Best Apple STEM Students Laptops, light weight in Canada

What a STEM Student laptop means: a laptop that holds up to engineering coursework,fast CPU for compilation, enough RAM to run simulations or a VM, GPU headroom for the occasional ML or CUDA assignment, while still portable enough for daily campus life. Typical use: MATLAB, SolidWorks, AutoCAD, Python and Jupyter notebooks, compiling C++ or Rust, occasional CUDA work, recorded lectures. Fits engineering, computer science, physics, math, and data-science majors,undergrads through PhD.

Also relevant for: STEM laptops · engineering laptops · CS student laptops · MATLAB & simulation

Updated: June 2026
Products evaluated: 2281
How we work: Editorial principles →

Showing: Apple or Framework or Microsoft · light weight

Showing 1–10 of 11 STEM Students laptops
  1. #1
    Champion
    Objective profile
    Apple MacBook Air 13-inch
    (M5, 24GB, 1TB)
    Apple · 13.6" · 2025
    C$1,554 – C$1,899
    STEM Student SelvaScore
    77 / 100
    Weight1.23 kg
    Battery18.0 hr
    Display13.6"
    RAM24 GB
    Storage1 TB
    SelvaScore breakdown
    • 59
      Multi-Core Performance Multi-Thread Scalability
    • 49
      System Memory RAM Capacity
    • 93
      Single-Core Speed Single-Thread Velocity
    • 58
      Storage Speed Storage Throughput
    • 86
      Battery Life Autonomous Runtime
    • 63
      AI Acceleration NPU Inference Capacity
    • 80
      Weight Gravitational Load
    • 24
      Thermal Stability Thermal Throttling Resistance
    Canadian retailer links coming soon, check back shortly.
    View full review →
  2. #2
    Runner-Up
    Objective profile
    Apple MacBook Air 13-inch
    (M5) (M5, 16GB, 1TB)
    Apple · 13.6" · 2025
    C$1,324 – C$1,618
    STEM Student SelvaScore
    77 / 100
    Weight1.23 kg
    Battery18.0 hr
    Display13.6" 2560x1664
    RAM16 GB
    Storage1 TB
    SelvaScore breakdown
    • 59
      Multi-Core Performance Multi-Thread Scalability
    • 42
      System Memory RAM Capacity
    • 93
      Single-Core Speed Single-Thread Velocity
    • 58
      Storage Speed Storage Throughput
    • 86
      Battery Life Autonomous Runtime
    • 63
      AI Acceleration NPU Inference Capacity
    • 80
      Weight Gravitational Load
    • 19
      Thermal Stability Thermal Throttling Resistance
    Canadian retailer links coming soon, check back shortly.
    View full review →
  3. #3
    Top Pick
    Objective profile
    Apple MacBook Air 13-inch
    (M4, 16GB, 512GB)
    2 configs
    Apple · 13.6" · 2025
    C$1,126 – C$1,376
    STEM Student SelvaScore
    74 / 100
    Weight1.24 kg
    Battery18.0 hr
    Display13.6" 2560x1664
    RAM16 GB
    Storage512 GB
    SelvaScore breakdown
    • 55
      Multi-Core Performance Multi-Thread Scalability
    • 42
      System Memory RAM Capacity
    • 84
      Single-Core Speed Single-Thread Velocity
    • 58
      Storage Speed Storage Throughput
    • 86
      Battery Life Autonomous Runtime
    • 63
      AI Acceleration NPU Inference Capacity
    • 79
      Weight Gravitational Load
    • 19
      Thermal Stability Thermal Throttling Resistance
    Canadian retailer links coming soon, check back shortly.
    View full review →
  4. #4
    Objective profile
    Apple MacBook Air 13
    (M5, 16GB, 512GB)
    Apple · 13.6" · 2025
    C$1,037 – C$1,267
    STEM Student SelvaScore
    70 / 100
    Weight1.23 kg
    Battery15.0 hr
    Display13.6"
    RAM16 GB
    Storage512 GB
    SelvaScore breakdown
    • 59
      Multi-Core Performance Multi-Thread Scalability
    • 42
      System Memory RAM Capacity
    • 93
      Single-Core Speed Single-Thread Velocity
    • 58
      Storage Speed Storage Throughput
    • 81
      Battery Life Autonomous Runtime
    • 63
      AI Acceleration NPU Inference Capacity
    • 80
      Weight Gravitational Load
    • 11
      Thermal Stability Thermal Throttling Resistance
    Canadian retailer links coming soon, check back shortly.
    View full review →
  5. #5
    Objective profile
    Apple MacBook Air 13-inch
    (M5, 2026) (M5, 16GB, 512GB)
    Apple · 13.6" · 2025
    C$1,037 – C$1,267
    STEM Student SelvaScore
    69 / 100
    Weight1.23 kg
    Battery15.0 hr
    Display13.6"
    RAM16 GB
    Storage512 GB
    SelvaScore breakdown
    • 59
      Multi-Core Performance Multi-Thread Scalability
    • 42
      System Memory RAM Capacity
