We are already halfway into the year, so many of the year’s best laptops have already been released. More will follow of course, but none of the three laptops that we are about to discuss are likely to lose longevity because of this. Whether you are a school student, an educator, or a businessperson, these are three of the best laptops available under CA$750 in 2022.
Lenovo IdeaPad 3 (15”)
The Lenovo IdeaPad 3 2-in1 from last year (2021) has been widely recognized for its excellent price-to-performance ratio and battery life. It still remains the best proposition under CA$750/US$500 in 2022.
The ThinkPad 3 is not only one of the best Lenovo laptops for schools, but the touchscreen + AMD CPU + Vega 5000 GPU combo makes it one of the best lightweight laptops within the budget in general. We have the main specs listed for your convenience below:
- AMD Ryzen 3 5300U (2.60 GHz – 3.80 GHz) quad core processor with 8 threads.
- AMD Radeon RX Vega 6-5000 GPU.
- Bright (300-nits) 15.6″ IPS touchscreen in 1080p resolution.
- 8GB DDR4 RAM at 3200MHz
- 512GB SSD
- Fingerprint reader
- Windows 11
Microsoft Surface Go 3 (2021)
This is as close as we can get to a Microsoft Surface Pro 8 without crossing the budget. At just 10.5”, the Surface Go 3 is more tablet than laptop but it can be easily fitted with a detachable Go 3 keyboard + trackpad, which is sold separately by Microsoft.
The recommendation is that you spend CA$650 on the best possible configuration you can find within the budget, and reserve about CA$50 – CA$60 for a third-party keyboard+ trackpad. The Microsoft Surface Go Signature Type Keyboard costs close to CA$170 – CA$180, which is overpriced to say the least. The recommended specs are as follows:
- Intel Core i3-10100Y CPU (1.3GHz – 3.9GHz)
- Intel UHD Graphics 615.
- 10.5” IPS touchscreen in 1080p resolution.
- 8GB RAM at 1,866 MHz.
- 128GB SSD.
- Windows 11.
ASUS VivoBook 15
At roughly CA$700, the ASUS VivoBook 15 offers decent specs but not a touchscreen unfortunately. Nevertheless, it is a good alternative for the budget, thanks to a powerful Intel Core i5-1035G1 CPU. Check the highlighted specs below:
- Intel Core i5-1035G1 CPU (1GHz – 3.6GHz)
- Intel UHD GPU.
- 15.6″ panel in 1080p resolution.
- 8GB DDR4 RAM
- 256GB SSD
- Fingerprint reader
- Windows 10 (Upgradeable to Windows 11)
In case you are wondering why the margin has been set at CA$750, that’s because going below that will depreciate your new laptop’s value-for money in the long run. Going slightly above that margin may theoretically allow you to bag better hardware that will last longer, but unless you are willing to spend at least CA$1,000, the minor increase in quality may not be able to justify the increased cost.
CA$700 – CA$800 is indeed the sweet spot, but if you can go up to CA$1,000, the Lenovo IdeaPad 5 AMD is one of the best options you have within that price bracket. The MacBook Air M1 2020 could have been a good option but it is still far too expensive at CA$1,200+ for a device that is 2-years old.
