Sometimes the picture isn’t too clear, sometimes the picture freezes, sometimes the video and the audio are out of sync, sometimes there’s an odd background picture set up by someone else in your household, or, worse yet, even a filter put on to make you look like a small animal! That would certainly be embarrassing on a call to the boss.
But, don’t worry, there’s a solution at hand. You can get yourself a brand-new laptop that has all the features you need for your Zoom video conference to run like a dream.
We’ve been checking out some of the best laptops on the market today, and looking into how suitable they are for video conferencing on Zoom. After much deliberation, we were able to put together a small shortlist of our favorites, which we’re going to be reviewing for you here today.
And to help you decide which one is best for you, we’ve also put together a handy buying guide that will walk you through the key things to consider before you buy.
And, without further ado…
If you’re in a hurry, check out our number one pick, coming up next.
Reviews of Laptops For Zoom Video Conference
Apple MacBook Air
If money were no object, this would be our first choice. Apple computers are the most wished for and most praised laptops out there. This is because they offer phenomenal specs that by far outshine their nearest competitors.
And their knock-out performance in the real world becomes even more clear when you take a look at their customer ratings and reviews. Even after well over 7,000 individual customer ratings on Amazon, the average customer rating still comes out at an incredibly impressive 5 stars out of 5.
The MacBook Air meets all the requirements you need for Zoom calls and then some!
The minimum CPU available, for example, is a quad-core Intel Core i5, which when combined with Turbo Boost can produce processing speeds of up to 3.5 GHz, significantly more than the minimum 2.5 GHz required for Zoom calls.
It also comes with 8 GB of RAM, which is double what you need to run Zoom, so you can continue to have multiple apps running in the background while you take your Zoom call.
The screen may be modest in size, but it offers an excellent display, for vibrant images in incredible detail. And the integrated camera is in HD too, so you get much sharper video calls.
Other features it has include a neural engine, an amazing integrated graphics card, superfast SSD on-board storage, and a staggeringly long battery life that will last up to a whopping 18 hours on a full charge.
Pros
- Incredible customer ratings
- Superfast CPU for processing
- 8 GB of RAM for multitasking
- Top-Notch Retina HD display
- Integrated camera is in HD
- Loads of other great features
Cons
- Premium product at a premium price
- The screen is slightly smaller than that of a standard traditional laptop
- Apple-designed M1 chip for a giant leap in CPU, GPU, and machine learning performance
- Go longer than ever with up to 18 hours of battery life
- 8-core CPU delivers up to 3.5x faster performance to tackle projects faster than ever
- Up to eight GPU cores with up to 5x faster graphics for graphics-intensive apps and games
- 16-core Neural Engine for advanced machine learning
2021 Newest HP 17.3″ FHD Laptop
Not everyone gets on with Apple MacBooks however, and if you’re more familiar and at ease with the Windows operating system that’s very understandable.
This latest laptop from HP has some incredible specs, but its star feature has to be its size. With a very big screen totaling 17.3 inches wide, it’s great for Zoom video conferences because in a meeting with many participants, you’ll be better able to see everyone’s reactions to what’s being said, all at the same time.
But that’s not the only benefit. With such a big screen, you could also have someone sharing their screen AND have that person visible during the video conference as well.
The screen has an excellent Full HD resolution, and it’s an IPS display, which means that not only do you get crisp and clear images, but you can view the screen easily from any angle.
Of course there is a drawback to having such a big screen however, that that’s that it is heavier and therefore less portable, so is less convenient for being out and about with.
That said, it’s less than two pounds heavier than a standard laptop, and there’s no reason why you can’t take it on the go if you really want to.
Now for the specs. It features a quad-core 11th generation Intel Core i5 CPU, for superfast processing.
And you can buy it with different levels of RAM and storage. The RAM starts at 8 GB, which is double what you need to run Zoom, which means that there’s plenty of RAM left over to have other apps running in the background.
The on-board storage also starts quite high at 256 GB, and better yet, it’s all SSD storage. It will give you fast boot up and data transfer.
There also happens to be a port for a headphone and microphone combo that you can take advantage of if you were so inclined for your Zoom conference calls.
