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Best trackpads 2018 – [Buyer’s Guide]
Last Updated September 1, 2023
Hi there, I’m Arnold Simmons. I spent 48 hours researching and testing 22 different types of trackpads and found that material, variety of sizes, and style were most important.
I’ll brush up on how to choose the best trackpads and examine things like materials, quality, and weight. In this article, I’ve listed down the Top 3 list. These are the best trackpads your money can buy.
Best trackpads of 2018
You must have heard that the best trackpads should allow you to save money, right? Sure, but that’s not the only reason you should consider getting one. Now, let’s get to the gist of the matter: which are the best trackpads for the money?
Here, I will review 3 of the best trackpads of 2018, and we will also discuss the things to consider when looking to purchase one. I hope you will make an informed decision after going through each of them. So, what exactly would anyone want to know about trackpads? I know most of us don’t really care much about the history and the origin, all we want to know is which of them is the best. Of course, I will spare you the history and go straight on to the best trackpads.
Test Results and Ratings
| Rank | №1 | №2 | №3 |
| Product |  |
 |
 |
| Total | 4.8 | 4.5 | 4.3 |
| Design |
4 points
|
5 points
|
4 points
|
| Size |
5 points
|
4 points
|
5 points
|
| Durability |
5 points
|
4 points
|
4 points
|
| Value |
5 points
|
5 points
|
4 points
|
| Awards |  |
||
 |
|
|
|
 |
|
|
How to save up to 86%? Here is little trick.
You must visit the page of sales. Here is the link. If you don’t care about which brand is better, then you can choose the trackpads by the price and buy from the one who will offer the greatest discount.
№1 – Apple Magic Trackpad 2
| Total: |
4.8
|
Why did this trackpads win the first place?
I don’t know anything about other models from this brand, but I am fully satisfied with this product. The product is very strong. Its material is stable and doesn’t crack. I am very happy with the purchase. It is definitely worth its money. The product is top-notch! The rear part fits perfectly! It is mounted really tight and reliable.
4
|
5
|
5
|
5
|
№2 – Apple Wireless Magic Trackpad
| Total: |
4.5
|
Why did this trackpads come in second place?
Managers explained me all the details about the product range, price, and delivery. This is a pretty decent product that perfectly fitted the interior of our office. Seems that the material is good. It has a very beautiful color but I don’t really like the texture. I like this product. For such a low price, I didn’t even hope it to be any better. It’s decently made.
5
|
4
|
4
|
5
|
№3 – MeshWe Bluefin | Connects Magic Trackpad to Apple Wireless Keyboard
| Total: |
4.3
|
Why did this trackpads take third place?
It is inconvenient to use due to the size. I am going to get something different next time. This price is appropriate since the product is very well built. I liked the design. We’ve been using it for 2 months and it still looks like brand new. The material is incredibly nice to the touch. It has a great color, which will suit any wallpapers.
4
|
5
|
4
|
4
|
trackpads Buyer’s Guide
Other contenders
If you don’t like Microsoft’s Surface Laptop or the new MacBook Pro, there are a lot of other laptops to choose from. Some might be better options if you’re a gamer or an artist who wants something to draw on, while others are even more light and portable than our top picks.
Mac Pro
If you’re wondering which Mac to buy, you’ve come to the right place. Here in our Mac buying guide for 2018, you’ll find everything you need to know about Apple’s range of Macs, including the MacBook, MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, Mac mini, iMac, iMac Pro and Mac Pro, with expert buying advice to help you choose the Mac that’s right for you.
Apple makes seven different types of Mac, and within each of those categories there are sub categories and variations in the specs and features, so things can get pretty complicated. That’s where this complete guide comes in, helping you make the right decision. If you’re simply looking for a great offer, visit our Mac deals page.
Mac mini specifications
There are three Mac minis available. The cheapest Mac mini has a 1.4GHz dual-core processor and Intel HD Graphics 5000.
The other two Mac minis offer Intel dual-core i2.6GHz and 2.8GHz processors with Intel Iris Graphics. These might sound like fast processors, in comparison to the processors in Apple’s newer MacBook models, but inside these laptop Macs if faster flash storage and newer generation processors, which will give these models a boost.
The Mac mini offers only Intel idual-core processor options as standard, there are iprocessors available at point of sale, but these are still only dual-core.
The Mac mini weighs 1.22kg and the dimensions are 19.7cm by 19.7cm. It’s just 3.6cm tall, so it really is mini as the name suggests.
