Consumer Reports breaks down the best back-to-school laptop deals :: WRAL.com

SHOPPERS 5 ON YOUR SIDE’S KEELY. ARTHUR SHOWS US THE BEST LAPTOP DEALS OUT THERE. >> THE PANDEMIC CERTAINLY MADE STUDENTS MORE DEPENDENT ON TECHNOLOGY. BUT THE GOOD NEWS IS THE WEATHER. KIDDO IS K THROUGH 12 ARE HEADING OFF TO COLLEGE. YOU DON’T HAVE TO BREAK THE BANK TO GET YOUR HANDS ON A GREAT PIECE OF TECHNOLOGY >> ONE OF THE BEST OPTIONS FOR A TIGHT BUDGET. A CHROMEBOOK TO GENERALLY LESS THAT MAC AND PC LAPTOPS AND AT THE FASTEST COMPUTERS OUT THERE. BUT FOR A KIND OF EVERYDAY STUFF BROWSING THE WEB EDITING DOCUMENTS, THAT TYPE OF THING, YOU KNOW, SCHOOL WORK TYPE OF THAT TOTALLY FINE. TAKE THE SAMSUNG GALAXY CHROMEBOOK TO THIS CONVERTIBLE. LAPTOP CAN BE FOLDED BACK. >> AND ALSO USED AS A TABLET AND EVEN BETTER. THIS 14 INCH HP CHROMEBOOK CR SAYS IT’S A SOLID CHOICE FOR YOUR FAVORITE BLUE DEVILS TAR HEEL OR A MEMBER OF THE WOLF PACK BECAUSE IT’S LIGHTWEIGHT AND IT’S ANTI REFLECTIVE WHICH MAKES IT PERFECT FOR USING JUST ABOUT ANYWHERE. IF YOU NEED SOMETHING MORE POWERFUL FOR A LITTLE MORE CR SUGGESTS THE MICROSOFT SURFACE LAPTOP GO TO WITH A 12.4 INCH TOUCH SCREEN IS AMONG THE FASTEST IN OUR RATINGS FOR THINGS LIKE WEB BROWSING AND TEXT DOCUMENTS. THERE’S ALSO THE ACER SWIFT 3, THIS CR BEST BUYS SCORED EXCELLENT FOR PORTABILITY, PERFORMANCE AND DISPLAY. IT HAS INCREDIBLE BATTERY LIFE OF MORE THAN 23 HOURS. IF YOU’VE BEEN SAVING UP OR JUST WANT TO TREAT YOURSELF TO A SHINY NEW MAC CR RECOMMENDS APPLE’S 13 INCH MACBOOK AIR WITH THE M ONE THAT’S RIGHT. APPLE’S OLDER MODEL. >> BUT WHY NOT? THE BRAND NEW AND 2 ARE CURRENTLY TESTING THE M 2 MAC BOOK AIR. BUT OUR EARLY IMPRESSIONS ARE THAT IT’S NOT A LOT FASTER THAN THE M ONE. MATT BOOK AIR. >> SO MIGHT MAKE SENSE TO GET THE M ONE AIR SAVE A LITTLE BIT OF MONEY AND STILL GET A VERY