Best laptops for typing: 5 Recommended laptops for writers!

Most of us use computers to do our work every day, but if you’re a writer or someone who does a lot of word processing or data entry, choosing the best laptop for typing will make your life much easier.  And with laptops becoming thinner and thinner, laptops with good keyboards are a rarity these days.

But don’t worry! We’ve got your back, and we compiled a list of some of the laptops with the best keyboards you can find as of 2018. To make our list, we have taken into account a number of criteria, such as key travel, feedback, the keyboard’s layout, and of course the laptop’s overall performance. But before we dive in, let’s first take a look at some of the things you should consider when looking for a laptop for typing:

• The Keyboard:

A good keyboard offers good feedback; this means that the individual keys offer enough resistance to prevent you from “bottoming out”. Bottoming out means that you press the key to the fullest depth of its normal travel, which will make your fingers sore and thus slow down your typing speed. Key travel is also another terms you will see a lot when looking at some of the best laptops for typing. Key travel is basically the distance from the key at rest to full depression until it hits bottom. For laptops, this distance is usually between 1.5 and 2 mm; but more and more ultrabooks nowadays have even less key distance than that: Macbooks and windows ultrabooks such as the Dell XPS or Asus Zenbook have almost no key depth, on the other hand they have great battery life.

There are also other cool features you might want your next laptop to have, and one of them is a backlit keyboard.  This is a very helpful feature if you’re someone who likes to type in the dark; and while this feature was only available in higher end models a few years ago, you can now find a few budget laptops with backlit keyboards too.

• The Laptop’s screen size and battery life:

Because of their size, 13 inch laptops have smaller keyboards, smaller keys and tighter key spacing. This can be a problem if you’re used to regular keyboards. However, going for a bigger screen size means that you’re going to sacrifice some of the portability and battery life that an ultrabook offers.

• The Laptop’s overall specs:

If you only use your laptop as a writing machine, you don’t have to spend much time looking at the laptop’s spec sheet, since most laptops can run writing applications easily. However, if you use your laptop for other work, you’d better spend time looking at the machine’s overall performance and not only the keyboard.

Before we show you our top laptops for writers, please keep in mind that there is no absolute “best laptop for typing”, because everyone types differently (only a few people can touch type for example), the idea is to give you a few tips in order to choose a laptop that suits your typing style and provides you a comfortable typing experience.

So, and without further ado, here are the best laptops for typing:

Lenovo ThinkPad T480:  A premium business laptop for serious typing

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If you’re looking for the laptop with the best keyboard, then there is only one answer: a Thinkpad. Lenovo’s ThinkPads have always had some of the best keyboards you can find on a laptop, and the T480 is no exception.

The ThinkPad T480 is a 14 inch business laptop that is both great to use both on the go and as a desktop replacement. The version we are listing comes with an 8^th Gen Intel Core i7- 8550U processor, 8GB of RAM (upgradable to 32GB), and a 256GB SSD. The T480 is for those looking for a work laptop that can handle multitasking and productivity tasks.

But the reason why we put the T480 first on our list is because of its keyboard. With its tactile, rounded keys and great feedback, the keyboard on the T480’s provides a really good typing experience. The key travel is at 1.7 mm, and while it’s a smaller than last generation’s; the difference in real world usage is not noticeable.  According to the model you purchase, you either get a backlit or a non-backlit keyboard; so if that’s a feature you’d want your laptop to have, check the specs before buying.

And last but not the least, it should be noted that when it comes to battery life, the T480 is also one of the best laptops can find as of 2018.  The base model has an average battery that still manage to get you a 9 hours battery life, but here is where things get interesting: The T480 gives you the possibility of adding a secondary battery, which by the way makes the device heavier and thicker,  but which will get you a 18 hours run time!

 Lenovo ThinkPad E580:  An affordable 15 inch ThinkPad

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If you think that the T480 is more than what you need in terms of power, but still want the same quality keyboard, then here is the ThinkPad E580. Not only does it have the typical “built to last” of ThinkPads, but it still comes with an 8^th generation intel i5 processor, 8GB of RAM, and a 256GB SSD.

The E580 has a good amount of ports, and just like all ThinkPads, comes with a fingerprint scanner. And since this is a 15,6 inch laptop, you also get a full size keyboard with a dedicated number pad. And speaking of the keyboard, it is very comfortable to type on, however, it is not backlit.

HP Chromebook 14:  An affordable Chromebook with a good keyboard

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Personally, I am not a big fan of Chromebooks, since they are quite limited in term of performance and software. However, if you’re on a budget, and you only a machine for browsing and typing, then a Chromebook can be an excellent choice. And the good news is that some of these machines have great keyboards, such as the HP Chromebook 14.

In terms of specs, the HP Chromebook 14 comes with an Intel Dual Core Celeron N2840 processor, 4GB of RAM, and 16GB of flash storage. For internet use and typing only, this is more than enough.  It also has a decent amount of ports for its price: 1 USB 3.0 port, 2 USB 2.0 ports, HDMI, and a card reader.

The keyboard on the HP Chromebook 14 is surprisingly good for such a cheap device. The keys are big, and the tactile feedback is decent. And the fact that the battery life can last more than 8 hours makes the HP Chromebook 14  a perfect choice for college students and kids.

If you are interested in a Chromebook, here are some of the best Chromebooks for writers.

HP 17-bs014cy: A great budget 17 inch laptop with a snappy backlit keyboard

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For those of you who are looking for an affordable desktop replacement, here is the HP 17-bs014cy.

This laptop comes with a 7th generation i3 7100U processor, 8GB of RAM, Intel integrated graphics, and a 2TB hard drive. This a standard configuration in budget laptop, and the HP 17-bs014cy should be able to run all your productivity apps and handle multitasking with no issues.

But what makes the HP 17-bs014cy so special is the fact that it comes with one of the best keyboards you can get on budget laptops. Not only do the keys have great tactile feedback, but the fact that the keyboard is backlit makes the HP 17 a good pick if you’re someone who likes to work in darker environments.