The best laptop 2024: top portable picks for all budgets
47 min read
Looking for the best laptops you can buy in 2024? Then we’re here to help, as on this page you’ll find a wide variety of laptops, MacBooks, Chromebooks and more that are ideal purchases for a wide range of needs and budgets – and every single one has been tested by our laptop experts here at TechRadar.
As well as using the laptops as our day-to-day devices, we also put them through a wide range of benchmark tests, and only the very best performing laptops make it onto this page. You can read more on how we test laptops, which lists all the ways we put laptops through their paces during our reviews.
Since joining TechRadar in 2014 I’ve reviewed hundreds of laptops, and for the past few years this buying guide has been dominated by MacBooks. However, I’m excited to say that for the first time ever, the best laptop of 2024 is a device from Apple’s arch nemesis Microsoft. That’s right, the best laptop you can buy today is the brilliant Surface Laptop 7, a truly brilliant all-rounder with a gorgeous design and all-day battery life. This could be the start of a renaissance for Windows 11 laptops.
However, if you don’t fancy a Windows laptop, I’ve included a huge range of other options, including MacBooks, budget Chromebooks, powerful gaming laptops and everything in between. With a new generation of artificial intelligence-enabled laptops hitting the market (including the Surface Laptop 7), there has never been a more exciting time to buy, so read on for our top picks.
This page has been updated as of 04/07/2024 with a new entry at number one: the Surface Laptop 7.
The best laptop overall
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After years of this year being dominated by various MacBook Air models, Microsoft has surprised us all with the release of the Surface Laptop – a device that’s stylish, powerful and with a long lasting battery, and has earned its place as the best laptop for most people in 2024.
Microsoft is calling the 2024 edition simply the Surface Laptop, in a bid to highlight that despite this actually being the seventh version, it’s a major reinvention – and for once, this isn’t just marketing bluff. Thanks to the revolutionary Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite chip that powers the new Surface Laptop, not only does Windows 11 feel fast and responsive, but thanks to how efficient it is, battery life is seriously impressive – and the fans rarely kick in, so you’re not distracted by their whirring.
As a flagship entry in a new range of ‘Copilot+ PCs’, the Surface Laptop also has deeply integrated AI (Artificial Intelligence) features included, such as the Copilot assistant and Cocreator tool that turns your scribbles in Paint into AI-generated art. Most of this is all done on-device thanks to the Snapdragon X chip, which means you don’t need an internet connection, and your data is kept safe and secure. The AI features are currently in their infancy and far from essential, but the potential is huge – and even without them, the Surface Laptop is a brilliant device that will the ideal laptop for most people. Microsoft has finally come up with a MacBook killer.
Reasons to buy
✅ You want the best laptop in the world: The new Surface Laptop is a stunning reinvention, offering build quality, performance and battery life that puts most competitors to shame.
✅ You want a long-lasting portable laptop: The Surface Laptop comes in 14-inch and 15-inch configurations, and even the larger model is thin and light enough to carry around – and its battery life means you won’t need to look for a plug socket.
✅ You want a great productivity machine: The Surface Laptop comes in 13-inch and 15-inch configurations, and even the larger model is thin and light enough to carry around – and its battery life means you won’t need to look for a plug socket.
Reasons to avoid
❌ You need lots of ports: Sadly, the thin and light design of the Surface Laptop comes at a price, as you only get two USB-C ports and a USB-A port (though the 15-inch model also sports a microSD slot).
❌ You want to play games: The ARM-based chip comes with an integrated GPU, which is fine for most tasks, but isn’t able to handle demanding games.
❌ You hate Windows 11: The Surface Laptop offers a stylish design and dependable performance you’d usually expect from an Apple device… but running Windows 11. If you don’t like that operating system, then get the MacBook Air (M3) instead (which is also in this guide).
In-depth analysis
Microsoft’s Surface devices have always been stylish products, and 2024’s Surface Laptop is no different. It has a thin and light chassis that is easy to carry around, yet feels sturdy and premium. The keyboard feels comfortable and responsive to use, the screen screen with HDR support and 120Hz refresh rate is stunning and the overall design is very reminiscent of MacBooks. The only issue is a lack of ports.