The top of the range Mac mini has various build to order options, topping out at a 2TB Fusion Drive for an extra £90 when you buy the £94model, you can also add 16GB RAM for an extra £180. Only the top of the range model has this option.
We would recommend the Fusion Drive option as the SSD part of the storage will speed things up considerably, while the extra capacity of the hard drive is likely to come in handy.
Mac Pro specifications
There are two models of Mac Pro available. The first as a 3.5GHz 6-core Intel Xeon Eprocessor, the second has a 3.0GHz 8-core Xeon Eprocessor.
Both Mac Pro models features 16GB RAM (the discontinued quad-core model offered just 12GB RAM).
The £3,89model offers a faster graphics card, the Dual AMD FirePro D700 with 6GB GDDRVRAM each, rather than the Dual AMD FirePro D500 with 3GB. Note that those are dual graphics cards, one of the selling points of the Mac Pro.
Both standard units also feature 256GB flash storage, with build-to-order options for 512GB (£180 extra) or 1TB of flash storage (£540 extra).
Other build-to-order options include 32GB RAM for £360, or 64GB RAM for £1,080. There is a 12-core model available for an extra £1,800.
Most people buying the Mac Pro will be choosing from the various build-to-order options, of which there are many. If you were to build the ultimate Mac Pro it would cost you £6,05- which is a lot, but before Apple dropped prices in 201all the build-to-order options added up to £7,299, so Apple’s price drop saves you £1,240, enough to buy a MacBook too.
You’ll need to invest in a separate screen, unlike the iMac which comes with its built-in 5K display. We have some 4K monitors that you could use with the Mac Pro here.
Quick Tips
Durability matters: Spill-resistant keyboards, MIL-SPEC tested are pluses.
Recommended specs: Intel Core m or Core i CPU, 8GB of RAM, 256GB SSD, 802.11ac Wi-Fi. Chromebooks can have less.
Get specs for the long haul
You want something that isn’t going to be obsolete before graduation, so keep an eye on the key internal components.
Display: Most budget and many mainstream laptops have low-res, 136x 76displays that aren’t very sharp and can’t fit a lot of text on the screen, which makes them poor choices for writing papers or doing research. Unless you’re buying a really inexpensive laptop or one with an 11-inch screen, getting a display that’s at least 1920 x 1080 (1080p) resolution should be a priority.
You can go even higher, too, with resolutions of 2560 x 1440 (QHD) or 3840 x 2160 (UHD). These are great for photo and video students who need to view high-res source material, but those display specs add to the price and subtract from the battery life. Touch screens add functionality to your laptop, but they consume a ton of power, shortening your battery life by to 2percent, so don’t get one unless you really need it.
Get the right OS
Apple’s given its macOS platform even better integration with the iPhone, as well as its digital assistant Siri. And while Windows is the platform with the most programs, there are certain apps that are exclusive to Macs, so ask others in your field of study to confirm which operating system best suits you.
No Target Display Mode
If you want the big screen of an iMac with the precision of a Retina display then there’s only one iMac for you: the iMac with 5K Retina display. It comes with a choice between two Intel Core ichips as well as 1TB of HDD or Fusion Drive storage and it’s so pretty we want to marry it. For designers and video creators looking to make the move to pixel-heavy content, the 5K iMac pairs an illustrious display with a heaping deal of screen real estate to boot. It may not have the expandability of a Mac Pro, but at least you don’t have to worry about buying a monitor.
Baffling mouse charging method
The best price-to-performance ratio, with no dealbreaking flaws.
Strengths: Cheaper and more portable than our main gaming pick, these are for gaming with midrange graphics and 15-inch screens instead of 17-inchers.
Unfortunately, every affordable gaming laptop we’ve tested has had at least one serious flaw. After spending more than 3hours testing 1cheap gaming laptops, we found that the Dell Inspiron 17000 is the best one in this price range. It has far better graphics performance than anything else at this price, and it keeps its components and most-touched surfaces cool enough for long gaming sessions. It also has a decent keyboard and trackpad and a great screen, and it’s the easiest to upgrade. But it has mediocre battery life—like most gaming laptops—and its fans get distractingly loud when gaming.
Worse Battery Life
If you choose a laptop with touch, prepare to literally carry the burden of your mistake with you wherever you go.
