2026-02-23 18:01:25
You don’t need to spend a fortune to get a capable Windows laptop. For everyday tasks like web browsing, writing documents, streaming video or handling schoolwork, a well-chosen budget machine can still deliver a smooth, reliable experience. The challenge is cutting through the noise to find affordable options that balance performance, build quality and battery life without serious compromises.
For many buyers, timing is no longer optional. With Windows 10 support now officially over, upgrading has become a necessity rather than a nice-to-have. The picks below focus on cheap Windows laptops that can handle day-to-day workloads comfortably while keeping you current on software and security updates. If you’re open to spending more for extra power or premium features, our broader guide to the best Windows laptops covers higher-end alternatives as well.
While you can do a lot even when spending little on a Windows laptop, you must set your expectations accordingly. The biggest downside when purchasing a budget laptop (of any kind, really) is limited power. You’ll want to carefully consider a few specs, the most important among them being the processor (CPU). Many Windows laptops under $500 run on Intel Celeron or Pentium chipsets, but you can find some with Core i3/i5 and AMD Ryzen 3/5 CPUs at the higher end of the price spectrum.
We recommend getting the most powerful CPU you can afford because it will dictate how fast the computer will feel overall. Memory (RAM) is also important because, the more you have, the easier it will be for the laptop to manage things like a dozen browser tabs while you edit a Word document and stream music in the background.
When it comes to storage, consider how much you want to save locally. If you primarily work in Google Docs or save most things in the cloud, you may not need a machine with a ton of onboard storage. Just remember that your digital space will also be taken up by apps, so it may be worth getting a little extra storage than you think you need if you know you’ll be downloading big programs. A final side note: solid state drives (SSDs) are ubiquitous at this point, not to mention faster and more efficient than hard drives (HDDs), so we recommend getting a laptop with that type of storage.
As for screens, there’s a healthy mix of HD (720p resolution) and FHD (1080p) options in this price range and we recommend springing for a notebook with a 1080p display if you can. Touchscreens aren’t as common in the budget space as standard panels, but you’ll only really miss one if you get a 2-in-1 laptop.
Before we get to our recommended specs for a cheap Windows laptop, it’s worth mentioning that Microsoft clearly lays out the true minimum requirements for any Windows 11 machine. Those include a 1GHz or faster processor that includes two or more cores, at least 4GB of RAM and 64GB of available storage space. That’s the bare minimum to run Windows 11; we recommend giving yourself some wiggle room by choosing a machine that will perform well now and for years to come.
CPU: Intel Core i3 or AMD Ryzen 3 processors, at minimum
RAM: At least 8GB
Storage: At least 128GB SSD
Screen: At least 1080p FHD
It’s essential to prioritize what’s important to you. But at the lower end of the budget, a good laptop may not offer everything you need, whereas a great one might. Although most machines come with features like Bluetooth, built-in Wi-Fi and additional ports, you might find not all of them come with the specifics you require, like an SD card slot, webcam, charger, and so on. Be sure to check the spec list of any laptop you’re considering before you buy, especially if you need specific connectors and capabilities.
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As for Copilot+, don’t expect to see much of it on truly affordable Windows laptops just yet. Microsoft’s AI features and Copilot assistant require certain specs to run, namely a powerful neural processing unit (NPU), 16GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. Currently, the cheapest Copilot+ AI PCs will run you about $700, so if you’re willing to pay more for those perks, check out our best laptops guide for more options.
If you’re looking for either a gaming laptop or a “Windows on Arm” laptop, both categories will require you to spend more money than we’re discussing here.
The cheap Windows laptop market moves fast, and — unlike nearly all of our other buying guides — we haven't necessarily tested each specific configuration listed below. However, the combination of these technical specifications and familiar brands represent exactly the sort of entry-level laptops we'd recommend to shoppers in this price range based on our thorough research and expert knowledge.
