Best Overall Value
Start with the chip, because it decides this machine. The Intel Core i5-13420H is an H-series part with 8 cores and 12 threads, and that matters against everything else on this page: no Chromebook here comes near it for sustained compute, and the Ryzen 5 7520U in the IdeaPad 1 below sits on older Zen 2 cores. Our review notes the H-series delivers genuine performance headroom for the price bracket. Pair that with 16GB of DDR4 3200MHz RAM out of the box and a 512GB PCIe NVMe SSD, and you've got a Windows laptop that won't choke on a stack of browser tabs and an Office session running together.
The port layout is the other reason it wins. You get an RJ45 ethernet jack and full-size HDMI 1.4b, plus three USB-A ports and one USB-C 3.2 Gen 1, which means walking into a meeting room or plugging into a wired office network without a bag of dongles. The full-size keyboard carries a numeric keypad too, so if you're doing accounts or heavy data entry, this is the only Windows pick here built for it.
Now the honest part. Our review lists battery that realistically covers about half a working day under mixed use, off a modest 38Wh cell, so you're carrying the charger. And that charger is a proprietary barrel plug: there's no USB-C power delivery, unlike most of the Chromebooks further down. The webcam is 720p, below the 1080p that video calls increasingly expect, there's no keyboard backlight, and the anti-glare panel sits around 250 to 300 nits, which our review notes is short near a bright window. The chassis is plastic with some lid flex.
One practical detail from the listing: the M.2 SSD slot is user-accessible, so you can swap or upgrade the drive without specialist tools. Owners rate it 4.3 stars across 194 ratings. For office and study work under a grand, nothing else here matches its blend of real CPU, memory and wired connectivity. See our full Lenovo V15 Gen 4 review for the deeper breakdown.
Pros
- 8-core, 12-thread H-series chip, the only one on this page
- User-accessible M.2 slot for a later SSD upgrade
- RJ45 ethernet built in, rare at this price
- Ships with Windows 11 Pro, not Home
Cons
- Proprietary barrel charger, no USB-C charging
- 38Wh battery is small for a 15.6-inch H-series machine
- No keyboard backlight for low-light work
- No keyboard backlight and a small battery, so it lives on the desk
Buy on Amazon£679.00Read full review
Best Windows on a Budget
Here's the case for the IdeaPad 1 over the V15 above: it gives you the same 16GB RAM and 512GB NVMe SSD, in a slimmer 17.9mm body at 1.58kg, for noticeably less money. If your work is browsing, email, documents and streaming rather than sustained CPU grunt, that saving is real and the spec still holds up. It adds a camera privacy shutter and a microSD slot.
The compromise is where the money went. The display is a TN panel, and our review notes washed-out colours and poor viewing angles against IPS, at around 250 nits. The Ryzen 5 7520U wears 7000-series branding but uses older Zen 2 architecture, so our review notes performance lags similarly named chips, and it's not for gaming or video editing. It also ships in Windows 11 Home in S mode, which our review flags means switching S mode off before you can install most everyday software.
Choose this over the V15 Gen 4 if you want the lighter chassis and a lower price, and you can live without the H-series chip, ethernet port and numeric keypad. Owners give it 4.4 stars across 260 ratings, the strongest count among the Windows machines here. More detail in our Lenovo IdeaPad 1 review.
Pros
- Ryzen 5 7520U with 16GB of memory at this price
- Camera privacy shutter fitted as standard
- Slim 17.9mm chassis at 1.58kg
- microSD slot for cheap storage expansion
Cons
- TN panel, weaker colour and angles than IPS rivals
- Ships in S mode, needs switching off before installing apps
- Zen 2-based chip trails newer parts
Buy on Amazon£629.99Read full review
Best for Productivity Power
This one runs the same Intel Core i5-13420H as our top pick, paired with 16GB of RAM and a 512GB M.2 PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD, and it steps up to DDR5-5200 memory. On paper it's a strong productivity machine with modern connectivity, Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.1, and our review rates the keyboard feel above average for the tier.
