10 Best Laptops for Streaming Movies: Top Picks in 2024 - Productivity Nine to Five (2024)

Did you know that 85% of U.S. households have 1+ video streaming subscription, and Americans alone watched the equivalent of 15 million years of video content in 2021?

While many folks use their TVs to stream videos from major platforms like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, Disney+, and Apple TV, many of them use their laptops to consume their favorite movies.

Purchasing my new laptop completely changed my movie-watching habits (and experience), too. I’d stream movies from Disney+, HBO Max, or YouTube while connecting my MacBook Air to my TV or watching the stream directly from my laptop screen with my Audio-Technica headphones connected.

If you want to enjoy your favorite films and series to the best, read on to find the best laptops for streaming movies. You’ll not only find key specifications, pros, cons, ratings, and recommendations to help you find the right laptop, but I also provide a full comparison table, a dedicated buying guide, and industry insights into streaming.

Here are my top picks for the best laptops for streaming movies.

What is the best laptop for streaming movies?

• Best premium laptop for streaming movies: Apple MacBook Air M2
• Best OLED laptop for streaming movies: ASUS Zenbook 15
• Best portable OLED laptop for streaming movies: LG Gram SuperSlim
• Best gaming laptop for watching movies: Acer Predator Helios
• Best convertible laptop for streaming movies: HP Spectre x360
• Best Lenovo gaming laptop for streaming movies: Lenovo Legion Pro 5
• Best convertible OLED laptop for watching movies: ASUS Vivobook S 14 Flip
• Best screen-real-estate laptop for streaming under 1,000: Dell Inspiron 16 Plus
• Best long-lasting convertible laptop for streaming: Lenovo Yoga 7i
• Best budget laptop for watching movies: Acer Swift X

1. Apple MacBook Air M2 (15.3’’)

Best premium laptop for streaming movies

Apple’s MacBook Air M2 is a quiet killer when it comes to streaming movies. It comes with a fanless design, so this laptop remains silent even under the most intensive tasks. Despite the fanless design, this machine doesn’t burn your knees when you are using your laptop on your lap.

Apple claims that the new M2 chip outperforms the M1 chip and earlier Intel-based MacBooks. I can say the difference is noticeable. This laptop boots up very fast and works like a charm under different conditions.

Speaking of the screen, we finally got a 15-inch Liquid Retina display, which is using the IPS technology and provides incredible brightness (500 nits) and vivid colors (supports 1 billion colors). Together with the six-speaker sound system supporting Spatial Audio and Dolby Atmos, this laptop delivers the finest audio quality for the movie enthusiast.

One of my favorite features is the battery life. The new MacBook Air can work for up to 18 hours of movie playback, which means you can enjoy your favorite series all day long (or even for multiple days) without worrying about battery life.

The major weakness remained as it was: MacBook Air still lacks connectivity. With only two Thunderbolt ports and a headphone jack, you’ll have a hard time connecting your MacBook to an external display or a TV. At least, you can use the MagSafe charger while keeping your USB-C open for work.

All in all, I can’t recommend enough the new MacBook Air, which got significantly better than its predecessors.

Csaba’s Rating:

• Performance: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Display: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Portability: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Battery life: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

What I like and dislike about the MacBook Air M2:

2. ASUS Zenbook 15 OLED (15.6”)

Best OLED laptop for streaming movies

The ASUS Zenbook 15 laptop is one of the best laptops for streaming movies. Here’s why…

Zenbook comes with a superb 2.8 K OLED screen with impressive specs. It supports a 120 Hz refresh rate and has a 0.2 ms response time, which makes this laptop a great choice for gaming, too. Not only that, but you’ll see the screen under ambient light conditions given that it supports 400 nits of brightness. ASUS’ OLED display received a Dolby Vision certificate and a PANTONE Validated certificate, which involves rigorous testing. Overall, this is a vibrant screen with a very high contrast ratio and great response times.

Apart from the screen, there’s a lot more to cover here…

At the heart of the Zenbook, we find an octa-core AMD Ryzen 7 CPU with integrated AMD Radeon Graphics, 32 GB blazing-fast DDR5 memory, and 1 TB SSD. This solid setup makes the Zenbook capable of much more than streaming movies: this great laptop is meant for content creation, productivity, and even casual gaming.

All these superpowers are packed into a military-grade durability chassis that also receives ASUS’ antimicrobial coating. And if you think that makes this laptop more rigid, I can say that it’s highly portable and flexible thanks to the 180-degree hinge, great connectivity, and low weight.

