Expert Consulted: Adrian Gardiner. Years of experience buying computers and computer parts for my new customer builds has given me a keen eye for spotting great deals when shopping. In this article, I’ll be sharing my knowledge to help you find the best laptop for watching movies.
Laptops today are true multi-purpose devices, used for many different reasons, be it for work, catching up on social media, pursuing a hobby, or just to chill while watching a movie.
The best laptop for watching movies can mean many things to different people, depending on their particular needs and budget.
It’s unlikely you’ll want to get a laptop just for movies, but will want it for all the other stuff as just mentioned, a jack of all trades if you like.
In researching for this article, my goal was to find a selection of laptops that cater to the main requirement of being the best laptop for watching movies but also suiting different budgets and meeting different needs.
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Best Laptops for Watching Movies – 4 Superb Laptops Reviewed
I narrowed down 4 main criteria that I consider to be the most important when searching for the best laptop for watching movies and have briefly covered these in the table below:
| Audio Quality | In my experience, from working with so many client laptops and sorting out their problems, the number one area that always seems to let them down is the quality of their audio – it’s usually pretty awful. Most clients I see, usually connect their laptops to separate speakers or headphones to get a better sound experience for those times when they want to watch a movie, YouTube, maybe a spot of gaming, or just a simple Zoom session. So, my first consideration when looking for the best laptop for watching movies is how good are the speakers? |
| Screen Quality | My second consideration is the screen quality – it needs to be great, preferably FHD or 4K, and at least 15.6″ or larger, unless you’re of an age where your eyesight can still handle small screens without needing glasses – not me, unfortunately. The days when I could watch a movie on my smartphone are, sadly, long gone. I now lust after ever larger screens to calm my tired eyes! |
| Battery Life | The third most important requirement is battery life, especially if you’re on the move, traveling around, say, and you want to watch a movie. You may not have immediate access to a power socket, so good battery life will be important if you want to finish the movie without the dreaded low battery warning. |
| Performance | All the laptops covered in this review will have a more than adequate specification to give good performance, whether watching movies or playing the odd game, for example – all capable of the full plethora of multi-tasking requirements. |
The following table provides a handy overview of the 4 models reviewed.
BEST LAPTOPS REVIEWED | Reason for Selection | |
1. | HP Spectre x360 16 (2022) UHD+ Laptop | ‘Best Windows Option’ |
2. | MacBook Pro 16″ Laptop | ‘Best Apple Option’ |
3. | Dell 2023 XPS 17 9720 17″ UHD+ Laptop | ‘Best Large Screen Option’ |
4. | Samsung Galaxy Book 3 Pro 360 Laptop | ‘Best Affordable Option’ |
Any of the reviewed laptops would be perfect for watching movies.
The 4 Best Laptops for Watching Movies
OK, here’s my selection, covering the best laptop for watching movies.
Each laptop has been chosen to meet the 4 key selection criteria mentioned earlier: great sound quality, the very best screen technology, great battery life, and excellent performance.
1: HP Spectre x360 16 (2022) UHD+ Laptop
Best Windows Option | HP Spectre x360 16 (2022) UHD+ Laptop
| See full review below |
The HP Spectre x360 16 stands out as a high-performance 2-in-1 laptop, ideal for professionals and creatives alike, including movie watchers!
Powered by an Intel Core i7-1260P processor with speeds up to 4.7GHz and Intel Arc A370M Graphics, it can handle demanding applications with ease.
This model comes with a stunning 16″ UHD+ (3840 x 2400) OLED multitouch screen, protected by anti-reflection Corning Gorilla Glass, offering vivid colors and endlessly deep blacks.
The display’s quality is complemented by a superb audio setup, fine-tuned by Bang & Olufsen, providing an amazing immersive experience.
Storage isn’t an issue with a super fast 1TB NVMe M.2 SSD, ensuring rapid load times and ample space.
