Of course, all those capabilities also present a challenge — how do you find the best laptop for your needs when there are so many choices out there? After all, you can get a compact, speedy 13-inch ultraportable for not a lot of money, and those who can afford to spend a bit more have access to a smorgasbord of the best laptops from the likes of Apple, Dell, HP and more. Fortunately, we test and review dozens of laptops from the top manufacturers every year, gathering the very best machines — those rated 4 stars or higher— in one easy-to-read best laptops list to help you make a smarter buying decision.
The best laptops you can buy right now
The best laptops you can buy today
The new MacBook Air M2 is so good it has taken the No. 1 spot on our best laptop list. And that’s because it delivers everything you could want in a notebook: great performance, an awesome display, long battery life and plenty of comfort in a very sleek design. The MacBook Air M2 is simply the best laptop for the money. You get fantastic performance from the new M2 chip, a brighter and bigger display and over 14 hours of battery life in our testing. Plus, the latest Air offers a sharper 1080p webcam and MagSafe charging. And it’s all wrapped up in a sleek design that’s 20% smaller than before. The Dell XPS 15 is our current pick for best Windows laptop. overall. It’s svelte and powerful enough for most day-to-day work, with a slick thin-bezelled design that helps the display shine. It’s even better if you shell out extra for the OLED upgrade, which delivers vibrant colors and gorgeous contrasts. The AMD-equipped Asus Zenbook 13 OLED is currently our top recommendation for a great budget laptop, offering an eye-catching 1080p OLED display and exceptional battery life in a slim, lightweight package for less than a thousand bucks. This new Air lives up to its name by shrinking down the design 20% by volume and measuring just 0.44 inches thick. And it’s quite light at 2.7 pounds. And yet the M2 chip inside this machine delivers power that outperforms most Windows laptops. It’s a multitasking champ, and if you want more graphics might you can upgrade to a 10-core GPU. We also really like the bright display on the new MacBook Air M2, which rivals the MacBook Pro M2, and it’s now bigger at 13.6 inches with slimmer bezels. Other highlights include a sharp 1080p webcam, MagSafe charging and four color options. Lasting over 14 hours on our web surfing battery test, the MacBook Air M2 should last you most of the day on a charge. The only strikes against this system are the somewhat distracting notch and support for only a single external display. Read our full Apple MacBook Air M2 (2022) review. The Dell XPS 15 OLED 2022 isn’t an innovative or revolutionary laptop. Aside from its updated internals, it’s virtually identical to its predecessor. But while this machine isn’t shaking things up, it’s still one of the best laptops you can buy. All models of the refreshed Dell XPS 15 pack the latest 12th gen Intel Core CPUs and come bundled with Windows 11. Higher-end configurations feature an Nvidia 30-series GPU. Like last year’s iteration, Dell offers a model with a 3.5K OLED touch display. Not only is this a stellar laptop for everyday use, but it’s also a competent gaming machine. Though it’s admittedly pricey, it’s hard to argue against its impressive performance. It can handle almost anything you throw at it. The Dell XPS line of laptops has long been regarded as the pinnacle of portable Windows computing. The Dell XPS 15 OLED (2022) continues this legacy of excellence. Even if it isn’t shaking up the computing world with never-before-seen features, it’s an all-around solid machine that’s perfect for everyday work and high-end gaming. Read our full Dell XPS 15 OLED (2022) review. Judging by the name, you might think that the Dell XPS 13 Plus is a bigger version of Dell’s iconic laptop. But it’s actually quite the opposite. This is as minimalist a design as we’ve ever seen from Dell. There’s just two ports. There’s no headphone jack. And Dell even took away physical function keys, replacing them with a capacitive row. There’s not even lines to denmark the touchpad; the entire area beneath the keyboard is one smooth piece of glass. But the XPS 13 Plus isn’t just a design statement. Dell managed to pack a 28W 12th gen Core i7 processor into this sleek 2.7-pound machine. And the result is a system that can outperform even the mighty MacBook Pro M2 on some tests. However, the short