5 Top-Rated and Value-Focused Laptops for Back-to-School Season

Whether you’re heading out to a physical campus this academic year, taking classes online, or doing mix of both, a reliable daily driver like a laptop will take centerstage in your studies. And it won’t be for just taking notes, writing papers, or research, it’ll also handle extracurricular activities—from streaming movies and music, keeping up with social media platforms, gaming, and connecting with family and friends.

But choosing the right laptop can be more challenging than, say, writing a thousand-word essay. There are so many choices in the market today that it’s easy to get lost in the vast sea of tech options. Plus, worldwide inflation continues to ramp up prices, so everything might feel costlier than ever.

The good news is, there are portable picks that shine in price-to-performance ratio—daily drivers that respect your budget while lasting you at least four years of undergrad and beyond.

To help you shop for back-to-school season, we’ve gathered five topnotch and value-focused student laptops you can consider copping as your next study buddy.

All our picks are readily available in Villman via your SM Malls Online app for hassle-free shopping and delivery. They’re all on sale, too, for up to 19% off until month-end. New app users can even key in code SMFIRSTDELIVERY to get P150 off on their online purchases.

Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3i 15 in Arctic Gray

You don’t need to look further for a full-size, low-priced Windows 11 laptop when you have the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3i 15. Decent for school use, the IdeaPad Slim 3i 15 feels sturdily built and easy to carry around thanks to its compact design.

It has a 15.6-inch FHD IPS screen that provides plenty of room for multitasking, a comfy keyboard, and a small but responsive touchpad. It runs on an Intel Core i5-1135G7 CPU, 8GB DDR4 RAM, and an NVIDIA GeForce MX350 GPU that can handle a myriad of productivity tasks for both work and play.

It sells for 15% off until the 31st—now only P39,888 from its sticker price of P46,995. Even better: Every purchase of the IdeaPad Slim 3i 15 comes with a free laptop bag and a Microsoft Office Home & Student 2021 pack.

Acer Aspire 5 in Pure Silver

Equipped with Intel’s Tiger Lake processor (i3-115G4), the Acer Aspire 5 (A515-56G) is a fairly thin and light notebook with some gaming capabilities, thanks to its NVIDIA GeForce MX350 2GB graphics card, 8GB DDR4 RAM, and 512GB SSD.

Powered by Windows 11, the 15.6-inch driver hardly gets warm and produces only minimum noise, which is perfect for students who multitask and have different tabs open all at once. All in all, it’s a good value laptop that offers a well-rounded solution for everyday tasks and beyond.

And at 19% off until the 31st (now P29,788 from P36,999), it’s a great option for students who are wary about stretching their budget while getting solid performance. Shop this one to also get an Adidas voucher worth P3,000.

ASUS VivoBook 14 in Quiet Blue

This feature-packed laptop makes it easy to get things done—anytime, anywhere. Boasting of 12th Gen Intel® Core™ processor (i7-1260p), 8GB DDR4 RAM, 512GB SSD, and Intel Iris Xe Graphics, the 14-inch machine delivers solid overall performance for its price.

Currently, it’s at 7% off until the 31st—now only P50,988 from P54,995. With a crisp and clear display, 180° lay-flat hinge, a modern color, and a sleek geometric design, the VivoBook 14 (X1402ZA-EB226WS) presents to be a strong case to be your daily driver.

Every purchase also gets you a free ASUS backpack and your very own Microsoft Office Home & Student 2021 pock to help you ace the upcoming school year.

Lenovo Yoga Slim 7 Pro in Storm Grey

A thin and lightweight laptop that stacks up pretty well this year, the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7 Pro nails all the fundamentals and more—handling a bit of everything thanks to its AMD Ryzen 7 5800HS processor and NVIDIA GeForce MX450 GPU.

It even scores a respectable battery life despite the strong CPU and GPU performance, allowing you to push your creative limits. It also sports a 14-inch OLED display with a 90Hz screen refresh rate for a seamless multimedia and viewing experience. Memory-wise, the Yoga Slim 7 Pro packs 16GB DDR4 RAM and onboard storage of 1TB.

You can shop for this pro at 11% off (now P66,888 from P74,995) until the 31st and score a free pack of Microsoft Office Home & Student 2021, a laptop bag, and a Lenovo 100 Analog Headset to match.

Dell Inspiron 3511 in Platinum Silver

This 15.6-inch model offers a lot of performance for the price of P58,888 (11% off until month-end) from its original sticker price of P62,990.

For starters, it’s equipped with an Intel Core i7-1165G7 processor and an NVIDIA GeForce MX350 graphics card that allow for a seamless user-experience and gameplay of most popular multiplayer titles like DOTA 2 or Fortnite. It also packs an 8GB DDR4 RAM and a 512 SSD and can run either Windows 10 or 11.

Copping one until the 31st will also get you a free Microsoft Office Home & Student 2021 pack worth P5,995, a Dell Essential Briefcase, and a GrabGift voucher worth P1,500.

Shopping for a new machine for this year’s back-to-school season can better help you stay on top of your schedule and handle your multiple activities—and ace them, of course.

Got to get to class soon? Remember that our portable picks are available in Villman via the SM Malls Online app (download it if you haven’t already!)—and are all on sale until August 31. FYI—new app users can use code SMFIRSTDELIVERY to get P150 off on their online purchases.

For more back-to-school season essentials at exclusive promos and discounts, don’t forget to drop by at SM Deals.