7 Best Laptops for Note-Taking in 2024 [Expert Picks]

With everything going digital, physical pen and paper are also largely replaced by laptops and tablets.

While tabs are more compact and portable, they’re limited in terms of software, functionality, and OS ecosystem. Plus, laptops can serve you multiple purposes. And a good one makes your life much easier.

But what makes it “good”?

Well, a responsive touchscreen, stylus support, a bright display, good battery life, and decent processing power. But even scouring through the recommendations online and purchasing one that is best on paper may not be the best for you. Chances are, you’ll be left with a sub-standard device.

Fret not. I have personally tested over 16 different laptops for taking notes and have come up with the top performers. Whether you’re a medical student, lawyer, or computer science student, you’ll find a perfect match.

Just sort out your other needs, and budget, and make a smart investment decision. Without further ado, let’s dig in!

System Requirements

Specification	Minimum	Preferable
Processor	Intel Core i5 or AMD Ryzen 5	Intel Core i7 or AMD Ryzen 7
RAM	8GB	16GB
Storage	256GB	512GB or as you need
Display	14-inch Full HD	15.6-inch Full HD
Battery	Up to 5 hours	Up to 10 hours
Connectivity	Wi-Fi 5 and USB-A ports	Wi-Fi 6/6E, 2 x USB-A, 1 x USB-C, and 1 x HDMI

1. Best Overall: HP Spectre X360

When it comes to note-taking, touchscreen and/or 2-in-1 convertibles seem the best choice, and if you have the facilities to spend big, go for Spectre X360.

It’s a premium offering from HP that has all the ingredients and more you need, whether you’re a college student, finance major, realtor, or writer. As a bonus, it includes a tilt pen for more nuanced input in note-taking and digital drawing.

Performance & Experience

If your laptop will not just be for taking notes but also for designing in Fusion 360, a vibrant and colorful display is a must. And HP brings a 16-inch 3K panel that’s best in this range. The blacks are close to life, and the colors are vibrant.

The display is also bright, so you can use it outside without any issues. When it comes to note-taking, its highly responsive touch-enabled screen with a tilt pen is handy, but if you use the keyboard & touchpad, they’re great as well.

The keyboard is accurate and comfortable, resulting in a two-fold increase in writing speed. Besides, the touchpad is nice and big, taking up most of the available real estate.

The Spectre X360 that I tested comes with 12th Generation Intel i7-12700H and 16GB RAM, the configuration I suggest the most. In my test, I could multi-task with online sessions while taking notes on the other and 13 Chrome tabs open in the background for reference purposes. There wasn’t a single jitter, lag, or bottleneck.

Although it lacks a dedicated graphics card, that’s only reserved for gamers or heavy users. You can, however, play a few light games if and when you’re bored. That’s not it. Video and photo editing applications ran great. The integrated Iris Xe graphics did a decent job.

Besides, storage also matters when storing notes. And the 512GB SSD is not only adequate for that but also makes your laptop much faster.

Battery Life

The battery is a big win for this HP Spectre laptop. I tested its practical backup by playing a pre-saved 1080p video at 100% audio volume and 60% brightness. Lasting around 14 hours and 26 minutes, it lets you work the entire day by charging once. That’s even on par with Apple MacBooks.

Ports & Connectivity

HP managed to include a lot of ports, which is surprising for these ultraslim laptops. There are two Thunderbolt 4 and one superspeed USB-A port for fast data transfer.

Besides, there’s an HDMI 2.1 for media output and a MicroSD card slot. So you don’t need an adapter to transfer the photos clicked on your camera or project a video onto a bigger display.

Conclusion

Overall, the HP Spectre X360 is the best available laptop to take notes on, as it almost scores a ten-pointer in key departments: display, keyboard, and hardware. Trust me on this, your editing or other high-end tasks should seam through despite lacking a dedicated graphics card.

2. Best Runner-Up: Asus Zenbook 14X OLED

If you don’t need a convertible laptop yet want a similar-performing machine with a high-quality display, take a look at the Asus Zenbook 14X OLED. Just like Spectre X360, it’s a touch-enabled laptop with the latest Intel processor with more cores & added storage for an overall improved performance.