Performance
Thanks to the ARM-based Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite chip, the Surface Laptop is an incredible productivity performer, and in our review we found that Windows 11 felt fast and responsive, and all the apps we loaded up worked without issue. This is great to see, as previous ARM-based Windows laptops could not run apps that were designed for Intel or AMD chips. Thankfully, that’s no longer the case. While you can’t play demanding games on this thing, for day-to-day use, it’s an incredible laptop.
Battery life
Thanks to the power efficiencies of the ARM chip inside the Surface Laptop, the battery life of this device is excellent, offering 15 hours of life on a single charge during our time with the device. In real-world use, I found I only needed to charge the 15-inch model once, then happily used it as my main work laptop for three work days before needing to charge it again – which is seriously impressive. The 15-inch model has a larger battery, but due to the larger screen, battery life should be similar between 13-inch and 15-inch models.
Value for money
The smaller model of the Surface Laptop starts at $999.99 / £1,049.99 / AU$1,899, while the larger model starts at $1,299.99 / £1,349 / AU$2,399. While these certainly aren’t budget prices, they still offer excellent value for money compared to similarly-powerful laptops – and it means the Surface Laptop is also cheaper than the MacBook Air (M3) as well.
| Attributes | Notes | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| Price | The price of the new Surface Laptop is excellent considering what you get for your money | ★★★★☆ |
| Design | As with other Surface devices, this laptop looks and feels premium | ★★★★★ |
| Performance | Thanks to the new ARM chip from Qualcomm, the Surface Laptop offers a huge upgrade from its predecessors | ★★★★★ |
| Battery life | You can expect between 15 to 20 hours of battery life from this laptop | ★★★★★ |
💻 The Surface Laptop is truly an incredible portable machine, all thanks to the Qualcomm Snapdragon chip it’s equipped with. Performance, battery life, light and thin, price, sound quality, and more are all top-notch, making it an easy pick for best laptop of 2024. Read the full review: Microsoft Surface Laptop 7
The best budget laptop
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The Lenovo IdeaPad Duet 5 Chromebook is the best ultra-low price laptop you can buy, and it’s a brilliant follow-up to the original IdeaPad Duet. While it’s been out for a while, Chromebooks don’t date as quickly as Windows laptops, and it’s still one of the best Chromebooks we’ve used. If you’re a Chromebook skeptic, the IdeaPad Duet 5 Chromebook just might convert you. It can be used as both a laptop and a tablet thanks to its detachable keyboard, while also boasting an impressively long battery life. You’re simply not going to find a Windows 11 laptop that can outlast the over 16-hour battery life the Lenovo IdeaPad Duet 5 Chromebook offers – especially at this price. It’s a particularly good choice for students who want something reliable, flexible and affordable.
Reasons to buy
✅ You want an OLED Chromebook: An OLED display on a Chromebook is uncommon, so if that’s what you’re looking for, this is the best choice.
✅ You need long battery life: It’s possible to squeeze over 16 hours of battery life out of this Chromebook if you make the right adjustments in settings.
✅ You want a more robust system than Android or iOS can offer: As powerful as Android and iOS have become, mobile operating systems are still far more restricted than Windows, macOS, or Linux OS.
Reasons to avoid
❌ You have more limited manual dexterity: Some may find the Duet’s smaller-than-standard keyboard a bit fiddly. If that’s likely to be the case for you, a larger laptop such as the Acer Swift 3 (skip to that entry) may be a better option.
❌ You’re on a tight budget: The Duet 5 Chromebook is incredibly affordable for the premium features it offers, but it’s not the best option out there for those on a tight budget.
❌ You want a traditional laptop OS: Chrome OS isn’t as robust as Windows 10 or macOS and it isn’t meant to be. If you want a traditional laptop environment, a Chromebook will only get you part of the way there, which may not be enough to satisfy your needs.
In-depth analysis
The Duet 5 Chromebook’s keyboard is Ultrabook-worthy in quality and comfort, and it can be easily detached, turning the Duet 5 into a tablet-like device. Meanwhile, the magnetized backplate on the Duet 5 Chromebook has a small clip to house a Lenovo Active Pen stylus, even though the stylus isn’t included in the box. The best thing about the design, however, is the gorgeous 1080p OLED display, which offers exceptional image quality – especially considering the price.
Performance
When it comes to general web browsing, video streaming, and basic productivity use, the Duet 5 does exactly what you want it to do without so much as a hiccup. Its CPU is upgraded to the Qualcomm Snapdragon 7c Gen2 processor, which is a step up from the last model, and the 8GB of RAM is a decent amount for a Chromebook, keeping things running very smoothly.
