Best cheap laptop for parents

Are you in search of a reliable laptop for seniors? Unlike an engineer or a gamer, the computer requirements of the elderly are pretty minimal. But keep in mind some bottom-line factors such as the users familiarity with the operating system, the screen size, and also what they will be using the notebook for.

Have a hard time finding the right one? Its not just you! Finding the perfect laptop is a very tedious process, especially if we throw budget restrictions into the mix.

Thats why we put together a buying guide and put together a list of the best-rated options that are highly suitable for older people.

Heres what we will go through today:

• 8 best laptops for seniors available
• A comprehensive buying guide
• FAQs about laptops for seniors

Lets take a look.

8 Best Laptops For Seniors

The following list contains some laptops that are best for your aging mother or father. Be sure to refer back to our buying guide: our elderly need an easy-to-use, comfortable, lightweight, and well-performing device with a high-quality display.

You take out anything from this equation, and the laptops not suitable anymore. The picks below ensure all of this. All you have to do is choose the one that suits your seniors budget.

1. LG Gram 14Best Overall

If youre looking for a user-friendly, durable, and sleek-looking laptop for a senior citizen, the LG Gram 14is a great option to consider. Its sturdy, military-grade chassis can withstand accidental drops from waist heights, making it a perfect choice for elders.

Even though its built tough, this laptop weighs only 2.2 pounds, making it comfortable to keep on the lap, carry around, and handle. The chassis has a minimalistic look with a matte grey finish that suits people who like simple aesthetics.

Open the lid and the first thing youll notice about the Gram 14 is its 14-inch wide display with a true-color FHD output that makes reading the screen super-easy. This laptops speakers are incredibly loud and provide a rich and clear sound for seniors who use hearing aids.

The keyboard is comfortable to type on, and the keys are large enough to avoid any wrong inputs. Additionally, the backlight allows you to work efficiently in dimly lit rooms without having to strain your eyes.

The accessibility features in this laptop are thoughtful and offer great help to the elderly. For example, a fingerprint sensor built into the power button makes logging into the laptop effortless without having to type any password or pin.

Internally, the Gram 14 comes equipped with Intels 10th generation i5 processor, combined with a 512GB SSD and an 8GB RAM. This configuration offers a smooth and lag-free performance for everyday use. Moreover, it has an incredible battery life that can last for more than 15 hours, making it an ideal partner for travel.

All in all, the LG Gram 14 is, without a doubt, our best laptop for seniors. It ensures everything from ease of use to high-quality display.

2. Microsoft Surface Pro 7Best Touchscreen Laptop

If youre looking for the best laptop for parents with a touchscreen for easier accessibility, consider checking out the 3. Microsoft Surface Pro 7 from Microsoft. It has a multi-function design that allows you to use it as a laptop and as a tablet as well.

Lets talk about the 2-in-1 form-factor first. By simply adjusting the stand on its front panel, the Surface Pro 7 goes from being a laptop to a hand-held device right away! Using a laptop-cum-tablet can be a good idea for elders who need something simple.

However, the Surface Type Cover the keyboard is sold separately from the Surface Pro, which means youll have to spend a few extra dollars to enjoy the complete convenience of using a laptop. Additionally, you can also buy the Surface Pen to write and draw efficiently on the touchscreen display.

The Surface Pro 7 has an ultra-slim body that weighs as little as 1.70 lbs. Due to its sleek design, it can easily fit into small backpacks or purses without weighing down on your shoulder. Since it has a small frame, the laptop slightly compromises the battery life. With controlled usage, it can serve you for a maximum of up to 10 hours and recharge completely within one and a half hours.
As for the internal configuration, Surface Pro 7 is equipped with a 10th generation Intel i5 processor, an 8GB RAM, and a 128GB SSD. Though its nothing too exciting, its a well-balanced configuration for seniors.

All in all, if youre an older person looking to buy a wide touchscreen laptop that doubles as a tablet, this laptop is worth considering.

3. HP 15Best From HP

If youre an HP fan and want an accessible laptop, the HP 15 will not disappoint. It has an aluminum frame that adds a durable yet lightweight layer of protection, and the overall build quality feels exceptionally well put together. The whole body is covered in an elegant-looking chrome finish that adds a simple yet stylish appearance.

HP 15 has a highly compact design that houses a decently high-powered battery. You can expect to get seven hours of usage from this laptop, and its fast-charging enables you to recharge it within 90 minutes.

Coming to the display, this laptop features a micro-edge 15.6-inch screen with an 80 percent screen-to-body ratio. The thin bezels provide an immersive experience, but the screen is slightly dimmer than its competitors. HP 15 captures a wide, 88-degree angle which makes it an excellent option for video calls.

It comes equipped with Intels i5 11th generation processor, which works in combination with a 1TB SSD and 16GB RAM. Such a beefy configuration gives you the flexibility to run multiple programs without any lag or stutter.

The keyboard offers a full-size layout and feels comfortable to type on. However, the lack of any backlight can strain your eyes in dim rooms. Another great feature of this laptop is its precision touchpad. Its optimized to give you more control over the screen, and the gestures provide a wide range of accessibility for seniors.

