1 Best Laptops for YouTube and Netflix1.1 Introduction2 Top 3 Laptops for YouTube and Netflix2.1 LG Gram 2-in-1 Laptop2.2 Acer Aspire 5 Laptop2.3 ASUS TUF A15 Laptop3 Final words

Introduction

YouTube and Netflix are two of the most popular video-watching platforms. If you’ve been using the internet in the past 10 years, then you have most likely used one of these platforms, if not both of them. There are more than 2 billion users on YouTube and a bit less than 200 million users on Netflix. The sudden surge in people wanting to consume digital content has driven a competition among laptop manufacturers to make better media consumption devices. This competition is good for the end users, since those looking for a laptop end up getting a better device than before these video platforms existed. If you’re an avid content consumer, then you’re probably searching for the best laptop for YouTube and Netflix out there, and this comprehensive guide will help you with your choice! The most important factor that you need to consider when buying a laptop for YouTube and Netflix is the display. Since it’s the thing you will interact with the most, it must be really good. A decent 1080p panel should be sufficient, but make sure to read the reviews to see if the calibration is good. Any popular product will have tons of user reviews as well as professional reviews on YouTube or any online forum. Going through those is an essential part of choosing the best device for you. The second factor that you should consider is the battery life. If you’re like the majority of the population and usually binge YouTube and Netflix videos and shows, then having a good battery life is essential. No one wants to go running after their charger during your video watching marathon. You’ll thank yourself if you choose a laptop with 8 hours or more of battery life. Navigating the highly saturated laptop market is almost impossible for a non-tech expert. You’ll need hours upon hours of research to find something that you like, and even then, it might result in the laptop being mediocre. Fortunately, we have done the hard work for you and decided on a good set of devices, which you will definitely like!

Top 3 Laptops for YouTube and Netflix

LG Gram 2-in-1 Laptop

If you’re looking for a 2-in-1 laptop for your YouTube and Netflix sessions, then we recommend getting the LG Gram. The 2-in-1 form factor can be really appealing for a lot of people since watching videos in tablet or tent mode is a lot more comfortable than the regular laptop mode. Not only that, but you also get the option to use a stylus for note taking or drawing. The Gram is LG’s flagship laptop, providing unique and compelling features in an extremely portable form factor. The processor on this laptop is the Intel 10th Generation Intel Core i7-10510U, which is one of the best laptop CPUs to this date. It will be more than enough for basic usage, but even if you do other more demanding tasks such as video editing or light gaming even then it should be more than sufficient. As for the storage, you get 512 GB of NVMe SSD. It should be enough for even heavy users. However, if you ever feel that you’re running low on space, then you have the option to upgrade it manually, but you probably won’t need to do so. You also get 16 GB of DDR4 RAM, which makes the device feel really smooth, especially during multitasking. While 8 GB is sufficient in this day and age, but having that extra memory just makes sure that you don’t experience any performance issues over the next few years. Moreover, you can also add more RAM sticks that makes this laptop more future proof. The display is a 14” Full HD (1920 x 1080) IPS LCD touch screen with Gorilla Glass 6 for maximum scratch resistance. It may not be the best display for the price, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t fantastic. It produces vivid colours and is really sharp, which makes it perfect for media consumption. Moreover, the 14-inch size helps be large enough to provide a good experience, but not too uncomfortably large. The touch screen and 2-in-1 feature just makes it a much better deal. The port selection on this laptop is also amazing. While you’re not getting a lot of ports, you still get all the basics, such a 2 USB-A 3.0 ports, 1 HDMI, 1 SD card slot, 1 charging port, headphone/microphone jack and USB-C. The USB-C is thunderbolt compatible, which means that it can be used for charging, attaching an external display or even an external GPU, if you want to do some heavy gaming. The only thing we wished this laptop had is an ethernet port, but it’s not a real deal breaker. There are tons of other features that make this laptop an excellent offer. Some of these are the inclusion of a stylus, which is useful for those wanting to use this laptop for note taking or digital art. You also get a fingerprint scanner for convenient unlock, one of the best keyboards on a laptop, with backlighting and even really good speakers which makes watching YouTube and Netflix amazing. The main marketing feature of the LG Gram is the thin and light weight. As the name suggests, the laptop is 1 kilogram or 2.5 pounds and the size is 12.8 x 8.3 x 0.7 inches. Those who take their laptop to work or college will find the small size really convenient. A common problem with ultra-books is that they are often really fragile. Luckily, the LG Gram doesn’t suffer with this problem. It’s almost as durable as much thicker laptops and has even survived 7 military grade durability tests. As we previously mentioned, the battery life of a laptop for YouTube and Netflix is really important. The battery on the Gram is a 72 Wh cell and is advertised to last 20.5 hours. While this a bit of an exaggeration, but even in real world usage, you get a respectable 12 hours of battery life which will easily last you an entire day.

