An OLED screen can elevate your viewing experience by turning a beautiful scene into a captivating one. Its ability to switch off individual pixels that aren’t in use enables it to display true blacks that result in unmatched contrast ratios. This, in turn, leads to a vibrant display of colors that make on-screen images look richer and more lifelike.
Thus, OLED screens are the natural choice for video or image editing professionals, and the realistic imagery ensures that gamers love the immersive experience that these screens deliver. Further, the growing demand for these across all use cases also means that they are popular for your daily computing needs as they enhance your movie-watching experience to new levels.
Unfortunately, OLED screens are pricey, and finding an affordable laptop with an OLED screen is a bit of a task. Manufacturers mainly offer OLED screens with their premium line of notebooks, putting them out of reach to most buyers. Alternately, manufacturers offer IPS or VA panel screens as affordable options, but you have to make considerable concessions in image quality. This is because both these screen types don’t even come close to the high contrast ratio the OLED screens offer.
The OLED screen is a newer technology than LCD (and its sub-types IPS and VA panels) and is still gaining acceptance among manufacturers and end-users. Interestingly, mobile phone manufacturers accepted OLED screens long before laptop manufacturers did, which wasn’t very long back. This could be one of the reasons why there are only a few OLED laptops on the market and even fewer affordable options.
Nonetheless, we have found the best budget OLED laptops on the market, and we’ll review each one in this article. We’ll compare their specification and highlight the best feature of each. Next, we’ll present our buying guide and finally close by answering some frequently asked questions.
Table of Contents
- Comparison of the Budget OLED Laptops
- 1. ASUS VivoBook Pro 14 – Laptop with Thunderbolt 4 ports
- 2. ASUS VivoBook 15X M1503QA-ES74 – OLED Laptop with AMD Ryzen 7
- 3. SAMSUNG Galaxy Book Pro – Lightest OLED Laptop
- 4. HP Envy x360 2-in-1 – Convertible OLED Laptop
- 5. MSI Creator 15 Professional Laptop – Budget OLED Laptop for Content Creators
- 6. Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 7 – Laptop with Octa-Core Processor
- 7. ASUS ZenBook 13 – Most Durable OLED laptop
- 8. Dell XPS 13 9310 – OLED Laptop for Productivity
- Budget OLED Laptops – Our Buying Guide
- Budget OLED Laptops – Frequently Asked Questions
Comparison of the Budget OLED Laptops
| Image | Product | Details | Check Price |
|---|---|---|---|
 | ASUS VivoBook Pro 14 | Display: 14" WQXGA (2880x1800) OLED CPU: Intel Core i5 GPU: Intel Iris Xe Graphics RAM: 8GB DDR4 Storage: 256GB SSD Weight: 3.09lbs. (1.40Kgs.) Ports: 1 x Thunderbolt 4 1 x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A 2 x USB 2.0 Type-A 1 x HDMI 1.4 1x SD Card Reader 1 x 3.5mm Audio Jack | Buy on Amazon |
 | ASUS VivoBook 15X M1503QA-ES74 | Display: 15.6" FHD (1920x1080) OLED CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 GPU: AMD Radeon Graphics RAM: 16GB DDR4 Storage: 512GB SSD Weight: 3.3lbs. (1.50Kgs.) Ports: 2 x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A 1 x HDMI 1.4 1 x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-C 1 x USB 2.0 1 x 3.5mm Combo Audio Jack | Buy on Amazon |
 | SAMSUNG Galaxy Book Pro | Display: 15.6" FHD (1920x1080) OLED CPU: Intel Core i5 GPU: Intel Iris Xe Graphics RAM: 8GB DDR4 Storage: 512GB SSD Weight: 2.31lbs. (1.04Kgs.) Ports: 1 x Thunderbolt 4 1 x USB-C 3.2 Gen 1 1 x USB-A 3.2 Gen 1 1 x HDMI 1x SD Card Reader 1 x 3.5mm Audio Jack | Buy on Amazon |
