With today’s wealth of state-of-the-art laptops to choose from, checking individual specs and assessing hardware seems to be a job fit for only an IT expert. Not only that, you need to compare brands and models if you want to get your money’s worth. Most people are torn between getting a regular laptop, a hardcore gaming model, or a sleek touchscreen laptop. While touchscreen laptops seem to be the way into the future, many students and professionals still appreciate a regular laptop’s reliability, affordability, and durability without a touchscreen. We’ve prepared a pros and cons list to help you decide if a laptop with a touchscreen vs. a laptop without a touchscreen is best for you. From there, check out our 6 Best Laptops without Touch Screens. Let’s get started!
6 Best Non Touch Screen Laptops
Not everyone needs the extra features offered by a touchscreen laptop. If you’re looking for non touchscreen laptop to accommodate your everyday needs, check out our list of the top 6 best non touch screen laptops based on:
1 6 Best Non Touch Screen Laptops1.1 Best Business and Professional Laptop Without Touch Screen: Lenovo ThinkPad P521.2 Best for Gamers and Content Creators: GIGABYTE AERO 151.3 Best Ultra-Thin Laptop Without Touch Screen: Acer Aspire 71.4 Best Budget Laptop Without Touchscreen: HP Stream 141.5 Best Ultralight Laptop Without Touch Screen: Lenovo X1 Nano1.6 Best Laptop Without Touch Screen: Dell XPS 132 Final Verdict – Best Laptop Without Touchscreen 3 Introducing the Touch Screen Feature on Laptops3.1 Types of Touchscreen on Laptops3.1.1 Capacitive Touchscreen 3.1.2 Resistive Touchscreen4 Advantages and Disadvantages: Do I Need a Touchscreen Laptop? 4.1 Advantages of Laptops with Touchscreen4.1.1 Fast and straightforward navigation4.1.2 Great for Students, Artists, and Designers4.1.3 High-definition and vibrant displays4.2 Disadvantages of Laptops with Touchscreen4.2.1 Quickly drains batteries4.2.2 Bulkier and heavier4.2.3 More expensive4.2.4 Limited viewing angles5 Touchscreen vs. Non-Touchscreen: Which is Better?
Display Processor RAM Storage Graphics Card Peripherals Connectivity Battery life
Now let’s take a look at our top picks:
Best Business and Professional Laptop Without Touch Screen: Lenovo ThinkPad P52
The Lenovo ThinkPad P52 is one of the most powerful professional SSD laptops without touchscreen. This workstation laptop was built to handle intensive tasks and programs for businesses and professionals. The Lenovo Thinkpad P52 features a beautiful 15.6-inch FullHD 1080p IPS display. With its anti-glare technology, the ThinkPad P52 is perfect for professionals who need to work long hours in front of the screen. It’s also worth mentioning that the ThinkPad P52 features an ergonomic trackpad and backlit LED keyboard that is great for working long hours. Users who want to get the best work and play experience will be immersed in the 4K display with ultra-sharp details, impressive vibrancy, and high contrast. While the screen boasts a comfortably large display, the unit isn’t uncomfortably heavy and bulky at 5.4 pounds. However, with a battery life of about 5.5 hours, this powerful unit is more commonly used as a workstation laptop at home or in the office. The Lenovo ThinkPad’s Intel HexaCore i7 processor allows it to offer top-notch performance, even for the most demanding work tasks. With the ability to reach a clock speed of up to 4.1 GHz, you won’t experience any frustrating lags or delays on this productive laptop. Now if you’re looking for a workstation laptop that’s great for multitasking, you can rest assured that the ThinkPad P52 offers ultra-fast performance thanks to its dedicated 4GB NVIDIA Quadro P2000 graphics card. The unit also offers 32GB RAM to give you the most seamless multitasking experience. Whether you need to run multiple work programs at once or single resource-heavy software, the ThinkPad P52 is guaranteed to keep up. The ThinkPad P52 offers one of the most efficient ways of storing your valuable work data. Thanks to a generous 1TB storage, it’s one of the SSD laptops on the market. What’s more, the Lenovo ThinkPad also comes with a fingerprint reader and a security keyhole to ensure that all your stored data, including work files, projects, and materials, are secure and protected from hackers and malware. Another feature that makes the ThinkPad P52 great for work is its multiple connectivity ports. The unit features several ports, including USB 3.2 Gen 1, Thunderbolt 3, a 4-in-1 Card Reader, and HDMI. It also features reliable wireless connectivity features for WiFi and Bluetooth. The Modern Standby feature that automatically connects your laptop to the internet is a welcome addition that makes everyday workflow more efficient. Video conferences are intuitive with the headphone and microphone combo jack and webcam. You can also connect airpods to your lenovo laptop if you want hands-free. With powerful hardware that’s designed to handle the most demanding tasks, the Lenovo ThinkPad P52 is one of the best business full HD laptops without touch screen. Professionals looking to take their productivity and multitasking capabilities to a whole new level can rely on the ThinkPad P52.
