The Best Laptop for Zoom / Great Laptops for Zoom, Teams and Remote Work

2 years ago

When discussing the best laptop for Zoom, we’re talking about the video conferencing platform that’s become a post-pandemic phenomenon. Zoom is a cloud-based video conferencing platform that helps us connect with each other online for video conferences, webinars, and live chat. With over 300 million daily active users on the app, the best laptop for Zoom could be keeping you in touch with friends, family and anybody else you can think of.Whether you’re using Zoom for work, school, or social gatherings, it’s important to have the best laptop for Zoom that can handle the big hardware demands of video calls.

In this article, we’ll review the best laptops for Zoom in 2023. We’ll consider factors such as processor power, battery life, webcam, microphone, display, and keyboard when making our recommendations – ensuring you stay connected for as long as you need to. No matter what your budget is, there’s the best laptop for Zoom out there for you. So, let’s plug in and take a look at our top five!

Product Comparison Table: Best Laptop for Zoom

TitlePriceRating (Amazon)Best in classBuy
Dell XPS 13 9310 Touchscreen 13.4 inch FHD Laptop$$$4.4 starsBest PC Amazon
Apple 2023 MacBook Pro$$$$4.5 starsBest Mac Amazon
Microsoft Surface Pro 9 13″ 2-in-1 Tablet & Laptop$$$4.3 starsBest 2-in-1 Amazon
Acer Chromebook Spin 513 Convertible$$4.2 starsBest ChromeBook Amazon
Acer Swift 3 Thin & Light Laptop$4.4 starsBest Budget Amazon

Dell XPS 13 9310 Touchscreen 13.4 inch FHD Laptop

With a high-quality 720p webcam, a dual-array microphone, and a bright and clear InfinityEdge Dolby Vision display, the Dell XPS 13 9310 Touchscreen 13.4 inch FHD Laptop is easily our best laptop for Zoom that’s a PC. This laptop succeeded in reminding us why PCs are so well-loved for Zoom; namely, this is a PC with impressive processing power to make video calls a breeze.

In a world increasingly run via Zoom and Teams, the Dell XPS’s Wi-Fi 6 techology will be vital to prioritise the stability of your video streams, and the ability to open the lid with one hand and power up in milliseconds, no matter what power-state you’re in is a lifesaver when you’ve got an incoming call – as will the touchscreen capability.

Pros 

  • Stellar display and performance
  • Lightweight
  • Touchscreen capability

Cons

  • A bit pricey
  • Screen could be bigger

Verdict
Thin and lightweight – and actually really beautiful – the Dell XPS 13 9310 Touchscreen 13.4 inch FHD Laptop is truly the best laptop for Zoom in the PC stakes, and that’s not an easy race to win! Not only is it buffer-proof thanks to the way it prioritises video streaming, but it looks really great doing it.

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Apple 2023 MacBook Pro

The MacBook Pro is famous for a reason, and the 2023 Pro model is actually so much better than previous iterations. Not only does this laptop run Zoom like a knife through butter – with a three-microphone array and 1080p webcam – but if you’re creative-minded, the Apple 2023 MacBook Pro is purpose-built to make pro apps run lightning-fast, including Adobe Creative Cloud, Microsoft 365 and any other app for iOS. Best of all, the powerful processor means they work fantastic even with Zoom open in the background. 

Words can’t describe the difference between a regular LED or even OLED and Apple’s incredible 14.2-inch Liquid Retina XDR display. Screen brightness is measured in nits: the brightest PC we found offered 500 less than this Macbook’s 1000+ nits. Your skin will be glowing. Hello, sunshine. 

Pros

  • The best Mac yet
  • Trademark Apple performance in pro Apps
  • Stunning Liquid Retina display and matching 1080p webcam

Cons

  • Weighty (but justified) price tag

Verdict
The Apple 2023 MacBook Pro is our best laptop for Zoom in the Mac stakes. We’ve encountered just about every MacBook ever made in the time we’ve been reviewing products. The 2023 Pro provides – for the same price point as the 2021 or 2022 – so much more: a .2 inch increase in display size, Touch ID, and, most vitally for Zoom, all-day battery life.

