Recommendation for a laptop and display

[streetsandtheatres]

My wife needs a new laptop, and I'm wondering what might suit her best.
She will be using business applications (Zoom, Teams, Excel, Word, Acrobat) and the usual web browsing and video watching.
At the moment she's using an old MBPro with a Thunderbolt display but it is old and can't handle Zoom, etc.
At home (90% of her work at the moment) she will be using an external display 85% of the time.
Suggestions for a laptop and display?

 

[robco74]

She should be fine with the Air. If you feel like splurging, the base 14" Pro does have an awesome display and great speakers.

As for displays, the UltraFine displays are nice, but a bit pricey. They would charge the Air or 14" MBP, so just one cable needed. Dell also makes pretty good displays, if you want more options for aspect ratio and resolution.

 

[ADGrant]

She should be fine with the Air. If you feel like splurging, the base 14" Pro does have an awesome display and great speakers.

As for displays, the UltraFine displays are nice, but a bit pricey. They would charge the Air or 14" MBP, so just one cable needed. Dell also makes pretty good displays, if you want more options for aspect ratio and resolution.

I think the Studio Display is much nicer than the 27" UltraFine and worth the extra cost.

 

[06tb06]

A MacBook Air should do the trick. Also, if she already has an external display, a HDMI/DisplayPort USB-C adapter.

There's always good deals on external displays. I purchased a 32-inch 4K LG display a few weeks ago with built-in speakers for around $300. A quality USB-C webcam (like the Logitech Streamcam) and you're all set.

 

[streetsandtheatres]

I think the Studio Display is much nicer than the 27" UltraFine and worth the extra cost.

Is the Air ok for running a Studio Display? Looking for a reliable setup.

 

[MarineBand5524]

I’d go with the 14” pro and the new m8 32” 4k from Samsung now available for preorder. Very very cool for $700 bucks.

 

[jhonibraham]

The best 4K laptops you can buy today

1. Dell XPS 13 (Model 9310, 4K) The best overall 4K laptop you can buy. ...
2. Alienware X17. The best gaming laptop. ...
3. Gigabyte Aero 15 (2021, RTX 3070) The best OLED creator laptop. ...
4. Dell XPS 17 (2021) ...
5. HP ZBook Studio G8. ...
6. Asus ZenBook Pro Duo (UX582L) ...
7. HP ZBook Fury 17 G8. ...
8. Dell Precision 5760.

Top pick for every user on every budget. I recommend the Dell laptop because it's my personal experience

 

[Jochheim]

I also think the M1 Air would be enough but I highly recommend 16 GB of RAM. The Studio display seems overkill for me (as long as money matters). A good 4K display does not look as bad as others make it to be (at least for me) even in scaled resolutions.