Performance & Experience

I’ve used various ZenBook variants over the years and come to expect a pleasant and trim design. This model is no different: a compact system with a 14.5-inch screen, which pairs an OLED panel with near-3K resolution and a 120Hz refresh rate. That’s pretty much everything needed for an excellent display.

And as you’d hope, it looks brilliant in person: glossy, bright, and incredibly vibrant. When it comes to note-taking, texts are clear and sharper for easier readability, and colors are accurate, important for those who rely on color-coded notes or need an accurate representation of visual content.

And despite its slim build, the keyboard is comfortable. The keys certainly have more bounce, and the keycaps aren’t small, either.

Likewise, the touchpad is roomy and sticky, with an additional feature, where the touch icon on the top right corner activates an LED number pad across the surface. It’s handy when you input data or pull a calculator.  That’s unique & handy.

When it comes to performance, I expected big things from a combination of 13th Gen Core i7 processor, 16 GB RAM, and Intel Iris GPU. It superseded my expectations, as multitasking with 14-15 Chrome tabs open, handling creative workloads like editing photos/videos, and downloading a file in the background wasn’t an issue.

Besides, its 2 TB SSD makes for superfast switches between tasks and space to save your year’s worth of notes at a time. That’s an improvement over my top recommendation. 

Battery Life

I put the laptop through my usual battery test, where I played a pre-saved 1080p video at 100% audio and 60% display output.

The number isn’t as great as my top pick, but an 11-hour and 29-minute playback time is decent for most professionals or students. Please note: the number might fall if you plug into high-demanding tasks or gaming.

Ports & Connectivity

Asus does a decent job in this respect as well, as the device’s right flank houses two Thunderbolt 4 ports, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and an HDMI port.

So, it covers most of your connections that need fast data transfer or media output. Another USB Type-A port on its left plank is handy to plug in your mouse/keyboard or other devices, if necessary.

Conclusion

A popular saying comes true with this laptop: you gain some, you lose some. By losing its convertibility aspect, you get more storage, a fast processor, and an improved overall performance. This unit appeals to those involved mostly in remote work and looking chiefly at the display, processor, and mobility.

3. Best Battery Life: Apple MacBook Air M3

If you are more into Apple for its brilliant display, powerful processor, and portability, you’d love their newest MacBook Air M3. Compared to its previous generation, it houses a more powerful M3 chip to mow through most graphics-intensive tasks without ruffling feathers.

Performance & Experience

MacBook Air, with its ultraslim build, can easily be mistaken for an iPad when closed. It’s 20% smaller in volume than its previous generation, and you get a bigger 13.6-inch display.

Keeping up with its reputation, it delivers a colorful and bright display for editing photos, taking detailed notes, watching videos, and everything else without any trade-offs.

Paired with stunning visuals, the magic keyboard proved responsive and swift in my testing. The keys are spacious with snappy mechanisms, and travel suffices well, as I didn’t have any issues typing or editing documents.

However, it lacks a dedicated numpad, which is commonly found on laptops used for Excel and other financial applications. Nevertheless, I could speed up my writing as I recorded 62 words per minute on a typing test with 96% accuracy.

Besides, its touchpad is large, smooth, and accurate, as I can swiftly perform multiple gestures like pinching, swiping, or others. This makes it a holy grail for college students, professionals, or others who need to take notes.

What’s amazing about the device is that one can’t comprehend that it houses an 8GB unified memory unless it checks its spec sheet. Such powerful is its M3 chip.

I was juggling through numerous tabs on Google Chrome, typing through my tasks, jumping through Slack messages, and editing images, all at the same time. And the laptop seems through all.

The MacBook further houses a 512GB SSD, so you probably have enough space left for your movies and videos after saving all your notes.

Battery Life

Apple hits a home run in this aspect as well by integrating a powerful battery to complement its M3 chip. Despite working on assignments and 1080p videos playing on the default player at 60% brightness and 100% audio output, the battery lasts up to 16 hours and 21 minutes. That’s the best I got from any laptops I’ve tested so far.