Overall an excellent device, what we liked the most about the HP 15 was its Amazon Alexa integration. Its a voice-controlled AI built into this laptop to make it more senior-friendly. You can perform various tasks such as browsing, paying bills, catching news updates, etc., with simple voice commands.

4. Apple MacBook Air M1Best For Seniors from Apple

The Apple MacBook Air M1 is an impressive device that offers all the premium luxury and innovative features youd expect from an Apple product. If youre willing to spend a little extra, the return-on-investment is huge on this laptop.

The MacBook Air comes equipped with Apples high-end M1 CPU, which can do much more than handling everyday tasks like video calling and surfing the web. It offers lightning-fast performance, and the 256GB SSD makes booting up and running apps almost instantaneous.

Its quite common for seniors to keep multiple applications running in the background as they often forget to close them, which causes the laptop to slow down eventually. Well, with MacBook Airs 8GB RAM, you dont need to worry about performance slowdowns as it can easily handle multitasking as well!

One of the more impressive features of this device is its vivid 13.3-inch Retina display which makes the colors look more vibrant with high-quality image detail. The screen has 500 nits of brightness which makes it ideal for seniors with weak eyesight.

On top of the keyboard, youll find a sleek touch bar that your elder can customize to suit their needs. For example, you can set up numerous shortcuts to provide easy & quick access. For an easy user experience, the MacBook Air is our favorite pick.

The MacBook Air weighs a little over 2.8 lbs and features an active cooling system that prevents the device from heating up too much. So you can keep it on your lap for extended hours without feeling any discomfort.

Even though it has a lightweight body, the MacBook Air comes in a durable aluminum frame with excellent longevity. Along with this, it manages to provide a massive 18-hour battery life under mixed usage, which is a major plus point to consider.

The only major drawback could be the hole it can make in your pocket. But although Apples products are notorious for being overpriced, its far from the truth. A MacBooks experience is simply unmatched. And for people who prefer straightforward interfaces [like elders], the MacBook is a gift.

5. Dell Inspiron 15 5502Best Value For Money

The Dell Inspiron 15 5502 offers the best value for money for senior laptop users on a budget. It comes equipped with an Intel Core 5 processor and Intel Iris Xe integrated GPU, and so, handling everyday tasks is no biggie. You also get the speed of a 512GB SSD and the freedom to multitask with its 8GB RAM, which significantly reduces the loading time of your apps.

The laptop chassis is sleek and lightweight, and the lid is designed to lift the keyboard at a comfortable typing angle, which also creates a nice room for ventilation under the laptop. Sticking to the topic of cooling, the Inspiron 15 offers an innovative adaptive-thermal technology that can sense whether you have placed the laptop on a table or your lap.

This way, the system can intelligently adapt to different thermal profiles to provide optimum cooling without heating your leg. It has a long battery life that can give you a backup of up to 7 hours under mixed usage, which is an excellent figure for a low-cost laptop.

Additionally, it has a decent 15.6-inch anti-glare display, which is 5.9 percent brighter than previous iterations. And the speaker provides a boost in audio quality for louder and clearer output. These features can make attending video calls or watching movies a pleasant experience for seniors. On the downside, this laptop isnt made for anything too intense, like gaming.

Our thoughts? Dell Inspiron 15 5502 is an absolute killer. From internals to display, from comfort to price, its a complete package for seniors.

6. Lenovo Flex 14Best Convertible

It has a comfortable grip which is ideal for shaky hands and makes writing or drawing on the screen easy. The 2-in-1 convertible design allows for a wide range of lid movement, and you can bend it like a tent to work more efficiently on a table.

Speaking of its build quality, the notebook chassis is durable and can withstand ordinary drops with ease. However, it weighs slightly more than other convertible laptops in the market. Another drawback of the Flex 14 is its dim screen, which can affect seniors with weak eyesight.

If youre someone who is concerned a lot about their privacy, the Flex 14 comes with a physical shutter for its webcam. Simply slide it into place and protect your online presence at all times. You can get a massive 10-hour battery backup, which is a great feature for an affordable laptop for seniors. Moreover, you can fully recharge it in just over an hour.

Coming to its internal configuration, you can get outstanding performance out of its Ryzen 5 processor for day-to-day tasks such as blogging, streaming, watching movies, and writing emails. Its equipped with 12GB RAM and 256GB SSD, which provide an outstanding balance of speed and utility.

Considering all these features, we recommend checking out the Lenovo Flex 14. It has some of the best value for seniors!

7. Acer Aspire 5Affordable Acer Laptop

If youre searching for a budget-friendly and easy-to-use laptop for your parents, the Acer Aspire 5 wont disappoint. You can find a nice blend of accessibility features, eye-pleasing design, and one of the most straightforward OS for seniors in this device. Lets start with its exterior.

It has a simple layout that looks elegant without being overly flashy. When you open the lid, youll find a black chiclet keyboard that sits perfectly in the chrome finish body. However, we found the keys to be a little mushy, and the overall build quality is not premium, but it falls in line with its price point.

