10 Best Laptop for Streaming Movies (REVEALED!)

Streaming movies, TV shows and more can be done on many Best Laptop for Streaming Movies, including TVs, smartphones, tablets, gaming consoles, and computers.

When it comes to watching movies on your laptop, which screen you choose can oftentimes make or break the experience.

That’s why we test televisions, computers, tablets, smartphones and gaming consoles in our Lab.

In terms of Best Laptop for Streaming Movies, we evaluate screen quality, resolution, brightness, contrast and color, along with sound.

In terms of streaming, we test how many devices you can connect to, including Smart TVs, game consoles, and Apple TV.

We also look at the streaming apps available on each device, such as Amazon Prime and Amazon Video.

For laptops, we test the models based on 8 hours of streaming a movie and comparing that to a laptop’s specs. Here are the Best Laptops for Streaming Movies:

1. 2021 HP 17.3″ HD+ BrightView Laptop Computer: (Best Laptop for Streaming Movies)

The HP 17.3″ HD+ BrightView Laptop is an affordable and appealing option for anyone looking for an entry-level desktop replacement or a second laptop. It’s slim and light and it’s easy to pick up and use.

It’s comfortable to type and work on, and the HD+ display is bright and clear, colors are bright, and text is sharp. It’s also got decent battery life and good connectivity.

The keyboard feels sturdy and the included numeric keypad is handy for spreadsheets and number-heavy content. The speakers are not great, but they’re fine for casual listening.

The dual-band, dual-antenna Wi-Fi is faster than most laptops, and while we couldn’t access our wireless-n router, we had no problem connecting to most public Wi-Fi, including 4G.

The fingerprint reader is sensitive and secure, and it works well, we had no trouble registering our fingerprints on the pad. The storage is decent, but the solid state drive is relatively small for a laptop this cheap, and our tests showed it was fairly slow.

However, the included 32GB SnowBell USB card, which supports up to 256GB, is nice to have if you don’t want to carry an external flash drive around with you. The webcam is fair quality, and the speakers can be loud.

The keyboard offers a number pad, which is a nice addition, and the included optical drive is a nice touch so you can watch a movie or burn some DVDs during breaks.

It’s also light enough that our test subject, a 5-foot, 11-inch man, had no trouble holding it in one hand.

2. HP 17.3″ HD+ Diagonal Premium Laptop:

The HP 17.3″ HD+ Diagonal Premium Laptop is a well-rounded 17.3-inch laptop that delivers plenty of performance for gaming, streaming, and other tasks.

It sports 8GB of RAM, a 256GB SSD, and an Intel i3 processor with Intel HD graphics for smooth performance in everyday use.

It has a 1.4 million-pixel display and a 720p webcam, so you can chat on the laptop’s built-in screen or connect to it using Google Hangouts or Skype.

The laptop is lightweight at 5 pounds, and its battery life lasts more than six hours without being plugged in.

Plus, the bundled laptop stand makes it easy to prop up your laptop while you watch a video, read an article, or answer your email.

3. HP Chromebook 11a Laptop:

Of all the inexpensive laptops we tested, the HP Chromebook 11a was our favorite.

Among its many appeals, it’s terrific for media consumption, thanks to the sharp, high-definition 1366 x 768 display, and it’s also ideal for schoolwork.

And, like all Chromebooks, it’s simple to set up and manage. In our tests, it easily handled basic tasks like email, word-processing, and web-browsing, and the graphics-heavy Office Suite performed OK.

But we didn’t test the laptop’s performance under intense computing loads, such as video editing. That said, for browsing the web, checking email, and writing documents, this laptop is stellar.

We also liked that we were able to watch Netflix on both 2.4GHz and 5GHz Wi-Fi during our tests and that it didn’t drop connections or lose audio cues when streaming movies and TV shows.

The Chromebook 11a delivers longer battery life than our former top pick, the Haier Chromebook 11, but it’s less durable, flimsier, and less comfortable.

And while the Chromebook 11a has USB-C ports, it lacks HDMI and a USB headset jack.

4. ASUS_ROG ROG Zephyrus G15 15.6″ 165 Hz QHD Gaming Laptop:

The ZenBook 3 is an ideal workhorse laptop for productivity. It’s built well, looks excellent, and oozes style. It’s thin and light but still manages to provide adequate power.

And it’s packed with features, from Killer Wireless AC 9560-ac Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, to Nvidia’s powerful RTX 2080 graphics and an Intel Core i7 processor.

The keyboard falls short for gamers, but we can overlook that, since this is a pretty serious machine. Plus, it’s priced well below competing systems from Apple and Microsoft.

Asus includes its own ZenBook software, which is less cluttered and useful than others we saw, and by default, the notebook boots straight into Windows, so Windows Hello sign-ins are quick and reliable.