Battery life
While Chromebooks on average get about 10 hours of life on a fully-charged battery, the Lenovo Duet 5 lasted a huge 16 hours. This is a drop from the previous model (which managed over 20 hours), which is disappointing.
Value for money
As far as Chromebooks and 2-in-1 laptops go, this is hands down the best value you’re going to find in a portable device of its kind. When it launched, it was more expensive than its predecessor, but over time, its price has dropped, making it superb value for money. However, it would be even better value for money if a stylus was included. If you want to make the most out of this Chromebook, you’ll need to spend a bit more money for a compatible stylus.
| Attributes | Notes | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| Price | It’s by far the best budget laptop around | ★★★★★ |
| Design | The 2-in-1 design and OLED screen sets this Chromebook apart | ★★★★☆ |
| Performance | Dependable rather than ultra powerful | ★★★☆☆ |
| Battery life | Over 16 hours will keep you going through an entire work day | ★★★★★ |
💻 The Lenovo IdeaPad Duet 5 Chromebook packs a punch with outstanding battery life, a gorgeous display, and a new form factor that improves on last year’s model – as long as you’re looking for a laptop more than a tablet. Read the full review: Lenovo IdeaPad Duet 5 Chromebook
The best MacBook
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The Apple MacBook Air 13-inch (M3) is the best MacBook you can buy right now. The design remains thin, light and stylish, and it’s packed with Apple’s latest M3 chip, giving this slimline laptop excellent performance for day-to-day tasks – and it even does a great job of handling more intensive workloads like editing videos. A new lower price for the entry-level model means this is an easy recommendation for people looking for a brilliant all-rounder of a laptop, but be warned: the base model’s specs – especially the 8GB of memory and 256GB SSD storage – feel a bit outdated in 2024.
Reasons to buy
✅ You want the best MacBook for your money: The new MacBook Air 13-inch is now the MacBook we’d recommend to pretty much anyone thanks to a great design, excellent performance and relatively affordable price.
✅ You want a laptop for traveling with: The stylish thin and light design, plus the long battery life, makes this an excellent laptop for going out and about with.
✅ You want power – but not too much: The new M3 chip powering the MacBook Air is great at day-to-day tasks, as well as video editing and AI.
Reasons to avoid
❌ You only have the budget for the cheapest MacBook: The MacBook Air 13-inch (M3) comes with a new, lower price, but the M2 model (also in this list) has also dropped in price, making that the cheapest MacBook you can buy.
❌ You want plenty of ports: The MacBook Air (M3) once again features just two Thunderbolt ports. If you have a lot of peripherals to plug in, you’ll need to use a hub or adaptor.
❌ You want a bigger screen: The 13-inch screen of the new MacBook Air makes it nice and portable, but some people may find it a bit too small to work on – in that case, you should consider the 15-inch model instead.
In-depth analysis
The latest MacBook Air sticks to the same design as the previous M2 model – but that’s fine with us. It has a stylish and modern look that’s easy to carry around and comfortable to work on. This does mean that port selection remains limited, which won’t be a deal breaker for many people, but if you have lots of peripherals you need to plug in, you’ll want to invest in a USB-C hub or look into getting a MacBook Pro.
Performance
The new MacBook Air comes with the latest M3 chip – and there are actually two versions you can buy: a base model with an 8-core CPU and 8-core GPU, and a more powerful version with an 8-core CPU and 10-core GPU. The base model also comes with 8GB of memory, which is quite low by today’s standards. If you have the budget we recommend configuring the MacBook Air (M3) to come with more memory, up to a maximum of 24GB. While reviewing the MacBook Air (M3), we found it to perform brilliantly, with macOS booting fast and running smoothly, even with multiple apps open at once.
Battery life
Apple claims the MacBook Air 13-inch (M3) can last up to 18 hours watching Apple TV shows and 15 hours browsing the internet, though in our battery life benchmark tests (which involve playing a looped 1080p video) the 13-inch MacBook Air lasted a bit less than that, at 14 hours and 19 minutes. That’s an excellent time for a laptop of this power, however it is slightly less than the previous model lasted in the same tests, which could suggest the bump in performance has come at the cost of efficiency.