Acer Aspire 5 Laptop

The next laptop on our list is the Acer Aspire 5. A few years back, in this price range, you would just get a laptop that would be barely functionable. But times have changed now. Acer is one of the leading companies in making laptops that provide you the best features for the price, that even trump flagship laptops from a few years back. This is best represented by the Acer Aspire 5, as it provides amazing specifications, especially if you’re looking to use it as a media consumption device.  For the processor, you have a lot of choice, as you get three options. You can get either the AMD Ryzen 3 3200U, Vega 3 Graphics or the AMD Ryzen 5 3500U, Vega 8 Graphics or even the AMD Ryzen 7 3700U, RX Vega 10 Graphics. Your choice will depend on a few factors such as your budget and usage. We would recommend getting the one with the 3200U if you only plan to do basic tasks, like web browsing and using a word processor, along with using it for YouTube and Netflix. If you plan on doing heavier tasks like some light gaming or multitasking, then feel free to upgrade to the higher models. It should be noted that all three of these will provide great performance, just because of the sheer fact that Ryzen laptop CPUs have become really good over the past few years. The storage will depend on what processor variant you get. With the 3200U, you get a 128 GB SSD, with the 3500U, you get a 256 GB SSD and with the 3700U, you get 512 GB SSD. You will need to see which processor you’re choosing and whether the storage for that is enough. If you don’t plan on downloading a bunch of heavy files, then even 128 GB should be enough, but then again, your choice will purely depend on your personal usage. But don’t fret too much on this, as you can upgrade the storage with the additional 2.5-inch bay provided. A similar case is seen with the RAM configuration. With the 3200U, you get 4 GB of DDR4 memory and with the other two you get 8 GB. Normally 4 GB should be considered outdated for the current era, but fortunately, you get the option to upgrade the memory. If you ever feel that your laptop is getting slow, then a quick RAM upgrade will make it feel much snappier and also future proof it.   The display is a 15.6″ Full HD (1920 x 1080) widescreen LED-backlit IPS Display, which is more than enough for watching videos and shows, as it gets plenty bright for most use case scenarios. The sharpness is also really good and its produces great colours. It’s an overall good display and most users won’t have any problem with it. The port selection on this laptop is amazing, as you get 1 USB 3.1 (Type-C) port (Gen 1 up to 5 Gbps), 2 USB 3.1 Gen 1 Port (One with Power-off Charging), 1 USB 2.0 Port, 1 HDMI Port, and 1 Gigabit Ethernet LAN (RJ-45 port). But that’s not the only feature that makes this laptop a compelling buy. Some of the other features include True Harmony Technology Two Built-in Stereo Speakers which will be especially helpful if you don’t use headphones, Acer Purified Voice Technology with Two Built-in Microphones, Acer Fingerprint Reader supporting Windows Hello, a pretty nice Back-lit Keyboard, a decent HD Webcam (1280 x 720), and a pretty attractive and well-built design.  The Acer Aspire 5 comes in at 14.31 x 9.74 x 0.71 inches and weighs 3.97 pounds. While not being as light as an ultra-book, it’s still pretty light and easy to carry. The size is also really good for being not too large to be uncomfortable, but large enough for an enjoyable viewing experience. The battery life is rated at 9.5 hours, while in real world usage it will provide you a respectable 6 to 8 hours, depending on your usage. This will certainly be more than enough for your binging sessions.