Best for Gamers and Content Creators: GIGABYTE AERO 15
If you’re looking for the best non touchscreen display with impressive 3D capabilities, the Aero 15 boasts a 15.6-inch 4K UHD OLED display with a resolution of 3840 x 2160 and a refresh rate of 144 Hz. Gamers, content creators, and developers can get the most out of the GIGABYTE Aero display. It offers a color accuracy rating of Delta E < 1 and a 60 percent Adobe RGB color gamut. With an 11th Gen Intel Core i7-11800H processor, the GIGABYTE Aero 15 is more powerful than ever. This hexacore processor guarantees a clock speed of up to 5 GHz, allowing you to work on resource-demanding games, projects, and simulations without any risk of lags and delays. Working with a 6GB NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 graphics card allows the GIGABYTE Aero 15 to work with demanding 3D games and simulations with ease. Coupled with 16GB RAM, you can multitask to your heart’s content. With a choice to upgrade to 64GBGB RAM, you can reach a whole new level of productivity. The Aero 15 also comes with up to 6GB VRAM, which is great for getting an ultra-detailed viewing experience for content creation, design, gaming, and development. Another great thing about the GIGABYTE AERO 15 is that it comes with the powerful Windows 10 Pro operating system. Partnered with a storage size of 1 TB SSD, you won’t have any problems running this OS on the GIGABYTE Aero. With storage this huge, you won’t have any issues getting high-speed performance, even for the most demanding tasks and software. You’d expect a powerful gaming laptop to be heavy and bulky, but that’s not the case with the Aero 15. Although marketed as a workstation laptop, the Aero 15’s powerful hardware is encased in a compact and lightweight chassis, bringing the unit’s total weight to only 4.4 pounds. What’s more, you still get up to 6 to 10 hours of battery life even if you run heavy games and editing applications. Gamers and content creators will never be a step behind, thanks to the Aero 15’s high-speed connectivity options, including WiFi 6 and Bluetooth 5.0. What’s more, you get multiple connectivity ports, including Thunderbolt 3 (Type-C), USB Type-A, HDMI, MiniDisplay, UHS-II SD Card Reader, and ethernet. With more people relying on video conferences and calls, the Aero 15 can meet your needs thanks to its HD webcam and superior surround sound system. Promising next-level entertainment and productivity, the GIGABYTE Aero 15 is the best laptop for gamers and content creators.
Best Ultra-Thin Laptop Without Touch Screen: Acer Aspire 7
Even with a slim design and affordable price tag, the Acer Aspire 7 is one of the most durable and heavy-duty laptops on the market. Offering a powerful processor, graphics card, RAM, and storage, the Acer Aspire 7 is a laptop that can deal with demanding productivity tasks. With a 15.6-inch FHD IPS display with a 1920 x 1080 pixels resolution, the Acer Aspire 7 offers stunning visual performance that’s light on the eyes for long hours of work. Coupled with a WLED-backlight, you don’t have to worry about your batteries draining too fast. Though a lightweight and slim laptop, the Aspire 7 offers up to 8.5 hours of battery under moderate use. Running on a powerful 10th Generation Intel Core i7-1065G7 Processor, the Acer Aspire 7 can reach a clock speed of up to 3.9 GHz thanks to the Acer Turbo Boost technology. What’s more, you get the unit with 8GB RAM, which might not be enough for a gamer, but it’s definitely worth it for a student or your typical business professional. While not the most heavy-duty laptop for intense multitasking, you get more than enough, especially considering its affordable price tag. When it comes to storage, the Acer Aspire 7 doesn’t disappoint either with a 512GB SSD. Running on Windows 10 OS and a large SSD memory, you can rely on the unit to remain fast and productive. This is definitely enough for serious businesses and students who are working on multiple projects and tasks. Another great thing about the Acer Aspire 7 is its multiple connectivity options. Even with the low price tag, you get numerous USB ports, including USB-C, ethernet, and HDMI. Users will also appreciate the fast WiFi 5 and Bluetooth 4.1 capabilities. Acer Aspire 7 also offers incredible peripherals for entertainment and video conferences. With TrueHarmony technology speakers, two microphones designed to capture every detail, and an HD webcam, you can get a reliable device for work or school meetings. Now, if you’re looking for a laptop with an ergonomic design, Acer Aspire 7 is a reliable workhorse laptop that ensures comfort thanks to its intuitive keyboard and trackpad. If you’re looking for a thin yet reliable laptop, the Acer Aspire 7 is guaranteed to offer high-performance thanks to its powerful processor, GPU, and fast storage.