battery life and capacitive function row will give some pause. We also found the bottom gets a bit toasty when running at full power, so keep that in mind to avoid a scorched lap! Read our full Dell XPS 13 Plus review The AMD-equipped Asus Zenbook 13 OLED is an excellent value, offering an eye-catching 1080p OLED display and exceptional battery life in a slim, lightweight package for less than a thousand bucks. Sure, the speakers aren’t amazing, the webcam leaves something to be desired, and there’s no headphone jack, but these are stumbling blocks you can work around. If you need a zippy little ultraportable with a great screen that will last you all day long, you can’t do better than the OLED-equipped Asus Zenbook 13 at this price. Read our full Asus Zenbook 13 OLED review. The 13-inch MacBook Pro 2022 (from $1,299) is the first M2-powered Apple laptop to hit the market. While the design hasn’t changed, Apple promises a big leap in performance, whether you’re editing photos or videos or running multiple applications at once. And based on our tests, the M2 chip delivers, offering performance that destroys competing Windows laptops. The M2 also beats the M1 chip by a significant margin in various benchmarks. Plus, the new MacBook Pro 2022 delivers among the longest battery life we’ve seen from a modern laptop, surpassing 18 hours of runtime. However, while this notebook sports a new slice of Apple silicon, the design shows its age. You get the same form factor, same ports, same display and same webcam. Meanwhile, the new MacBook Air 2022 offers a larger display with thinner bezels, a 1080p webcam and a thinner, lighter design. It would be easy to say the new MacBook Pro isn’t worthwhile and that it’s better to wait for its modern cousin, the MacBook Air. There’s some truth to that sentiment, but it wouldn’t be wise to dismiss this product, which is still one of the best laptops for power users. Microsoft’s Surface Laptop Studio is a reimagined Surface Book with a more MacBook Pro-like design and an eye-catching hinged display. This is Microsoft’s flagship device for Windows 11, which promises to make Windows a more inviting place for both work and play. Like Windows 11, the Surface Laptop Studio is advertised as a one-stop shop for productivity, entertainment and creative work. And for the most part, it is all that: its 11th Gen Intel CPU and 16+ GB of RAM gives you enough power to tackle most work, and if you splurge for a model with the discrete Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 Ti GPU the Surface Laptop Studio also doubles as a decent machine for gaming or video editing on the go. However, it’s a bit pricey when you kit it out, and despite its great components the Surface Laptop Studio delivers subpar performance compared to similarly-priced machines. But few other laptops can match its intriguing sliding hinged display, which can be tented over the keys like an easel or slid all the way flat to turn the Studio into a heavy tablet. Read our full Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio review. If you see the Liquid Retina XDR display in the 14-inch MacBook Pro, you may not be able to stop yourself from buying one. This mini-LED panel features improved contrast and strong brightness that will have you reaching for your credit card. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg, as the new M1 Pro processors are gobsmackingly fast and enable long battery life. But the story of the 2021 MacBook Pro models isn’t just about their speediness and gorgeous display, it’s about all the small things Apple changed along the way. While the 2020 MacBook Pro and Air marked the start of the Apple Silicon era, the 2021 MacBook Pro is a demarcator of its own. Apple’s bringing many beloved ports back to the Pro, for everyone who’s been tired of bringing a USB-C dongle everywhere they go. That means HDMI-out and an SD card reader for when you need to expand your display or use external memory. Also, MagSafe charging is back, though it doesn’t displace USB-C charging either. What is gone, though is the Touch Bar, that little touch screen that sat above the keyboard. It’s been replaced for full-sized function (F1-F12) keys, which we’re happy to see back. Apple’s also upgraded its internal webcam to 1080p (from 720p), as we’re all spending far more time on video conferencing calls than ever before. Combined with that fantastic display, improved internal mics and a six-speaker setup that produces stellar sound, the new