ASUS TUF A15 Laptop

If you plan on gaming along with using your laptop for YouTube and Netflix, then we highly recommend getting the Asus TUF Gaming A15 Laptop. This laptop will provide you with excellent performance as well as a lot of features that makes it a much more delightful laptop than a lot of its competitors. The highlight of this laptop is definitely the performance that it offers. It’s specifically manufactured to handle games that push the CPU and GPU to its absolute limits, but that also means that it will provide a completely lag free experience in normal day-to-day tasks as well. You get the option between two different processors. You can either choose the Intel Core i5-10300H, Quad-core 2.50 GHz (up to 4.50 GHz) 8 MB Cache or the slightly more expensive and powerful AMD Ryzen 5 4600H. Both of these are amazing processors and will easily handle anything you throw at them, without any problem. It should also be noted that there are a few other differences between the different variants which we will describe a bit later. Along with either of these processors, you get an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 with 4GB dedicated GDDR6 memory (Base: 1380MHz, Boost: 1515MHz, TDP: 50W). Overall this is a really powerful combination, regardless of your processor and choice and it will serve you well even 5 years down the line.   As for the storage, you get a 512GB PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD with the Ryzen version and 256 GB with the Intel version. The Intel one may be a bit less for those who plan on playing hardcore triple-A titles, which can sometimes take up to 100 GB of storage by themselves. But that doesn’t mean that you should entirely skip it as you have been given the option to upgrade your storage. While most manufacturers usually don’t want you to open the laptops, ASUS has actually marketed this as an actual feature. If you ever feel that your current storage is bit less, then you can always just upgrade it. Paired with that, you get 8GB of DDR4 RAM with both the configurations. Moreover, it’s a faster 3200 MHz variant which not only helps during gaming, but also makes your laptop feel much snappier than a regular 2666 MHz version. Just like the storage, the memory is also user upgradeable if you ever feel the need to do so sometime in the future. You get a 15.6” 144Hz FHD (1920×1080) IPS-Type display. The high refresh rate will make your computer feel much smoother especially during gaming. Although it should be noted that it doesn’t have any direct impact on your YouTube or Netflix sessions, as the videos on these platforms is restricted to 60 FPS, but regardless it’s a good feature to have. However, the Intel version of this laptop doesn’t have the high refresh rate, but it’s also significantly cheaper because of this exclusion. The display itself is otherwise superb on both versions, and will be more than satisfactory for your usage. The port selection on this laptop is top notch, and is arguably the best on any laptop. There is 1 USB-A 2.1, 3 USB-A 3.0, 1 USB-C, 1 Ethernet, 1 charging port, 1 headphone/microphone jack, 1 HDMI and 1 SD-card slot. If you’re the type of person who uses a ton of accessories, like an external mouse or storage device, then this laptop is definitely for you. It also has many other small features that just makes it’s a much more compelling option like RGB Backlit keyboard rated for 20-million keystroke durability, a pretty decent webcam, great cooling system and a similar military grade durability as the LG Gram. The dimensions of this laptop are 14.5 x 10.1 x 0.98 inches and it weighs 5 pounds. It’s not portable by any standards, but it’s not made to be that way, but rather as a somewhat mobile desktop replacement. As for the battery life, you get 5 to 6 hours of screen time during normal usage and closer to 3 hours during gaming session. While this doesn’t compare to other laptops on this list, but it’s not supposed to be a high endurance laptop, but instead is supposed to provide you with the best performance for the price.

Final words

All three of these laptops provide great value propositions and we think that you would be happy going with either of them. Each of these offers some unique and interesting features that cater to a certain type of user base. However, only one of them provides the best experience for YouTube and Netflix. We will talk about all the individual aspects that makes each one of them a great buy and in the end give our opinion as to which of them is the best one for you. First comes the LG Gram 14. It’s truly one of the most unique modern laptops. You get an almost no compromise device with some of the greatest features out there. The 2-in-1 form factor is especially useful for anyone who takes digital notes or likes to draw. The included stylus just makes it a much better deal. It doesn’t skip on other important features as well, like making sure you get a great port selection, processor and even an amazing backlit keyboard. While the price may not suite everyone, the features that it offers well justifies it, therefore making it part of our list. Next, we reviewed the Acer Aspire 5. Acer has truly revolutionized laptops in its price range. You get some really solid features such as a finger print scanner, backlit keyboard, etc. It has very little disadvantages compared to other laptops in its price range and even makes much more expensive laptops look bad. The option to go for three different processors at three different price points, just makes sure that the device is more tailored to your exact usage. If you’re looking for a simple, yet really reliable laptop for your YouTube and Netflix sessions, which will last you a really long time, then this one is for you. Last on the list is the ASUS TUF Gaming A15. While not specifically being targeted at media consumers, this laptop is still an amazing offer. It has some of the best specifications out there with a top-of-the-line dedicated GPU, which all gamers or even other heavy users like Graphic designers would appreciate. It also has many other great features like a good port selection and even an RGB backlit keyboard. If you’re a heavy user, then this laptop is definitely a no brainer for you. As a side note: If you are watching Netflix through your Chrome Browser and having problems, then read our short guide on how to fix Netflix Lagging on Chrome which should have you back enjoying your shows in no time. Its finally time to decide which laptop is best for you. Our pick is the LG Gram 14. It’s such a good laptop that it’s impossible to not recommend. Moreover, the impressive battery life, 2-in-1 design and portability just make it the perfect laptop for a wide range of users. If you’re into note taking or digital artwork, then it just seals the deal for you.  However, we understand that not everyone is willing to shell out that much cash on a laptop, especially if you’re just going to use it for YouTube and Netflix, that’s why the Acer Aspire 5 is also an amazing deal and may be the right one for you. It provides you all the essentials that a laptop needs to have at a very compelling price point and has some of the best price to specification ratios. As for the ASUS TUF, we would only recommend it if you need the high specifications. The subpar battery life just makes it a tough deal for most people looking into a device for heavy media consumption, but if you prioritize performance and can live with a mediocre battery then this can be the right option for you.