Value for money
The MacBook Air 13-inch (M3) starts at $1,099 / £1,099 / AU$1,799. This is slightly higher than the older M1 MacBook Air’s launch price of $999 / £999 / AU$1,599. However, this is less than the M2 model’s launch price, which began at $1,199 / £1,249 / AU$1,899 when it launched in 2022. It’s great to see prices go down, rather than up, with new models, though it should be noted that with the launch of the M3 model, the M2 model is still being sold by Apple for a new, lower price of $999 / £999 / AU$1,599. So, if you want real value for money when buying a MacBook, the M2 model is now the one to go for.
| Attributes | Notes | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Apple has lowered the starting price for the latest MacBook Air making it much better value | ★★★★★ |
| Design | No new design, but it remains one of the best looking laptops in 2024 | ★★★★★ |
| Performance | Performance is great thanks to the M3 chip, but it’s not a huge leap over the M2 version | ★★★★☆ |
| Battery life | You can work on this laptop for a whole work day on a single charge | ★★★★★ |
💻 The MacBook Air 13-inch (M3) is easily the best MacBook (and one of the best laptops overall) that money can buy for most people, though we recommend boosting the memory and storage space when ordering. That makes it more expensive, but far more future-proof. Read the full review: Apple MacBook Air 13-inch (M3)
The best for Windows 11
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When it comes to making the best Windows laptops, Dell is the company to beat. Its XPS 13 series have made regular appearances in this guide over the years, and its brand-new XPS 14, which ups the screen size while keeping a slim and light design that XPS laptops are famous for, continues that fine tradition. Packing a svelte look that puts other laptops – including MacBooks – to shame, and cutting-edge hardware from Intel and Nvidia, the Dell XPS 14 offers you the best Windows 11 experience in a laptop. It’s a powerful performer that will easily handle any day to day tasks, and even more intensive creative workloads as well.
Reasons to buy
✅ You want a powerful Windows 11 laptop: The Dell XPS 14 comes with some of the best mobile hardware out there.
✅ You want good battery life: The Dell XPS 14 doesn’t quite reach MacBook Pro-levels of battery life, but it easily beats most Windows 11 laptops when it comes to lasting power.
✅ You want the best Windows 11 laptop: The solid, stylish and lightweight design, excellent performance and stunning screen makes the Dell XPS 14 the best Windows 11 laptop out there.
Reasons to avoid
❌ You want extreme performance: The Dell XPS 14 comes with powerful Intel Core Ultra 7 155H and Nvidia RTX 4050 components, but they aren’t the most powerful out there.
❌ You hate using adapters: The Dell XPS 14 doesn’t have a lot of ports, so you’ll need an adapter or hub to fully make use of this laptop.
❌ You want a cheap laptop: The Dell XPS 14 is a premium laptop with a price tag to match, so may be too expensive for many people. The good news is there’s plenty of great value Windows 11 laptops out there.
In-depth analysis
You’re not going to find a better looking Windows 11 laptop than the Dell XPS 14. It is thin, light and even comes with a microSD port – something many other lightweight laptops don’t bother with. It feels solid and dependable, while looking like a thoroughly modern laptop. This doesn’t revolutionize laptop design, but it does perfect it – especially if you upgrade the screen to OLED. The only downside is that during our review we found that the keyboard isn’t the most comfortable to work on.
Performance
The Dell XPS 14 takes the latest MacBook Pro 14-inch with M3 Pro chip head-on, and pretty much beats it, especially with light gaming performance, and it’s about a draw when it comes to creative tasks thanks to the Intel Core Ultra 7 155H CPU paired with an Nvidia RTX 4050 GPU, which is in the model that we reviewed. Having a dedicated GPU in such a svelte laptop is certainly impressive, and it proves that you don’t have to ditch Windows 11 for macOS if you want a thin and light laptop for doing creative work on.
Battery life
In our battery life benchmark, we found the XPS 14 lasted over nine and a half hours – a huge improvement on the previous generation XPS 13 Plus. Thanks to the efficiency improvements that Intel made with the new Core Ultra 7 155H CPU that powers the XPS 14, you get a laptop that has a larger screen, is more powerful and has more battery life than the XPS 13 Plus. That’s impressive stuff, and while it can’t match the 14-inch MacBook Pro, which lasted around eight hours longer in the same tests, it’ll see you through an entire work day.
