By 2ndactt/ Photo by Leeloo Thefirst on Pexels.com
You used to work on a 8-inch mini laptop and didn’t mind reading materials from that tiny screen. You never thought it was an issue tying on a shallow keyboard, but now it strains your muscles after just one or two hours’ of working on the laptop. As older boys and girls, we inevitably care about things that our younger selves didn’t care to think. Shopping for a laptop is no exception. If you plan to buy one, or if you consider getting one for older families, these are the tips you may find helpful.
Bigger display
Many people begin to have blurry eyesight in their early 40s. When using a laptop, they tend to enlarge fonts and images to see more clearly what is on the screen. However, the best way to solve the problem is to change to a bigger-display laptop or purchase one with a better screen resolution.
ASUS VivoBook is a budget notebook computer with various screen sizes, with the largest sporting a 17.3-inch display. It is available in different configurations. Some feature Intel Core i5 processor and offer enough performance for word processing and media consumption, including audio and video entertainment. Others come with the more high-end Core i7 processor and are suitable for multitasking. If you are a 50+ worker who does computer graphics or video editing, a Core i7, 17.3-inch laptop, such as ASUS VivoBook (17.3inch), will make everything easier on the eyes. In addition, compared with similar 17.3-inch models, the Asus Vivobook is relatively more affordable.
Better display resolution
And yet a 17.3-inch laptop is understandably heavy, with an average weight of over 2kgs (4.4Ibs). Another way to treat your eyes nicely is to choose a high-resolution laptop. The American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) recommends laptops with full HD 1980 x 1080p resolution, and screen resolution below that standard makes images blurry. Acer Spin 3, which comes with a 1080p- resolution display, is a model to consider.
People with an extra budget can also choose the Apple MacBook Air (13-inch), Apple MacBook Pro 2022, or Surface Laptop 5, all of which feature even higher screen resolutions.
A screen that shows better contrast
Laptops with high-contrast screens fitted with OLED or IPS displays also make reading and watching more easier on the eyes. CNET explains that OLED laptops present higher contrast, saturated colors than ordinary LCD screens. Laptops with IPS panels, which come with a lower price range than OLED models, are also good choices.
Keyboard
Typing on a keyboard is like second nature for most people in their 40s and 50s, and it won’t take a second guess for them to figure out which letter is where on their QWERTY keyboard. And if they are 60 or 70-something, they probably still remember what it was like to type on a typewriter. Either way, they know the keyboard too well.
Still, when choosing a laptop keyboard, there are things to consider as we become not-so-young. Online College PIan recommends those who plan to attend college at an older age buy a laptop with a large-font keyboard, especially if visibility is a concern.
Other factors to consider include whether the keyboard is backlit, well-spaced, or responsive enough. The author of this article personally recommends Lenovo Thinkpad 15.6-inch laptops. Formally shaped by IBM, the Thinkpad laptops have the most comfortable keyboards on the market. The keyboards are responsive and well-spaced, with some even featuring backlight.
Ease of use
If you are buying a laptop for older families with limited knowledge about how to use laptops, ease of use becomes very important, noted Digital Trends, adding that laptops with touch screens are ideal for these users. Laptops with touch screens are intuitive to operate. Users can tap, swipe, pinch, and zoom on the screen, and then much of the work can be done.
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Lenovo Thinkpad 15.6-inch laptop