The battery life is average, but that’s expected for a notebook of this price. The 3K display is a highlight, with crisp and vibrant images, but the narrow bezel keeps the screen from feeling overloaded.

5. HP Stream 11.6-inch HD Laptop:

Based on HP’s popular Stream line of budget-friendly tablets, the HP Stream 11 is a slim, stylish, and affordable Windows laptop that’s great for casual browsing and streaming media.

The 11.6-inch HD display is a bright, crisp, and responsive touchscreen that’s bright enough to use in sunlight.

The keyboard is cramped, and the touchpad has an awkward button layout, but the machine comes with Office 365 Personal for 1 year, which includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote, as well as Skype and OneDrive (for saving files to online storage).

So it has everything you need to start working right away. The included webcam and wide-angle 5-megapixel camera make video chats and photos to the next level and make your movie experience high level.

6. Samsung Galaxy Chromebook 2, 13.3″ Intel Celeron Processor:

The Samsung Galaxy Chromebook 2 comes with a 13.3-inch 1920 x 1080 touchscreen display, Intel Celeron N3350 2.3GHz dual-core processor, 4GB of memory, 64GB of eMMC storage, 802.11ac Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.2, and a 4,200 mAh battery.

The 4GB of RAM and 64GB of eMMC storage provide a reasonable amount of multitasking power, but 4GB will only run Chrome OS and Android apps.

The 802.11ac Wi-Fi provides fast speeds, but is only capable of connecting to 802.11n networks, so they’re not as fast or stable as 802.11ac networks.

Samsung’s contributions to the Chrome OS ecosystem include Samsung Link, which turns any Samsung device into a Bluetooth mouse, keyboard, or monitor.

The 4,200 mAh battery is among the life’s longest for any Chromebook, and it charges very quickly, thanks in part to Samsung’s 30W fast charging technology.

It’s also one of the thinnest and lightest Chromebooks, and it’s thin enough and light enough to hold in one hand for comfortable use.

Unfortunately, the 13.3-inch display doesn’t match the 15-inch display of the Samsung Chromebook Pro and 12-inch display of the Lenovo Yoga Chromebook 3, and it matches a few other smaller Chromebooks (like Acer C7). It has a glossy finish, which cuts down on glare, but it reduces the contrast and color accuracy.

The biggest problem with the display is its narrow viewing angles, which account for its mediocre image quality. The keyboard and trackpad are reasonably comfortable, and the touchpad is large and provides a good amount of travel.

The speakers are located on the bottom of the unit, and they produce fairly good audio. The speakers also automatically mute when the screen is off, but they automatically unmute when the screen turns on, and they can be muted separately from the screen.

The webcam is located above the display, and it uses a proprietary connector for connectivity. It produces acceptable video, but the image isn’t all that sharp.

The device ships with Chrome OS, but Samsung offers several Android apps that you can install. The Google Play store is integrated with Amazon’s app store, so you can install Android apps and games from both stores.

7. HP Envy 2019,17.3″ Full HD Touch:

The HP Envy 17t has some amazing components for the price, including Intel processing and an SSD. Performance is snappy enough for games and work, and the battery lasts for long enough for a full day.

The inclusion of an Optane memory module greatly enhances the computer’s user experience, and the included pen drive is a nice touch. The display is great, but the red-green color accuracy was off and viewing angles were poor.

We also couldn’t resist noticing the placement of the webcam, which we found a little too close to the keyboard and too angled, making it difficult to maintain a comfortable position while typing or using the webcam.

The HP Envy 17t is an impressive computer that’s worth considering for anyone looking for a solid performer with a flexible setup.

8. 2020 Apple MacBook Air Laptop:

The Apple MacBook Air has been revamped entirely, with a stunning new Retina display, an 8th-generation 1.6GHz processor, and a faster PCIe-based SSD storage.

For $999, the 13-inch model we tested offers strong performance with a nice selection of ports and connections. In fact, it s one of the most portable, powerful, and versatile laptops Apple has ever made, and it also has one of the best screens on the market.

The only major complaint we ve heard is that the touchscreen option on this model may not be quite as responsive as older models; however, we ve yet to see any complaints about touch responsiveness in user reviews.

The 13-inch model we tested weighs 3.6 pounds and measures just 0.29 inches thick, so it’s also one of the most portable Apple laptops you can buy.

The battery life on our test unit wasn t as impressive as some competitors, but it s still better than average, topping out at 5 hours and 20 minutes in our tests.

The display is also standout, with a 2880 x 1800 resolution that s nearly twice the pixel density of previous models.

The Air s 13.3-inch screen comes with a Retina display, which adds OLED technology for great color and improved contrast, and it produces deep blacks and bright whites.

Although the display on our current unit is a bit dim and washed out, it s still good for the price and much better than the 2304 x 1440 screen on the previous Air.