 | HP Envy x360 2-in-1 | Display: 13.3" FHD (1920x1080) OLED CPU: Intel Core i7 GPU: Intel Iris Xe Graphics RAM: 8GB DDR4 Storage: 512GB SSD Weight: 2.87lbs. (1.30Kgs.) Ports: 1 x Thunderbolt 4 2 x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A 1x Media Card Reader 1 x 3.5mm Audio Jack | Buy on Amazon |
 | MSI Creator 15 Professional Laptop | Display: 15.6" 4K UHD (3840x2160) OLED CPU: Intel Core i7 GPU: NVIDIA GeForce® RTX3060 Laptop GPU RAM: 16GB DDR4 Storage: 512GB SSD Weight: 4.63lbs. (2.10Kgs.) Ports: 1 x Thunderbolt 4 1 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C 1 x HDMI 3 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A 1 x RJ-45 Ethernet port 1 x 3.5mm Audio Jack | Buy on Amazon |
 | Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 7 | Display: 14" 2.8K WQXGA (2880 x 1800) OLED CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 GPU: AMD Radeon Graphics RAM: 16GB DDR4 Storage: 512GB SSD Weight: 4.63lbs. (2.10Kgs.) Ports: 1 x USB-C 3.2 Gen 1 2 x USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C 1 x Headphone / mic combo | Buy on Amazon |
 | ASUS ZenBook 13 | Display: 13.3" FHD (1920x1080) OLED CPU: Intel Core i5 GPU: Intel Iris Xe Graphics RAM: 8GB DDR4 Storage: 256GB SSD Weight: 2.54lbs. (1.15Kgs.) Ports: 2 x Thunderbolt 4 1 x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A 1 x HDMI 2.1 1 x Micro SD card reader | Buy on Amazon |
 | Dell XPS 13 9310 | Display: 13.4" 3.5K (1920x1200) OLED CPU: Intel Core i7 GPU: Intel Iris Xe Graphics RAM: 16GB DDR4 Storage: 512GB SSD Weight: 2.80lbs. (1.27Kgs.) Ports: 2 x Thunderbolt 3 1 x Micro SD card reader 1 x 3.5mm Audio Jack | Buy on Amazon |
1. ASUS VivoBook Pro 14 – Laptop with Thunderbolt 4 ports
The VivoBook Pro 14 is a winner with it’s OLED screen and Thunderbolt 4 offerings. While several other laptops on the market offer these features, none of them match the pocket-friendly price of this laptop from Asus.
The OLED display measure measures 14-inches and offers a 2880×1800 resolution in a 16:10 aspect ratio, 0.2ms response time, and 90Hz refresh rate. The screen features a 10-bit color depth that delivers 1.07 billion colors that cover 100% of the DCI-P3 color space. The OLED panel ensures that you get True Black, which results in high contrast ratios that Asus pairs with VESA Certified DisplayHDR True Back 600. This also means you get an extremely bright screen that offers 600nits peak brightness to make the color look bright and lifelike.
In terms of specifications, you get the 11th Intel Core i5-11300H CPU (4-Cores, 8MB Cache, and up to 4.4GHz clock speed). But to keep costs to a minimum, Asus offers 8GB DDR4 RAM and 256GB PCIe NVMe SSD storage. Unfortunately, the RAM is soldered to the motherboard and you won’t be able to upgrade it as your computing needs change.
The VivoBook Pro 14 offers essential Thunderbolt 4, USB-A, and HDMI ports to connect peripheral devices easily. It lacks an Ethernet port for LAN connectivity, but Asus offers Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.0 for wireless connectivity.
Our Take
The Asus VivoBook Pro 14 is a versatile laptop that offers excellent value for money that is hard to match. It has plenty of features that appeal to many laptop users. From daily use to office work, the VivoBook Pro 14 has something to offer for everyone.
- Pantone Validated and TUV Rheinland certification for low blue light emissions.
- The Thunderbolt 4 port ensures high-speed data transfers between devices.
- Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.0 offer high-speed wireless connectivity.
- The 16:10 aspect ratio helps enhance productivity.
- The backlit keyboard makes it easy to use in a dimly lit room.
- The soldered RAM restricts future expansion.