The best cheap laptop models change all the time. Unlike more expensive, flagship machines, these notebooks can be updated a couple times each year. That can make it hard to track down a specific model at Amazon, Best Buy, Walmart or any other retailer. Also, we’ve seen prices vary widely depending on the configuration and retailer you’re looking at.
You can ensure you’re getting a quality laptop by doing a few things. First and foremost, make sure you get a machine that follows the recommended specs we list above. Also, make sure you’re buying from a reputable retailer, including big-box stores like Walmart, Best Buy and Costco, online shops like Amazon or direct manufacturers like Dell, HP, Lenovo and others. If you have a physical store near you (likely a Best Buy in the US), it’s never a bad idea to go play around with some laptops in person before choosing one.
If you decide to shop online from the likes of Amazon or Walmart, double check the seller of the laptop you’re considering. For example, many items on Amazon are “shipped and sold” by Amazon and those are typically the best options. You’ll see that information on Amazon on the right sidebar on a product page, under the Add to Cart and Buy Now buttons. Third-party sellers are common in the affordable laptop space. Amazon sometimes classifies laptop manufacturers as third-party sellers, so you may see a laptop shipped and sold by HP or Dell — that’s a good thing, since it’s coming directly from the manufacturer.
However, there are other third-party electronics sellers out there. We recommend clicking on the third-party seller’s name on Amazon or Walmart (yes, Walmart has them, too) to see how much positive feedback and how many five-star ratings they’ve received from buyers.
You may be inclined to recommend a Chromebook or a tablet to anyone considering a budget Windows laptop computer. Those instincts aren’t wrong, but Chromebooks and tablets aren’t the best buy for everyone. Tablets have the most portability, but they will only work for the most mobile-competent users like kids who have been grabbing smartphones out of their parents’ hands since they’ve been dexterous enough to do so. Tablets can also be just as expensive as some of the cheapest Windows laptops, and that’s without a mouse or keyboard.
Chromebooks are a good alternative for those that basically live in a browser, the trade-off being you must give up the “traditional desktop.” And Chrome OS is a more limited operating system than Windows when it comes to the programs you can install and run.
What can you realistically accomplish on a cheap Windows laptop? Quite a bit, especially if you’re doing one thing (or a limited number of things) at a time. They’re great for everyday tasks like web browsing, checking email, video streaming and more. All of those things can be done on Chromebooks as well, but Windows laptops have a big advantage in Microsoft Office. While yes, there is a browser based version, the native, desktop apps are considered a must have for many and will run smoothly on even the most bare-bones budget laptop. The only caveat is that you may run into some slowdown on low-powered devices if you’re multitasking or working with large data sets in Excel or a lot of photos and graphics in Powerpoint.
When it comes to specs, a bright spot for Windows laptops is storage. Even the most affordable devices tend to have at least a 128GB solid state drive. That will come in handy if you prefer to keep your most important files saved locally on your laptop's hard drive. In contrast, cheaper Chromebooks often have less storage because they’re built on the assumption that you’ll save all of your documents in the cloud. Not only is that less convenient when you need to work offline, but it also limits the size of programs and files that you can download. So, Chromebooks aren't the best for hoarding Netflix shows before a long trip or for use as a gaming laptop.
Windows also has thousands of apps that you can download from its app store. Chromebooks have some Chrome apps, numerous browser extensions and the ability to download Android apps, but quality control is… inconsistent. Android apps, in particular, often haven’t been optimized for Chrome OS, which makes for a wonky user experience. Windows may not have as many apps as Android, but at least the experience is fairly standard across the board.
Windows also gives you the ability to download and use programs from other sources, like direct from the developer. You can run things like Adobe Creative Suite, certain VPNs and programs like GIMP, Audacity and ClipMate on a Windows device, which just isn’t possible on Chrome OS. Chromebooks limit you to the apps and programs in The Play Store and the Chrome Extensions store, reducing any others to unusable, space-sucking icons in your Downloads folder.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/laptops/best-affordable-windows-laptops-123000512.html?src=rss2026-02-23 16:00:38
If you’re using an Android phone, finding the right pair of wireless earbuds can take a little more work than it does for iPhone owners. Apple’s AirPods are tightly woven into iOS, but that same level of seamless integration doesn’t automatically carry over to Android. The good news is there are plenty of earbuds that play just as nicely with Android devices, and in some cases offer features AirPods simply don’t.
