• 3 hours ago
Transcript
00:00Okay, so this is a video for people who are looking to purchase a laptop for back-to-school
00:07or for people who are just looking for an inexpensive laptop purchase in general.
00:11But I'm going to go through some general thoughts I have about the laptop purchasing decision
00:16and then I'm going to go through, I guess, some devices that I like in particular and
00:20then we'll just wrap it up.
00:22Now, pointer number one.
00:25Right now, especially during this time of year, you're going to see a lot of endorsed
00:30or sponsored videos for back-to-school products.
00:33Like you'll see these like $3,000 gaming laptops for back-to-school, you know, Company X sponsored
00:37this video and let me show you product X from Company X.
00:42I hate that stuff and I feel like it's irresponsible for companies to be pushing crazy expensive
00:48stuff to students.
00:49It's just, I know there's some people that can afford it, but it's just, it's the wrong
00:53message and I hate seeing that stuff to be completely honest.
00:56But I'm going to try to focus this stuff on inexpensive devices.
00:59So that leads me to point number two.
01:01When it comes to purchasing a laptop for school, you are going to get the best value with used
01:07or refurbished stuff and it's usually better to purchase a device that is like higher end
01:15and used than to purchase something at the same price point but new.
01:19So like a kind of mid-range or upper mid-range stuff that's a couple years old, that is where
01:23you're going to get your best value for the overall product, especially when it comes
01:26to long-term durability when it comes to students.
01:30And point number three, I've said this before in previous videos, but I cover a lot of gaming
01:34laptops on this channel.
01:35I love them, but I don't think that they are the ideal choice when it comes to a device
01:41for students.
01:42You just get shorter battery life, they're heavier and they can be a distraction, which
01:45is cool sometimes, but I think that you can get really far with just a regular work laptop
01:53or a work-based laptop and leave the gaming stuff for a different purchase, okay?
01:59Okay, let's move on to the products themselves.
02:03So this year, you'll notice that a lot of the stuff that's on here, if you've watched
02:07some of my older videos, they're coming back again.
02:09And it's because not a lot of innovation happens at the budget level, right?
02:14Students don't pour a ton of R&D and marketing into the inexpensive stuff because it's like
02:17low profit margins here.
02:19They pump it up at the top and we just get trickled down tech at the low end.
02:23So a lot of the stuff has appeared in previous videos.
02:26But the one thing you'll notice that I'm going to be talking more about Apple's products
02:29this year, because this video is sponsored by, no, it's because of M1.
02:34M1 has changed the way that I perceive Apple products overall, but particularly for students.
02:39Both when it comes to battery life and just long-term usability of the product, plus
02:44resale.
02:45There's a whole conversation around that, but we'll get into that at the end.
02:47But when it comes to Windows laptops, let's start.
02:50So the first one I have here is the Acer Aspire 5.
02:54This has appeared in multiple videos.
02:56It is a very good laptop for the price.
02:59So it starts at like $500 or $600, depending on how you spec it out.
03:02There's Ryzen versions, there's Intel versions, and they're usually strangely well-priced.
03:08They're not perfect.
03:09The screens are a little bit dimmer than I'd like them to be.
03:11The keyboards are not super responsive, but they're just so good and hard to beat for
03:17the money.
03:18I've seen a lot of products come in here at the same kind of price point as the Aspire
03:215, and most of them just can't compete.
03:23Nothing from Asus, like the Vivo books, nothing from HP.
03:26I really like this.
03:27There are some products from Lenovo, but in terms of availability, like this you can pick
03:31up anywhere and everywhere.
03:33Every country has it, like Amazon has it, Best Buy has it.
03:36It's everywhere.
03:37The Lenovo products, they're just, you gotta live in certain regions to be able to pick
03:41it up.
03:42So this is my pick.
03:44My biggest concern, if you do end up picking one up, my biggest concern is the durability
03:49of the hinge.
03:51This is something that, it just comes with the nature of a $600 product, right?
03:57Their durability and kind of build quality isn't top-notch, so be careful.
04:01Just, if you take care of it, it'll last, but if you treat it roughly, a $600 laptop
04:07will be a $600 laptop.
04:09Okay, the second tier of product isn't one device in particular, but a whole class of
04:14products, and that is the premium stuff from a few brands, but from a few years ago.
04:19So stuff like the X-Series from Lenovo, or the XPS devices from Dell, or the Surface
04:23laptops from Microsoft.