Pros
- Very large 17.3” Full HD IPS screen
- Familiar Windows 10 operating system
- Quad-core 11th Generation Intel Core i5 CPU
- High levels of RAM & SSD storage available
- Special port for headphone/microphone combo
Cons
- Heavier and less portable than a standard size laptop
- 【Memory & Storage】Memory is 16GB high-bandwidth RAM to smoothly run multiple applications and browser tabs all at once. Hard Drive is 512GB PCIe NVMe M.2 Solid State Drive which allows to fast bootup and data transfer
- 【Processor】 11th Gen Intel Core i5-1135G7 2.40GHz Quad-Core Processor (8MB Cache, up to 4.20GHz), Intel Iris Xe Graphics
- 【Screen】 17.3" Full HD IPS Non-touch LED display (1920 x 1080)
- 【Ports and Operating System】 2x USB 3.0 Type A, 1x USB 2.0 Type-A, 1x HDMI, 1x Ethernet Port, 1x headphone/microphone combo, Windows 10 Home 64-bit, Realtek Wi-Fi 5 (1x1) and Bluetooth 4.2
- 【Included in the package】Mousepad from PConline365
Acer Aspire 5 A515-46-R14K Slim Laptop
Here’s another great gem of a laptop, and it happens to be available at an excellent price.
It’s great if you’re looking for a Windows laptop, but one that’s a traditional size, so that it is lightweight and portable enough for taking on the go, whether it’s to a business seminar or on vacation.
And it has a particularly interesting feature that makes it perfect for Zoom video conferencing. It features Acer’s Purified.Voice technology, which enhances digital signal processing to cancel out background noise, and improve speech accuracy. Just what you need!
It also happens to have Amazon’s Alexa already built-in, so you can take advantage of that too. It’s great for playing music for free or for making lists without having to type. And more besides.
It has a great screen that will deliver your images in crisp and clear Full High Definition.
It also boasts a fingerprint scanner for extra security when you’re out and about. And speaking of being out and about, it also has an amazing battery life too, coming in at a whopping 10 hours worth.
Now for the specs. It features a very speedy processor, the AMD Ryzen 3 3350U, and there’s 4 GB of RAM available, which is all you need for Zoom video conferencing. There also happens to be 128 GB of on-board file storage, which is all SSD.
Amazon occasionally has deals on this particular laptop, simply click on “Check price” to see if there happens to be a deal on now. But it’s excellent value for money, even if you don’t manage to catch a deal.
Pros
- Acer’s Purified.Voice technology
- Amazon’s Alexa is already built-in
- Fingerprint scanner for extra security
- Amazing 10-hour long battery life
- Crisp and clear Full HD display
Cons
- Comes with Windows 10 in S mode, but you can easily take it out of S mode if you wish
- Powerful Productivity: AMD Ryzen 3 3350U delivers desktop-class performance and amazing battery life in a slim notebook. With Precision Boost, get up to 3.5GHz for your high-demand applications
- Maximized Visuals: See even more on the stunning 15.6" Full HD display with 82.58% screen-to-body, 16:9 aspect ratio and narrow bezels
- Backlit Keyboard and Fingerprint Reader: Biometric fingerprint reader and Windows Hello sign-in options help keep your Acer PC secure
- Internal Specifications: 4GB DDR4 on-board memory (1 slot available); 128GB NVMe solid-state drive storage (1 hard drive bay available) to store your files and media
- Acer's Purified.Voice technology, features enhanced digital signal processing to cancel out background noise, improve speech accuracy and far-field pickup, which not only makes calls clearer, but makes talking to Alexa easier than before.
4 HP 15 Laptop
HP has done it again. This is a great little laptop with some great specs and is available at a very reasonable price for what it has to offer.
It’s the winner of the Amazon’s Choice title in the category of laptops with i5 processors. Such titles are only given to products that are both of excellent quality and are also available at a good price.
It uses the familiar Windows 10 operating system, and is of the standard 15.6 inches size. The screen has a great resolution, Full High Definition, no less. And better yet, it features an IPS display, which means that you can see crisp and clear images from every angle.
And it’s an anti-glare display, which means you can see it even in direct sunlight, which means that you can take Zoom calls from the comfort of your garden.
It also features an 11th generation Intel Core i5 processor, which is just what you need for Zoom video conferencing. And there’s 8 GB of RAM available, which is double what you need. And that means you can safely have other apps running in the background while you’re on your Zoom call.