MacBook Pro will have everything looking and sounding better than before. Read our full MacBook Pro 2021 (14-inch) review. The Framework Laptop is the anti-MacBook, a modular laptop that promises to let you customize, repair, and upgrade it to an unprecedented degree, all while remaining affordable and ultraportable. Each laptop Framework ships comes with a screwdriver so you can crack open the case and swap out parts yourself, and everything from the memory to the screen bezel to the mainboard is user-replaceable. It’s not for everyone, but if you’re the DIY type and love the idea of being able to tinker with your laptop’s innards this is the best laptop for you. The Framework laptop is currently only available for purchase from the Framework website, and the price tag starts at $999 — though you can pay as low as $749 for the DIY Edition if you’re willing to assemble your laptop yourself and provide your own memory, storage, operating system, and Wi-Fi card. Read our full Framework Laptop review. The HP Spectre x360 14 is a powerhouse of a convertible business laptop, featuring top-tier hardware that provides excellent performance for both work and play. Available in three colors (silver, black, and navy blue) and sporting an ultra-thin profile of just .67 inches, the HP Spectre x360 brings a touch of sophisticated style that perfectly complements its internal components. Whether your office is wherever you happen to be that day, or you’re looking to upgrade your home laptop, you’d be hard-pressed to find a better option. While the price can be steep, we think the top-notch components and sleek, sturdy design of the Spectre x360 are worth the asking price. It comes packaged with a rechargeable MPP2.0 Tilt Pen too, which is perfect for digital artists or anyone who prefers to take handwritten notes during meetings. Read our full HP Spectre x360 14 review. The Acer Swift 5 (2022) pffers a lavish new design with golden trim plus a powerful 12th-gen Intel Core i7 chip, a gorgeous 1600p display, and a startlingly swift 1TB SSD onboard. It’s also cheaper than rivals like the Dell XPS 13 when comparably equipped. There are a couple of caveats to consider, but the latest Acer Swift 5 is a very strong overall pick given its $1,499 price tag. It’s a great laptop that offers plenty of power for everything save serious gaming. And while the speakers and pre-installed bloatware leave room for improvement, the striking 16:10 1600p display (a rare resolution in laptops) and the power of Intel’s Core i7 chip make this a great (and great-looking) Windows laptop for getting things done on the go. Read our full Acer Swift 5 (2022) review. The Microsoft Surface Pro 9 has an updated CPU but is virtually the same as the Microsoft Surface Pro 8 we reviewed last year. We don’t have a problem with iterative releases, but we hoped Microsoft would do something to make the latest edition of their flagship Windows 11 2-in-1 more appealing. Sadly, that isn’t the case. The Microsoft Surface Pro 9 isn’t a bad or worthless machine. It’s powerful enough to handle everyday computing tasks, has a decent screen for watching videos and is lightweight enough to comfortably take wherever you go. It may not redefine the 2-in-1, but if you want something that’s suitable as a laptop or tablet, this machine gets the job done. Read our full Microsoft Surface Pro 8 review. The 16-inch MacBook is a speedy beast, thanks to the M1 Max chip, which pushes graphics performance on the Mac to a whole new level. On top of that, its amazing redesign helps improve its display (everyone will get over the notch, trust us), with thinner bezels than ever, catching up to the Dell XPS InfinityEdge display (except for that notch, of course). That screen, too, is better than ever, with mini-LED technology and improved picture quality thanks to fantastic contrast and a 120Hz refresh rate for excellent smoothness. And that’s just the start of the story. The 2021 MacBook Pros see a realignment on ports for MacBooks, moving back from the “USB-C or bust” situation of the past 5 years. Now, you’ve got HDMI-out for connecting to displays and an SD memory reader for pros with real cameras. Apple’s basically put the “pro” back in MacBook Pro. Oh, and that Touch Bar? The little OLED strip of a touch screen? It’s been ripped out, likely because it never got to the point where the simple physical function keys (F1-F12) would be better. Check out our full MacBook Pro 2021 (16-inch) review. The Lenovo Yoga 9i entered