Although the manufacturer claims that battery life is up to 13 hours, this model tends to run out of steam after some 7-10 hours. This is kind of an average battery life, not too bad and not too good, either.

Overall, the Zenbook 15 ticks all the boxes to be one of the top picks not only for watching movies but also for content creation, gaming, and productivity.

Csaba’s Rating:

• Performance: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Display: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Portability: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Battery life: ⭐ ⭐⭐

What I like and dislike about the ASUS Zenbook 15:

3. LG Gram SuperSlim (15.6”)

Best portable OLED laptop for streaming movies

The LG gram SuperSlim is one of the best laptops for streaming movies. It’s equipped with a stunning 15-inch OLED display that supports 0.2 ms response time and 100% DCI-P3 color gamut. With this sharp and vivid screen, you’ll enjoy your favorite movies without compromise.

Beyond the impressive screen, we get real power under the hood. LG Gram is powered by a 13th Gen Intel Core i7-1360P processor with 12 cores and a clock speed of up to 5.0 GHz. Together with the blazing-fast LPDDR5 memory, integrated Intel Iris graphics, and 1 TB SSD, you get a timeless machine.

On top of that, this laptop is highly portable with an ultra-thin yet military-graded chassis. It only weighs 2.18 lbs and the battery life is good as well: you can enjoy up to 13 hours of video playback on a single charge.

Even the lack of an HDMI port and a more powerful graphics card couldn’t dampen my enthusiasm for this laptop. If you plan to use your laptop not only for streaming movies but also for video editing, multitasking, or even casual gaming, LG Gram is a top pick with incredible portability.

Csaba’s Rating:

• Performance: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Display: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Portability: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Battery life: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

What I like and dislike about the LG Gram SuperSlim:

4. Acer Predator Helios (16”)

Best gaming laptop for watching movies

Acer Predator Helios is one of the best gaming laptops out there. It’s a real predator with the latest 16-core Intel Core i7-13700HX processor, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 40 series graphics card, cutting-edge cooling system, and super-optimized performance. Gamers also like this laptop for its RGB keyboard with programmable keys.

What makes Helios 16 a top pick for streaming movies is the screen real estate. It comes with a 16-inch 2K+ screen with a blazing fast 165 Hz refresh rate and 3 ms response time, which not only favors gaming but also supports fast-paced video content and offers an incredible visual experience. The 16:10 aspect ratio ensures that you can enjoy your favorite series without experiencing larger black bars on your screen.

On the downside, Helios 16 lacks a fingerprint reader for easy and secure logins, and it has a mediocre battery life of some 5 hours. If you’re into gaming, however, this is one of the best laptops to get your hands on for streaming movies and games.

Csaba’s Rating:

• Performance: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Display: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Portability: ⭐⭐⭐
• Battery life: ⭐⭐

What I like and dislike about Acer Predator Helios:

5. HP Spectre X360 (16’’)

Best convertible laptop for streaming movies

The HP Spectre x360 2-in-1 laptop offers great performance and a mobile screen real estate for streaming movies. It comes with the latest 13th Gen Intel Core i7-13700H processor with 14 cores, 20 threads, 24 MB cache, and with a clock speed of up to 5.0 GHz turbo. There are multiple purchase options depending on how much storage space you need, but I picked the 512 GB hard drive version, which is more than enough for live streaming and working in the cloud.

This convertible laptop comes with a 16-inch 3K+ touchscreen with 100% sRGB color gamut, 400 nits of brightness, and an impressive 91% screen-to-body ratio. This setup offers stunning visuals, vivid colors, and great experience under various light conditions while offering ample flexibility thanks to the 360-degree hinge, stylus pen, and touchscreen functionality.

Despite the power and screen real estate, we can count with a solid 15-hour battery life, thanks to the 6-cell, 83-Wh battery. The full-sized backlit keyboard with the fingerprint reader makes it easy to type and securely log in, while the 5MP camera offers a superior video conferencing experience.

Overall, the HP Spectre X360 is the best convertible laptop for streaming movies on my list.

Csaba’s Rating:

• Performance: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Display: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Portability: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Battery life: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

What I like and dislike about the HP Spectre x360:

6. Lenovo Legion Pro 5 (16″)

Best Lenovo gaming laptop for streaming movies

The Lenovo Legion Pro 5 is a powerful gaming laptop with all kinds of goodies for gamers, streamers, and content creators.