Two things hold it below the V15 Gen 4. First, the display is listed as a 14-inch TN panel at 1920x1080, and our review notes brightness and colour that are functional rather than impressive. (Note the seller's own listing text describes a 16-inch IPS screen and 8GB RAM, which contradicts the recorded specs, so treat the marketing copy with caution and buy on the confirmed figures.) Second, there's no discrete GPU, so gaming and video rendering are off the table, and the battery is modest for an H-series machine.
The bigger caution is data: owners rate it 5 stars, but from only 7 ratings, too few to read anything into long-term reliability. Buy the V15 Gen 4 for the proven track record and the numeric keypad; consider this if you specifically want DDR5 memory and the smaller footprint. Our Lenovo i5-13420H review covers the listing discrepancies in full.
Pros
- DDR5-5200 RAM and PCIe 4.0 SSD
- Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.1
- Windows 11 Pro included
Cons
- Only 7 owner ratings, too few to trust for reliability
- Listing text disagrees with recorded specs on screen and RAM
- TN panel and no discrete graphics
Check availabilityRead full review
Best Chromebook for Battery
The draw here is the bundle. At 1.1kg with keyboard attached, this Duet ships with the folio keyboard, folio stand and USI Pen 2 in the box, which most rivals make you buy separately. The 10.95-inch IPS panel runs 1920x1200, a 16:10 ratio that gives more vertical room for documents than the 16:9 clamshells, and it's fanless, so silent. Our review notes 8 to 10 hours of real-world battery and Wi-Fi 6.
The catch is the 4GB of RAM. Our review notes it feels tight with heavy multitasking, which is exactly what the 8GB version below fixes. Storage is a generous 128GB eMMC, but ports are just two USB-C and no headphone jack.
Buy the 4GB Duet over the 8GB one only if you're a genuinely light user and want to save the difference; if you keep more than a few tabs open, spend up. Owners rate it 4.4 stars across 60 ratings. See our IdeaPad Chromebook Duet review.
Pros
- Keyboard, stand and USI Pen 2 included
- 128GB eMMC, roomy for a budget 2-in-1
- Fanless and silent
Cons
- 4GB RAM limits multitasking
- No headphone jack
- Both USB-C ports, nothing else
Buy on Amazon£290.00Read full review
Best 2-in-1
At around 946g with the keyboard, this is the featherweight of the group. The Snapdragon 7c Gen 2 runs it fanless and silent, and the 10.95-inch IPS panel at 2000x1200 is sharp, with a 5MP front camera our review rates good for a budget machine. Owners give it 4.2 stars across 274 ratings. But 4GB RAM and 64GB eMMC are the bare minimum, so if the 8GB Duet above is in budget, that's the smarter buy. Full notes in our IdeaPad Duet 3 review.
Pros
- Around 946g, the lightest option here
- Sharp IPS panel, good front camera
- USB-C charging
Cons
- 4GB RAM and 64GB eMMC
- Fixed-angle stand, no headphone jack
Buy on Amazon£383.88Read full review
Best for Ports
The standout here is connectivity: two USB-C and two USB-A ports, both USB-C able to charge, plus a 180-degree flat-lay hinge, all at 1.48kg. That beats the single-USB-A Slim 3 for plugging things in. The limits are age and storage: the AMD A4-9120C is an ageing dual-core chip, and 32GB eMMC leaves only around 20 to 25GB usable after ChromeOS. Owners give it 4.4 stars across 355 ratings, the largest count on this page. Our Chromebook S345 review has more.
Pros
- Two USB-C and two USB-A ports
- 180-degree flat-lay hinge
- Both USB-C ports charge
Cons
- Ageing dual-core A4 chip
- 32GB storage fills quickly
Buy on Amazon£239.00Read full review
