I’m typically reluctant to recommend budget-friendly laptops, particularly ones that run Windows, because they suck, more often than not. That’s beginning to change, thanks in part to last year’s introduction of the Snapdragon X-series processors that offer solid performance and good x86 and x64 app compatibility. If you’re in need of a compact 14-inch laptop with 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD, the Asus Vivobook 14 in the “quiet blue” color scheme packed with the eight-core Snapdragon X CPU is $379.99 for the rest of the day at Best Buy (originally $749.99).
The Snapdragon X sits below the X Plus and X Elite found in pricier laptops in terms of performance. So, it’s probably not the ideal pick if you run system-intensive apps, but it should be fine for web browsing and casual content creation.
ARM-based laptops can’t run x86 or x64 apps natively, although strides have been made to boost emulation compatibility and performance in many of the most popular apps. In short, it’s far less painful now than it used to be to jump from, say, a laptop with an Intel or AMD processor. And, despite this being a thin and affordable laptop, its port selection is fairly impressive, boasting two USB-A 3.2 Gen 1 ports, HDMI 2.1 output, a headphone jack, and two USB-C 3.2 Gen 1 ports (both support charging and DisplayPort out). It also has a somewhat large trackpad, a 1080p Windows Hello IR webcam, and a physical cover for the webcam. Seems like a pretty nice value, if you ask me.