From earbuds designed to pair especially well with Samsung Galaxy and Google Pixel phones to models that prioritize strong noise cancellation, long battery life or workout-friendly durability, the Android ecosystem has no shortage of solid options. We’ve tested a wide range of wireless earbuds to find the best picks for Android users, whether you’re after premium sound, reliable everyday performance or a more affordable alternative.
For the most part, the features you want from a set of “Android earbuds” are the same as what you want from any headphones. Great sound quality, a comfortable fit and sufficient battery life are still the foundations. Adequate water resistance is good for workouts, and nobody wants a crummy mic for making calls. Once you approach the $100 range, features like active noise cancellation (ANC), wireless charging, an ambient sound mode (which lets you better hear outside noise without turning off your music) and multipoint connectivity (the ability to pair with multiple devices simultaneously) should be expected.
For Android devices specifically, there are a few extras to consider. A dedicated app that makes it easy to switch sound modes, customize the audio profile, locate your earbuds if they ever get misplaced or adjust other settings is strongly preferred. Features like Google Fast Pair or NFC-based pairing, which can help you avoid having to dig through your Bluetooth menu to connect your earbuds for the first time, are also nice perks. Some Android devices can also utilize higher-quality Bluetooth codecs such as aptX Adaptive or Sony’s LDAC — these aren’t nearly as important to audio quality as the actual architecture of your earbuds, but they can help wring out a little more detail if the buds are capable enough and you’re streaming lossless files. AptX Adaptive can also help reduce latency, which is good for streaming video or gaming.
Diversity is Android’s greatest strength, but it also means that some wireless earbuds play nicer with certain devices, typically those made by the same company. Recent Samsung earbuds, for instance, come with a few perks that are only available if you use a Galaxy phone. We have a couple of recommendations related to this idea above.
The best way to test earphones is simply to wear them as much as possible, so that’s what we do. We typically do this over a one- to two-week period, though embargo times occasionally force us to finish our review process a bit faster. We listen to a test playlist that includes several musical genres and podcasts, paying close attention to how each pair approaches the bass, mid and treble frequencies to get an accurate sense of its sound profile. We also test at high and low volumes to check for consistency in the tuning. We do not have access to a dummy head to take more objective measurements, but we’ll sometimes look to sites like Rtings, SoundGuys and others that do just to ensure our impressions are not wildly off-base. If a model supports custom EQ, we’ll tinker with that and use the available EQ presets to see if one sounds dramatically better than the others — though in general we base most of our impressions on the stock tuning each pair uses by default.
To assess microphone quality, we record our own audio samples and take multiple calls with a partner both indoors and outside. For battery life, we play our test playlist on a loop with the volume around 75 percent and measure how long it takes for each set to drain. Where applicable, we do a thorough review of a pair’s companion app and test each available feature. While comfort is ultimately subjective, we take note of how secure each pair feels while we’re on the move. We also use certain pairs in especially crowded public spaces to get a better sense of their passive and active noise cancellation, as well as their ability to maintain a consistent Bluetooth connection.
February 2026: Updated to include new top picks.
November 2025: The lightly updated Beats Powerbeats Fit replace the older Beats Fit Pro as our top pick for working out. We’ve also noted the new Google Pixel Buds 2a as a cheaper alternative to the Pixel Buds Pro 2, which remain our recommendation for Pixel phone users.
August 2025: We’ve taken another sweep to ensure our advice is still up-to-date.
