TOP 6 BEST LAPTOPS FOR VIDEO CONFERENCING / ZOOM IN 2021 – Pros & Cons, In-Depth Review

The trend of video conferencing has been increasing over the time and especially it grew rapidly after world experienced COVID-19. Mostly corporate encourages video conferencing to avoid the travel and stay protected from being infected with COVID. Even before this pandemic, the world used to be changing and more video conferences were being held instead of face-to-face communication. This is why will be recommending you best laptops for video conferencing.

Almost all officials use the laptops for video conferencing because it provides the better experience comparing to other devices like Tablet or Smartphone.

In the era of digitalization, officials and business managers have left travelling for attending official meetings which saves travelling expenses and time resources for the company and still boosts productivity.

The best laptops for video conferencing are recommended in the following.

Best Laptops for Video Conferencing in 2021

1. HP Chromebook X360

This is 2-in-1 laptop which can rotate at 360 degree and converts into tablet mode. You can carry it easily as its just 3.5 lbs and also its thin design makes it very portable laptop.

It has a forward facing camera for video conferencing; the video quality of webcam is good and delivers you amazing live experience through you can attend online meetings, conferences and official sessions. It offers HD camera which result is amazing and gives you real life experience. You can also show official papers through its webcam, its high quality can capture the all details on paper for the officials on other side.

Its 14 inches Full HD display offers you great watching and streaming experience on platforms like YouTube and Netflix. Its touch-screen technology is very sensitive and very responsive which improves user experience. Its narrow bezels also make the screen look attractive.

It comes with 32GB eMMC, this is Multi-Media-Card used for storing the data. You can upgrade the storage capacity by adding the SATA drive later. This laptop is mainly designed as highly portable laptop which serves all basic purpose with good camera quality.

Its 4GB RAM and Intel Celeron N4000 are actually two hardware which can easily perform basic routine functions on laptop such as web browsing, word-processing, data-entry on sheets and similar others, what else can we expect from $329 laptop. It fully enables the user for video conferencing and this is why HP Chromebook X360 recommended to you. It is important to mention here that you can upgrade the RAM as it provides one memory slot for upgrading.

This laptop also has its drawbacks like any other laptop available in the market. It only offers 32GB storage capacity which could be more and should have been at least 64GB. Second, its touchpad is little non-responsive and user has to apply force for performing functions through it, this is not good but again we should be having realistic expectations from $329 laptop.

2. Acer Nitro 5

Acer Nitro 5 comes with high quality HD webcam ( 1280 x 720 ) resolution which allows one of the best video conferencing experiences on any laptop. Any best laptop for video conferencing should also be light-weight, this is only 2.64 pounds. You can easily carry it anywhere to sit comfortable and start the online meetings.

This laptop offers multiple good features and powerful hardware. Its 10th generation Intel Core i5-10300H processor can boost up its speed up to 4.5GHz which is more than enough for running any resource-intensive and high-end software without heating up.

Its 8GB DDR4 RAM allows the user to be engaged in multi-tasking while video conferencing and system would not go slow down. 8GB RAM can handle multi-tasking easily, so the user can manage its workload accordingly.

It is not over yet and need to discuss about its GPU which is known for its best performance, Its GTX NVIDIA 1650Ti 4GB DDR6 which can play all latest games at high settings and its powerful graphics performance also impacts on the high definition video chat which offers real experience. It would be like the other person is sitting next to you.

Its 256GB SSD is a lot of internal space for normal user; it may be not enough being a gamer. The good news is can upgrade it by adding 1TB SATA drive and one M.2 slot is also provided to add 512GB SSD.

Its battery life is nine hours and keep the user relax from the worry of recharging all the time.  

Acer Nitro 5 comes with drawbacks which also need to be discussed about. The first drawback, it does not offer micro-SD slot and you can use SD card for storing data. SD cards are cheaper, cost-effective, removable and portable, but you cannot get all these benefits on Acer Nitro 5. The second drawback, it offers skimpy 256GB storage which would make you upgrading it after two or three years which costs extra bucks.

