Lapbook S15 N2 Budget Laptop Review UK (2026). Tested & Rated

You know what the spec sheet won’t reveal? Whether this laptop gets uncomfortably warm during a video call, if the fans whir loudly enough to annoy your flatmates, or whether that ‘all-day battery’ claim holds up when you’re actually working. That’s the stuff that matters when you’re spending real money.

I’ve spent several weeks with the Lapbook S15 N2, and here’s the thing: budget laptops have gotten surprisingly decent. But there’s always a catch, isn’t there? The question is whether those compromises are ones you can actually live with.

Cheap laptops usually make you pick your poison. Terrible screen. Abysmal battery life. A trackpad that feels like dragging your finger through treacle. Or build quality so flimsy you’re scared to put it in your bag. The Lapbook S15 N2 sits in that tricky under-£300 territory where expectations need to be realistic, but you still deserve something functional.

But here’s where it gets interesting. You’re getting 8GB of DDR5 RAM. Not DDR4, but the newer, faster DDR5. And a 512GB M.2 SSD. At this price point, that’s genuinely impressive. Most budget laptops try to palm you off with 128GB or 256GB of storage, which fills up faster than you can say “Windows Update”.

Colours look decent. Viewing angles are proper IPS quality, so you’re not stuck in one position. Text is sharp enough for long document work. Is it going to wow you like an OLED? Course not. But for web browsing, Netflix, and spreadsheets, it’s more than adequate.

The bezels are chunky, mind you. This isn’t some sleek modern design. But I’d rather have a decent panel with thick bezels than a dim, washed-out screen with slim borders. Function over form.

Web browsing with multiple tabs open works fine. I had 15 tabs in Chrome (including a couple of YouTube videos), and it handled it without major complaints. There’s the occasional stutter when loading heavy websites, but nothing that made me want to scream.

Microsoft Office runs smoothly. Word, Excel, PowerPoint… all fine. Even large spreadsheets with hundreds of rows didn’t cause issues. Google Docs and online productivity tools are perfectly usable.

Where it struggles: multitasking between heavy applications. Try running Photoshop while having 20 Chrome tabs open and a video call going, and you’ll feel the limitations. But honestly, if you need that kind of power, you shouldn’t be looking at budget laptops anyway.

Lapbook doesn’t shout about battery capacity in their marketing, which usually means it’s nothing to write home about. My testing suggests it’s around 38Wh, which is pretty small for a 15.6-inch laptop.

For home use where you’re near a plug socket, it’s not an issue. But if you’re a student planning to use this in lectures all day, or you work in coffee shops regularly, the battery life might frustrate you. This is definitely a “keep the charger in your bag” laptop.

The lid flexes if you press it. The keyboard deck has a bit of give when you type firmly. The whole thing creaks slightly if you pick it up with one hand in the wrong place. But you know what? For the price, it’s acceptable.

The hinges are surprisingly solid. They hold the screen firmly at any angle, and there’s no wobble when you’re typing. You need two hands to open it, which some people hate, but at least it means the screen won’t flop open in your bag.

Weight is about 1.7kg, which is reasonable for a 15.6-inch laptop. It’s not featherlight, but it won’t break your back either. The matte silver finish looks… fine. Inoffensive. It’s not going to turn heads, but it doesn’t look embarrassingly cheap either.

It’s portable enough for daily commuting or moving between rooms at home. Not the lightest option out there, but manageable. The charger is compact at least, so it won’t take up much bag space.

Key travel feels like about 1.3mm, which is adequate for comfortable typing. The keys have a slightly mushy feel, but they’re not horrible. I wrote about 2,000 words on this keyboard without my fingers getting tired, which is a good sign.

No keyboard backlight, which is a shame but not surprising at this price. If you work in dim lighting, you’ll need to know where the keys are by feel.

The inclusion of an Ethernet port is brilliant for anyone who needs a reliable wired connection. Three USB ports means you won’t need a hub for basic peripherals. The USB-C port is data-only though, so no charging through it. WiFi 5 is getting a bit dated, but it’s fine for most home networks.

Having a proper Ethernet port is genuinely useful. Not many laptops include this anymore, and it’s a godsend if your WiFi is rubbish or you need a stable connection for video calls.

The low-power processor means this laptop rarely gets warm to the touch. Even during extended use, the keyboard and palm rest stay comfortable. The underside gets slightly warm under heavy load, but never uncomfortably hot. This is genuinely one of the coolest-running budget laptops I’ve tested.

This is a quiet laptop. During typical office work and web browsing, the fans barely spin up. Even under sustained load, the fan noise is a gentle whoosh rather than an annoying whine. Perfectly suitable for libraries, offices, and quiet environments.

Video quality is acceptable in good lighting. You’ll look washed out and grainy in dim rooms. There’s no privacy shutter, so you’ll need a sticker if you’re paranoid about webcam spying.

The microphones work fine for Teams or Zoom calls. People on the other end could hear me clearly, though they did mention some background noise pickup.

Speakers are the weakest link. They’re bottom-firing, which means they get muffled if you use this on your lap or on a soft surface. Sound is tinny with basically no bass. They’re loud enough for video calls or casual YouTube watching, but you’ll want headphones for anything else.