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If you think that streaming your preferred TV shows and movies requires a costly laptop, then you’re simply wrong!
You can easily watch Netflix, Amazon Prime, or any other streaming service on an economy laptop that costs under $500. You can also link that laptop to your large TV to watch your preferred content if you wish for a larger screen. All your requirement is an HDMI cable (and, in some circumstances, a USB-C to HDMI dongle).
In this article, we are going to take this further and share with you some of the best laptop for watching movies under $500 and offer you not only the opportunity to stream the shows or movies on your laptop, and also watch them on your TV!
Best Laptops For Watching Netflix Requirements
If the marginally smaller size of your laptop’s screen is not a problem, you can watch Netflix or other streaming platforms on your laptop’s screen without any problem. All you need is an active internet link and you are set to go! It is very important to purchase the best laptop for watching movies and internet.
To do so, you will need to purchase an economy laptop and basic HDMI cable which is generally around $15 a piece, and a USB-C to HDMI one, AS LONG AS your laptop does not have an HDMI port.
Now that we have got this established, let’s check out below the best low-priced laptops for streaming Netflix and other services. These are good laptops for ordinary users too, and they are all under $500 at the moment of writing. We have gathered the best laptops for Netflix below;
Top 7 Best Laptops For Watching Netflix
1- Apple MacBook Air
- Best experience for Netflix or movies
- Epic keyboard
- Decent design by Apple
- Best sound system
- Only 2 USB ports Type-C
- It may not good for long battery life
- Very fast but could be better than this
Display: | 13.3 inch |
Processor: | System on Chip (SoC) Apple M1 chip; 8-core CPU with 4 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores; 16-core Neural Engine |
Memory: | 8 to 16 GB |
Storage: | 256 GB to 1 TB |
Operating System: | Intel 10th Gen Ice Lake |
GPU: | Intel Iris Plus Graphics |
The screen of this laptop is just too decent. We had to put the MacBook Air in first place for the unspoiled laptop to watch Netflix or YouTube. But it is for a reason, with its reedy, lightweight material, yet powerful hardware and enhanced OS, it makes media consumption and productivity a pleasant experience
Without stating that it’s Apple’s most adored product. They increased the SSD storage size to 256GB, and up to 2TB.
They also enhanced their CPU with the Intel 10th Gen Ice Lake. It is powered by a new microarchitecture tech, offering a 70% increase in performance associated with the earlier model.
Moreover, the graphic card also received a giant upgrade. With the Intel Iris Plus Graphics, the laptop now displays a rise in graphics performance of at least 80%. It is considered the best laptop for watching Netflix.
It has a 13” retina 2560×1600 resolution display, being incredibly bright and rich, giving the text and colors a very brittle look (best if you like watching Netflix). And no need to express the screen resolution, being yet again way enhanced than other laptops on this list.
2- Lenovo Legion 5
- The excellent trackpad and keyboard
- Minimalist and simple design
- Overall performance is nice
- Corporal buttons for gaming
- Rearmost facing ports
Display: | 15.6" FHD IPS |
Processor: | Up to AMD Ryzen™ 7 4800H mobile processor |
Memory: | Up to 16GB 3200MHz DDR4 |
Storage: | Up to 1TB PCIe SSD |
Operating System: | Windows 10 Home |
GPU: | Up to NVIDIA® GeForce® RTX™ 2060 |
Lenovo Legion 5 brings over the same look as it’s the prior models since Lenovo has just only refreshed the visual with this explicit laptop. It has a smooth gray lid and a sleek overall design. Lenovo Legion 5’s dimensions are 21.2 x 13.5 x 3.3 inches and it weighs almost precisely 5 pounds, which makes it pleasant and portable but not razor blade thin.
Though, if you want a decently dense gaming laptop then Lenovo Legion 5 is the best option. You can consider Lenovo’s this machine the best business laptop which happens to be adept at showing good performance in gaming. It’s the best budget laptop for watching Netflix.
Lenovo Legion 5 deals with a 15.6-inch display with a revive rate of 144Hz, but the most significant feature of this display is the G-Sync competencies. It is a cheap laptop for streaming.
3- CHUWI Hi10 Tablet laptop
- Decent battery life
- Best quality display
- Fast charging feature
- Easy to afford
- Speakers might be unsatisfactory, so check the manufacturer carefully
Display: | 10.1 inches IPS |
Processor: | installed Intel’s Gemini Lake N4100 processor |
Memory: | 6GB RAM |
Storage: | 128GB storage |
Operating System: | Microsoft Windows 10 OS |
GPU: | Intel HD Graphics |
The Chinese certainly have a way of making things astonishing.
From martial arts to technology, there is no perimeter to how inspiring these people can be. And so, they brought out a work of art, the CHUWI Hi10 Tablet PC, a 2-in-1 laptop that you can use to watch Netflix and other TV shows.