- Excessive bloatware hinders the laptop’s performance.
2. ASUS VivoBook 15X M1503QA-ES74 – OLED Laptop with AMD Ryzen 7
The Asus VivoBook 15X harnesses the Price-to-Performance advantage AMD processors have over their Intel counterparts. Thus, Asus is able to offer a laptop with mid-to-high range specifications at an affordable price without compromising too much on the CPU performance.
The VivoBook 15X has a 15-inch OLED display with 1920×1080 resolution in a 16:9 aspect ratio. Like its sibling, the VivoBook Pro 14, this laptop also uses a 10-bit color depth that offers 1.07 billion colors that cover 100% of the DCI-P3 color gamut. The VESA Certified DisplayHDR True Black 600 ensures that you get fantastic contrast ratios and peak brightness levels of 600nits making images look realistic and vibrant.
Asus offers the VivoBook 15X with the AMD Ryzen 7-5800H processor (8-Cores, 24MD Cache, and up to 4.4GHz clock speed). You also get 16GB DDR4 RAM which is soldered to the motherboard, and 512GB PCIe 3.0 NVMe SSD storage.
The laptop offers plenty of connectivity ports so that you won’t have a problem connecting peripheral devices. The ports include USB-C, USB-A, and HDMI ports. Unfortunately, the VivoBook 15X gives Thunderbolt 4 a miss, and the use of USB-C 3.2 Gen 1 means data speeds are limited to 5Gbps. Lastly, the absence of an Ethernet port means you must rely on Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.0 for network connectivity.
Our Take
The Asus VivoBook 15X offers excellent mid-to-high level specifications that are ideal for work and daily use. The AMD Ryzen CPU ensures that you get an octa-core processor suitable for most demanding tasks. Further, it plays a large part in keeping the prices low without compromising on performance.
- High RAM and an octa-core processor ensure that you multitask with ease.
- Pantone Validated and TUV Rheinland certification for low blue light emissions.
- Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.0 offer high-speed wireless connectivity.
- The fingerprint reader and webcam shutter provide privacy and security.
- The 512GB SSD provides plenty of storage space.
- The soldered RAM restricts future expansion.
- No Thunderbolt 4 ports for high-speed data transfers.
3. SAMSUNG Galaxy Book Pro – Lightest OLED Laptop
The Samsung Galaxy Book Pro is the lightest budget OLED laptop on the market, weighing just 2.31lbs. It’s thin and lightweight design makes it easy to carry during long commutes and the 20hrs. battery life ensures that you aren’t constantly searching for an outlet to charge the laptop.
The Galaxy Book Pro has a 15.6-inch AMOLED screen that offers a FullHD resolution of 1920x1080p in a 16:9 aspect ratio. It provides a 0.2ms response time, one million:1 contrast ratio, and brightness levels of 370nits. Samsung’s OLED panel ensures that you get a high color gamut with vibrant-looking colors that create attractive images on-screen.
The laptop comes with the 11th generation Intel Core i5-1135G7 processor (4-Core, 8MB Cache, and up to 4.20GHz clock speed). While the RAM is a bit low at 8GB, you do get a generous 512GB SSD storage that is adequate for all your media files. The 8GB DDR4 RAM is soldered to the motherboard and helps maintain the thin form factor of the laptop.
Surprisingly, despite it’s thin design, the laptop manages to accommodate an HDMI and USB-A port. You also get a Thunderbolt 4, a USB-C port, a media card reader, and a 3.5mm audio jack. Thanks to the use of Wi-Fi 6E, you won’t miss an Ethernet port when you need high-speed connectivity. Additionally, Bluetooth 5.1 provides added flexibility to connect your wireless devices easily.
Our Take
The Samsung Galaxy Pro laptop is perfect for people who often find themselves on the move. It offers a thin and lightweight design, and the 20hrs. battery life ensures that you can focus on work rather than worry about looking for outlets.
- Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth v5.1 provide high-speed wireless connectivity.
- The Thunderbolt 4 port ensures high-speed data transfers between devices.
- The 512GB SSD provides plenty of storage space.
- The 20hrs. battery life will last an entire day.