3. Acer Chromebook R 11

Acer comes again in the list and this one comes with built-in HD webcam and light-weight feature. Its weight is just 2.76 lbs and easy to carry anywhere to start the video conferencing. You can easily take it outside or start video chat even in the middle of something because it is quite easy-to-use. Video conferencing requires a decent background to begin the session, easy portability make it easier for you. It means best laptop for Zoom like applications must be light-weight and highly portable.

Its 11.6 inches HD display also offers great watching experience; Netflix lovers would find this Chromebook such a device which multiplies their Netflix experience. Its 2-in-1 feature can convert it easily into tablet mode for better watching experience.

This Chromebook is designed to perform basic tasks, its Intel Celeron and 4GB RAM can only perform word-processing, web-browsing, maintaining excel sheets and video conferencing like functions.

Its battery life is 10 hours which definitely adds more points into its favor. Every user is concerned about laptops’ battery because a weak battery can ruin the overall user experience.

Its 32GB storage is definitely not enough for most types of users; it is actually designed to serve the user by performing basic functions. Its developers put more focus on its portability, HD webcam and battery life. You can use 64GB SD card to extend memory for storing more data.

Acer Chromebook R11 also has its drawbacks and limitations. First of all, it’s initially offered storage capacity is insufficient and requires the user to upgrade it by spending additional bucks. The second drawback, it is only available in White color and there should have been more options available. 

4. Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5     

Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5 is very popular laptop among having 2-in-1 feature to offer. Like any other 2-in-1 laptop, it is also light-weight machine just 3.30 pounds heavy. Its webcam allows user to hold online video conferencing at 720p resolution which is like real life face-to-face conversation. Webcam also comes with privacy shutter to keep it covered to avoid any undesirable events.

You can enjoy its 14 inches Full HD screen for streaming Netflix and YouTube videos. It can support 1080p quality YouTube or Netflix videos because its screen resolution is also 1920 x 1080 which means more pixels in one frame. This would be amazing holding the light-weight device when it is converted into tablet mode and enjoying HD 1080p streaming favorite content.

It is not like Lenovo compromised on its hardware performance for better display performance; its data processing side is also stronger. Its AMD Ryzen 7 4700U is very strong in processing even the highly complex data. Its processor can easily run applications like Zoom to enable video conferencing without any interruption and other issues. This processor makes this machine as best laptop for video conferencing and using software like Zoom.

It can also run photo-editing software like PhotoShop and user can apply its different tools, this processor can process all its data to provide output. 

Its 16GB RAM is more than enough to manage all levels of multi-tasking, user can open and run more than five applications at the same time and performing functions on all of them. 16GB RAM is not going to slow down the system and user would be able managing its workload easily.

It comes with 512GB SSD which can store ample amount of data for the owner. You can upgrade and extend the memory by inserting 1TB SATA drive.

Its overall connectivity is satisfactory because multiple USB ports are provided. There is one USB 3.1 Type-C port, two USB 3.1, one HDMI and 1×4 media card reader. These multiple USB ports enable the user to easily transfer and share the data from one device to other.

There is only one drawback we found in Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5. This laptop should have been more portable and could be more light-weight, because it is relatively heavy for a 14-inch device.

5. Dell Inspiron 17 3793

This Dell’s laptop comes with tempting features and provides good for value; it is definitely also one of the best laptops for video conferencing and using Zoom. Its 17.3-inches screen dramatically boost viewing experience for video conferencing and attending online sessions. User would definitely enjoy the bigger screen for online video chat.

Its built-in HD webcam with high quality microphone improves the overall online conferencing experience. HD webcam provides such an experience as the other person sitting next to you. User can hold official online meetings as well as being a teacher can deliver lecture to all students through this laptop.

Its 10th generation processor Intel Core i5-1035G1 allows non-interrupting online video conferencing, Video calls and delivering & attending lectures on Zoom application. This processor can also easily manage to process highly graphic-intensive input to provide a user with its output. For Instance, you can easily use the latest version of PhotoShop on this laptop; remember PhotoShop is one of the most resource-intensive software.

This laptop hits the home run with offering 16GB RAM, more RAM means it is easier to apply multi-tasking on laptop. This laptop’s owner can easily perform multi-tasking and can even run five software at same time. Its 16GB RAM is surely going to handle this processing burden so easily.