The 8th-generation Intel Core i5 processor and 256GB PCIe-based SSD storage also help the MacBook Air perform admirably, handling even the most demanding of tasks.

9. 2022 Newest HP 17.3″ HD+ Display Laptop:

The HP 17.3″ HD+ Display Laptop, 11th Gen Intel Core i3-1115G4(Up to 4.1GHz, Beat i5-1030G7), 16GB DDR4 RAM, 1TB HDD+256GB PCIe SSD, Bluetooth, Webcam, Windows 11, Silver, w/ 3in1 Accessories is a solid choice for students and casual users.

For gamers, the lack of a dedicated video card may be a deal-breaker, but for everyday computing, it’s more than powerful enough for this price. The keyboard is comfortable and responsive, and it’s a solid choice for those who prefer a full-sized keyboard.

The 1.6GHz dual-core i5 processor is plenty fast for everyday use, and it handles everyday tasks such as Web browsing, email, and productivity software without a hitch.

The display’s 1366×768 resolution is respectable, and the inclusion of a microSD card slot and HDMI ports is nice, especially for students.

In addition, the ports and slots—including two USB 3.0 ports, an HDMI-out port, a USB 3.0 Type-A port, and a combo audio/microphone jack—are generous, and there’s plenty of space to add a mouse, USB flash drive, or other accessories.

Unfortunately, the 2,200-by-1,600 display is too dark/dark gray for comfortable outdoor use, and the fan is audible during normal use, so you’ll want to keep the volume down (or turn it off altogether) when it’s not in use.

Battery life is also short, lasting only about 2.5 hours in our tests.

10. 2022 Newest HP Pavilion Laptop:

The HP Pavilion x360 15 is a good-looking and functional convertible laptop for the Windows 11 crowd, but the display is a bit dim.

The 2.2GHz Core i7 processor is plenty fast for all but the most demanding of tasks. The 15.6-inch screen has a full HD (1920 x 1080), 1800R curved display. Our only gripe is the lack of touch.

The 4K display is decent for the price but its resolution is slightly low and not ideal for photo editing. We also wish it had a faster PCIe SSD. The built-in speakers are good, and HP has a handy USB-C dock that charges the laptop, too.

The x360’s keyboard is backlit and the touchpad is responsive, but we wish the buttons on the keyboard were slightly larger and tactility. Otherwise, the x360 is a good buy for the Windows 11 crowd.

How to pick the best laptop for streaming movies?

There are a few key things to keep in mind when looking for a laptop to stream movies. The most important factor is the screen size. Make sure to get a laptop with a screen that is at least 15 inches.

You’ll also want to consider the laptop’s graphics capabilities. Look for one with a dedicated graphics card to ensure smooth playback. Finally, make sure to get a laptop with a good battery life so you can watch your movies uninterrupted.

The best laptops for streaming movies should have the following features:

1. A solid CPU.

Some laptops come with built-in GPUs, which are dedicated graphics processors that can perform well at gaming and streaming.

However, these GPUs aren’t always as powerful as dedicated GPUs found in gaming machines – so if you already have a video creation or streaming PC, it may be worth investing in a laptop with a different GPU.

2. Solid RAM capacity.

If your PC doesn’t have enough RAM, it will clog up when downloading large files such as movies, and tear when streaming to multiple users at once.

Most laptops come with 8 GB of RAM, but if you’re planning on streaming or playing high-end games, you should aim for 16 GB or more.

3. A large enough SSD.

Your PC’s hard drive shouldn’t be larger than 500 GB – otherwise, it will clog up when streaming movies even if you’re downloading them.

4. A sturdy build.

If your PC is too light, it will break when it’s thrown around in a bag or carried around in a backpack. Make sure your laptop has a metal build that’s sturdy enough to survive everyday wear and tear.

Pros and cons of streaming movies with a laptop.

Streaming movies has become increasingly popular in today’s day and age. Almost everyone has access to high-speed Internet, with most people even using a smartphone.

This convenience has made it possible for people to watch their favorite TV shows or movies at any time.

However, streaming movies with a laptop does have its downsides. The good thing about the streaming service is the fact that you can watch your favorite movies anywhere.

You can watch them on your phone, on your laptop, or even on your tablet. However, this convenience comes with its downsides.

The biggest downside is the fact that streaming movies uses up a lot of your bandwidth. This means that streaming takes up a lot of your Internet’s bandwidth. If you are streaming a movie, your bandwidth will be consistently being used.

This also means that if there are other people in the same area using the same streaming service, then both of your bandwidths will be used.

Conclusion:

There are a number of laptops on the market that are perfect for streaming movies. The best laptops for streaming movies have big screens, powerful processors, and lots of storage.

They are also lightweight and portable, so you can take them with you wherever you go. If you are looking for a laptop that is perfect for streaming movies, be sure to check out the latest models from Apple, Dell, and HP.