Its equipped with a 15.6-inch FHD IPS display with minimalistic black bezels for a sleek look. The display has a rich tone, and the colors are well-saturated to avoid straining the eye. The battery life is decent, and you can get around eight hours of usage out of it.

In terms of easy accessibility, the Aspire 5 comes with a fingerprint reader that allows you to log in to your laptop or make payments without going through the trouble of remembering pins.

Additionally, it has a Windows Home OS that is super simple to use so that you can navigate through the system quickly.

This laptop runs on Intels i5 10th generation CPU, along with the combination of 8GB RAM and a 256GB SSDall good there. However, the webcam has a slightly grainy image quality that might not be preferable, and it weighs around 4 lbs which can be a little heavy for seniors to carry on their backs.

But even if we take these two snags out of the equation, Acer Aspire 5 is a pretty strong deal.

8. ASUS VivoBook 15Budget Option

The VivoBook 15 chassis is made from ABS plastic, which can take waist-height drops without being damaged. It has a nice blend of glossy and matte black finish throughout its design, which looks highly stylish and modern. Opening up this laptop, youll find a black keyboard with a white backlight that adds to the devices aesthetic.

In terms of display, you get a standard 15.6-inch FHD IPS screen with 252 nits of brightness, which can be a drawback for people with poor eyesight. A 10th Gen Core i3 processor, 8GB RAM, and a 128GB SSD sit at the heart of this laptop. Certainly a viable combo. Although the SSD makes the VivoBook fast, the small storage capacity can be a little restrictive.

Similar to Acer Aspire 5, you also get a fingerprint scanner with Windows Help compatibility in this laptop, which is an excellent inclusion for budget users. Along with that, the Windows 10 operating system makes the laptop easily accessible to elders.

How to Get the Best Laptop For Seniors Buying Guide

Before we begin with our list, its vital to go over a few criteria we used for reviewing laptops for this list. They will also help you make a well-informed purchase to get more value out of your computer.

Ease of Use

When looking to buy the best laptop for older users, the most crucial aspect to consider is ease of use. A complicated device will discourage seniors and hinder them from using new technology. In other words, the best laptops for the elderly are intuitive devices that guide the users themselves through their well-designed interfaces.

Since older people usually have trouble remembering complex pins and passwords, a laptop with a fingerprint reader can prove to be useful. Apart from helping in logging into the device, it can be used to make easy and quick payments as well.

Additionally, a helpful AI companion such as Microsoft Cortana, Siri, or Amazon Alexa can also enhance the accessibility for elders. The companion can be set up to perform custom functions with voice control. It eliminates the hassle of navigating through countless options to perform simple functions. Speaking of which, having a simple-to-use OS such as Windows or Mac can be supportive too.

Comfort & Portability

While searching for an ideal laptop for your parents or an elder, it will be best to prefer a thin notebook with plenty of palm-rest space inside. Its keyboard should have soft and silent backlit keys that offer a comfortable typing experience, throughout the day.

The laptops weight should also be paid attention to before buying. A bulky laptop will be harder to carry, and it can either cause or worsen back problems in seniors. They might also find it heavy to keep the laptop on their lap something that must be avoided.

Check out the LG Gram 14 and Microsoft Surface Pro 7 on our list. They are some of the lightest notebooks we came across during our research!

Display Quality

We highly recommend considering the laptops display quality too. Eyesight issues are common in old age, and a poor-quality laptop screen will only worsen it with everyday use.

To avoid this, look for a laptop with a soft display and appropriate saturation level. Vibrant color tones and brightness should be enough to help out the senior in all kinds of environments, too bright or too dark. A properly lighted screen will maintain the right balance at all times.

Internal Configuration

When buying a laptop for a senior, its ideal to look for a medium-end notebook. This is because a low-end device will stutter a lot, which can discourage old users. And for a regular use case such as browsing and video calling, high-end options can be overwhelming for the buyers wallet and unnecessary too, honestly.

A decent CPU that is equivalent to or more potent than Intel i3 should be enough. Another thing to look for is decent-sized SSD storage and adequate RAM capacity to ensure that your laptop works smoothly, even after a few years of usage.

However, make sure that the laptop doesnt have any heating issues, as those can cause discomfort while the laptop is placed on the lap.

FAQs About Computers For Seniors

Here are a few common questions people ask while buying the best laptops for older adults:

Verdict

We hope you gained a new perspective to make a well-informed purchase. However, if youre still confused and looking for our final recommendations, we are here for you. Even though all the laptops on our list rightfully deserve their spot, there are a few that stand out as the best options.

• If you want a laptop with the best overall aspects, look no further than the LG Gram 14. It provides a great blend of durability, accessibility, and premium features.
• If youre willing to spend a little extra, you can get great value in return with the Apple MacBook Air M1 edition. It has all the luxury feel of an Apple computer, with an easy-to-use OS and tons of guiding features.
• Lastly, if you want the lightest laptop on our list, the Microsoft Surface Pro 7 will not disappoint. Its a convertible notebook that has a touch screen and can be used as a tablet as well.

In the end, we hope you find an ideal laptop for elderly parents or seniors.

• TAGS
• Seniors

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