04:25These are devices that are really good, but because they come out with them all the time,
04:31like every year they got a new one and better ones, the older stuff drops in value pretty
04:35quickly, but they're still remarkably good, and laptop tech doesn't go up that quickly,
04:40right?
04:41So you're looking at devices that are like three years old, sometimes four years old,
04:43you get them for like $600, $700, and they're really good, because these things were built
04:48to last.
04:49They have metal bodies, their hinges are more durable, they're just built really well.
04:53Better than these $600 devices when they're new.
04:56So, because these are so common and popular, you can get replacement parts easily.
05:01You can get replacement batteries, you can get replacement components, you can get replacement
05:04hinges for stuff that busts.
05:05They're easy to fix, and they have excellent components.
05:09Both the Lenovo X-Series and the XPS products have great keyboards, great screens, good
05:13battery life.
05:14You can't go wrong with these devices, and if you get them used or refurbished, the pricing
05:18can be really good.
05:19Now the Surface products often have really good pricing when it comes to buying used
05:23or refurbished, but the thing to keep in mind with them is that a lot of times they're not
05:27easy to upgrade or repair them.
05:29They're a more sealed device compared to Lenovo's X-Series or Dell's XPS products.
05:34But all three of them, Surface laptops, XPS devices, the X devices from Lenovo, they're
05:40just, they're all good.
05:41No particular order.
05:42I like all of them wholeheartedly.
05:43Okay, I'm going to move this conversation over to the MacBooks.
05:47So when it comes to this type of video, in previous years, I usually don't push people
05:52towards MacBooks.
05:53Usually if you want a MacBook, you're going to buy it, you don't need to watch some sweaty
05:56Asian dude talk about MacBooks.
05:58But this year, because of M1, I do feel like there's a conversation that I haven't had
06:03before.
06:04Okay, let's start off with why I haven't recommended them in the past.
06:08So usually MacBooks are number one, more expensive, two, repairability, upgradability is a joke.
06:14And then over the past three years with the butterfly keyboards, it's been like, I don't,
06:18I knew that that would be a problem from day one.
06:20It's like, how can you recommend a keyboard like that to people that need to use a device
06:23for like several years, right?
06:25Can you imagine being in the middle of the school year and all of a sudden like your
06:27E key goes out?
06:28It's just, it's the worst.
06:30So for a while, I just, I strayed people away from MacBooks.
06:34But because of M1, it's a little bit different.
06:36Number one, they got rid of the butterfly keyboard.
06:38Two, they have really good battery life, arguably the best, not even arguably.
06:43It is the best.
06:44I would say that of all the devices I've tested and all the claims that people shove in my
06:48face like, look at this product, look at that product.
06:50No, this guy has the best battery life by a significant margin too.
06:54And when it comes to battery life for students, it's like, it's chef's kiss, right?
06:59This is what people want when it comes to a student's laptop.
07:03Good reliability, good keyboard, good battery life.
07:07And depending on how you play it, you can get these for a reasonably good price.
07:11M1 products, I've seen them on eBay for like 700 bucks, 800 bucks.
07:15It's not cheap.
07:17It's not five, 600 bucks.
07:19But the other thing to keep in mind is resale.
07:22Because of M1, like if you get an M1 product today, it will hold its resale value better
07:28than anything else on this table.
07:30Because it's just the market for this.
07:32And because it's Apple Silicon, and this is like their next generation of stuff, and they're
07:35going forward with Apple Silicon, this will hold its value really well.
07:40So this year, I recommend it.
07:43And I, well, let me, let me rephrase that.
07:46I recommend it for people that are interested in it.
07:49Now, if you're someone who's comfortable on Windows, I still say, look at it.
07:54I wouldn't push you towards it, but look at it, right?
07:56If battery life is important to you, you're going to be amazed with what M1 can do.
08:00But if battery life isn't the big deal, then there's, there's good stuff out there in the
08:04Windows camp as well.
08:06Okay.
08:08There is one other thing I want to show you guys.
08:13If you have $700 and you're like, should I buy a laptop or should I buy Optimus Prime?
08:25If you haven't seen this video, I highly recommend it.
08:28Greetings.
08:29I am Optimus Prime.
08:31Yes, you are.
08:33Okay.
08:34For the people that haven't seen this, this has nothing to do with laptops.
08:38At this point, this is just a good dessert.
08:40Everyone likes a good dessert, right?
08:43Okay.
08:44You ready?
08:45Hey, Optimus.
08:46Greetings.
08:47Transform!
08:48Transform!