Ports & Connectivity

Apple attempts to keep things a bit minimal. On the left block, there are two USB-C Thunderbolt USB 4 ports for fast data transfer alongside a MagSafe power adapter. Moving to the right, you’ll see an audio jack for those still using wired headphones. It, however, lacks any HDMI or an SD card slot.

Conclusion

Overall, the MacBook Air M3 is a simply outstanding option for those who need an all-around note-taking laptop at their disposal.

The vibrant display, stellar performance, swift keyboard, and excellent battery life are a holy grail for those who need to take notes on the go. Although it lacks a touchscreen, its portability and ease of use make up for it.

4. Best 2-in-1 Detachable: Microsoft Surface Pro 9

If you’re looking for a tablet-like laptop to take notes on the go, Microsoft Surface Pro 9 is a great choice. It might not be as feature-laid, but a multi-core processor paired with a long battery life and stunning display makes it a perfect companion for students, business people, and working professionals.

Performance & Experience

A convertible laptop and an enthralling display is a match made in heaven, which is what Microsoft Surface Pro 9 has got.

Its 13-inch touch screen is bright and colorful enough to lend excitement even to mundane office work. The details are excellent, and its wide viewing angles ensure the content is visible and readable from various positions.

The only real drawback is its highly reflective glass surface, which can become smudge-fest. It also can be blinding outdoors, so carefully position the laptop according to the sun’s angle.

Further, it comes with a kickstand that opens up to 170 degrees, so you can adapt to nearly any drawing and drafting style. The hinge is stiff enough to let you write your notes with peace of mind.

But what’s disappointing is that the Surface Slim Pen 2 and Surface Pro Signature Keyboard are sold separately. The keyboard, although it looks nice, you might have a hollow typing experience as it doesn’t have a solid base. It’s, however, responsive and feels stable despite its thinness.

The Pro 9 has a 12th-generation Intel Core i5 processor with enough cores to let you engage in seamless multitasking. Toggling through multiple Chrome tabs was smooth, and I could watch a pre-saved video without any lags. But with 8GB RAM, editing photos/videos alongside won’t be a viable option.

Battery Life

Judging by the spec sheet and a battery life of 15.5 hours, Pro 9 is a winner. In my usual set of tests, where I played a pre-saved 1080p video and kept 12 Chrome tabs open in the background, it lasted up to 12 hours, which is great. It could take me through the entire work shift without requiring me to plug into a charger.

Ports & Connectivity

Despite the slim body, Microsoft manages to add a decent set of ports. To start with, it instills two USB 4/Thunderbolt 4 that support transfer speeds of up to 40 Gbps, so I could transfer hundreds of word files from my friend within minutes.

There’s a surface connect port exclusive to Microsoft laptops that serves versatile and multifunctional port that provides both power and data connectivity.

Similar to MagSafe connectors in MacBook, it features a magnetic attachment mechanism, which allows a charging cable to attach magnetically and makes for easy connection and disconnection.

Conclusion

Overall, Microsoft might not seem top-tier when you compare it with full-fledged laptops, but it has a host of features to deliver a seamless experience. Whether it’s a vibrant display, powerful processor, thunderbolt ports, or a powerful battery, it’s a perfect companion for those who need to take notes at any time.

5. Best Value for Money: Lenovo Yoga 7i

Next on my list is yet another 2-in-1 convertible laptop, Yoga 7i by Lenovo, which surprisingly boasts a few upgrades over my previous recommendation.

It delivers a pretty strong performance, which combines with a vibrant and spacious display to emerge as a perfect fit for students or professionals. It also checks out multiple boxes as far as features go; let’s find out.

Performance & Experience

The Yoga 7i is all about the screen, which doubles up its task as a tablet touchscreen and laptop display. Its 14-inch IPS display isn’t as bright as my top picks, but a 2.2K resolution boasts impressive clarity and accurate colors.