Best Budget Laptop Without Touchscreen: HP Stream 14
If you’re looking for the best budget-friendly non touchscreen laptop, the HP Stream 14 is one of the best on the market. With a lightweight design and reliable hardware, the HP Stream is an ideal laptop for students. With a 14-inch HD Brightview display with a resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels, there’s no doubt that you get every cent’s worth. The HP Stream offers stunning display clarity, brightness, and color at an affordable price. Coupled with anti-glare technology, you can comfortably work long hours on this energy-efficient laptop without any eye strain. Users looking for a sleek yet personalized laptop can choose from HP’s wide selection of Stream 14 colors in white, pink, gold, grey, dark blue, silver, and black. Even better, the laptop features comfortable ridges and a texture that enhances your grip on the laptop. The HP Stream 14 runs on an Intel Celeron Dual Core N3060 processor, ensuring optimal efficiency and power when you boot up your Windows 10 OS in S mode. The laptop also has 4GB RAM. While that may not be enough for professionals and hardcore gamers, 4GB is plenty of bandwidth to work with when you want to run multiple productivity programs simultaneously. While the HP Stream has 64GB of internal memory, which is more than enough for most users, the great thing about this unit is that it comes with additional 64GB microSD memory. This is more than enough for users who need to install additional software and applications for work or school. With a reliable Intel UHD 600 GPU, the HP Stream 14 is reliable for your everyday entertainment and productivity needs. With an intuitive keyboard and touchpad, the HP Stream 14 is a workhorse unit. And as it can run on more than 11 hours of battery, you’re sure to get every job done after a full day’s work. And for students planning to use this budget-friendly laptop for online meetings and classes, the HP Stream 14 offers innovative audio and video features, including three-dimensional speakers and an integrated microphone and webcam combo. If you’re looking for a budget-friendly laptop for your everyday basic productivity tasks, the HP Stream 14 guarantees reliable performance for students and small businesses.
Best Ultralight Laptop Without Touch Screen: Lenovo X1 Nano
Lenovo hit a milestone with its lightest laptop in 2021 –– the Lenovo X1 Nano, weighing just over 900 grams. Despite its light and compact built, the X1 Nano promises competitive performance, long-lasting batteries, and an ergonomic design. Ultrathin laptops from rival brands don’t come close to Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Nano’s stats. Weighing just around 1.99 pounds or 900 grams, the ThinkPad is lighter than the ultralight Dell XPS 13 (2.65 pounds), Samsung Galaxy Book Flex(2.54 pounds), and the Macbook Air M1(2.8 pounds). While you can expect performance trade-offs with a laptop this thin and small, Lenovo expertly finds a balance for its specs and hardware. Coupled with a resolution of 2160 x 1350 pixels, 450 nit brightness, and 100% sRGB color gamut, the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 is as good as it gets. The 13-inch flat display is smaller than most, but Lenovo gives an extra vertical view with a 16:10 aspect ratio. 2K resolution is also a great middle-ground between full HD and 4K display. Lenovo guarantees that they didn’t skimp on performance in exchange for the X1 Nano’s lightweight. The system runs on a 2.1GHZ 11th-gen Intel Core i7 chipset with 16GB RAM, ensuring that all operations and tasks smoothly and seamlessly. You won’t have to worry about multitasking on the Nano either, as 16GB RAM is more than enough for collaboration and multiple projects. The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Nano also comes with 512GB which is more than enough for most users to store photos, projects, and other work files. Amazingly, the lightweight laptop can also keep up with basic games and entertainment tasks without any lags, thanks to its powerful Intel XE graphics card. Although, it’s worth noting that the Nano isn’t ideal for very demanding games and editing software. The only thing lacking with this ultraportable laptop is its limited USB ports. The ThinkPad X1 Nano only features two USB-C Thunderbolt 4 ports and a headphone jack. It doesn’t feature a USB-A port. Another great thing about the Nano is its ultra-responsive keyboard. It features a small fingerprint sensor