Portable laptops are essential for anybody who likes to work while on the go, making them the ideal companion for digital nomads.
Seriously.
Regular tourists do not need to bring a laptop, though digital nomads cannot do without one. It is known as the “laptop lifestyle” for a justification.
You need not only a laptop, but the correct type of laptop.
Laptops equipped for digital nomads have particular features which will be outlined shortly, and a cheap laptop bought for working from at home may not meet the necessary requirements.
If you purchase a low-quality, non-mobile laptop, leading a digital nomad lifestyle will not be enjoyable.
It’s important to view it as an investment since you will be relying on it for an income source when travelling frequently.
It’s extremely unpleasant to have your laptop unexpectedly stop working when you’re far away in an unfamiliar place, necessitating you to need to spend a lot of money to get some type of stand-in (To make a long anecdote short, Day now utilizes a Thai keyboard…).
A quality laptop is a must.
Every digital nomad has their own individual preferences, so the optimal laptop for one person may not necessarily be the ideal choice for somebody else.
No matter what your needs may be, we have the perfect laptop for you. We offer the most affordable choices, the lightest and most portable technology, and the highest-end, most powerful computers.
What To Look For In A Laptop For Digital Nomads?
We must examine the proper characteristics before we examine the top laptops for digital nomads.
Here are some questions to ask yourself before purchasing a laptop for remote work:
- “Does my line of work need certain features? If so, what are they?”
- “How fast will I be traveling as a digital nomad?”
- “What’s my maximum budget to spend on a laptop?”
- “Ideally, how long do I want this laptop to last me?”
Once you have responded to all of them, do you have a better notion of what features to seek in a laptop? These are some features you definitely want to consider too:
Lightweight
The majority of digital nomads favor a portable laptop because they don’t want to lug an especially heavy laptop through the air terminal, to a shared workspace and anywhere else they may go. The preference is for laptops that are not too heavy, so that they can be easily packed in the bags of digital nomads and not be a burden.
Screen Size
People commonly overlook the display size when trying to identify the laptop that would be most suitable for digital nomads. In our opinion, the 13″ screen size is absolutely perfect due to its convenient size and still being substantial enough to get work done (or stream a movie on Netflix, to be fair).
If it is necessary, you could go bigger than what was previously discussed. The size of the display determines what you can have on your laptop; if it’s 16 inches, not much will fit! Matt used to possess a 16″ and when we went shopping for knapsacks, it posed a challenge as any of the bags we looked at did not accommodate the size. It’s also just chunkier and inconvenient to carry around!
Fast/Reliable
Laptops that are quick and dependable are ideal for digital nomads. I’m not saying you depend wholly on this device for your livelihood…Hold on, maybe you do?
How to tell if a laptop is fast/performs well? It must be equipped with either an Intel Core i7 processor, an M1 chip, or a better one. It is worth spending a little extra to get a stronger core and/or more MHz or GHz, even if it is a financial burden.
Long-Lasting
Do you ever find yourself in a strange place abroad and needing to purchase a brand new laptop? Yeah, it’s not fun. You should not repeat this activity every few months or years.
You should invest in a laptop that will remain functioning for a prolonged period of time (at minimum two years). Otherwise, it’s just a bad investment. Matthew and I have had what we have for almost 3 years and it’s still doing well.
Ports
It’s not feasible to get every port you desire, that is the hard truth. Matthew and I gave in to this and purchased an adaptor stick from Amazon that provides compatibility for all the ports we need, and it has been working well for us.
It appears that USB-C ports are becoming the standard for laptops and that’s what our laptops are now equipped with.
Battery Life
The longer the hours of battery life, the better.
We adore spending our work day in coffee houses, so having an extended battery life is paramount. Our laptops can go up to 4-5 hours without needing to be connected to a power source, which is quite impressive. Matthew used to own an inexpensive laptop that wouldn’t stay powered for more than an hour and it was horrible! If you purchase one of the laptops available at the moment, they typically have an extended battery life ranging from 15 to 21 hours!
Memory/RAM
This is the temporary memory in your laptop that enables it to operate and retrieve data more quickly. Who does this matter to exactly? If you’re a designer who needs to run multiple applications concurrently or if you’re an editor working with 4k video footage, you should upgrade your RAM to at least 16GB.
8GB of RAM is usually sufficient for digital nomads. It is possible to upgrade certain laptop models, although not all of them, at a later point in time.
Laptop vs Tablet
Should you go for a laptop or a tablet? It has often been observed that digital nomads have gone for tablets to make their lives neater and convenient, however, this has only compounded the difficulty of their situation.
One of our pals had an iPad Pro plus a separate keyboard, a pointing device, and an internal storage hub. In conclusion, there is an abundance of items compared to just a laptop! It could be the most suitable for you and your way of life. Visualizing yourself in the context of different devices and deciding which is the most suitable for you is encouraged; laptop or tablet?
Best Laptops For Digital Nomads in 2022
As a digital nomad, your laptop is your life.
Here is a selection of the top laptops for digital nomads to make your decision easier.
1. ASUS ZenBook 14 Ultra-Slim – Compact & Lightweight
- Weight:6 lbs
- Screen Size: 14″
- Battery Life: up to 14 hours
- Starting Price: $1,190 USD
Want a thin, lightweight laptop that’s still pretty powerful?
Introducing…the ASUS Zenbook 14 Ultra-Slim.
The ASUS Zenbook 14 Ultra-Slim is the most lightweight choice, weighing in at only 2.6 lbs! This is an excellent choice if you are looking for a highly portable laptop. The screen size is a bit larger than usual at 14 inches, yet it is remarkable that it remains so lightweight.
