10 Great Laptops That Cost Less Than the iPhone X

With a starting price of $999, the iPhone X is the most expensive mainstream smartphone yet. For that kind of money, you can get a high-end laptop with enough performance and battery life to help you get ahead at work or school.

Even though the iPhone X is powerful and has a great design, it still can't take the place of a notebook when you need to write a report, edit a photo or develop your own apps. And forget about playing AAA games such as Destiny 2 on a phone. Here are 10 great laptops you can get for the less than the cost of an iPhone X.

Dell XPS 13 ($799 - $999)

Dell's 13-inch laptop weighs a mere 2.7 pounds, lasts nearly 14 hours on a charge and has, like the iPhone X, has a gorgeous, nearly bezel-free display. However, its 13.3-inch screen is much more suited for looking at spreadsheets or watching videos than the iPhone's tiny 5.8-inch panel. Our favorite consumer laptop starts at $799, $200 cheaper than the entry-level iPhone X. However, the entry-level configuration has just a Core i3 CPU and 4GB of RAM. We recommend getting at least a Core i5-7200U CPU and 8GB of RAM, which normally costs $999, but is now $900 with coupon code SAVE10XPS. We recommend upgrading to a 256GB SSD, which will cost $999 -- the same price as the iPhone X -- after you apply the coupon.

Lenovo Legion Y520 ($950)

Don't even think about hooking an iPhone X up to an HTC Vive or Oculus Rift. To get the truly immersive VR experience that these headsets provide, you need a PC that has at least an Nvidia GTX 1060 graphics card. Lenovo's 15-inch Legion Y520 gaming laptop has not only a GTX 1060 chip, but also a quad-core Core i7 CPU, a 1080p screen and both a 1TB hard drive and a 128GB SSD. For a limited time, using coupon code HOMEEXTRA5 takes $50 off the $999 price.

Dell Inspiron 15 7000 Gaming ($799)

Sure, you can play mobile games on an iPhone X, but when you want to fire up the most immersive titles, you need a PC laptop. You can get the 15-inch Dell Inspiron 15 7000 Gaming laptop starting at $799. For that price, you get a quad-core CPU, 1080p screen and Nvidia GTX 1050 graphics. The new, redesigned model starts at $999 and comes with a 256GB SSD instead of a hard drive.

Asus ZenBook UX330UA ($699)

One of the best laptop values you can get anywhere, the Asus UX330UA packs a speedy Core i5 CPU, sharp 1080p display and spacious 256GB SSD into a premium, 2.7-pound chassis. Best of all, this sub-$700 laptop lasts more than 10 hours on a charge.

Acer Aspire E 15 E5-575G-57D4 ($579)

For $400 less than the price of an iPhone X, you can get the Acer Aspire E 15 (E5-575G-57D4). This 15-inch laptop sports a colorful full HD display, a 256GB SSD, a Core i5 processor and discrete Nvidia 940MX graphics. Even better, the E 15 lasts nearly 11 hours on a charge.

MacBook Air ($999)

MacBook Air ($999)

While most Apple laptops are over $1,000, you can still get a brand new MacBook Air for $999 (sometimes less when it's on sale). The entry-level MacBook Air comes with a Core i5 CPU, 8GB of RAM and a 128GB SSD. The 2.96-pound laptop is made from unibody aluminum, but has room for USB 3.0 ports and an SD card reader, two features you won't find on a MacBook or MacBook Pro. The Air's screen is a modest 1440 x 900 resolution, but its SSD is blazing fast and the whole system should last more than 10 hours on a charge.

Lenovo Yoga 720, 13-inch ($849)

Starting at just $849, the 13-inch Yoga 720 is a premium bendback 2-in-1 that features a brilliant full HD screen and a speedy PCIe SSD. The laptop also weighs a mere 2.8 pounds, which makes it extremely easy to carry with you, wherever you go. If you're willing to stretch your budget to $999, you can grab the Yoga 720 (15-inch) which lasts nearly 9 hours on a charge.

Asus VivoBook W202NA ($299)

We haven't drop tested the iPhone X yet, but I doubt that it would survive a 3.9-foot fall onto concrete, unless it's wearing a protective case. However, we dropped the Asus VivoBook W202NA from that height multiple times and it came away with only a few minor scratches. Priced at $299, the W202NA is so affordable that you could buy three units for far less than the cost of a single iPhone X. The education-centric, Windows 10 S laptop features an 11.6-inch display, plenty of ports and all-day battery life. It also weighs a mere 2.6 pounds.

Microsoft Surface Pro ($799)

Microsoft is the leader in detachable 2-in-1s and it's easy to see why. The Surface Pro has an attractive magnesium chassis with a best-in-class kickstand, along with vibrant, high-res screen and strong performance. The base model Surface Pro costs $799, but you'll definitely want to attach a $129 Type Cover so you can use it as a laptop.

Samsung Chromebook 3 ($188)

You can buy five Samsung Chromebook 3 laptops for less than the price of a single iPhone X. While its screen is not as colorful or sharp as the iPhone's, the Chromebook 3 provides an excellent web browsing experience and easy access to Google's rich ecosystem of online tools (Google docs, Gmail, etc). Best of all, this very-affordable, 11.6-inch laptop lasts nearly 10 hours on a charge.

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Avram Piltch
Online Editorial Director
The official Geeks Geek, as his weekly column is titled, Avram Piltch has guided the editorial and production of Laptopmag.com since 2007. With his technical knowledge and passion for testing, Avram programmed several of LAPTOP's real-world benchmarks, including the LAPTOP Battery Test. He holds a master's degree in English from NYU.