The point that Intel and Microsoft had a hand in this matter also makes this device quite challenging in the market. With the 10.1-inch, 1080p IPS display, the watching experience on the Hi10 is quite worthy. The colors on the 1080p movies are very lively and vivid that’s why it is the best laptop for movie watching. It’s the best laptop for watching movies.
The reaction to the touch is also quite fast and so playing games or typing with the on-screen keyboard converts into an easy task. What is key about the screen is the advanced screen ratio to 16:10 from 16:9. The multi-touch gesture competencies make the screen quite cooperative.
Concerning viewing downloaded and captured HD pictures, the laptop’s PPI density does not dissatisfy. The feature is impressive. CHUWI were serious with this product and so they installed Intel’s Gemini Lake N4100 processor. This powerhouse is held by 6GB RAM and 128GB storage. It is the best laptop to watch Netflix.
4- ASUS Chromebook Flip C101
- Dense build
- Effective performance
- Superb display
- Good battery lifespan
- Matched screen resolution
- Storage may seem imperfect
- It may not suitable for heavy gaming
Display: | 10.1-inch |
Processor: | OP1 |
Memory: | 4GB LPDDR3 on board |
Storage: | 32G eMMC |
Operating System: | Chrome |
GPU: | Arm Mali-T860 MP4 |
The Asus C101PA-DB02 is a touch, lightweight, Chromebook laptop that is also a tablet and helps your need to stream movies on the go. The single, long-running pivot is the cause of the 360-degree flip. With an aluminum build, this robust device offers you portability since it is very light and folds simply.
As it can stand like a tent, this Chromebook has shown to be operative when conducting a lecture or a presentation, not just watching your preferred show on Netflix. The IPS display offers you a 1280 x 800-pixel resolution coupled with wide seeing angles and rich images, not to mention enough amount of brightness.
Watching movies on this device will be such a pleasing experience for you. The speakers offer you attractive decent audio quality appropriate for movies of any kind. It is the best laptop for Netflix.
The 2.0GHz Rock chip RK3399 processor with the support of an enormous 4GB RAM and Mali-T860MP4 graphic card ensures fast streaming is possible while keeping the visuals in their best screen resolution. It’s the best laptop for browsing and streaming
For connectivity purposes, you get 802.11ac Wi-Fi standard and Bluetooth 4.0, micros SD card slot, a USB 2.0, and two USB Type C ports. If the 16GB internal storage seems less. You can get a 64GB micro SD card.
5- ASUS Rog Strix Scar Laptop
- Build quality is superb
- Handy and lightweight
- Gaming performance is nice
- Decent cooling system
- The mousepad may not very good
- It may have a short battery lifespan
Display: | 17.3 Inches |
Processor: | 4.5 GHz apple_ci7 |
Memory: | 16 GB DDR4 |
Storage: | 1 TB SSD |
Operating System: | Windows 10 Home |
GPU: | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 |
Asus Rog Strix Scar Gaming Laptop has a distinctive notebook look but with an aggressive and exclusive-looking design. The best thing about this laptop is that it has been intended especially for FPS games and watching 4k and 1080p HD movies.
According to the Company, the slits carved across the lid and on the right palm rest of the keyboard emulate the trajectory of a bullet. The area around the keyboard boasts a knit Kevlar design with a gunmetal grey finish on its top, giving you the look of an assault rifle.
This laptop for Netflix offers a 1080p resolution, IPS display powered by the Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070 with a 144Hz refresh rate for flatter gameplay. There is no lagging during the serious gameplays of FPS games, which is wonderful for a machine that is not a PC. It can be considered the best laptop for streaming Netflix.
Gaming on this fast screen with GSync allowed is an experience that can’t be defined in words. With above-average brightness, colors, and contrast this laptop is only debauched, it is overall pretty decent.
6- Acer Aspire Switch 10 E
- Simplicity of use
- Best display
- Handy
- Quality build best
- Comparatively lightweight
- It may have the limited performance to handle tough tasks
- The normal hybrid problem of tipping over
Display: | 10.1” WXGA iPS Multi-Touch LCD |
Processor: | Intel Atom Z3735F |
Memory: | 2GB DDR3 |
Storage: | eMMC 32GB + 500GB HDD in dock |
Operating System: | Windows 8.1 |
GPU: | Intel HD graphics |
Portable and elegant, with tons of features that spread its functionality beyond watching movies locally and streaming content online, the Acer Aspire Switch 10 E is a laptop that can perform well. The Switch 10 E originates with a sort of box-like, plastic body that is solid and slightly heavy on the hand. It features magnetic hinges that combine the display with the keyboard.
Separating the keyboard and the screen is done with easiness. The solid body withstands the constant stresses associated with constant motion. The 10.1-inch substantial display deals with 1366 x768p resolution. This HD IPS screen makes the movie experience wonderful.
For work dedications, the screen serves you well during presentations or when running light imitations. When it’s game time, the Intel HD graphics are there to give the preeminent.
Performance is all on a computing device and inspection is done on all of them. The Switch 10 E is not an exclusion. With a 1.33GHz Intel Atom Z3735F processor combined with 2GB of RAM and a 64GB SSD for storage, you just can’t go wrong with this device as far as simple streaming goes.