for secure biometric login. What’s more, the Nano doesn’t compromise security by incorporating the ThinkPad’s signature face-recognition security and a physical camera shutter. Battery life is also sufficient, considering its size. With your basic productivity tasks, you can expect at least 8.5 hours runtime on the Nano. Thanks to Rapid Charge technology, users can fill up the battery to 80% in about an hour. If you’re looking for the best ultralight laptops without touch screen, the Lenovo X1 Nano is definitely on top of the game. Offering reliable capabilities with its powerful processor, GPU, display, and next-level security capabilities, the Nano packs a punch in a small package
Best Laptop Without Touch Screen: Dell XPS 13
Dubbed as “everything a Windows laptop should be,” the Dell XPS 13 is still one of the best windows thin laptops without touch screen? While the unit has its flaws, many people think that it’s still the best choice in 2021. At 2.67 pounds, the Dell XPS 13 is among the thinnest and lightest laptop on the market. Though lightweight and compact, it’s made from durable material inspired by aerospace technology: damage-resistant carbon fiber and woven glass for maximum strength at minimum weight. The top-of-the-line XPS 13 comes in various models with several processors, displays, and storage to choose from. While Dell’s XPS 13 line offers a 4K display, it’s only available on the touchscreen model. By going with the FHD+ model, users get to experience an equally impressive color accurate and bright display with 1920 x 1080 pixel resolution. The 2020 XPS 13 offers a huge display at 13.4 in and a ratio of 16:10. Tiny bezels go all the way around the edges, which will remind you of an innovative modern all-screen smartphone design. Dell expertly maximizes the color spectrum with an impressive 100% sRGB color and 1500:1 contrast ratio, ensuring that you never miss a single detail. Viewing angles are also enhanced thanks to the XPS 13’s anti-reflective screen technology. Featuring 400 nits brightness, make the most out of your unit in all lighting conditions. The Dell XPS 13 also features an IPS panel that extends your viewing angle to avoid having to worry about collaborations on a shared screen. The Dell XPS 13 runs on i5 or i7 Intel Core processors, ensuring that you can run multiple tasks and programs simultaneously without causing any lags and stress on the hardware. With an integrated Intel UHD or Iris Xe graphics card, the XPS 13 is still reliable for gaming. To accommodate the different needs of users, it’s also great that Dell gives a choice between RAM and storage size. You can choose between 8GB or 16GB RAM and 512GB or 1TB GB with the FHD+ display. Users also have a choice between Windows 10 Home or Windows Pro. This model also comes with the innovative Windows Hello infrared face recognition camera and a fingerprint scanner, which work efficiently for protecting your data. If you’re looking for the best dell laptops without touch screen, we recommend the Dell XPS 13. The Dell XPS 13 retains its title of being the best Windows laptop without touch screen in 2021.
Final Verdict – Best Laptop Without Touchscreen
If you’re one of the many laptop users who don’t need touchscreen capabilities, a traditional non touchscreen laptop is a great way to get a lightweight, affordable, and powerful laptop with long battery life. Here’s a side-by-side comparison of the best laptops without touchscreens. An impressive laptop with a stunning display, reliable hardware, durable build, a responsive trackpad and keyboard, the Dell XPS 13 is one of the best Windows thin laptops without touch screen. In the end though, the best laptop for you will still depend on your individual needs and preferences.
Introducing the Touch Screen Feature on Laptops
Hewlett-Packard Co. introduced the first touch screen computer in 1983. The HP-150 allowed users to activate certain features with a simple touch of the screen. While we’ve seen incredible advancements in touchscreen technology since then, its basic premise remains the same: to allow users to easily navigate and access applications with a swipe or tap of a finger, without a mouse or a keyboard. Modern laptops and tablets typically use capacitive touch technology for versatility and LCD or LED displays for the clearest display.
Types of Touchscreen on Laptops
While there are many different types of touchscreen technology, two common types are used in laptops: capacitive and resistive.
