What Laptop Should I Get? 16 Laptop-Buying Mistakes You Can Easily Avoid

Laptop Buying Mistakes

Did you know that most people make at least one of these 16 laptop buying mistakes.

This ends up either costing them money upfront or it forces them to spend more money because they have to upgrade too soon.

I’ve definitely been guilty of some of these in the past, so I put together this article to help you avoid the most common laptop buying mistakes.

1. 2-IN-1 Is Not A Laptop:

Thinking of a two-in-one as a laptop. In some cases it’s actually true, like with the Samsung Book Pro 360, but in other cases, you’re essentially buying a tablet with a keyboard attachment. Now in my experience the two-in-one laptops that i’ve used haven’t been as good as laptops in that same price range and they haven’t been as good as the tablets that i already own.

So you really need to make sure that you want that hybrid touch screen functionality, because for the most part, if you’re looking at laptops at that same price point, you’re gonna be giving up on something. Maybe it’s processing power and maybe it’s the quality of the display, but something has to give because of the additional costs the manufacturer has to put into the two-in-one.

2.Overlooking Portability:

One that I’m guilty of and that’s overlooking portability when 17-inch laptops came out, I immediately got one after seeing it at the store.If you see my main workstation, you know  that I like a lot of desktop real estate and I couldn’t wait to use the 17-inch display. 

Well guess what? It was so heavy and cumbersome to bring with me that I never used it.It just stayed at home where, of course, I was going to use it when I have my main workstation available.So think about where you’ll be using your laptop and then consider whether small and light is or isn’t more important than a bigger machine.

3.Overlooking Ergonomics:

When people shop for laptops, the majority of the time, what they’re doing is simply comparing a list of specs, and this isn’t only true for online shoppers.

The next time you’re at a store and you see someone looking at a laptop, watch them, and you’ll see that they are basically going from one-to-one taking a look at the display and then just reading the specs sheets.

They don’t type on the keyboard, they don’t use the trackpad, they don’t play around with the brightness on a display and they don’t even pick it up to see how heavy it is.

They’re about to spend some serious cash on a device they plan on using for the next bunch of years and they don’t even try it before they buy it..

Now you know that not every person has access to every laptop  that they are considering, but i’d recommend that if you can, try a similar model, and maybe with the same keyboard and trackpad just to give yourself a sense of the ergonomics speaking of spending money.

4.Overpaying For A Laptop:

Overpaying for a laptop, look this happens with every product, If a laptop is more expensive because of a feature that you’re going to use and that’s going to provide you with value, then by all means invest in it, but if you’re just spending more money on a laptop that costs more because that laptop is  better, then that could be a waste of money.

5.Buying The Cheapest Laptop:

Now at the other end of the spectrum is buying the absolute cheapest laptop. if it’s a budget laptop and it serves your needs now and in the future, go for it, but if you’re saving 100 or 150  bucks now only to have to replace it in two years by spending 1200 bucks, you actually end up spending more money.

If you read any of my M1 Mac Book Air articles, you know that I do recommend that one even though it’s an entry-level model, but that’s because i think for the majority of users, the performance-to-price ratio is very high and most people don’t need more power than the M1 Mac Book Air offers.

6.Ports:

Not considering the port. You need to look at what type of ports a laptop offers, how many of them they are and where they’re located. Does the laptop charge via USB-C or do you need a dedicated power adapter that you have to remember to bring with you? Is there a Thunderbolt port for faster connectivity or does it have an SD card slots so you don’t need to remember to bring a dedicated card reader? 

Think about what you plan on doing with the laptop and then what types of adapters or hubs you’ll need to bring with you for your workflow. 

Accessories are great, but you do lose some of that portability and convenience of using a laptop.

7.Storage:

The next mistake that laptop buyers make has to do with storage. So first, I want you to think about how much internal storage you need and you can look at your current laptop to see how much you’re using. Then I want you to consider whether the laptop you’re buying is upgradable or not.

I think the M1 MacBooks are a great buy, especially now, but they’re not upgradable. So what you buy now is what you’ll have forever. Now some other laptops allow you to upgrade the SSD and RAM so you can make a smaller investment upfront, and then later on, when you have more money, you can upgrade.

You can always supplement internal storage with an external SSD but you want to make sure that you’ve had enough internal storage for all your apps, now and for as long as you plan on using that laptop. 