    • 93
      Single-Core Speed Single-Thread Velocity
    • 43
      Storage Speed Storage Throughput
    • 81
      Battery Life Autonomous Runtime
    • 63
      AI Acceleration NPU Inference Capacity
    • 80
      Weight Gravitational Load
    • 15
      Thermal Stability Thermal Throttling Resistance
    Canadian retailer links coming soon, check back shortly.
    View full review →
  6. #6
    Objective profile
    Apple MacBook Air 13-inch
    (M5) (M5, 16GB, 512GB)
    Apple · 13.6" · 2025
    C$1,037 – C$1,267
    STEM Student SelvaScore
    68 / 100
    Weight1.23 kg
    Battery18.0 hr
    Display13.6" 2560x1664
    RAM16 GB
    Storage512 GB
    SelvaScore breakdown
    • 59
      Multi-Core Performance Multi-Thread Scalability
    • 42
      System Memory RAM Capacity
    • 93
      Single-Core Speed Single-Thread Velocity
    • 43
      Storage Speed Storage Throughput
    • 86
      Battery Life Autonomous Runtime
    • 63
      AI Acceleration NPU Inference Capacity
    • 80
      Weight Gravitational Load
    • 11
      Thermal Stability Thermal Throttling Resistance
    Canadian retailer links coming soon, check back shortly.
    View full review →
  7. #7
    Objective profile
    Microsoft Surface Laptop 6
    (Core Ultra 5 135H, 16GB, 512GB)
    Microsoft · 13.5" · 2025
    Check retailer
    STEM Student SelvaScore
    66 / 100
    Weight1.38 kg
    Battery10.0 hr
    Display13.5" 2256x1504
    RAM16 GB
    Storage512 GB
    SelvaScore breakdown
    • 54
      Multi-Core Performance Multi-Thread Scalability
    • 42
      System Memory RAM Capacity
    • 51
      Single-Core Speed Single-Thread Velocity
    • 58
      Storage Speed Storage Throughput
    • 67
      Battery Life Autonomous Runtime
    • 62
      AI Acceleration NPU Inference Capacity
    • 73
      Weight Gravitational Load
    • 39
      Thermal Stability Thermal Throttling Resistance
    Canadian retailer links coming soon, check back shortly.
    View full review →
  8. #8
    Objective profile
    Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 13.5
    (i7-1185G7, 32GB, 1TB)
    Microsoft · 13.5" · 2021
    C$1,391 – C$1,700
    STEM Student SelvaScore
    54 / 100
    Weight1.31 kg
    Battery9.0 hr
    Display13.5" 2256x1504
    RAM32 GB
    Storage1 TB
    SelvaScore breakdown
    • 52
      Multi-Core Performance Multi-Thread Scalability
    • 56
      System Memory RAM Capacity
    • 40
      Single-Core Speed Single-Thread Velocity
    • 34
      Storage Speed Storage Throughput
    • 61
      Battery Life Autonomous Runtime
    • 43
      AI Acceleration NPU Inference Capacity
    • 76
      Weight Gravitational Load
    • 39
      Thermal Stability Thermal Throttling Resistance
    Canadian retailer links coming soon, check back shortly.
    View full review →
  9. #9
    Objective profile
    Microsoft Surface Laptop 5
    (i7-1255U, 8GB, 512GB)
    Microsoft · 15" · 2022
    C$1,173 – C$1,434
    STEM Student SelvaScore
    54 / 100
    Weight1.38 kg
    Battery12.0 hr
    Display15.0" 2496x1664
    RAM8 GB
    Storage512 GB
    SelvaScore breakdown
    • 43
      Multi-Core Performance Multi-Thread Scalability
    • 25
      System Memory RAM Capacity
    • 45
      Single-Core Speed Single-Thread Velocity
    • 58
      Storage Speed Storage Throughput
    • 74
      Battery Life Autonomous Runtime
    • 43
      AI Acceleration NPU Inference Capacity
    • 72
      Weight Gravitational Load
    • 31
      Thermal Stability Thermal Throttling Resistance
    Canadian retailer links coming soon, check back shortly.
    View full review →
  10. #10
    Objective profile
    Microsoft Surface Laptop 5
    (i5-1235U, 8GB, 256GB)
    Microsoft · 13.5" · 2022
    C$809 – C$989
    STEM Student SelvaScore
    46 / 100
    Weight1.27 kg
    Battery9.0 hr
    Display13.5" 2256x1504
    RAM8 GB
    Storage256 GB
    SelvaScore breakdown
    • 60
      Multi-Core Performance Multi-Thread Scalability
    • 25
      System Memory RAM Capacity
    • 42
      Single-Core Speed Single-Thread Velocity
    • 34
      Storage Speed Storage Throughput
    • 61
      Battery Life Autonomous Runtime
    • 43
      AI Acceleration NPU Inference Capacity
    • 78
      Weight Gravitational Load
    • 39
      Thermal Stability Thermal Throttling Resistance
    Canadian retailer links coming soon, check back shortly.
    View full review →