a crowded field of 2-in-1s and made a splash with a competitive price. Not only does it have latest 11th Gen Core i7 processor, a built-in stylus and long battery life, but its display is plenty colorful and its neat rotating speaker packs a ton of punch. And, yes, its port selection may be a little thin, and its display could stand to be slightly brighter. But when it’s $650 less than a similar Dell XPS 2-in-1 and $430 less than the a HP Spectre x360 with the same parts, the Lenovo Yoga 9i is a serious competitor for your investment. Talk about bang for your buck. Oh, and if you pay $600 more? You can get the Shadow Black edition that ups the style, puts the fingerprint reader in a more convenient location and has a glass palm rest that covers the entire deck. Read our full Lenovo Yoga 9i review. When we hear a laptop is incredibly thin and light, it makes us worry about how long it will last on a single charge. That’s not the case here, as the 2-pound Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Nano lasted 12 hours on our battery test, which puts it up there against some of the very best laptops on the market today. And that’s quite impressive when you remember that the 2.9-pound XPS 13 is almost a whole pound heavier. Lenovo didn’t sacrifice on performance or usability either. The Nano’s Intel 11th Gen Tiger Lake processors provide the speed you need for tons of productivity — and its keyboard provides a snappy and comfortable typing experience that lives up to the ThinkPad brand. You just might need to pack a USB-C hub, though, as it’s a little light on ports. Read our full Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Nano review.
How to choose the best laptop for you
What kind of power do you need? If you only need something basic for surfing the web, consider a Chromebook or a cheap Windows laptop with an Intel Core i3 processor and 4GB of RAM. If you plan on getting more intensive work done, consider starting specs such as a Core i5 CPU, 8 to 16GB of RAM and a 256GB to 512GB SSD. What kind of games do you want to play? Most mainstream laptops feature integrated graphics, which can handle lightweight titles such as Minecraft and Fortnite but aren’t ideal for graphically-demanding games or heavy visual work. For that, you’ll want a laptop with a discrete graphics card, such as an Nvidia GTX 3000-series on the higher end. How big of a laptop do you want? Consider how mobile you want your laptop to be. Machines such as the Dell XPS 13 and HP Elite Dragonfly are feather light with slim designs, but their 13-inch screens are on the small side. You can get a larger 15-inch display on a premium ultraportable like the XPS 15 and still not have to worry about weight too much, but once you start getting up into the realm of 17-inch screens, expect your laptop to weigh at least a few pounds. Gaming laptops such as the Alienware m15 R4 have more heft to them, than thin-and-light ultraportables, but offer big power in exchange. Do you want Chrome, macOS, or Windows? mainstream PCs), macOS (MacBooks) and Chrome OS (Chromebooks). Windows is the most common operating system, while macOS is more ideal for folks already tied into Apple’s ecosystem. Chrome OS is a lightweight operating system built to allow for cheap, fast systems, though it has gotten a bit more robust over the years with support for full Android apps. Whichever system you decide on, you may also want to consider investing in the best mouse and best keyboard for your needs so you can have some more ergonomic options for working on your new laptop.
How we test the best laptops
To find the best laptop, we run every machine through a rigorous suite of benchmarks and real-world tests to gauge how it will perform during everyday use. We measure the average brightness and color quality of each laptop’s display using our in-house light meter and colorimeter. For general performance, we run our machines through tests that include Geekbench 5 (CPU performance), as well as various 3DMark tests to measure graphics capabilities. We also run a file transfer test to measure how fast a machine’s hard drive is, and a custom battery test that has the machine browse the internet over Wi-Fi until it runs out of juice. Here’s a quick overview of how the laptops on this list stack up in terms of tested battery life: When testing dedicated gaming laptops, we run benchmarks for popular games such as Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, Far Cry 6 and Red Dead Redemption 2.