8. Obsessed With One Spec:

Becoming obsessed with one spec. Manufacturers have become absolute marketing ninjas and they do an excellent job at making the buyers think that they need the latest and greatest feature. 

They get it in your head you can’t live without this one thing and then get you to  spend more money than you actually need to. So since we just talked about port, a simple example would be a Thunderbolt/USB 4 port. 
Yes it offers higher maximum transfer speed. And yes, it will allow you to use more powerful accessories like absurdly fast external SSD’s, but you should only spend money on this feature if you actually plan on using it, otherwise you’re just wasting money.

9. Not Buying Enough Power:

We’re all on a budget. Well, at least most of us are, and we’re always looking for a good deal, but if the laptop you buy doesn’t serve your needs now or in the near future, then you are just throwing away money. I get this question a lot, like can i do XYZ, whatever it is, video editing, photo editing whatever it may be on whatever laptop. 

The issue is that most recent laptops can do all of those things, you can edit 4k video even on pretty basic laptops using proxies. But I want you to think about time and money. if it takes me twice as long to edit a video because i have to  transcode all the footage or because i can’t smoothly scrub the timeline or it takes forever for effects to apply, how many hours am i wasting by saving a few hundred bucks upfront? Then multiply that by every video you’re ever going to edit on that laptop and you’ll see it add  up real quick.

 I’m only using video editing as an example, but I want you to apply this to your needs.

10. Size Doesn’t Matter:

Now I want you to look specifically at the size of the display. Depending on what you’re using your laptop for, if you get a laptop that’s too small, It may be so frustrating to use that even though you can bring it with you, you don’t end up working on it. so make sure that you get a display that works for what you need, and at the same time, try to minimize the weight by looking at thin and ultra thin options if portability is a priority. 

If you just compare the M1 MacBook Air and the Samsung Book Pro 360, you saw the both offer the ability to use a tablet as an additional wireless display.

if you’re already bringing a tablet with you, this lets you get by with a smaller display on your laptop because you essentially have a portable dual display setup.

11. Forgetting The Future:

Not thinking about the future and only buying for now. Now this is a double-edged sword because I don’t fully buy into it, see what I did there? the whole concept of future-proofing, but there are levels there. When you put together your requirements, think about what you need now and what you think you’ll need for the lifetime of the device. 

Now this isn’t the same for every buyer because you might get a new laptop every 3 years, 5 years or 10 years, but whatever that cycle looks like for you, make sure that you get a machine that serves you well for that long.

12. Not Watching Reviews:

Not watching reviews.Now there are  a ton of reviews  so find someone who you trust and see what they have to say about the laptop that  you’re thinking of buying. And don’t watch just one, watch a few of them. 

It doesn’t mean that you have to come to the same conclusion as the reviewer, but if this is something that they take seriously, they should give you a balanced perspective and it may cover some aspects that you didn’t think to consider.

13.Glossy Display:

The next couple of mistakes have to do with the displays. The first one might just be a personal pet peeve, but i do not like glossy displays. They initially look really nice at the store, but then when it comes to actually using them in real life situations, i always get frustrated. Now this is where using the laptop at the store for a few minutes can really help you get a sense of what you can expect. .

14. High Resolution:

Believing that they absolutely need a very high resolution display.

It’s true. a nice 4k display looks amazing, but you really need one on a laptop? If you do, cool get one, but otherwise, you’re paying a premium and your battery life will suffer.

15. Brand Loyalty:

All the time buyers that are blindly brand loyal. Now I completely understand that there’s some familiarity involved and assuming that you had a positive experience with a brand, there is some trust that’s built there, but this shouldn’t come at the cost of you doing your research. 

What if this brand made great laptops at a great value five years ago, but now it’s over priced? Or maybe there’s another brand that’s putting out some amazing products and you’re missing out because you’ve limited your research to one brand? Take your time, look at the pros and cons of a few different brands, and then get the one that works best for you.

16. Other People’s Needs:

One that I see all the time and it just makes me shake my head. Now I’m talking about people who buy a laptop based on other people’s needs.

When you’re either watching a review or accepting a recommendation from someone, make sure that they’re addressing your specific needs. There are some amazingly powerful gaming laptops out there, but if you need portability more than you need power, then it’s not the right fit. Just because a laptop has better features doesn’t mean that it’s a better value for your needs.