It comes with 512GB SSD and 1TB HDD which provides more than ample space to store the data. You have flexible storage options, one drive can be used for storing non-frequently used data and other for storing daily routine data, this is good strategy for enjoying time efficiency.

It offers multiple connectivity options through one Type-C port, one USB 2.0, two USB 3.1 and one HDMI. Type-C is most efficient in terms of transferring the data in less time.

Its battery life is neither bad nor good; it can last up to seven hour which can be managed by the user.

As far as its drawbacks are concerned, its first drawback is made of cheap material quality and it also feels cheap plastic. The second drawback is, it is heavy-weight machine 7.68 pounds and also bulky in size which makes it less portable machine. These two drawbacks are not directly associated with video conferencing but may affect your experience.

6. Microsoft Surface Pro 7

This laptop can be defined as sleek design, looks premium and very light-weight just 1.1 pounds. It means Microsoft Surface Pro 7 is highly portable machine which can be carried anywhere to choose the best place for video conferencing.

Surface Pro 7 comes with 8MP webcam which delivers high quality live video production and enables the user to attend online meetings like it was real. Once you have this machine, everybody will be convinced to allow you come online for video conferencing instead of making physical arrangements because its video quality is quite satisfactory for the respondents who listening to you.

It takes power from 10th generation Intel Core i5 processor to process either high-graphic data or complex logical data; it can easily process for the user. User can run software like PhotoShop, AutoCad or any other resource-intensive software on this laptop.

Its 8GB RAM allows using applications like Zoom or Skype while engaged in multi-tasking means performing activities on other software as well. It would not ruin your Zoom experience as 8GB RAM is enough to handle multi-tasking. Laptops with faster RAMs can surely be defined as best laptops for Zoom or video conferencing.

It offers you 128GB SSD to store personal and work related data. 128GB can be enough for the kind of user who is used to be storing only selective data, a user habitually downloads and stores data for no future use could find it not enough.

Its 12.3 inches screen is perfect for online video conferencing and its vibrant screen delivers satisfactory viewing experience. Its battery life is 10.5 hours and you do not have to be worried about its recharging for long time, once it is fully charged.

It’s multiple USB ports offers good connectivity and enables user to get connected with laptop for data transferring. It provides both USB-c and USB-a to be connected with.

This device Surface Pro 7 is almost perfect and comes without any drawback, the only limitation is, it does not offer Thunderbolt support which offers data transferring at fastest speed so far.

What Specifications Builds a Best Laptop for Video Conferencing

There are three features or specifications which builds a best laptop for video conferencing, discussed in the following.

Webcam Quality

A webcam must be offering high quality; its minimum resolution should be 720 because below this does not delivery satisfactory viewing experience. HD webcam improves the overall video conferencing experience for both end users.

Light-Weight

Best laptop for video conferencing should be light-weight device which can carry around easily anywhere to find the place for starting video conferencing.

Screen Size

Screen size impacts overall user’s video conferencing experience. Smaller screens may not delivery satisfactory experience and you may not get the graphic details which might be critical detail for you. It is suggested not to compromise below 12 inches screen which otherwise could ruin the experience.

These three features must be considered and evaluated carefully for choosing the best laptop for video conferencing or zoom software.

Frequently Asked Questions

We are going to answer most frequently asked questions on this topic.

– What should be the ideal screen size for Zoom meetings and Video-conferencing ?

It is better to have 15.6″ screen size laptop, because there may be more than 10 people attending online Zoom meeting and small screen would not offer better user experience. The display clarity will be bettery on large-sized screen which is 15.6″ screen.

– How much faster RAM is recommended on laptop for Zoom meetings ?

Zoom is not a RAM intensive application and only requires 4GB of RAM, whereas dual-core processor is also enough to smoothly run the Zoom.

– What is the most critical laptop specification for better Zoom experience ?

Zoom is the basic app and demands higher resolution and better display quality. Therefore, the most critical choice to make is between screen resolution whether go for 720p display or 1080p resolution, screen size is also included in display performance.

Final Words

If you want to buy a laptop for using applications like Zoom and are supposed to attend online meetings and video conferences, then choose a laptop with HD quality webcam which can help you in seeing all little details and make you feel like physically attending the meeting. Zoom app is not ram and processor-intensive and do not go for expensive laptops but can do well in a budget laptop.