- HDMI and USB-A ports are hard to find on ultra-thin laptops.
- The soldered RAM restricts future expansion.
- Excessive bloatware hinders the laptop’s performance.
4. HP Envy x360 2-in-1 – Convertible OLED Laptop
The HP Envy x360 is a convertible laptop that is perfect for home and office use. It offers enough firepower to allow you to work on spreadsheets and presentations. And when you are done for the day, flip it into the tablet more to enjoy a few videos on the comfort of your couch.
The laptop has a 13.3-inch screen that offers a 1920×1080 resolution and covers 100% of the DCI-P3 color gamut. It comes with VESA DisplayHDR True Black 400 certification and provides brightness levels of 400nits. Thankfully, the TUV Rheinland Certification ensures that your eyes stay safe from the harmful effects of blue light.
The x360 comes with an 11th generations Intel Evo i7-1195G7 CPU (4-Core, 12MB Cache, and up to 5.00GHz clock speed). You also get 8GB DDR4 RAM and 512GB PCIe NVMe SSD storage. Thus, you get enough storage to house a part of your media collection for use during extended lunch breaks.
The laptop offers a functional selection of expansion ports, including a Thunderbolt 4 port. While HP doesn’t provide an Ethernet port for wired connectivity, they include Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth v5.0 for wireless connectivity, which is more suitable when using the device in tablet mode.
Our Take
The HP Envy x360 offers the benefits of a laptop and a tablet, making it perfect for work and a little pleasure. It comes with the Intel Evo i7 CPU, which is streamlined for productivity, and at the end of a busy workday, you’ll love watching movies on the brilliant OLED screen.
- The Corning Gorilla Glass keeps the screen safe in case of accidental falls.
- The Bang and Olufsen audio delivers excellent sound quality.
- Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth v5.0 provide high-speed wireless connectivity.
- The Thunderbolt 4 port ensures high-speed data transfers between devices.
- The soldered RAM restricts future expansion.
5. MSI Creator 15 Professional Laptop – Budget OLED Laptop for Content Creators
The MSI Creator 15 is a power-packed OLED laptop that provides the right set of tools for content creators to work efficiently. It comes with an 11th Generation Intel Core i7-11800H processor (8-Core, 24MB Cache, and up to 4.60GHz clock speed), 16GB DDR4 RAM, and 512GB PCIe NVMe SSD storage. More importantly, you get the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 dedicated GPU with 6GB DDDR6 video memory to handle the graphics-intensive work that creators do.
The laptop features a 15.6-inch 4K UDH screen that offers 100% of the DCI-P3 color gamut. It has a Calman Verified screen and comes with VESA DisplayHDR True Black 500 certification, ensuring you get 500nits brightness. Thus, you are assured of a fantastic display screen that delivers high-quality images.
And if you are worried that all that firepower will make the laptop run hot or overheat, think again. The Creator 15 comes with three fans and seven heat pipes that efficiently dissipate the heat and keep the critical components working at peak performance levels.
Lastly, the laptop offers a generous number of ports, and the port selection ensures broad compatibility. These include Thunderbolt 4, USB-C, USB-A, and HDMI ports. And you even get an RJ-45 2.5 GbE port for wired LAN connectivity along with Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth v5.2 for wireless connectivity.
Our Take
Content creation requires expensive laptops with high-end specifications that deliver top-notch performance. Very often, the price of such laptops run into several thousands of dollars; the MSI Creator 15 is an affordable machine with feature best suited for content creation.
- Excellent selection of ports that includes a Thunderbolt 4 port and 2.5 GbE RJ-45 port.
- Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth v5.2 provide high-speed wireless connectivity.
- The dedicated GPU handles the graphics well and facilitates easy content creation.
- VESA DisplayHDR True Black 500 certification helps deliver vibrant colors.
- Poor quality speakers
- Noisy fans create disturbance
6. Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 7 – Laptop with Octa-Core Processor
The Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 7 offers the AMD Ryzen 7-5800U processor (8-Core, 4MB Cache, and up to 4.4GHz clock speed). You also get 16GB DDR4 RAM and 512GB PCIe NVMe SSD storage. Thus, the laptop promises high-performance specifications suitable for resource-hungry tasks commonly needed with propriety software.