May 2025: We’ve checked this guide to ensure our top picks still stand and noted a couple alternatives to the Noble Fokus Rex5, since that pair has had stock issues of late. We’re also keeping an eye on how the Trump administration’s tariff policy affects the pricing and stock of our recommendations (and the consumer tech industry as a whole). All of our picks are still available in their normal price ranges today, but we’ll update this guide if that changes.
February 2025: The Noble FoKus Rex5 is our new "best for sound quality" pick, replacing the Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 4. Our other recommendations remain unchanged.
December 2024: We’ve lightly edited this guide for clarity and ensured that our current picks are still accurate.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/audio/headphones/best-earbuds-for-android-devices-120015765.html?src=rss2026-02-23 07:10:10
It looks like a March launch is no longer in the cards for Artemis II, NASA's first crewed trip to the moon's vicinity since the final Apollo mission over 50 years ago. While preparations were underway at the Kennedy Space Center for a launch as soon as March 6, the space agency says it ran into an issue with the flow of helium to its SLS rocket's upper stage this weekend and it now has to roll the rocket from the launch pad back to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) to figure out what's wrong and fix it. A media briefing is planned for sometime this week to discuss the problem and what's next.
But in a post on X, NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman confirmed the rollback will "take the March launch window out of consideration." NASA noted on its blog that the current effort "potentially preserves the April launch window, pending the outcome of data findings, repair efforts, and how the schedule comes to fruition in the coming days and weeks." It's a four-mile trip back to the VAB that will take hours to carefully transport the massive rocket and the Orion spacecraft. NASA says it's eyeing February 24 for this trek.
The issue occurred overnight in the early hours of February 21, when NASA says it observed "interrupted flow of helium to the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket’s interim cryogenic propulsion stage." The space agency explained:
The upper stage uses helium to maintain the proper environmental conditions for the stage’s engine and to pressurize liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen propellant tanks. The systems worked during NASA’s Artemis II wet dress rehearsals, but teams were not able to properly flow helium during normal operations and reconfigurations following the wet dress rehearsal that concluded Feb. 19. Operators are using a backup method to maintain the environmental conditions for the upper stage engines and the rocket, which remains in a safe configuration.
The Artemis II crew — Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, Mission Specialist Christina Koch and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen, Mission Specialist — had just entered quarantine a day before the issue arose. NASA says the astronauts have since come out of quarantine.
At the start of this year, NASA announced an accelerated timeline for Artemis II, which was previously set for April 2026 after experiencing delays in 2024. For this 10-day mission, which will be the first crewed flight of the SLS rocket, the Artemis II astronauts will take a trip around the moon in the Orion spacecraft. While it initially targeted early February, the launch was pushed to March due to issues that popped up during the wet dress rehearsal. Now, we're back to the beginning with a possible April launch, but that’ll depend on the fix being a quick one.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/science/space/nasas-crewed-artemis-ii-launch-gets-pushed-back-again-this-time-due-to-a-helium-issue-231010042.html?src=rss2026-02-23 05:15:08
A collective of Colorado lawmakers wants to put an end to "ghost guns" and their rising popularity. Earlier this week, the state's House Judiciary Committee voted in a 7-4 majority to pass the bill, HB26-1144, along for a decision with the full House of Representatives. The proposed law would "prohibit the use of a three-dimensional printer, or similar technology, to make a firearm or a firearm component."
Ghost guns are typically made from 3D printers or similar machines without serial numbers, making them virtually impossible to trace and allowing users to skirt the federal requirements for purchasing a firearm. While the bill targets using a 3D printer to make guns, large-capacity magazines and other related components, it even bans possessing and distributing the instructions to manufacture guns in this way. However, these rules would be exempt for federally licensed firearm manufacturers.
"These ghost guns are increasingly found at crime scenes, making it harder for law enforcement to track down a suspect because the gun isn’t traceable," the bill's sponsor, Lindsay Gilchrist, said in a press release.