It’s powered by an octa-core AMD Ryzen 7 CPU, an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 40 series GPU, and 16 GB of fast DDR5 memory.

As for the screen, we get a 16-inch 2K display with a blazing fast 165 Hz refresh rate, 100% sRGB color gamut, and a 16:10 aspect ratio. All these specs ensure that you get an excellent streaming experience with vibrant colors and sharp visuals.

The 4-zone RGB backlit keyboard with a large Mylar touchpad and the Nahimic Audio ring bells to gamers.

Speaking of the weaknesses, despite the 80 Wh battery, this laptop barely gets 5-6 hours of video playback time. This is something you can live with if you want to watch TV shows at home or you’re good with a charger. Another thing I missed was the fingerprint reader. Otherwise, the Lenovo Legion Pro 5 is one of the best laptops for streaming movies and gaming.

Csaba’s Rating:

• Performance: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Display: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Portability: ⭐⭐⭐
• Battery life: ⭐⭐

What I like and dislike about the Lenovo Legion Pro 5:

7. ASUS Vivobook S 14 Flip (14’’)

Best convertible OLED laptop for watching movies

The ASUS Vivobook S 14 Flip is a convertible OLED laptop with some impressive specs. It features a 2.8K OLED touchscreen with a 16:10 aspect ratio, 500 nits of brightness, 100% DCI-P3 color gamut, and a PANTONE Validated certificate. These variables ensure that this laptop has a wide viewing angle, vivid colors, and an extremely high contrast ratio.

This screen real estate is powered by an AMD Ryzen 7 CPU with integrated AMD Radeon GPU and 16 GB of RAM.

Thanks to the 360-degree hinge and the stylus support, you can use this laptop not only for watching movies, but also for content creation, note-taking, and so much more.

It’s hard to get a grip on the Vivobook Flip, except for the not-so-competitive battery life, which makes sense given the large OLED screen.

Csaba’s Rating:

• Performance: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Display: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Portability: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Battery life: ⭐⭐⭐

What I like and dislike about the ASUS Vivobook S 14 Flip:

8. Dell Inspiron 16 Plus (16”)

Best screen-real-estate laptop for streaming under 1,000

The Dell Inspiron 16 Plus is an excellent choice for streaming movies if you’re on a budget. It features a 16-inch 3K screen with a 16:10 aspect ratio and 100% sRGB color gamut supporting vivid colors and enough space for watching movies. The Dolby Atmos supporting stereo speakers will further enhance your streaming experience.

This laptop is powered by a 14-core Intel Core i7 processor, a GeForce RTX 3050 GPU, and 8 GB of DDR5 memory.

With up to 15 hours of battery life on video playback, you can enjoy your longest series throughout the night without carrying around your adapter.

Overall, the Dell Inspiron 16 Plus offers great power, a long battery life, and good screen real estate for watching movies.

Csaba’s Rating:

• Performance: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Display: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Portability: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Battery life: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

What I like and dislike about the Dell Inspiron 16 Plus:

9. Lenovo Yoga 7i (16″)

Best long-lasting convertible laptop for streaming

The Lenovo Yoga 7i is a 2-in-1 laptop with an active stylus and some impressive features under the hood. By purchasing the Yoga 7i, you get a future-proof, convertible yet powerful laptop with an FHD webcam, Dolby Atmos-optimized speakers, and long battery life.

It comes with the latest Intel Core i7-1355U processor with 10 cores and 12 threads. This pure power is coupled with 16 GB of LPDDR5 memory and 1 TB storage capacity.

You can enjoy your favorite movies thanks to the Dolby Atmos-optimized speakers and the WUXGA touchscreen. The fingerprint sensor makes it easy to secure your laptop, while the HFD IR camera with privacy shutter and facial recognition coupled with the noise-canceling mics supports crisp video calls.

Screen-wise, we get a 16-inch FHD+ WUXGA touchscreen with somewhat moderate specs. Luckily, it features a 16:10 aspect ratio, which is good for not only streaming movies, but also it’s a sweet spot for productivity.

Overall, the Lenovo Yoga 7i has everything that a modern-day laptop computer can offer: flexibility, power, cutting-edge tech, and astonishingly long battery life. While it could have deserved a better screen, the touchscreen function will compensate for that.