The IdeaPad Slim 7 has a 14-inch 2.8K display with a 2880x1800p resolution in a 16:10 aspect ratio and a 90Hz refresh rate. The screen also features DisplayHDR True Black 500 and delivers 400nits brightness along with 100% of the DCI-P3 color gamut.
The IdeaPad Slim 7 has a super thin form factor, which means it does not offer conventional USB-A or HDMI ports. Instead, you get two USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 and one USB-C 3.2 Gen 1 port, so you will have to use a USB-C hub to connect legacy devices like printers and scanners. For network connectivity, you don’t get an Ethernet port, but you do get Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth v5.1 for wireless connectivity.
Our Take
The Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 7 is perfect for users who need a powerful computing device and a good display screen. It offers an octa-core processor and pairs it with 16GB RAM and plenty of storage space to ensure your computing needs do not suffer performance limitations.
- The thin and lightweight design makes it convenient to carry.
- The high-resolution display and 100% DCI-P3 color gamut deliver high-quality images.
- Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth v5.1 provide high-speed wireless connectivity.
- Good sound quality with four speakers.
- The soldered RAM restricts future expansion.
- The limited number of I/O ports means you’ll need to use a USB hub.
7. ASUS ZenBook 13 – Most Durable OLED laptop
The Asus ZenBook 13 has a 13-inch OLED screen that offers a resolution of 1920x1080p in a 16:9 aspect ratio. It covers 100% of the DCI-P3 color gamut and 133% of the sRGB color space that remains unaffected by the TUV Rheinland Certified Low Blue Light screen. Thus, the colors retain their vibrancy, and the 400nits brightness level ensures the images look lifelike.
The ZenBook 13 features an 11th Generation Intel Evo i5-1135G7 processor (4-Core, 8MB Cache, and up to 4.20GHz clock speed). Asus pairs this with 8GB DDR4 RAM and a modest 256GB PCIe NVMe SSD storage. Thus, the laptop offers low-to-mid range specification ideal for daily use cases that are not hungry for hardware resources.
The laptop has a thin-and-lightweight form factor, making it convenient to carry on your travels. The MIL-STD-810G certification ensures you don’t need to worry if the laptop accidentally slips out of your hand. The all-metal body ensures that your laptop doesn’t get damaged and your data remains safe.
Asus offers the ZenBook 13 with two Thunderbolt 4 ports, a USB-A 3.2 Gen 1, and HDMI 2.1 ports. There is no Ethernet port, and surprisingly you don’t even get a 3.5mm audio jack to connect headphones/speakers. So, you will have to use a Thunderbolt 4 docking station if you need additional ports or wired LAN connectivity.
Our Take
Asus offers the ZenBook 13 in a compact and lightweight design, making it easy to carry on your travels. The all-metal body gets the MIL-STD-810G certification making it the most rugged budget OLED laptop on the market.
- Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth v5.0 provide high-speed wireless connectivity.
- Dual Thunderbolt 4 ports allow easy expansion and high-speed data transfers.
- The TUV Rheinland Certification ensures low blue light emissions and protects your eyes.
- Harman & Kardon speakers deliver good sound quality.
- The soldered RAM restricts future expansion.
- No 3.5mm audio jack to connect conventional speakers.
8. Dell XPS 13 9310 – OLED Laptop for Productivity
The Dell XPS 13 9310 is popular among productivity seekers due to its high-end specifications. The 9310 comes with an 11th generation Intel Core i7-1185G7 processor (4-Cores, 12MB Cache, and up to 4.80GHz clock speed). The XPS 13 also features 16GB DDR4 RAM and 512GB PCIe NVMe SSD storage.
The laptop has a 13.4-inch OLED screen with a 1920x1200p resolution and a 60Hz refresh rate. The high-resolution display ensures that you get sharper images, and the 500nits brightness makes the colors look bright and realistic.