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Microsoft Surface Pro 9 13″ 2-in-1 Tablet & Laptop

If you’re Zooming a lot, you’ll inevitably take calls on the go. You might be often caught having to use Zoom’s (slightly unsatisfactory) mobile app. Luckily, you can now avoid the unprofessionalism of ‘sent from my iPhone’ with our super-portable best laptop for Zoom in the 2-in-1 category: the Microsoft Surface Pro 9 13″ 2-in-1 Tablet & Laptop!

Both a tablet and a conventional laptop, the Surface Pro 9 genuinely offers the best of both worlds. Sound and vision are catered for with a bright 720p webcam and clear dual-array microphone. Moreover, the edge-to-edge PixelSense touchscreen display competes in terms of visuals with even top of the range tablets, but matches this with the laptop-level performance we know and love from Microsoft: it’s built on the Intel Evo platform with 12th Gen Intel Core processors.

Pros

  • All the benefits of a tablet with laptop performance
  • Gorgeous touchscreen PixelSense display
  • 15.5 hour battery life

Cons

  • Keyboard and accessories sold separately

Verdict

The Microsoft Surface Pro 9 13″ 2-in-1 Tablet & Laptop is a tablet-style model we count as our best laptop for Zoom in the 2-in-1 category. Best of all for Zooming, the display can be flipped, rotated and stood up on the lightweight kickstand – so you can show everybody what’s going on around you whenever you want. Also, if you’re a Teams user, this laptop is purpose-built for Windows 11.

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Acer Chromebook Spin 513 Convertible

Not (technically) a laptop, a Chromebook is a great alternative, particularly if you spend most of your time on internet-dependent apps like Zoom. Chromebooks run ChromeOS, a cloud-storage operating system that has Google built in, alongside multiple layers of security. The Acer Spin 513 Convertible Chromebook more than deserves the title of the best laptop for Zoom… that’s not a laptop.

Booting up in seconds, the Acer Spin 513 Convertible Chromebook facilitates almost anything that you can do on a normal laptop (and more), thanks to the millions of Android and Google Play apps it offers access to – including Zoom. A dual-array microphone and 720p webcam ensure you’re seen and heard. The only limitation is how much you can get done in a 13.5 hour battery life from each charge; and if you’re on a call that long, you’re probably a workaholic. 

Pros

  • Our favourite ChromeBook for Zoom
  • Micro-edge Gorilla Glass screen
  • Affordable

Cons

  • Not (technically) a laptop

Verdict

One reason why we chose to include the Acer Spin 513 Convertible Chromebook in our best laptop for Zoom list is that Chromebooks are always reasonably priced. Even the best Chromebooks (like this one) rarely exceed $500, meaning that unlike a budget laptop, you’re not buying a budget version of a potentially high-end product when you don’t want to pay thousands for a brilliant laptop for Zoom. Another reason is the Acer Spin’s stunning Gorilla Glass display, which – like the Surface 9’s – is really great for Zooming.

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Acer Swift 3 Thin & Light Laptop

Not looking to break the bank? The Acer Swift 3 is our choice for the best laptop for Zoom on a budget. The reason for this is that it proves saving some money doesn’t have to guarantee a bad Zoom call!

What the Swift 3 scrimps on price, it doesn’t scrimp on special features to specialise it for Zooming. Quick to start up, the Swift 3 features a biometric fingerprint reader and Windows Hello sign-in options to stop anybody unsavory impersonating you on-call. Moreover, Acer’s Purified.Voice technology, which features enhanced digital signal processing to cancel out background noise, improve speech accuracy and far-field pickup, making your voice clearer on Zoom than it’s ever been before. It also helps you to be understood by the Swift 3’s built-in Alexa. 

Pros 

  • Large and bright display
  • Acer Purified.Voice technology
  • Built-in Alexa

Cons

  • Limited storage space

Verdict

The Acer Swift 3 Thin & Light Laptop may be comparatively cheap, but it’s still on the list of our best laptops for Zoom – and it’s earned its place here. It’s startlingly similar to a lot of more expensive mid-range models that didn’t make this list; best of all, the Swift 3 has an 85.73% screen-to-body ratio, as high as some of the most expensive laptops. Not bad for a budget machine.

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