This slim, lightweight laptop has a great screen-to-body ratio, taking up minimal space on your tabletop while still providing a powerful computing experience. If the ports concern you, no need to fret! The designers made sure that you wouldn’t need any additional adaptors. You possess all kinds of connections you could possibly require, like an audio jack, HDMI, 2 USB ports, USB-C, and a MicroSD card reader.
This laptop is an ideal choice for digital nomads who require a powerful and portable device.
2. Macbook Air with M2 Chip – Powerful & Lightweight
- Weight:7 lbs
- Screen Size: 14″
- Battery Life: up to 18 hours
- Starting Price: $1,499 USD
Apple has just put out their latest Macbook Air and it is highly alluring!
The M2 chip makes this laptop incredibly powerful while keeping its weight on par with that of the Macbook Pro. This provides a great solution for digital nomads and creates a balance between strong and portable features!
If you don’t require an unbelievably powerful laptop, the Macbook Air is the ideal choice for those who work remotely. This laptop is remarkable for its lightweight design, weighing just 2.4 lbs, making it similar to the ASUS Zenbook Ultra-Slim.
3. Macbook Pro (Best Laptop for Photographers and Youtubers)
When considering the most recent Macbook Pro, one has to make a decision between the Apple M1 processor and the Intel processor. The M1 chip is a more cost-efficient option, and in addition, it also offers almost double the time span of battery life, making it the ideal alternative for digital nomads; for this reason, we will be concentrating our attention on this chip.
Though the Intel chip has the potential to be enhanced to much higher levels than the M1 chip can reach (including up to 4TB SSD storage and 32GB RAM), this is an enormous amount of power for most nomads that would be seen as excessive.
The Macbook Pro is nearly identical in size to the Air, however, it is slightly heavier at 3.0 pounds. It can be expressed as, Even taking into consideration the size, the amount of power that this product has is not at all insignificant.
An evident disadvantage of choosing a Macbook Pro as your laptop for travelling is its costly price tag. You will always have to consider the possibility of it being ruined or taken away while you are travelling.
If you use this computer professionally and put in a lot of time, you will be glad you opted for a good one.
It is comforting to understand that these items have been constructed to endure (and maintain their worth).
The Macbook Pro is essentially a beefed up version of the Macbook Air. It has enhanced capabilities, a larger touchpad, more powerful speakers, more connection ports (except the bottom model), a superior display and extra configuration options. To complete the package, the battery can last for up to TWENTY hours. That is unheard of!
4. Dell XPS 13 (Best Apple Alternative Laptop for Digital Nomads)
The Dell XPS 13 is ideal for those who travel and don’t prefer to use Apple laptops.
It is often asserted that the device surpasses the Macbook with respect to certain features.
One clear advantage of this laptop compared to the Macbook Air is that it is much lighter and smaller, making it the perfect machine for travelling.
There are three varieties of laptop available: the standard clamshell design, a touch-sensitive laptop, or a combination laptop.
The XPS 13 can last for an impressive 14 or more hours on a single charge, with some tests demonstrating up to 15 hours. Macbooks with Intel chips are longer lasting than Apple M1 chips, but cannot match the battery life of the M1 chip. Do you ever require more than 15 hours of usage on a single charge?
You have the opportunity to select either a Full HD (1920 x 1200) or 4K Ultra HD (3840 x 2400) outlook for your laptop, yet a 13″ size device requires merely Full HD (which will enable a longer battery life).
You can customize the technical specifications to meet your exact requirements. Pick an 11th era i3, i5, or i7 processor, upgrade the RAM to a maximum of 32GB, or increase the hard drive volume up to 2TB—there’s a personalization choice for each demand.
Macbooks have just two USB-C ports as well as a microSD slot. The expenditure is minimal in comparison to the benefits associated with owning a laptop that is both lightweight and easy to take along on trips. In addition, unlike Apple, they are compassionate enough to give you a USB-C to USB-A adapter when you buy it.
5. Acer Spin 3 – (Best Value Travel Laptop)
If paying more than a thousand dollars for a computer for digital nomads is out of the question, then the Acer Spin 3 may be a good choice for you.
And as you’ll observe, at a less costly price, it includes some fantastic characteristics absent from the costlier models we’ve gone over so far.
This laptop is a 2-in-1 device. That means you can:
- Use it as a regular “clamshell” laptop
- Fold the screen backward into a screen stand (perfect for movie-watching in tight spaces)
- Fold it completely backwards to use as a tablet
That said, the 2-in-1 option does come with a downside:
The size.
The Acer Spin 3 is not as slender as other selections in this list and weighs slightly more than one pound. Will you even notice a one pound variation in the weight of your baggage if you aren’t only taking carry-on luggage and are not weighing each item?
That’s for you (and your budget) to decide.
It is beneficial that the heaviness is utilized properly, with even the most basic laptop model having a better performance than computers that cost significantly more. Additionally, a larger laptop provides extra ports, which is great, though for some odd reason it does not include a USB-C port, which is a bummer.
A rechargeable pen is provided with the Spin 3, which is great for anyone who likes to sketch or write digitally (without having to pay hundreds of dollars for an iPad and Apple Pencil).
In summary, this is among the best laptops you can get when working remotely and staying on a budget.
Final Thoughts
Investing in the highest quality equipment you can afford as a digital nomad will not be a mistake. Using this machine for a long time to come will help you financially and having a high quality machine will make the process more pleasant and enjoyable.
Leave a Reply