On an HP EliteBook Folio Gwe tested, the nontouch version lasted a mediocre hours and 2minutes while the touch version crapped out after an awful hours and 3minutes, a 35-percent difference. To be fair, the touch Folio also has a higher, 4K resolution, which sucks more power than the full-HD nontouch version. We tested all of these notebooks, using our standard Laptop Mag Battery Test, which involves continuous surfing over Wi-Fi.
Unfortunately, you can’t do anything about this battery penalty after you’ve bought a touch-screen laptop. When we tried disabling the touch screen (using Windows Device Manager) on two notebooks and ran our test, the results were nearly identical. The digitizer continues to slurp power, even if it can’t respond to your taps.
Poorer Viewing Angles
If you want your laptop to double as a mirror, get one with a touch screen. Most touch screens are made from glossy material, which limits viewing angles and shows reflections. Just imagine trying to give a presentation or watch a movie with two people gathered around your notebook. You can see the images just fine because you’re looking at the display head-on, but your buddies, who are 4degrees or more off-center, see washed-out pictures covered by their own faces.
We’ve seen a few business laptops with non-reflective touch screens — Lenovo’s ThinkPad T460s and T460 stand out — but most systems, even those that claim to have anti-glare panels, are extremely glossy.
Suggested Quick Fixes
Save any data, close any open program(s) and restart the computer.
Note: Do not touch the touchpad until the computer is completely booted up, as it goes through a calibration process while booting up.
Make sure the touchpad and your finger does not have any dirt, grease, liquids or food on them (the touchpad has to make a good contact with your finger to work correctly).
Save any data, close any open program(s) and restart the computer by using a wired USB mouse (if available) or Bluetooth mouse if it is already installed, if not, press hold the power button for at least 1seconds to turn the computer off (you will lose any data not saved).
When your computer is attached to a docking station, undock it.
Turn the computer back on and retest the touchpad.
Note: Do not touch the touchpad until the computer is completely booted up, as it goes through a calibration process during booting up.
When the cursor does work correctly, attach one external device at a time and test the cursor movement to see which one may have caused the issue.
Also some Notebooks and Tablets with Keyboards have added gesture features to the touchpad hardware and drivers. A few of these features are two or three finger scrolling, pinch zoom, circle zoom, rotate and swiping. These new features may be the reason for the erratic cursor movement since most are turned on by default. You can disable or modify the way the features work in the touchpad driver properties.
Dell Touchpad
Touch or click the desired device and follow the instructions.
Note: When there is more than one listing for mouse, it means you probably have an additional mouse connect to the computer, you can test them individually if you desire.
Select the tab below that matches the Operating System (OS) that is installed on your computer. Follow the steps to make sure the settings are correct to prevent the cursor from moving around erratically while typing.
Resolving Touchpad Button Issues
Make sure there is nothing preventing the touchpad buttons from moving. Most touchpad buttons have some sort of clicking noise or tactile response when pressed down all the way.
Make sure the touchpad and your finger does not have any dirt, grease, liquids or food on them.
Save any data, close any open program(s) and restart the computer. When you do not have a mouse or touchscreen, you may have to hold the power button down for at least 1seconds to turn the computer off and you will lose any data not saved.
Note: Do not touch the touchpad until the computer is completely booted up, as it goes through a calibration process during booting up.
Turn the computer back on and retest the touchpad buttons.
Note: Do not touch the touchpad until the computer is completely booted up, as it goes through a calibration process during booting up.
Some Notebooks have an setting to turn the touchpad buttons off and on. Make sure the touchpad buttons are turned on.
Media and Gaming Machines
Before you drop a grand or two on a gaming laptop, you should know what you’re getting for your money. Powerful quad-core processors are par for the course, with Intel Core ichips pushing serious performance even for non-gaming applications. Discrete GPUs from Nvidia and AMD provide silky-smooth graphics and impressive frame rates; some high-end rigs come with two GPUs, helping justify their high prices. External GPU docks are also an option, connected to the laptop via a Thunderbolt cable. Additional features to watch for include high-resolution displays and hard drives that offer 1TB or more of local storage space, so you can store your entire game library on the machine.
Beyond Plastic
As designs get sleeker and slimmer, manufacturers are using an array of materials in their construction. Plastic (or polycarbonate) is the least expensive and most commonly used material in laptop frames, but manufacturers have shown great ingenuity in making plastic not look cheap. The most common technique is in-mold decoration or in-mold rolling, a process made popular by Acer, HP, and Toshiba, in which decorative patterns are infused between plastic layers. This process has evolved into etched imprints and textures, commonly seen on laptop lids.
