At the beginning of her workday, Priyanka Naik gets all kinds of things thrown at her—especially since, in addition to advancing her food brand, she also works in tech. She’ll edit photos for her cookbook in one location early in the morning, then transition somewhere else to do social posting or prep for a guest-chef appearance. A laptop that performs well—and that includes basic multimedia editing—is essential to making the full mix work, and the MSI PS42’s 10 hours of battery life give her maximum mobility. But the aesthetics (metallic chassis design, silver hairbrush texture) matter, too. “Having a stylish laptop makes me feel confident about conquering the day,” says Naik.For her midday kitchen routine, Naik loves the ultra-portability of the PS42 laptop. At 2.6 pounds, it weighs less than a lot of her groceries. “I was able to easily lift it and move it around the kitchen while I cooked and developed my recipes,” says the 30-year-old Manhattanite, who started out in management consulting before becoming a food blogger around eight years ago. “I’m constantly on the go from an office to the kitchen to food events, so a slim and portable laptop is super important for my lifestyle.”
“Everything I wear, carry, and own is a reflection of my personality and my food brand,” Naik explains. That brand is eye-popping and colorful, which the PS42 complements with its vivid color display and an ultra-thin bezel that maximizes the screen space of a 14-inch panel. And when it comes to Naik’s personal style—for cooking and dressing—it’s polished and vibrant without being overworked. “Having a laptop that is equally sleek helps me lead a more effortless yet efficient lifestyle,” she says. “I don’t distinguish between a laptop for fun versus a laptop for work—those worlds blend together.”The laptop and computers market in India is often confusing because companies have rarely paid attention to the consumer mindset. For every particular series or range of laptops, you'll find complicated model numbers and varying specifications. The hardware often varies because every laptop comes with different configuration options.
Adding to the confusion is finding a laptop that suits your requirements. We've prepared a list of recommended laptops that are light and easy to carry while travelling, and also sufficiently powered so that you need hit a speed bump. We've also considered the prices and sorted the list accordingly. The Acer Swift (SF314-52) will remind you of the MacBook Air, at first sight, the metal clamshell design and display bezels are very similar. And, if you're looking for something as portable as the Air, but running Windows and lighter on the pocket as well, the Swift is a perfect match. The laptop comes with an Intel i3-7100U processor, 4GB RAM, 256GB SSD, and a 14-inch display. The model we've listed here ships with Linux out of the box, but a Windows configuration is available as well. One benefit of having this is a larger keyboard and trackpad. This laptop (520-14IKB) is in-line with the infamous Yoga series, the display can be completely tilted, converting the laptop into an almost tablet, or make a table stand as well. This flexibility comes in very handy when you just want to watch movies on the go. The variant here has an Intel i5-7200U processor, 8GB RAM, 1TB HDD, and Windows 10 out of the box. This laptop is heavy on the specs but misses out on design and the overall feel of the product is on the cheaper spectrum. Even the battery life isn't very impressive.
Open it up and you'll notice the key design feature that separates it from most of the others in this category: The lid's hinge lifts the back of the keyboard up for a more comfortable typing angle. It also helps keep your legs and the laptop's eighth-gen Intel Core i7 processor from getting too hot. This isn't the first time this design's been done -- HP's latest 13-inch Envy laptop has a similar feature -- but it's still a cool touch. The current configuration in the US is priced at $1,499 and includes a 4K UHD-resolution touchscreen, 16GB of memory and a 512GB SSD. In the UK, you'll currently find it with a Core i5 or i7, but with half the memory and storage, for £1,199 or £1,299, and in Australia it'll set you back AU$2,699 with a Core i7, 16GB of memory and a 256GB SSD.
Those prices are competitive for the category, but models such as Dell's XPS 13, HP's Spectre and Acer's 14-inch Swift 7 offer designs that potentially make them better choices depending on your needs. Even Asus' own ZenBook 13 might be a better choice because of its discrete graphics. The biggest hurdle for the ZenBook S is that it has plenty of competition including from its stablemates at Asus, and with its ErgoLift hinge as the main design feature, it's not an easy recommendation. The Dell XPS 13, for example, is the world's smallest 13.3-inch laptop, comes in multiple configurations starting at less than $1,000 and is just a generally excellent laptop. The same goes for the HP Spectre ($1,399 at Amazon.com), which along with being thin and light, has a unique privacy screen feature to give you more peace of mind while working in public. Then there's the regular 13-inch Asus ZenBook that looks similar -- minus the ErgoLift hinge -- but is less expensive and has better graphics performance.
The hinge is definitely nice to have because, combined with the excellent backlit keyboard, it does make typing more comfortable. Also, since the bottom hit 120 degrees Fahrenheit (49 Celcius) under load in my testing, it keeps the heat up off your lap and allows for better air circulation. You have set your laptop down, connected the charger but nothing seems to be happening. There is no sign that the battery is charging, no noise from your machine to indicate a charger has been connected either.This is a position we’re all going to find ourselves in at some point. Sadly there isn’t a single solution as the problem can be one of many things, from the charger itself, to the charging port on your laptop, or even the battery.We’re going to go through some common solutions here so we can hopefully help you avoid spending money on repairs.If you're having problems with Windows 10 freezing then take a look at our guide here, and if you want to use your laptop as a second monitor we have a guide for that too!
Common fixes for your laptop battery not charging
Double check everything is plugged in
First things first, let’s make sure that we’re all plugged in correctly. No matter how much of a techie you are it’s worth checking that no connections have fallen out somewhere.Make sure the connector is plugged into your PC, and that the removable cords are plugged into the brick, and finally that the plug is attached to the wall (and that it’s switched on).Make sure your charger is plugged into the correct port
Some modern laptops have multiple USB-Ports, one used for data transfer and one for charging. Try plugging your charger into the other USB-C port; as if your charger is plugged into the USB-C port that is only used for data transfer, then no charging will occur.
Move your hand down the cable and feel for any obvious kinks or breaks in the line. Check where the cable connects to the plugs at either end, and where it enters and exits the power brick.Look for any discolouration of the wires or plugs that might suggest something is wrong, too. Making use of your nose is helpful too, if you smell burning or anything of that nature then all is probably not well and you’ll need a new charger.Take a look at the port on your laptop
If you’re sure that you’re plugged into the correct port, try gently wiggling the charger when it’s in the port. There shouldn’t be much give at all. If you can feel it moving a lot, then the issue is with the connection in the port itself and that will require repairs.
This one is a little harder to single out off the bat, but when you plug your charger into the laptop, take a note of how it feels when the plug enters the port. If it feels different to how it normally would, then that might also be enough to tell you something is off.Try removing the battery and then plugging your charger into the laptop. If this works, then you’re almost certainly looking at a battery problem. This could be a hardware or software issue, if it’s software is might be solvable. If it’s hardware, you’re most likely going to need a new battery.Battery not functioning due to overheating
If your laptop gets very hot when you’re using it, it’s possible that it is automatically shutting itself down to protect the inner components from overheating.This can cause all sorts of problems, including the battery not charging because it’s too hot and in danger of being damages.
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