip
- RAM: 8GB
- Screen: 13″ Retina Display
- Storage: 256GB | 512GB SSD
- Battery: Upto 15 Hours
- Weight: 2.8 lbs
Pros:
- Excellent Keyboard.
- Sleek, portable design.
- Comes in multiple colors.
- Long-lasting battery.
- Reasonably priced for a Macbook.
Cons:
- Limited port selection.
- Screen isn’t OLED.
Product Description
Everyone loves MacBooks. They are super user-friendly and provide a polished, all-round experience. So why not buy a Macbook for watching movies?
The Macbook Air 2020 has everything you need from a laptop. Plus it’s fairly cheap for a Macbook. Its fan-free design is great if you hate distractions, and its keyboard is amazingly comfortable.
Its 13″ Retina display is sharp, crisp, and bright. Though these days OLED screens are deemed better than IPS ones, Apple’s Retina displays can still beat most cheap OLEDs in terms of sharpness and vibrance.
The new 8-Core M1 chip, paired with 8 GB of Unified Memory makes multitasking smooth, and fast. The M1 chips also provide a much better battery life than Intel chips. This machine, for example, is claimed to last more than 11 hours when streaming on wi-fi.
At around 2.8 lbs, the AIR M1 is a portable machine that you can take anywhere.
2. Asus VivoBook 15 OLED – Budget OLED Laptop
- CPU: Intel Core i5-1135G7
- RAM: 12GB
- Screen: 15.6 OLED FHD
- Storage: 512GB SSD
- Battery: 7 Hours
- Weight: 3.7 lbs
Pros:
- Excellent OLED screen for the price.
- HDR-600 support.
- Compact look.
- Harman Kardon speakers.
Cons:
- Average battery life.
- Still many bugs.
Product Description
The VivoBook 15 is a budget OLED laptop from Asus. Under 1000 bucks, it’s currently one of the best laptops you can buy for movies and Netflix.
The Laptop features an 11th gen core i5 processor and 12GB of RAM – sufficient for smooth multitasking.
The bright and vivid display of the Asus VivoBook 15 OLED makes it ideal for binge-watching movies. The ergonomic backlit keyboard is comfortable, and the trackpad is big enough for ease of use.
The battery backup, as reported by a third-party source, is on average with most budget work laptops. When fully charged, you can expect at least 6-7 hours of video playback at low brightness.
At 3.7 pounds, it’s a fairly lightweight option. And its compact design also makes it pretty easy to carry in a bag or backpack.
3. Dell XPS 15 OLED – Premium Ultrabook
- CPU: 11th Gen Intel Core i7-11800H
- GPU: Nvidia RTX 3050
- RAM: 16GB
- Screen: 15.6″ FHD+ OLED Touch
- Storage: 512GB SSD
- Battery: 8+ Hours
- Weight: 2.8 lbs
Pros:
- Breathtaking OLED display.
- Sleek and compact.
- Solid preformance.
- Premium Build.
Cons:
- Very few ports.
- Little heavier.
- Expensive.
Product Description
The Dell XPS 15 OLED is a premium, ultraportable laptop that features an uncommon OLED display. Its build quality is solid and attractive, with smaller bezels and a very polished look.
The OLED touchscreen display that it features is one of the best in the world, with rich, vivid colors and excellent brightness. Enjoy all your favorite movies in razor-sharp details, and immerse yourself in the imaginary world of Netflix with the Dolby surround audio.
The combo of a high frequency, 11th gen core i7, and 16 GB of RAM provides solid multitasking performance. And the 512 GB SSD storage should be enough to store all your documents and files.
In terms of battery backup, the XPS 13 doesn’t break records but sits beside the average ultrabook. You can expect around 8 hours of screen-on time under normal use. Thanks to its slim and ultraportable design and relatively low weight of 2.8 lbs, you can carry it easily in a backpack or handbag.