Not only is the text crisp, but colors look especially vivid when streaming HDR videos on Netflix or other sources. Also, if you work hours on the laptop, it should be comfortable, thanks to its blue light filter that minimizes the part of the spectrum that causes strain on the eyes.

Now, coming to the note-taking experience that matters next. The glossy display provides a multi-point touch alongside stylus support, but I was disappointed that it doesn’t come inside the package.

If you wish to use it as a laptop, let me assure you, the keyboard is exceptional. The keys are large and offer a supremely comfortable typing feel, with a good depth of travel, and the snappiness of each key lets me type up to 75 words per minute, which is fast. Its touchpad also covers most real estate, seams through every gesture, and doesn’t feel wobbly at any time.

Looking at the spec sheet, I was quite impressed, as my tested model has the latest Intel Core i7-1355U processor coupled with 16 GB DDR5 RAM and a 512 MB SSD.

It’s quite an upgrade over my previous recommendation, and I could even execute a range of general and GPU-accelerated imaging tasks ranging from rotating, opening, or resizing photos without any issues.

So, working on project software and taking notes seems like a piece of cake. You can also play any audio in the background without any worries.

Battery Life

Despite the manufacturer not citing any details regarding the battery life, I was quite optimistic about it. To test it out, I played my usual 1080p video at 100% audio output and 60% brightness, and the battery could last up to 10 hours.

This should fare through most of your rundown in the office or classes without needing to move near a wall outlet.

Ports & Connectivity

Yoga 7i is no slouch in this department and has almost everything one might ask for. Starting with the left side, it houses two Thunderbolt 4 ports, an HDMI slot, and a 3.5mm audio jack for those still using wired headphones.

On the right panel, there’s a USB-A 3.2 port to plug in your external storage, mouse, or other peripherals, if needed.

Conclusion

With the right combination of ingredients, be it the latest processor, vibrant display, classy keyboard, or decent battery life, Lenovo Yoga 7i turns out a great laptop choice for note taking and documenting work. Besides, its two Thunderbolt 4 ports are quite uncommon in this range.

6. Best Budget Option: Dell Inspiron 14

Budget laptops turn out as a smart investment, provided you get the best, and if you want the same, take a look at Dell Inspiron 14.

Provided you aren’t into high-end video editing, PenTesting, or rendering, its powerful processor, storage, and integrated graphics card ensure you can multitask without issues. Its sleek design and convertibility make it easier to carry around.

Performance & Experience

The 14-inch display of this Dell Inspiron 14 is probably its weakest link. Rated at a Chromebook-class 250 nits of brightness, it’s rather dim and makes life a bit difficult outdoors.

The broader viewing angles, although provide more flexibility in how they position the device, but glass shows plenty of reflections.

You probably won’t have any issue jotting down your notes, considering the details are reasonably sharp, but you can’t expect accurate colors, so not great when it comes to editing photos or videos.

The keyboard, however, feels snappy and quite responsive, which is positive. The large, buttonless touchpad taps and glides smoothly, so I can seamlessly toggle through the tabs or type through pages of documents without any issues.

Besides, you can get a stylus and do the same while on the go. The touchscreen functionality was impressive, offering accurate interactions.

On paper, the Dell Inspiron 14 with AMD Ryzen 5 7530U, 8GB RAM, and 1 TB SSD seems a rather powerful device. To test it out, I kept 10 tabs open on Chrome while working on Google Sheets and playing a pre-saved 1080p video on a VLC player simultaneously. Things went smoothly, and there weren’t any lags or jitters.

But I won’t recommend gaming or running graphics-intensive tasks like rendering images, and videos, or playing games, as its 8 GB RAM might fail here. I tried on these, and it turned a bit slow.

Battery Life

Although the manufacturer didn’t share any details regarding the power its battery holds, I was quite optimistic, as I’ve heard some good things about it.

So I pitted it to my usual set of tests where I played a 1080p video at 60% brightness and 100% audio output. And lasting up to 15 hours and 38 minutes, it stays on levels even with the Macbook, which is great.