Unique features like the HP True Vision 5MP IR camera with a privacy shutter and a bundled Active Pen enhance productivity and security.
Despite its slim profile, the Spectre x360 maintains a respectable battery life, lasting up to approximately 9 hours of mixed usage.
The full specification is as follows:
- Processor: Intel i7-1260P
- RAM: 16 GB
- Hard Drive: 1 TB M.2 NVMe SSD
- Graphics: Intel Arc A370M 4 GB VRAM
- Display: 16″ UHD+ (3840 x 2400) OLED Multi-Touch-enabled
- Webcam: True Vision 5 MP IR Camera
- Dimensions (WxDxH): 14 x 9.6 x 0.78 (35.8 x 24.53 x 1.99 cm)
- Weight: 2.01 KG
- Battery Life: up to 9 hrs
- Operating System: Windows 11 Pro
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2: MacBook Pro 16.2″ Laptop
The Apple MacBook Pro 16-inch M2 Max (Early 2023) is a highly sought-after product, boasting impressive features and cutting-edge technology, making it a favorite among tech enthusiasts and professionals.
The laptop’s design is super sleek, with its beautiful aluminum chassis and top-notch performance, especially with the latest M2 Max chip.
The stunning XDR retina display is a thing of beauty that you’ll never tire of, with everything you do on it looking amazing.
Its 100-watt-hour battery life is excellent at up to 22 hours and is the best out of all the laptops reviewed here.
While perfect for watching movies, this is definitely a premium product that you’ll want to make full use of for many different applications.
The full specification is as follows:
- Processor: M2 Max
- RAM: 64 GB
- Hard Drive: 1 TB SSD
- Graphics: Apple Integrated
- Display: 16.2″ Liquid Retina XDR Display (3456 x 2234)
- Webcam: 1080p
- Dimensions (WxDxH): 14.01 x 9.77 x 0.66 inches (35.57 x 24.81 x 1.68 cm)
- Weight: 4.8 lbs (2.16 kg)
- Battery Life: Up to 22 hrs
- Operating System: MacOS
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3: Dell 2023 XPS 17 9720 (2023) 17″ UHD+ Laptop
Best Large Screen Option | Dell 2023 XPS 17 9720 17″ UHD+
| See full review below |
The Dell XPS 17 9720 (2023) is a marvel of engineering designed for power users who demand high-performance computing on the go.
Encased in a Platinum Silver exterior with a Black interior, the laptop’s CNC-machined aluminum chassis exudes a premium feel, complemented by a carbon fiber or woven glass fiber composite palm rest for added comfort.
At the heart of this powerhouse is a 12th Gen Intel Core i7-12700H processor, with its 14 cores and 20 threads promising unparalleled multitasking capabilities, perfect for professionals and creatives alike.
An enormous 64GB of DDR5 RAM and a 2TB M.2 NVMe SSD offer not just substantial storage but lightning-fast application loading and data transfer.
The 17″ UHD+ 3840 x 2400 touchscreen is a visual delight, with its 60Hz refresh rate, Anti-Glare coating, and 500-nit brightness ensuring vibrant, stutter-free visuals.
With an RTX 3060 handling graphics, you’ll have the power to deal with demanding graphics work and the capability to take in a spot of gaming, too.
A nice backlit keyboard is useful in the dark, with a fingerprint reader boosting security and convenience, while the very capable Waves Nx 3D audio system, featuring stereo woofers and tweeters, offers an immersive sound experience.
- Processor: Intel Core i7-12700H
- RAM: 64 GB
- Hard Drive: 2 TB M.2 NVMe SSD
- Graphics: NVIDIA RTX 3060 6 GB VRAM
- Display: 17″ UHD+ (3840 x 2400) Touchscreen Enabled
- Webcam: 720p with integrated microphone
- Dimensions (WxDxH): 14.74 x 9.76 x 0.7 inches (37.4 x 24.8 x 1.85 cm)
- Weight: 5.34 lbs (2.42 kg)
- Battery Life: Up to 10 hrs
- Operating System: Windows 11 Pro
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4: Samsung Galaxy Book 3 Pro 360
Best Affordable Option | Samsung Galaxy Book 3 Pro 360 16″
| See full review below |
The Samsung Galaxy Book 3 Pro 360 has made a significant entry into the market, capturing attention with its high-end specifications and the flexibility of a 360-degree hinge that supports various modes for different work environments.