There are limited ports on offer with the Dell XPS 13 9310 with just two Thunderbolt 3 ports, a media card reader, and a 3.5mm audio jack. The laptop uses the Thunderbolt 3 port for charging, leaving only one port which most users would use to connect a Thunderbolt docking station for expanding their setup.
Our Take
The Dell XPS 13 is a powerful laptop that offers high-end specifications suitable for users who run niche software. It pairs these specifications with a bright OLED screen that displays vivid colors and high brightness levels.
- Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth v5.1 provide high-speed wireless connectivity.
- The Thunderbolt 3 port ensures high-speed data transfers between devices.
- The high-end specifications offer plenty of processing power.
- The 500nits brightness generates vibrant colors that look realistic.
- Poor heat management makes the laptop run hot.
- Very few connectivity ports.
Budget OLED Laptops – Our Buying Guide
Here are some key factors to consider when buying a budget OLED laptop.
Specifications
The three most important features of an exemplary computer are the CPU, RAM, and storage, as they play a significant role in it’s performance. Since you are looking for a budget OLED laptop, you may have to forego top-notch specifications for this reason.
While you will find 11th-generation Intel processors and AMG Ryzen-based laptops, laptops with DDR5 RAM and SSD storage over 512GB will be hard to find. Also, since OLED screens offer a stunning visual display, you may like to store a small collection of HDR videos to enjoy during your breaks. Hence, it would be best to buy a laptop with at least 8GB DDR4 RAM and 256GB SSD storage.
Screen Size and Resolution
A small screen with low resolution will not do justice to an OLED panel, and a larger high-resolution screen would be expensive. Therefore, a screen size between 13-inches and 15-inches that offers FullHD (1920×1080) resolution acts as the perfect middle ground.
Ports
Pocket-friendly laptops tend to cut costs at every corner. The expansion ports are an easy target, so you must carefully evaluate your need and match it to what the laptop has to offer. Several pocket-friendly laptops offer Thunderbolt 4 ports, a versatile port that’ll help future-proof your computer. Working professionals must look for HDMI ports that allow you to connect a project when you need to give a presentation. Ideally, you must look for a laptop that offers you a mix of Thunderbolt and USB-A ports as they cover a wide range of connectivity options.
Form Factor
Budget OLED laptops are available in various form factors, including convertible, thin-and-light, and conventional clamshell forms. Each has its merit and demerits that you must carefully consider. For instance, a working professional who travels a lot for work would prefer a thin-and-light laptop, whereas a convertible laptop would be perfect for home-based users.
Connectivity
Budget laptops often lack Ethernet ports and WWAN slots for network connectivity. Thus, you must rely on good old Wi-Fi and Bluetooth to connect to the internet or compatible devices. So look for a laptop that at least offer Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.0.
Budget OLED Laptops – Frequently Asked Questions
What is OLED? How is it different from LCD?
Organic Light Emitting Diode is a display technology that uses organic molecules (diodes) to emit light. These organic diodes are placed between two transparent electrodes, allowing each diode to light up or switch off individually.
In comparison, a Liquide Crystal Display (LCD) uses liquid crystals and a single backlight. So, unlike an OLED, an individual pixel cannot be switched off completely. As a result, this pixel still emits some amount of light that compromises the image quality.
Do OLED screens affect the battery life of the laptop?
Laptops that use OLED screens have a better battery life because they allow individual pixels to switch off when needed. Thus, it requires less power, thereby increasing the laptop’s battery life. This means that the darker the picture, the longer the battery will take to drain. To this effect, some laptop manufacturers have taken to shipping OLED laptops with Windows Dark mode enabled.
What are burn-ins? Will they affect my laptop’s OLED screen?
A Burn-in is damage caused to a pixel or a set of pixels that retains the projected image due to a prolonged static display, even after the screen is switched off.
Most modern OLED screens do not face this problem. However, you can avoid this problem by ensuring that you use screensavers or turning off the screen altogether when not in use.
Should I buy an OLED laptop?
Absolutely! OLED screens are the screens of the future, and there are plenty of laptops to suit any requirement and budget. Hence, there is no reason why you shouldn’t buy a laptop that offers a superior display along with your required specifications.