Ports & Connectivity

Despite a slim build, Inspiron 14 doesn’t lag in this department with one USB-A and two USB-B ports for data transfer. There’s also an HDMI port for media output, a Micro SD card reader, and a microphone/headphone jack.

Although there aren’t any Thunderbolt ports, as in most of my recommendations, its USB-C ports are pretty fast as well.

Conclusion

Overall, if you don’t want to spend more than $600 yet need a convertible that packs decent power, not many are better than the Dell Inspiron 14.

Its processor might not handle intensive gaming or editing sessions, but you can do much more than just note-taking. Its only major limitation is its dim display, making it difficult to read in white light conditions.

7. Cheapest Option: Acer Aspire 3

Next on my list is Acer Aspire 3 which delivers almost a similar performance level as Dell Inspiron 14 but costs around $140 less.

It just compromises a convertible functionality, but the display is still a touchscreen, so you can seamlessly toggle through the tabs and apps. Also, it’s one of the best-built laptops with a sturdy construction, alongside a spacious keyboard and trackpad.

Performance & Experience

Acer’s budget laptops, as with most in this category, stick with their 1080p displays, which is a bare minimum, considering the advancements in the market. Overall, I liked the look of its display for video and movies.

The color quality was decent, though unremarkable, and bright enough to use outdoors. Seeing through the details, even in the sun, wasn’t an issue.

The laptop isn’t particularly lightweight, as it has a 15.8-inch space for a full-width keyboard. As someone who put in hours on the spreadsheet, I’m a sucker for the number pad on keyboards, so getting one in an affordable offering is sweet. The keys feel fairly solid and don’t flex or bounce on heavy typing.

Often, to cut costs, chassis structures are sacrificial lamb in budget laptops, resulting in flimsy keys and even a wobbly or bouncy trackpad. That’s not a worry with Aspire 3 and hence is a pleasure to type on.

With AMD Ryzen 5 7520U, Radeon graphics, 8GB RAM, and 1TB of massive SSD-based storage, Aspire 3 is no exception that fares well with basic business and note-taking tasks, but notably is sub-par when it comes to gaming and graphics.

In my benchmark tests, it certainly comes on top of most budget models out there but is nowhere near the best. So if you’re out for an affordable laptop to replace your aging work machine or for back-to-school in the fall, this performance indicates a decent investment.

Battery Life

When you count the positives in Aspire 3, its battery certainly comes high on the list. In my test, I played a pre-saved 1080p video until the battery died, it averaged ten hours of life consistently.

So, if you aren’t playing videos continuously and maybe take a lunch in between, the laptop surely can get you through the day without charging.

But if you do some overtime, Acer’s charging brick is the most compact around, slipping in at one part of your bag without taking much of the space.

Ports & Connectivity

Acer Aspire 3 includes a healthy arrangement of ports, where you get both USB-C and an HDMI port. That’s not bad for a budget laptop.

That said, there’s further a microphone/headphone jack, a common sight in these devices. There isn’t any SD card reader, but you can always plug in an adapter in a USB port for that.

Conclusion

In a market where being on a budget forces compromises, Acer Aspire 3 represents smart trade-offs. It easily is one of the best options to consider at around $500.

It offers an excellent keyboard & trackpad, decent performance, and display. While editors or gamers won’t get what’s needed, it’s a competent work machine that does great with taking notes.

Frequently Asked Questions

Wrap Up!

I’ve examined as many laptops as possible based on each requirement you must focus on when investing in one. I hope you have made a smart choice by now. If not, the curated list of the best in each category will help you do so. Here it goes:

• If you need your laptop for more than just note-taking, like editing videos/photos or playing games, the HP Spectra X360 is the best you can get. And if the convertible isn’t your forte, opt for Apple MacBook Air M2.
• If you don’t have a very high budget but need a reliable laptop, treat yourself to a Lenovo Yoga 7i.
• And finally, if you need the cheapest yet reliable workhorse, opt for Acer Aspire 3.

With that, comes an end to my guide. I’ll see you in another such guide. Till then, goodbye and take care!