4. HP Spectre x360 13T – Work Laptop
- CPU: Intel Core i7-1165G7
- RAM: 16GB
- Screen: 13.3″ 4k OLED Touch
- Storage: 512GB SSD
- Battery: 10+ Hours
- Weight: 2.8 lbs
Pros:
- Stylish design.
- Lightweight.
- Crisp and bright OLED screen.
- Touch support with pen included.
Cons:
- No HDMI port.
Product Description
The HP spectre x360 is a convertible Ultrabook designed for professionals and businessmen alike. It’s like most 2-in-1 laptops in the market, but its 13-inch FHD OLED screen makes a true difference. It’s a great choice if you need a laptop for both movies and work.
The OLED panel delivers excellent image quality, with bright, vivid colors with excellent clarity and crispness. The touchscreen is perfect for graphic designers and artists to work in photoshop or illustrator.
The combo of 11th gen Intel Core i7 and 16GB of RAM delivers an excellent multitasking experience. At around 2.8 pounds it’s pretty lightweight as well as portable in size.
The battery backup of all Spectre x360s is excellent. And this model is no different. You can expect at least 10 hours of screen-on time under normal worklaod.
5. Acer Swift 3 – Cheap & Portable
- CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 5700U
- RAM: 8GB
- Screen: 14″ FHD
- Storage: 512GB SSD
- Battery: Upto 17 Hours
- Weight: 2.65 lbs
Pros:
- Colorful, bright 3:2 AR display.
- Great battery life.
- Lightweight.
- Clear Microphone.
Cons:
- No Touchscreen.
- No SD or microSD card slot.
Product Description
The Acer Swift 3 is a laptop designed for everyone – from professionals to students. The latest version features a powerful Ryzen 7 processor and 8 GB of RAM, sufficient for smooth multitasking and the most demanding apps you may use.
The laptop has an unusual, 14″ square display with an aspect ratio of 3:2. The screen is bright and colorful and has a high screen-to-body ratio. The build quality is good for the price, and the keyboard is easy-to-use and comfortable.
The Swift 3 is lightweight, at around 2.6 lbs. Its square design also takes less space in the backpack, saving room for other college stuff. Plus, its battery backup is insanely amazing. You can expect more than 12 hours of screen-on time under normal use.
6. Asus ROG Zephyrus G15 – The Gaming rig
- CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 5900HS
- GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070
- RAM: 24GB
- Screen: 15.6” IPS 1440p 165Hz
- Storage: 1TB SSD
- Battery: 9 Hours
- Weight: 4.2 lbs
Pros:
- Super-fast AMD Ryzen 9 processor.
- Excellent RTX performance.
- Outstanding battery life.
- Smooth 165Hz Display.
- Classy Design.
- Great speakers.
Cons:
- No Webcam.
- Tenkeyless keyboard.
Product Description
Solid Performance, outstanding battery life, and compact design – this is ROG Zephyrus G15 in short. Thanks to the combo of Ryzen 9 and RTX3070, you get desktop-level gaming performance.
The 15-inch, superfast gaming display is Excellent in terms of sharpness and color accuracy, and scores fairly in terms of brightness. Along with its clear stereo speakers, it’s a perfect machine for Cineholics in need of a capable machine for gaming and work.
We also loved the classy, non-kiddo design. It doesn’t scream for attraction, but you can say it’s a gaming rig from one look. Its compact form factor is great for carrying in the backpack. And it only weighs 4.2 pounds, less than most gaming rigs with an RTX3070 chip.
The ROG Zephyrus G15 has a 90WHr battery with fast-charging support. Under normal workload, the laptop ran for almost 9 hours. So you can easily spend a day without looking for an outlet.
Conclusion
Laptops are a great source of entertainment. But this very nature can be a problem sometimes. While movies are excellent for passing leisure, they can pretty fast become an addiction. We know a lot of people, especially students who spend night after night watching Netflix series and movies.
It’s a good thing that you love movies. they teach us things about life, society, and more. But don’t ever let the love become the drug!
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