Laptops are some of the most useful devices anyone can own because they allow you to work or play games from almost anywhere. The best laptops, the best gaming laptops, the best MacBooks, and the best Chromebooks are all extremely versatile. I review laptops for a living and can vouch for their usefulness. Even if you mostly work from home on a desktop, having a reliable laptop is a worthwhile investment for those times when you need to step away from your desk.
While laptops are really cool and tech-savvy, I wasn’t too fond of the keyboard and trackpads that came with these machines. These components generally perform as advertised, but when compared to the best mechanical keyboards or the best mice, laptop keyboards and trackpads fall short for me. For this reason, I always use a real keyboard and mouse with my laptop.
Carrying around a keyboard and mouse to use with a laptop can seem strange. However, I wouldn’t have it any other way. Below, I will explain why.
touch response
Like many people of my generation, I learned how to type on my elementary school Macintosh. The PC keyboard looks quite outdated now, but it’s still my baseline for what makes a great keyboard. As I’ve said in almost all of my laptop reviews, I’m a huge fan of mechanical keyboards. I have a Macintosh to thank for that.
Why do I love mechanical keyboards so much? Pathological tactical reactions. This excerpt from our article on why you might want a mechanical keyboard sums it up nicely.
When you type on a mechanical keyboard, you press down on the keycap, which activates a spring-loaded switch underneath. Depending on the type of switch, this spring can require more or less force and can make a pleasant “clack” noise or remain silent. In each case, mechanical switches provide tactile feedback, helping typists know they’ve pressed the key hard enough to register and haven’t missed a letter. Unlike membrane switches, mechanical switches do not need to be pressed all the way down for operation so users can avoid the unpleasant feeling of “bottoming out” (pressing into the base) at full force
Gaming laptops tend to have keyboards that look more like mechanical keyboards. Machines like the Acer Nitro 5 and Lenovo Legion 5 Pro are a joy to write about because of that. However, even these great keyboards couldn’t match a decent mechanical keyboard for me. This leads to my next point.
Real keyboards are more comfortable
I have big hands so I need plenty of space to write. That’s why laptops like the Dell XPS 15 OLED and the 16-inch MacBook Pro rank among my favorite laptops. I can write comfortably on it for hours. But despite its relatively spacious keyboards, it can’t beat a full-size keyboard.
Not only do full-size keyboards give my hands more room to move (generally), but I have the option of whether or not to use a palm rest. I actually don’t use a palm rest because I feel more comfortable keeping my wrist at a slight angle when I’m typing. This is almost impossible on a laptop keyboard because the palm rest and keys are at selling level.
Laptop keyboards slow me down
Because of the above factors, I tend to type slower on a laptop than on a traditional keyboard. I can usually type 45-60 words per minute, but I can barely get past 40 on my laptop keyboard… if I’m lucky. Another excerpt from the Mechanical Keyboard piece explains why.
If you are a touch user, getting a mechanical keyboard will increase your speed and accuracy. As users type more quickly, the chance of a hypodermic stroke increases. By providing solid physical feedback and, in the case of the clicky keys, auditory feedback on every actuation, mechanical keyboards allow you to set your stroke and generate as many words per minute as possible. You will not get the same experience when squeezing two pieces of plastic.
I can type just fine on any laptop, given enough time to get used to its keyboard. But I can completely skip this with a proper keyboard.
Trackpads are not as accurate as mice
I’ve focused mostly on laptop keyboards but I’m also not very keen on trackpads either. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve never tested a laptop with an objectively bad trackpad. For the most part, swiping, pinching, zooming, and clicking on trackpads is intuitive. However, I’d take a good old mouse any day.
It all comes down to accuracy and speed. It’s easier to get a cursor exactly where I want it with a mouse than it is with a trackpad. It’s also best to use a mouse wheel—especially one with infinite scrolling like the Logitech MX Master 3—for continuous scrolling up or down on the trackpad. Like laptop keyboards, trackpads tend to slow me down.
Which keyboard and mouse should you get?
For your convenience, here are two products worth checking out. I wanted to highlight this mouse and keyboard not only because I personally use them, but because they work well with MacBooks and the best Windows laptops.
Real keyboard and mouse reign supreme…for now
As I said above, laptops are great devices that allow you to work from almost anywhere. The fact that there was an entire generation that used only laptops instead of desktops is a testament to the versatility of these amazing devices. As a laptop reviewer, I can’t wait to see what innovations laptops will introduce in the future.
Perhaps someday these same innovations will provide the perfect laptop computer – one that doesn’t require me to use an external mouse and keyboard.
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