Prior to this proposal, Colorado passed a law in 2023 that banned owning ghost guns or making frames for them. While SB23-279 laid the groundwork, HB26-1144 can be seen as the next step since it's much more encompassing by targeting ghost guns even before they're made. According to the bill, first-time violations will be treated as a misdemeanor, while repeat offenses will be upgraded to a felony charge. Looking ahead, HB26-1144 still has to secure a vote from both the Colorado Senate and House of Representatives before being delivered to the governor to be signed into law.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/science/colorado-is-working-on-a-bill-that-would-make-it-illegal-to-3d-print-firearms-and-gun-parts-211508169.html?src=rss2026-02-23 04:37:29
Samsung's next flagship devices will offer Perplexity as part of an expansion to support multiple AI agents in Galaxy AI. Perplexity's AI agent will work with apps including Samsung Notes, Clock, Gallery, Reminder and Calendar, according to the announcement. And, some third-party apps will support it, though Samsung hasn't yet said which. The news comes just a few days before Samsung's Galaxy Unpacked event, so we can expect to find out more about that integration and how it fits in with Samsung's revamped Bixby very soon.
What we know so far is that the Perplexity agent will respond to the wake phrase, "Hey Plex" (not to be confused with the streaming service Plex). It can also be initiated by quick-access physical controls. In a statement, Samsung's Won-Joon Choi, President, COO and Head of the R&D Office for Samsung's Mobile eXperience Business, said the expansion of Galaxy AI is aimed at giving users more choice and flexibility in getting their tasks done. "Galaxy AI acts as an orchestrator, bringing together different forms of AI into a single, natural, cohesive experience,” Choi said.
Samsung previously announced a partnership with Perplexity last year to integrate the company's AI search engine into Samsung TVs. Perplexity has been in hot water though over alleged content scraping and copyright infringement, and was even sued in September by Merriam-Webster — yes, the dictionary — and Encyclopedia Britannica.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/samsung-is-adding-perplexity-to-galaxy-ai-for-its-upcoming-s26-series-203729539.html?src=rss2026-02-23 03:15:35
Xinhua News Agency via Getty Images
The 2026 Winter Olympics come to an end this weekend. This year's Closing Ceremony theme is "Beauty in Action." The event will feature appearances from musician and DJ Gabry Ponte, actress Benedetta Porcaroli, and ballet dancer Roberto Bolle. Alfredo Accatino, the ceremony's artistic director, has promised the ceremony will "begin with lots of colors and end with a party."
The ceremony will kick off today at 2:30PM ET on NBC and Peacock. An encore broadcast will air on NBC at 9PM Here's everything you need to know to watch the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics Closing Ceremony. (And as we close out the Winter Games, here's a look at the final medal count, too.)
Date: Sunday, Feb. 22
Time: Airs live at 2:30PM ET; primetime re-air at 9PM ET
Location: Verona Arena, Verona, Italy
TV channel: NBC
Streaming: Peacock, DirecTV, NBC.com and more
The ceremony will kick off at 2:30 PM ET on Sunday afternoon. An encore broadcast will also air on NBC at 9PM ET/PT.
There are a couple of ways to watch the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics Closing Ceremony on Sunday, Feb. 22. You can tune in live Sunday afternoon on NBC or stream live on Peacock, or catch the encore broadcast on NBC, which is available with DirecTV, Hulu + Live TV, and more.
You can watch the ceremony live or on demand on Peacock as well as on NBC.com, NBCOlympics.com and the NBC app.
Italian musician and DJ Gabry Ponte is one of the headliners. Other confirmed performers include Italian actress Benedetta Porcaroli and Italian ballet dancer Roberto Bolle. Expect to see another parade of athletes, the flag handover to the 2030 Olympic hosts from France, and the ceremonial extinguishing of the Olympic flame.
The 2026 Winter Olympics Closing Ceremony will be held at the Verona Arena in Verona, Italy.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/streaming/2026-olympics-how-to-watch-the-winter-games-closing-ceremony-today-115500771.html?src=rss