Capacitive Touchscreen
Capacitive displays are what most people are familiar with. Aside from laptops, you’ll also find this technology on smartphones, tablets. Capacitive screens contain multiple layers of glass and plastic that are coated with a conductor. Conductive material reacts when in contact with another electrical conductor, like your finger. When a “touch event” is registered on your device, signals are sent to your device’s operating system, prompting a response. Unlike resistive touchscreens, capacitive displays are generally clearer, brighter, and more responsive. Capacitive touchscreens also allow multi-touch features, allowing users to zoom in and out on their devices.
Resistive Touchscreen
This type of touchscreen contains a glass or hard plastic layer blanketed by a resistive and conductive metallic layer. The two layers are separated, and when a finger presses firmly on the protective layer, the two layers meet and produce an electric charge that prompts a response from your device. Resistive touchscreens aren’t bright and tend to be more affordable and durable. They’re extremely useful for checkout stands, terminals, and ATMs.
Advantages and Disadvantages: Do I Need a Touchscreen Laptop?
Now, onto an important question –– is a touchscreen laptop necessary? The answer depends on your individual preference and needs, so take a look at the pros and cons of touchscreen laptop displays:
Advantages of Laptops with Touchscreen
Fast and straightforward navigation
Touchscreen features in a laptop were developed mainly to make accessibility and navigation faster and more convenient. Compared to mouse devices and trackpads, users can easily manipulate many different tasks and launch various applications. A touchscreen is also an excellent backup if your trackpad or keyboard malfunctions, allowing users to stay productive and keep on top of tasks.
Great for Students, Artists, and Designers
Graphic designers and artists will find the most benefits with a touchscreen laptop. Most touchscreen models are equipped with a stylus so users can easily make sketches and drafts on the go. Students will also benefit from the stylus and touchscreen combo, as it’s a convenient feature for note-taking during class.
High-definition and vibrant displays
Often made with LCD or LED, touchscreen laptops offer excellent display features with top-notch vibrancy, brightness, color accuracy, and reproduction. Most touchscreen displays also come with higher resolution. Since touchscreen laptops often offer better quality displays, most professionals who work with color choose touchscreen laptops.
Disadvantages of Laptops with Touchscreen
Quickly drains batteries
With additional hardware to run, touchscreen laptops drain their batteries quickly to keep up with the processing tasks of the touch panel. If you’re always on the go, touchscreen laptops won’t be of much use to you unless you have spare batteries on hand.
Bulkier and heavier
Touchscreen displays contain additional hardware that will add bulk and weight to your laptop. Especially if you value portability, this can be a huge issue. To minimize the weight of touchscreen laptops, you can consider looking into some of the best Microsoft hybrid laptops. They’re essentially tablets that you can connect with a keyboard so you can use them as a laptop.
More expensive
Touchscreen laptops are a lot more expensive than your regular laptop. Aside from the additional features and hardware, they usually provide higher resolution displays that quickly bump up costs.
Limited viewing angles
Most touchscreen laptops have a glossy finish to enhance responsiveness to touch. However, these aren’t ideal for viewing, especially under direct light. Glossy coating often causes eye strain because of screen glare and reflections. Aside from that, glossy displays retain fingerprints, smudges, and dirt much more than a matte finish. While glossy screens often provide richer colors and better contrast, they’re also more expensive.
Touchscreen vs. Non-Touchscreen: Which is Better?
The main difference between a touchscreen and a non-touchscreen laptop is that touchscreen models are better suited for note-taking, drawing, and art users. By providing intuitive ways to use a stylus and screen, artists and designers can become more productive and easily create artwork on the go. On top of that, touchscreen displays are also more aesthetically pleasing in terms of display, brightness, clarity, and color. Navigation is also much simpler and faster, prompting a response with a swipe or a tap of a finger. However, if you’re not an artist or a student, getting a touchscreen laptop can compromise your laptop functionality and user experience. Aside from draining your batteries faster, you’ll have a much heavier and thicker laptop. Most touchscreen laptops don’t have an ergonomic keyboard, a huge no-no if you’re planning to work long hours on your laptop. Bad viewing angles and glare are also frustrating factors that come with a glossy touchscreen display. You’ll also be paying for features that you won’t be able to maximize. They’re also incredibly costly and difficult to repair. If you think you can get by with the basic features of a traditional laptop, go with a non-touchscreen laptop and focus on assessing the other specs instead, such as CPU, GPU, RAM, and storage. In the end, the choice to go with a touchscreen or non-touchscreen laptop will depend on your preferences and needs.