Value for money
Starting at $1,499 / £1,599 / AU$2,999, this is a very pricey laptop. For the money you get some excellent specs, including an Intel Core Ultra 7 155H processor with integrated Arc graphics, 16GB LPDDR5x memory, 512GB M.2 PCIe SSD storage, and a 14.5-inch full HD+ display. As with many of Dell’s products, you can configure the XPS 14 with more powerful components and a better screen, but be warned that this makes the already-steep price even higher. You won’t need to buy another laptop for a long, long time, but it’ll still be hard to justify for many people.
| Attributes | Notes | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Entry-level model is well priced, but other models are pricey. | ★★★★☆ |
| Design | This is quite possibly the best looking Windows 11 laptop money can buy. | ★★★★★ |
| Performance | Thanks to the latest Intel Core Ultra 7 chips, this is an absolute beast. | ★★★★★ |
| Battery life | Battery life is very good, but it can’t quite compete with the MacBook Pro. | ★★★★☆ |
💻 The Dell XPS 14 is a fantastic new entry into the storied XPS lineup, and it gives the MacBook Pro 14-inch its strongest competition yet thanks to its gorgeous OLED display, powerful processor and GPU. It’s not cheap, however, and there are some design quirks that many might not like. But overall, there are few Windows laptops that can compete right now. Read the full review: Lenovo IdeaPad Duet 5 Chromebook
The best value laptop
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As long as you keep your expectations in check, the Acer Aspire 5 remains the best cheap laptop you can buy in 2024. Its design is lightweight yet doesn’t feel cheap, its large screen size is comfortable to work on, and you can even configure it to come with an Nvidia GPU. Don’t mistake this for a gaming laptop however. But, the GPU can help make the Aspire 5 punch above its weight when it comes to video editing. For the price, you’ll pleasantly surprised.
Reasons to buy
✅ You want a cheap laptop: The Acer Aspire 5 is a no-frills laptop that does the job well for a lot less than other Windows 11 laptops.
✅ You want a very portable laptop: This budget laptop is impressively light without feeling cheep and tacky, and that means it’s comfortable to carry around with you throughout the day.
✅ You don’t want a Chromebook: There are cheaper Chromebooks out there, but due to the limitations of ChromeOS, they aren’t for everyone. The Acer Aspire 5 is cheap, but also runs Windows 11.
Reasons to avoid
❌ You want a gaming laptop: The Acer Aspire can be configured with a discrete GPU, but that ups the price, and still doesn’t turn it into a gaming laptop.
❌ You want long battery life: At around six and a half hours, the battery life isn’t awful, but nor is it exceptional. The Lenovo IdeaPad Duet, above, offers much better battery life.
In-depth analysis
The Acer Aspire 5 won’t win any design or innovation awards, but it offers you a solid, dependable laptop design that will at least feel familiar. Weighing 1.7kg and measuring 18mm thick, it’s a laptop you can easily carry around with you. We didn’t love the L-shaped power connector in our review, however, which sticks out a bit when plugged in.
Performance
The Acer Aspire 5 doesn’t wow when it comes to performance – but nor does it disappoint. This is a solid and dependable laptop that you can rely on for your day-to-day needs. However, gaming is out of the question with the base model, which comes with integrated graphics. However, you can buy a model with a dedicated GPU, and this offers improved graphical performance – but don’t expect to play demanding games on this thing.
Battery life
In our review we found the Acer Aspire 5 lasted around six and a half hours on battery. While this isn’t awful, there are cheap laptops out there, especially Chromebooks, which offer much longer battery life. So, you’ll likely want to bring its charging cable with you when you’re out and about.
Value for money
As you might expect from a laptop we consider to be the best budget device money can buy, the Acer Aspire 5 offers excellent value for money, going for around $600 in the US and £500 in the UK. Even at that low price you get good performance, a nice design and 1080p screen.
| Attributes | Notes | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| Price | This is an excellent value Windows 11 laptop that is often on sale | ★★★★★ |
| Design | Dull but solid. You won’t worry about it breaking easily | ★★★☆☆ |
| Performance | Again, performance is solid, especially for the price | ★★★☆☆ |
| Battery life | Acer claims it can hit 10 hours on battery, but our tests are closer to 7 | ★★★★☆ |
💻 Acer’s hype pitches the Aspire 5 almost as mobile workstation for video-editing work – in fact, this 14-inch model is an affordable entry-level laptop that provides respectable performance and battery life for the price. Read the full review: Acer Aspire 5 (2022)
The best student laptop
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The Apple MacBook Air 13-inch (M2) is in our opinion the best laptop for students you can buy right now. Thanks to a stylish design that makes this thin and light laptop feel more modern than previous models, this is a MacBook you can take almost anywhere. Not only is it portable, in my review I found that it offers a very decent 16-hour battery life, and the screen is a joy to work on. One of my biggest complaints about the M2 MacBook Air was the bump in price for the base model compared to the previous M1 version. The good news is that now that a newer model has been released, the M2 MacBook Air has had a big price cut – and you can get a further $100/£100 knocked off if you are a student. This makes it a brilliant laptop for school and university use – it’ll easily last your entire course.
