A global RAM and NAND shortage has pushed laptop prices up across the board, and all memory production through 2027 is already allocated. That means prices are not coming down. Buy now, buy smart, or pay more later.
The MacBook Neo at $699 (or $599 through Apple's education store) scores a 9 and is the top pick for middle school through high school. Its A18 Pro chip, best-in-class mechanical trackpad, and build quality have no real competition from Windows at this price. The base model ships with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, which are real constraints. Spend the extra $100 for the 512GB Touch ID model if you can. For college, the MacBook Air M5 at $1,299 is the stronger call: 16GB of RAM, faster storage, and enough headroom to outlast four years of coursework. Verge staff are still running M1 MacBook Airs from 2020. On Windows, stick to Intel 13th-gen Raptor Lake or newer, AMD Ryzen 7000 or newer, or Snapdragon X unless your software requires x86.
The full piece walks through every tier, from quality Chromebooks for younger students to Windows alternatives with specific chip generation cutoffs. The specs guidance alone, especially the RAM and storage minimums, is worth reading before you click buy on anything.
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