What’s right for someone else might not be right for you. So please do your best to make an informed decision based on what you actually need.

If you enjoyed this article give it a thumbs up and share with your friends so we can keep making them for more articles like this. Thanks for reading.

Best phone in 2021 : Find the best phone for you

best android phone

Best phone in 2021

best android phone

Smartphones are way better than ever, but which is the finest phone for you? These are the ten best smartphones as of now on the showcase

What is the most excellent smartphone you’ll be able buy?

There are so numerous great phones to select from right presently but which one is the king of the castle? Is there indeed a victor? In truth, there’s no one idealize choice for everybody, so bear in intellect that the most excellent phone for you might not be number one in our chart. Phones come in all shapes, sizes and costs. Here, we have positioned and surveyed the ten best phones cash can buy. While you’re planning to discover set up brands like Apple and Samsung in this list, you might not be commonplace with each phone-maker we’ve prescribed. With that said, believe us – these phones are all top-notch and in case you need to know more, you’ll essentially jump into each phone’s full survey.

1.

Xiaomi Poco X3 Pro – Most affordable

Building on the victory of Tech Advisor’s ‘Budget Phone of the Year’ final year, Xiaomi’s Poco X3 Master sports a top-tier chip, in spite of costing a division of other phones using this level of power.

A Snapdragon 860 chipset conveys over the top execution, not to say it brags a wonderful 120Hz show and completely phenomenal battery life.

The X3 Master isn’t culminate, of course. The enormous battery makes it bulky, the cameras can be superior and MIUI 12 takes off much to be wanted, but they do not halt this phone from being ab unmistakably awesome budget advertising.

2.

ZTE Axon 30 Ultra – Best value flagship

ZTE has remerged from relative lack of definition with the amazing Axon 30 Ultra.

Not as it were does this phone brag flagship-class internals at a competitive cost, it’s one of the as it were handsets to wear three 64Mp focal points (standard, ultrawide, and 2x zoom), in conjunction with an 8Mp 5x periscopic lens.

Other highlights incorporate a Snapdragon 888 chipset, 144Hz AMOLED show (meaning it’s too great for gaming), and a 65W quick charging-compatible 4600mAh battery.

You’ll ought to live without extravagances like remote charging or a water-resistance rating and make do with the average MyOS program, but in case you’ll , the Axon 30 Ultra conveys an terrible part of execution per pound.

3.

iPhone 12 Pro Max – Best for multimedia


iPhone 12 Pro Max

The iPhone 12 Master Max may not use its sweeping show as viably as the Note 20 Ultra does – particularly when it comes to things of efficiency – but it’s an verifiably wonderful large-screened phone all the same. 

It brags a few of the finest performance on the advertise, 5G (for the primary time on an iPhone), a dazzling 6.7in OLED show, incredible battery life, support for MagSafe for iPhone extras and totes one of the foremost able smartphone cameras cash can purchase – total with sensor-shift OIS (optical picture adjustment), something we’ve never seen on a smartphone before. 

Provided you’re comfortable with its sizeable extents, you’ll fair got to hook with its similarly requesting tall cost tag.

4.

Google Pixel 5 – Most compact

Google’s to begin with 5G lead strolls a diverse way to its forerunners, exhibiting Android 11 to the finest of its capacities but too shedding the more exploratory highlights of past eras and selecting for more traditionalist equipment at the same time.

Its clean plan and client involvement are upheld by a set of eminent – and presently more feature-rich – cameras, as well as an inconceivably compact plan and battery life that’s really usable.

5.

OnePlus 8 Pro – Best user experience

The OnePlus 8 Professional is seemingly the company’s to begin with full lead, at last joining long-requested highlights like remote charging and an IP68 waterproof rating to create it a veritable contender with the likes of Samsung’s finest of 2020.

Even the base demonstrate is no slump, at 8GB Slam and 128GB capacity; speaking to genuine esteem by lead measures, indeed a year on from release.

The 8 Pro’s camera may be a incredible step forward for the company and whereas it still slacks behind rivals, OnePlus’ imaging engineers have clearly worked difficult to narrow the crevice impressively. Toss in 5G, a incredible plan and the leading Android skin around and the OnePlus 8 Professional is simple to recommend.

