Apple, Android - oder Windows?: Back to school: Tipps für Tablets und Notebooks

When it comes to devices for learning, many tablets and notebooks by Apple dominate schools, classrooms, lecture halls and desks of students. However, cheaper alternatives often provide more value for money, according to the IT magazine "c t" (Issue 18/26). When it comes to equipment and price-performance ratio, other devices have often scored higher than those from Apple.

The crucial question is what is truly needed. Clarifying this before making a purchase will help avoid expensive mistakes. For around 150 euros, one can now get decent tablets or notebooks; 700 euros was enough for most uses in school and university. The experts base their recommendations on three premises: a notebook for school or study should not weigh more than 1.5 kilograms and last at least eight hours without a power adapter.

Tablets are ideal as initial equipment in school, good for lectures, library or commute; longer homework assignments are usually created on a notebook at the desk.

Which operating system should it be? Ultimately, the choice of operating system also determines the choice of hardware: those who want to stay in the Apple universe will find macOS and iOS, as well as MacBook, iPad and iPhone. Those who prefer Windows should look for notebooks with Windows 11. Used devices should definitely be compatible with Windows 11.

Those who want to install Linux on their notebook should choose a manufacturer that offers Linux support to ensure they will get all necessary drivers. If a Chromebook with ChromeOS was in mind, one should know that Google is currently saying goodbye to this operating system and is working on a successor (codenamed Aluminum OS) that will not run on all existing Chromebooks.

Despite Google's long update promises for ChromeOS, it might be an unfavorable time to buy a Chromebook.

Android tablets as an iPad alternative - starting at 130 euros. Experts from "c t" generally view Android tablets as affordable alternatives to iPads: devices with 4 gigabytes (GB) of RAM and 128 gigabytes (GB) of storage can be found for 130 euros, some even come with a pen. However, many low-cost models lack a mobile modem, so users are dependent on WLAN or a smartphone hotspot when on the go.