When it comes to the best laptops for watching movies, the options are almost endless. There are smartphones, tablets, and even mini-laptops that can be used to watch movies. However, not all of these devices will give you the same experience as a full-sized laptop would. In this article, we’ll go over some of our favorite laptops for watching movies on the go.
READ MORE: The Best 4K Laptops for Media Use
HP Spectre x360
PROS
- Amazing performance
- Beautiful OLED display
- Convertible laptop
- Battery life
CONS
- Stiff touchpad
- No HDMI port
- RAM and WLAN are not upgradeable
Specs:
- CPU: Intel i7-1165G7
- RAM: 16 GB
- Storage: 512 GB – 1 TB SSD
- GPU: Integrated Intel® UHD Graphics 620
- Display: 13.5″
- OS: Windows 10 Pro
The HP Spectre x360 is one of the best laptops for watching movies on the go. It’s a 13.5″ touchscreen with a 1920 x 1280 resolution, so you can clearly see even the tiniest details of your favorite TV shows and movies. The Intel i7-1165G7 processor provides plenty of power to smoothly run any app or game you throw at it. And 16GB RAM means that when you’re playing games, your computer won’t slow down and lag behind like many other laptops do after a while (which is one of my biggest complaints about gaming). If you need more memory for heavy multi-tasking, there’s also an option for 16GB RAM—but if all you’re doing is streaming Netflix shows on a plane ride home from vacation every once in a while, 8GB should be just fine. It has at least 512GB SSD storage space as well, so it’s perfect for storing large movie files whenever there’s no nearby connectivity option.
Lenovo Flex 5
PROS
- Comfortable Keyboard
- MicroSD card reader
- Portable 2-in-1 laptop
- Good battery life
- Stylus support
CONS
- Dim display
- Small storage
- May need to invest in cloud storage
Specs:
- CPU: Intel Celeron N5205U
- RAM: 4 GB
- Storage: 64GB
- GPU: Intel UHD Graphics
- Display: 13.3″
- OS: Chrome OS
The Lenovo Flex 5 14″ 2-in-1 Laptop is an excellent choice for anyone looking for a laptop that can handle media playback, thanks to its Intel Celeron processor and 4GB of RAM. It also comes with 64GB storage, which is adequate for movie storage. Though investing in a cloud service won’t hurt. The device has a 13.3″ display with 1920 x 1080 resolution, which means you’ll be able to see every detail on the screen even if it’s playing high-quality content like 4K movies or games. As with most Chromebooks, fast processing shouldn’t be expected. But for media and movie streaming, this Chromebook is perfect.
Microsoft Surface Book 2
PROS
- Premium design
- Discrete GPU
- Sharp resolution display
- Battery life
CONS
- Surface pen sold separately
- Adding SSD and RAM is expensive
Specs:
- CPU: Intel® Evo Platform Core™ i5/i7
- RAM: 8GB – 16 GB
- Storage: 128 GB – 512 GB SSD
- GPU: Nvidia GTX 1060 graphics
- Display: 13.5″
- OS: Windows 10
Microsoft Surface Book 2 is a powerful laptop that can make almost any movie enjoyable on the go. It features a 13.5-inch display with 3240 x 2160 resolution, an 8th generation Intel Core i7 processor, 16GB RAM, and 512GB SSD (for the i7 version, cheaper options exist). It also comes equipped with an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 graphics card which makes it perfect for playing games in Full HD resolution.
To ensure you get the most out of your experience while watching movies, this sleek laptop comes with USB Type-C ports that allow you to charge the device faster than USB 3.1 ports can do so. This laptop is also compatible with the Surface Pen, but it is sold separately.
Apple MacBook Pro 13
PROS
- Great retina display
- Amazing performance and specs
- Touch bar functionality
- M2 Chip
CONS
- Expensive
Specs:
- CPU: Apple M2
- RAM: 8GB – 16 GB
- Storage: 256 GB – 1 TB SSD
- GPU: Apple M2
- Display: 13.3″
- OS: Mac OS
If you’re looking for a laptop that can handle games, work, and everything else in between, this is the one for you. Not only does it have an impressive 13.3″ Retina display but it also comes with Touch Bar functionality. The Apple M2 chip processor makes sure that there aren’t any lag issues when using various applications and playing games on this machine.
It’s not surprising that Apple has managed to squeeze one of its best processors into such a compact device since they have been known for their engineering skills over the years and it shows here as well; the added 8GB DDR4 memory ensures smooth running when performing tasks like rendering videos or running multiple programs simultaneously while boosting overall performance.
Dell XPS 15 9500
PROS
- Premium build
- Great specs
- Amazing performance
- Strong GPU
CONS
- Battery life
- Heavy
Specs:
- CPU: Intel Core i7-10750H
- RAM: 32GB
- Storage: 1 TB
- GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650
- Display: 15.6″
- OS: Windows 10 Pro
The Dell XPS 15 9500 is a well-rounded laptop with a 15.6” screen and a 10th Gen Intel Core i7-10750H processor. It comes equipped with 32GB RAM, 1TB SSD, and an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 graphics card that makes it suitable for gaming as well as for media consumption. While the battery life isn’t stellar (about 8 hours), this model does come equipped with Thunderbolt 3 ports so you can charge your devices while you use the laptop.
The XPS has been praised for its attractive design and build quality; many users say they prefer it to other premium laptops on the market because of its high quality at a reasonable price point. The only real drawback is that some may find its size too big or heavy to carry around everywhere (around 6 pounds).
Google Pixelbook Go Chromebook
PROS
- Thin, stylish design
- Responsive keyboard and trackpad
- Good display
- Affordable price
- Great sound and speakers
CONS
- No microSD slot
- Dim in sunlit areas
- Thick bezels
Specs:
- CPU: Intel Core m3/i5/i7
- RAM: 8 GB – 16 GB
- Storage: 64 GB – 256 GB
- GPU: Intel HD Graphics 400/Intel UHD Graphics
- Display: 13.3″
- OS: Chrome OS
In our opinion, the Google Pixelbook Go Chromebook is one of the best Chromebooks for watching movies on the go. Not only does it have a good screen and battery life, but it also has a great keyboard and trackpad. It’s very portable and easy to use too, which makes it ideal for traveling with.
The powerful versions are fast as well as secure making it perfect for anything from streaming Netflix to playing games like Fortnite or Apex Legends. Plus, because this laptop is from Google you can rest assured that your data will remain safe at all times – even if something happens in between charging sessions (such as your charger breaking).
Watching on the go should be comfortable
We’re confident that we’ve covered all the bases here. Whether you want a laptop that can run multiple apps like Netflix and Hulu at once or something with more storage space for movies, we’ve got it covered. Hopefully, we’ve provided you with enough information when it comes to watching movies on the go.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Which laptop has the best video quality?
The best option would be an Apple Macbook Pro M2. For non-Apple users, the Dell XPS 15 is your next best choice.