While the OnePlus 9 and 9 Master have since propelled, they for the most part cleared out us underwhelmed, so you get more for your cash with 2020’s OnePlus 8 Master.

6.

Xiaomi Mi 11 – Great performance

Xiaomi’s current lead (at slightest until the Mi 11 Professional and Ultra arrive in China and all inclusive, separately) serves as the idealize thwart to Samsung’s base Galaxy S21.

It may not have the foremost able camera framework of any Android phone right now out there but there’s no denying that the 108Mp 1/1.33in sensor that leads its photographic setup is irrefutably strong.

Similarly to the S21, it moreover brags top-tier execution – fueled by a Snapdragon 888 processor – and a have of other highlights, counting stereo speakers, 50W quick charging, and an broad 6.81in WQHD+ 120Hz AMOLED show.

7.

Samsung Galaxy S21 – Best for ease of use

The child of 2021’s Galaxy S lineup, the Galaxy S21 doesn’t thrust the envelope in any one range but at the same time addresses the S20’s insipid plan with a few unused tasteful and colour choices.

What’s more, it too offers up way better battery life and the modern 5nm chipset at its heart (the Snapdragon 888 or Exynos 2100, depending on where you choose one up) is a few verifiably capable silicon, allowing the phone awesome long-term execution and coordinates 5G.

Add to that the most recent Android 11 (dressed in Samsung’s possess One UI 3.1, at dispatch) and a lower beginning cost than indeed the 4G form of final year’s Galaxy S20 and the S21 may be a troublesome handset to miss.

8.

Oppo Find X3 Pro – Superb camera

The Discover X3 Professional is Oppo’s all-singing, all-dancing lead gadget, and it wins its spot at the beat of this chart.

Yes, it’s costly, and there’s no denying that. But you get the most recent Snapdragon 888 chipset, 12GB Slam and 256GB capacity, and 65W wired charging along side 30W wireless.

The primary and ultrawide cameras both pack the same 50Mp sensor, and offer nearly precisely the same quality shots, with punchy colours, gobs of detail, and awesome energetic run. There’s ‘only’ a 2x zoom camera – no periscopic focal point here, tragically – but you moreover get a novel modern microlens camera, competent of taking super-closeup shots.

Those cameras are able of yielding pictures in 10-bit colour, and in truth the phone underpins genuine 10-bit capacity and encryption as well, right through to the 10-bit, 120Hz, WQHD+ show – possibly the most excellent in any phone right now. 

This isn’t fair Oppo’s best phone, but one of the finest leaders on the advertise from any company.

9.

Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra – Best performance

After 2020’s baffling Galaxy S20 Ultra, Samsung has at last earned the title with a follow-up that conveys nearly everything you’ll need from an Android lead – as a matter of fact at a price that as it were many can manage, and in a shape calculate that will basically be as well enormous for some.

The camera stands unrivaled – in terms of flexibility – with a 108Mp primary shooter supported up by an ultrawide and two fax focal points at diverse zoom levels (3x and 10x).

The sweeping 6.8in show conveys both tall WQHD+ determination and an versatile revive rate up to 120Hz, making it awesome for gaming and with unused S-pen stylus back, it fills the efficiency specialty of the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra as well.

10.

iPhone 12 – Best all-rounder


The iPhone 12 speaks to a jump forward for the iPhone, advertising not as it were an progressed plan reminiscent of the adored iPhone 5 and iPad Master, but the same 6.1in Super Retina XDR show as the Master demonstrate – something Apple hasn’t advertised on the standard show within the past.

Once you see past the plan and progressed show, it’s the heart of the iPhone 12 that’s most noteworthy. Highlighting the A14 Bionic, Apple’s new chipset beats almost everything else accessible at the minute, and that’s without the additional Slam accessible on the 12 Professional and 12 Professional Max.

There’s moreover an made strides camera setup with way better low-light photography and savvy tech to assist diminish the twist of photographs taken on the ultra-wide focal point. There’s indeed Dolby Vision video recording, but capped at 4K@30fps.

Simply put, the 5G-enabled iPhone 12 is all the iPhone you’ll require. It’s harder than ever to legitimize the costly jump to the iPhone 12 Master, with the same plan, show and processor, and a comparative camera setup as well.