It also offers a considerable amount of on-board storage, coming in at 256 GB, and it’s SSD, which means you get a speedy boot-up when you switch it on.
It’s also quick to charge and has a long battery life of up to 7 hours plus.
Amazon occasionally has deals on this particular laptop, simply click on “Check price” to see if there happens to be a deal on now.
Pros
- 15.6” Full HD IPS screen
- Windows 10 operating system
- Fast charge and long battery life
- 11th Generation Intel Core i5 CPU
- High levels of RAM & SSD storage
Cons
- There’s no indicator light to show you when caps lock is on
- TAKE IT ANYWHERE – With its thin and light design, 6.5 millimeter micro-edge bezel display, and 82% screen to body ratio, you can take this PC anywhere and see more of what you love (1).
- REVOLUTIONARY ENTERTAINMENT – Enjoy ultra-wide viewing angles and seamlessly perform multi-monitor set-ups with a 15.6-inch, Full HD, IPS, micro-edge, and anti-glare display (2).
- IMPRESSIVE GRAPHICS – The Intel Iris Xe Graphics gives you a new level of performance with crisp, stunning visuals, plus the convenience of a thin and light laptop (3).
- UNSTOPPABLE PERFORMANCE – Get things done fast with the 11th Generation Intel Core i5-1135G7 processor, which delivers instant responsiveness and best-in-class connectivity (4).
- MEMORY AND STORAGE – Get up to 15x faster performance than a traditional hard drive with 256 GB PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD storage and experience improved multitasking with higher bandwidth thanks to 8 GB of RAM (5).
Best Laptops For Zoom Video Conference – Buyer’s Guide
As promised, here’s your buying guide, where we will walk you through some of the key things to think about before you buy.
Why Zoom Is Such A Great App
Zoom has become a particularly popular means of keeping in touch with colleagues over recent years. And for good reason, too. It requires very little in terms of equipment and can be fully operational without the need to buy special microphones or cameras (more on that later).
You can set your Zoom app up to show only the person who is currently talking, or to show everyone in the group. By default, all Zoom pricing plans allow up to 100 participants. But, if it’s more appropriate, you can also do one-to-ones.
Zoom also allows you to share your screen with others in the conference, so it also makes an excellent training tool.
You can also use Zoom for keeping in touch with friends and family, and even for having online parties.
Operating System
The most important thing to note here is that Zoom only runs on MacOS and Windows 10 or above operating systems. It will not work on Chromebooks.
CPU Requirements
Regardless of whether you’ve gone for a MacOS or a Windows laptop, you will need a CPU that is either an Intel Core i5 or higher, with a speed of 2.5 GHz or faster.
RAM Requirements
The laptop will also need 4 GB of RAM in order for your Zoom call to run smoothly. If you also want several other apps running at the same time as your Zoom call, then you may need even more RAM so that you can easily multitask.
Screen Size
There is no minimum screen size requirement for Zoom, but we would argue that the bigger the screen is the better. Especially if someone’s going to be using it to share their screen as a training tool.
The standard screen size of a traditional laptop is about 15 inches, but you can also get ones with larger screens if you prefer, but this does add more weight to the laptop and makes it considerably less portable.
Screen Resolution
More important than screen size is screen resolution. In order to receive the best possible picture quality in your Zoom calls, we would strongly recommend that you go for a laptop with a Full High Definition resolution.
That way, the images you receive should be almost as crisp and clear as if the participants were standing right in front of you.
And if the screen also features an IPS display, this would be even better because this means you can view the screen from any angle.
Integrated Webcam & Microphone
These days, most laptops come with an integrated webcam and microphone as standard, and you will not need to buy either one separately.
Other Considerations
Bandwidth
In addition to thinking about hardware requirements, you also have to consider bandwidth requirements. In order to carry out a Zoom call, all participants must have a bandwidth of at least 2 Mbps up and down for a single screen.
Value For Money
Unless you really want an all singing, all dancing laptop, and the most intensive thing you want to do with it is receiving Zoom calls, then there’s no need to go all out and buy a really expensive laptop.
Moreover, laptops can really vary in price, so it always pays to check prices as you go along.
On-Board Storage
On board storage is not important for Zoom calls, but if you don’t want on-board storage, you should look out for SSD style storage.
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