Quick Comparison

#LaptopScorePrice WeightBatteryDisplayRAMStorage
1 Apple MacBook Air 13-inch (M5, 24GB, 1TB) 77 C$1,554 – C$1,899 1.23 kg 18.0 hr 13.6" 24 GB 1 TB
2 Apple MacBook Air 13-inch (M5) (M5, 16GB, 1TB) 77 C$1,324 – C$1,618 1.23 kg 18.0 hr 13.6" 2560x1664 16 GB 1 TB
3 Apple MacBook Air 13-inch (M4, 16GB, 512GB) 74 C$1,126 – C$1,376 1.24 kg 18.0 hr 13.6" 2560x1664 16 GB 512 GB
4 Apple MacBook Air 13 (M5, 16GB, 512GB) 70 C$1,037 – C$1,267 1.23 kg 15.0 hr 13.6" 16 GB 512 GB
5 Apple MacBook Air 13-inch (M5, 2026) (M5, 16GB, 512GB) 69 C$1,037 – C$1,267 1.23 kg 15.0 hr 13.6" 16 GB 512 GB
6 Apple MacBook Air 13-inch (M5) (M5, 16GB, 512GB) 68 C$1,037 – C$1,267 1.23 kg 18.0 hr 13.6" 2560x1664 16 GB 512 GB
7 Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 (Core Ultra 5 135H, 16GB, 512GB) 66 Check retailer 1.38 kg 10.0 hr 13.5" 2256x1504 16 GB 512 GB
8 Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 13.5 (i7-1185G7, 32GB, 1TB) 54 C$1,391 – C$1,700 1.31 kg 9.0 hr 13.5" 2256x1504 32 GB 1 TB
9 Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 (i7-1255U, 8GB, 512GB) 54 C$1,173 – C$1,434 1.38 kg 12.0 hr 15.0" 2496x1664 8 GB 512 GB
10 Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 (i5-1235U, 8GB, 256GB) 46 C$809 – C$989 1.27 kg 9.0 hr 13.5" 2256x1504 8 GB 256 GB

How we ranked these

SelvaScore is independent. Rankings reflect our editorial judgment, not vendor relationships. No laptop manufacturer pays for placement, and affiliate revenue from retailers does not affect which laptop wins this list.

Every laptop here has been evaluated through the same lens for this use case. The same machines are evaluated differently for other use cases. What works for one use case doesn't always work for another.

Read about how we work →

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