7- LG Light And Gram Thin
- Best battery life
- Portable
- Better screen
- Lightweight and thin
- It may flexible
- Pageant is average
Display: | 17.3 Inches |
Processor: | 1.3 GHz core_i7_1065g7 |
Memory: | 16 GB DDR4 |
Storage: | 1 TB SSD |
Operating System: | Windows 10 Home |
GPU: | Intel Iris Plus |
The LG Gram 17 is a pretty exclusive laptop, it is one of the better screen laptops but incredibly lightweight and thin. That seems like contrary things but LG somehow has figured out the trick. With its look, it looks like a very weighty machine but when you pick it up, its lack of density makes you say nice!
The carbon and magnesium chassis feels economy to the touch even though it might be more robust than plastic. The medium-gray color scheme is just dull. LG Gram 17 is one of the lovely-looking laptops.
This laptop for movies is a 17-inches laptop inside a 15-inch laptop structure, so the pressure level is already high. It is 15 inches extensive and 10.5 inches long. in each measurement, the LG Gram 17 footprint is about an inch bigger than a 15 inches MacBook.
It delivers a 17-inch IPS display with 2560 x 1600 resolution. The screen has extensively thinner bezels except the bottom one is quite thicker. Fairly displayed this laptop is in the middle of good and average, however, in HD videos you can watch details on the screen that’s why it is the best laptop for movies watching.
How We Picked The Best Laptops For Watching Netflix
The quality of the product is strictly linked to the price you pay. You can get a 200$ laptop that will do just well. But it might not be the finest idea. The common rule in the Tech business is an optimal price point, where you get the finest product value for your money. We have picked the best laptops for watching Netflix by considering the following capabilities;
- Build quality
Some Laptops can be completely made of cheap plastic and can seem quite trembling. Superior laptops can have an aluminum case or the finest quality materials. We checked the build quality to ensure the laptops are durable, and asked different groups of people to test them out.
- Keyboard feature
The keyboard is not the main focus, but if you want to use your laptop for inscription, it can be a worthy idea to find one with the best keyboard. In out top picks, we made sure to select a keyboard type for different types of people, to ensure nobody felt pain or RSI using the keyboard.
- WI-FI ability
When you buy a laptop, you want to have a worthy WI-FI connection to watch movies in HD. Otherwise, the watching experience won’t go as expected. You don’t want your HD streaming video to lag every 3 seconds. Specifically, 4k movies. All the laptops above have strong Wi-Fi feature so you can download your favorite Netflix series or movies.
- Display
When it comes to Netflix and chill, you need a good set of speakers and a great display. Of course, you wouldn’t want to spoil the fun of the movie or the Netflix series you’re watching with poor displays. We carefully picked the laptops with excellent display so you can get the most out of them!
- Weight
You probably hold your laptop on your thighs while lying on the bed watching Netflix, just like I and thousand other people do. Therefore, we made sure to pick the best laptops for watching Netflix that are lightweight and thin. We picked laptops that weigh from 1 to 1.3 Kilograms, so you can assure you won’t have to do extra research on that.
- Battery life
The battery is a significant factor to consider, but it depends on your requirements. If you plan on keeping your laptop inside your home, you don’t need a worthy battery. Fair, leave it plugged in. Nevertheless, Netflix all-nighters need a laptop with excellent battery so they don’t have to put it to charge again and again. Therefore, the laptops above have great battery life.
FAQs
The best laptop for watching Netflix from our list is the ASUS ROG Strix. If you’re looking for Apple production, then it’s the Apple MacBook Air.
The laptops that can play 4K videos on display include: Lenovo ThinkPad X1, HP Envy 15, ASUS ROG Zephyrus DUO, DEL XPS, and others mentioned here.
If you’re on Windows, then you would require an ideal x86 or x64 bit mode with at least 512 MB RAM. For Mac users, you would need an Intel Core Duo 1.83 GHz or any higher processor with 512 MB RAM.
Windows 10 or greater versions work best for watching Netflix, and Intel 7th Gen Core or newer versions with integrated GPU.
If you’re using Windows on your laptop then you can only watch 4K Netflix on laptop with Microsoft Edge or at the official Netflix app from the Windows Store. The rest of the browsers are limited to 720 pixels or less.
This depends on the quality you’re watching, and your data usage. On highest quality, you consume 1 GB data every 20 minutes, that makes 2.5 to 3 GB data per hour. Therefore, if you do a simple math calculation, you can use 100 GB of data in 33 hours.
Follow these steps to improve the quality of Netflix on your laptop:
- Sign in to your Netflix account on a browser.
- Tap on the Menu at the upper left.
- Choose your Account.
- Search for Profile & Parental Controls option by scrolling down.
- Select the profile you want to make changes in.
- Select Playback settings.
- Under Data Usage per screen, you can choose Medium or High, depending on your preference.
- Click Save.