This ultra-slim and light for its size, 2-in-1 device is to be admired for its fabulous sharp and vibrant AMOLED display and high-quality build.
With an excellent and huge built-in touchscreen, the inclusion of an excellent AKG-tuned quad speaker setup is the icing on the cake for what is an excellent and hugely desirable product from Samsung.
Movies? No problem. Anything else? Also, no problem. This laptop can handle pretty much anything you throw at it.
The full specification is as follows:
- Processor: Intel Core i7-1360p
- RAM: 16 GB
- Hard Drive: 1 TB M.2 NVMe SSD
- Graphics: Intel Iris Xe Graphics
- Display: 16″ 3K AMOLED WQXGA+ (2880 x 1800) Touchscreen
- Webcam: 1080p FHD Wide Angle
- Dimensions (WxDxH): 13.99 x 9.86 x 0.49 inches (35.5 x 25 x 1.2 cm)
- Weight: 3.44 lbs (1.66 kg)
- Battery Life: Up to 19 hrs
- Operating System: Windows 11 Home
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What to Look Out for When Selecting The Best Laptop for Watching Movies
When looking for the best laptop for watching movies, as mentioned at the start of this article, I recommend noting the following purchase considerations.
Hardware Considerations
Here are my 4 hardware recommendations to look out for when looking to buy the best laptop for watching movies:
- Audio Quality – if you can test one out in person, that would be ideal to see if the sound is okay.
- Screen Quality – the screen quality needs to be FHD or 4K, ideally. Look for 15.6″ or larger.
- Battery Life – I would look for a stated battery life of 10 hours or higher.
- Performance – go for the very best performance that you can afford within your budget in terms of CPU, RAM, and Storage.
For each of the above, check as many online reviews as you can, starting with Amazon’s individual product reviews and then checking on Reddit and Quora to find as much information as you can to gauge other users’ experiences.
Bear in mind that you’re looking to build an overall picture of user experiences here, and the odd issue with a laptop might be expected, as sometimes things can go wrong.
In this case, I would be careful not to base your opinion of a laptop on just one user’s negative feedback.
If you see the same issue being reported again and again, you know there’s something to watch out for on that particular model.
Additional Considerations
As well as noting the hardware side of things, I would also take the following into account:
- Budget – every one of us will have a different budget, depending on our particular needs and circumstances, but I would suggest setting it before you start looking at what’s available.
- Delivery Charges – what are the costs for delivery going to be? If the company supplying the laptop is local, it may be cheaper to pick it up yourself.
- Warranty – Check to see what the warranty is and whether it’s worth extending – if the price is reasonable, it’s probably a good idea to extend as these devices can be expensive to fix if they go wrong outside of warranty.
- Accessories – remember to factor in the cost of any accessories you might need, like an external wireless mouse, a sturdy laptop bag, security software, and MS Office software.
- Taking Care of Your Laptop – I thoroughly recommend the purchase of a good quality and sturdy laptop bag to protect your laptop when traveling or simply when not in use.
Final Thoughts
There are many laptops out there to choose from, so making a selection is not easy, even for the best of us.
Hopefully, the selection I’ve presented here will make that task easier for you, with something for all budgets and tastes.
All models reviewed here will be brilliant for watching movies as well as coping easily with the usual wide range of tasks that crop up in daily life, from creating documents, video editing, conducting business activities, and having a bit of fun with gaming.
Whatever you decide to purchase, I wish you all the best with your selection.