Csaba’s Rating:

• Performance: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Display: ⭐⭐⭐
• Portability: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Battery life: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

What I like and dislike about the Lenovo Yoga 7i:

10. Acer Swift X (14’’)

Best budget laptop for watching movies

The Acer Swift X is one of the best laptops for streaming movies if you’re on a budget. It has everything you need for a smooth and enjoyable streaming experience and productivity.

It comes with a 12th Gen Intel Core i7 series processor with 12 cores. Coupled with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 dedicated GPU, 16 GB of blazing-fast LPDDR5 RAM, and plenty of fast SSD storage, this laptop offers more than enough power for streaming. This setup can do more resource-intensive tasks, such as video editing, running demanding software, and casual gaming.

Thanks to the 2.2K IPS panel with wide-viewing angles, a 16:10 aspect ratio, and 100% sRGB, this laptop provides an enjoyable viewing experience with vivid colors and sharp visuals.

The fingerprint reader makes it easy to log in and secure your computer, which weighs only 3.09 pounds. Another strong point is the FHD camera, which is a rare feature in this category.

My only major concern is the somewhat average battery life. Otherwise, the Acer Swift X is one of the best laptops for streaming and content creation if you’re on a budget.

Csaba’s Rating:

• Performance: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Display: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Portability: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Battery life: ⭐⭐⭐

What I like and dislike about Acer Swift X:

Recommended specifications of a good streaming laptop: a buying guide

While I assembled the best laptops for streaming movies from my own experiences and the literature, bear in mind that it targets streaming movies. You probably will (and should) use your new laptop for many other tasks from productivity to gaming to video editing. These other tasks sometimes require more power and special configuration. For example, if you aim to watch movies on your new laptop, you probably won’t need a powerful battery, because streaming isn’t a demanding task. If you, however, want to use your computer for multitasking or other intensive tasks, or mobility is important to you, looking for a laptop with up to 10+ hours of battery life is a good aim.

Best laptops for streaming movies: FAQ

1. Do I need a dedicated graphics card for streaming movies on my laptop?

Streaming movies typically doesn’t require a dedicated graphics card; an integrated GPU will do the work. If you aim for gaming, video editing, or other graphics-intensive tasks, a dedicated graphics card is more important.

2. What display resolution is ideal for streaming movies?

The most common display resolution found in most laptops is the FHD (1920×1080). This is still the default for streaming, and it provides a good watching experience. WUXGA screens have a resolution of 1920 x 1200 meaning that they offer more vertical screen space (typically have a 16:10 aspect ratio) than FHD screens. This may or may not translate into better visuals (due to the more pixels). Generally, both are very good options for watching movies. More expensive laptop models feature 2K, 3K, or 4K screens and the most expensive ones come with OLED technology. Investing in a 3K laptop can bring a more enjoyable streaming experience with sharper images and enhanced image quality.

3. How long can a laptop last on a single charge while streaming video?

Streaming movies typically consumes less power than multitasking and running demanding applications. Battery tests are often done with local video playback time. Battery life depends on a lot of different factors such as configuration, setup, screen brightness level, and the condition of the battery. Another important factor is the number of cells a battery comes with and the capacity, measured in watt-hours (Wh). Theoretically, the more Wh a battery has, the more energy it can store and the more time it can last on a single charge.

Side note: my new MacBook Air M2 batteries are extremely long-lasting. Recently, a single hour of video streaming has dropped my batteries by 1 percent.

4. Which panel type is best for movie watching?

While most laptops come with an IPS display (In-Plane Switching), mini-LED screens and OLED screens are increasingly popular. IPS screens generally provide accurate colors and wide viewing angles, which makes them a popular and default choice in laptops. OLED screens are more expensive, yet they deliver extremely good contrast, vibrant colors, and overall better image quality. Thus, OLED screens are superior choices for consuming multimedia and watching movies. There are, however, very good screens in the IPS realm, too. The latest MacBooks, for example, feature a Liquid Retina display, which is using the IPS technology yet provides incredible brightness and vivid colors.

5. How much RAM do I need ideally for streaming movies?

Typically, 8 GB of RAM is more than enough for streaming movies. If you, however, are multitasking, running demanding software, or gaming, 16 GB would be a more realistic target. Aim for the fast DDR4 or DDR5 RAM to improve power efficiency and data transfer rates.

To read more about the best laptops for increasing your productivity, check out my other guides:

• 10 Best Budget Laptops for Video Editing in 2023
• 10 Best Laptops for Zoom and Google Classroom in 2023

Best laptops for streaming movies compared

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