In the end, though, plastics are often associated with low-priced laptops, while higher-end models rely on metals. Common premium choices include aluminum, which has a more luxurious look, and can be fashioned into a thinner chassis than plastic. Unibody construction, where the entire chassis is made from a single piece of metal, has become the gold standard, as seen on Apple’s MacBook and MacBook Pro lines. Other all-metal designs mimic this same look and feel, securely sandwiching two separate layers together.
Other common chassis materials include magnesium alloy and carbon fiber, both of which add strength while keeping overall weight low. Glass has long been found covering displays, but with ultra-strong variants like Gorilla Glass, you’ll find the material being used in everything from the lid to the touchpad.
It might not surprise you to see Apple’s most powerful laptop ever at the top of our list. The eye-catching Touch Bar may have attracted all the headlines on release, but it’s the remarkable power, immaculate 13.3-inch Retina 2,560 x 1,600 resolution display and vast trackpad that make it the best for video editing.
Featuring a minimum of 8GB Ram and 256GB solid-state drive, even the entry-level MacBook Pro will be easily fast enough to deal with most editing tasks at a phenomenal lick. Its rich-sounding speakers also stand out for extra praise – handy if you’re trying to nail the dialogue and ambient sounds on your latest creation.
Mac devotees will nod sagely when we say that the software available on Apple computers is the ideal companion for post-production. So if you’ve never used a Mac before, now might be the time to start.
Odd webcam position
Last year’s Windows 10-based Dell XPS 1is quite exceptional and pushes the MacBook very close to the title. It’s a wonderful-to-use piece of kit in every department.
The beautiful combination of 4K 3840×2160 resolution InfinityEdge display (the bezel is barely there) and top-of-the-range graphics card will make your footage sing as you chop and cut. The Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 card is powered by 4GB of video RAM, which doubles that of the MacBook. The graphic capabilities of this beast of a PC top anything else in this price range.
There’s a Kaby Lake processor and 8GB of RAM as standard under the hood, but you can pay extra to ramp up the RAM to a roaring 16GB. Rapid.
Fulcrum hinge could cause problems
The Microsoft Surface Book wasn’t far off toppling the XPS 1for best Windows laptop for video editing, but it waltzes to best 2-in-laptop-tablet hybrid with ease. Give the 13.5-inch screen a tug and it satisfyingly detaches from the keyboard, enabling you to use it as a tablet.
Study the Surface Book’s spec sheet and it impresses at every line. The 3,000 x 2,000 resolution display is sharper than the majority of laptops on the market (including every MacBook in existence) and 4K footage will look just how you imagined it. The presence of the GPU and Nvidia GeForce chipset.gives it yet a further boost in the graphics department, while the stacks of RAM and state-of-the-art Intel processor (all configurable) make it a processing monster.
No Retina display
The processor speed has just been upgraded to 1.8GHz and the default RAM has been boosted to 8GB instead – meaning silky smooth processing and fast exporting. It’s a noticeably more powerful laptop than previous Air iterations. It has more ports than most MacBooks, featuring two USB 3.0 ports, a Thunderbolt and a full-sized SDcard slot.
In addition to its price tag, the MacBook Air’s portability make it attractive to many creative professionals. The battery life is epic and at a lightweight 1.35kg on the scales, it’s svelte enough to carry around with you without feeling too burdened. Ideal if you want to work away from the office.
How to save up to 86%? Here is little trick.
You must visit the page of sales. Here is the link. If you don’t care about which brand is better, then you can choose the trackpads by the price and buy from the one who will offer the greatest discount.
Final Word
First of all thanks for reading my article to the end! I hope you find my reviews listed here useful and that it allows you to make a proper comparison of what is best to fit your needs and budget. Don’t be afraid to try more than one product if your first pick doesn’t do the trick.
Most important, have fun and choose your trackpads wisely! Good luck!
So, TOP3 of trackpads
- №1 — Apple Magic Trackpad 2
- №2 — Apple Wireless Magic Trackpad
- №3 — MeshWe Bluefin | Connects Magic Trackpad to Apple Wireless Keyboard
Questions? Leave a comment below!
Chatting about trackpads is my passion! Leave me a question in the comments, I answer each and every one and would love to get to know you better!