Reasons to buy
✅ You need a laptop that’s thin and light: Thanks to a redesign, the MacBook Air 13-inch (M2) is one of the thinnest and lightest laptops you can buy.
✅ You want a powerful laptop for school or university: With the launch of the M3 MacBook Air (also in this list), the M2 model has had a major price cut – and students can get a further cut, making it a brilliant laptop for school.
✅ You’re thinking about getting the 13-inch MacBook Pro: Because it’s thinner, lighter, and cheaper, the MacBook Air (M2, 2022) is a better choice. Factor in its similar performance, and you’ve got a winner.
Reasons to avoid
❌ You are on a budget: The MacBook Air (M2) is now the cheapest MacBook model, but if it’s still too much, consider a Chromebook instead.
❌ You want a lot of ports: The MacBook Air (M2) comes with only two Thunderbolt ports. If you need more ports, consider the MacBook Pro 16-inch below instead.
❌ You need a bigger display: To some folks, a 13-inch screen isn’t enough. Luckily, you can always go for the 15-inch MacBook Air.
In-depth analysis
After years of sticking to a safe tried-and-tested design, Apple finally gave the MacBook Air a much-needed makeover with this model. It’s thinner and lighter than before, making it more portable, and by slimming down the bezels around the screen, it’s allowed Apple to include a larger display without making it bulky. The screen is bright and vibrant, and the new modern look and new color options makes the MacBook Air (M2) one of the best looking laptops you can buy, even a few years after its launch. The newer M3 model keeps the same design, so the M2 MacBook Air still feels modern.
Performance
During my time reviewing the MacBook Air, it delivered incredible performance across the board. It quickly boots into macOS, and apps run smoothly (and look fantastic on the improved display). I loved that even when browsing the web in both Safari and Chrome with lots of tabs open, the MacBook Air (M2) kept up, though the 8GB of memory that comes with the base model a bit too limited. Meanwhile, thanks to the redesigned keyboard, whipping up documents and composing emails feel effortless and comfortable.
Battery life
In TechRadar’s battery benchmark tests, the MacBook Air 13-inch (M2) lasted a huge 16 hours on battery while playing a 1080p video – that’s a 30-minute improvement over the MacBook Pro 13-inch (M2, 2022), and five hours longer than the MacBook Air (M1, 2020). This laptop will last you throughout an entire workday or on a long-haul flight, and then some. It’s not the longest life you’ll find in a MacBook – the MacBook Pro 16-inch (M3 Max) almost hits 24 hours on a single charge.
Value for money
The MacBook Air launched at $1,199 / £1,249 / AU$1,899, a substantial leap from the older MacBook Air’s launch price. However, with the launch of the M3 MacBook Air, the 13-inch MacBook Air (M2) is now officially on sale for $999 / $999 / AU$1,599 – making it much better value for money, and arguably selling for the price it should have launched at. Even better, if you’re a student with an appropriate ID, you can get it for $899 / £899 / AU$1,439. For that price you’re not going to get a better laptop.
| Attributes | Notes | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| Price | The M2 MacBook Air has now dropped in price, making it much better value | ★★★★☆ |
| Design | Thinner, lighter, and with a bigger screen | ★★★★★ |
| Performance | Powerful performance thanks to the M2 chip | ★★★★☆ |
| Battery life | At 16 hours, it outlasts many rivals | ★★★★★ |
💻 The MacBook Air (M2, 2022) is now Apple’s cheapest MacBook thanks to an official price cut. With a fantastic new design, bigger screen and incredibly long battery life, the M2 MacBook Air is a great upgrade from the MacBooks that came before, and it’s ideal for students. Read the full review: MacBook Air 13-inch (M2)
The best laptop for working from home
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If you’ve found yourself working from home more and need a new laptop, then don’t think you have to spend a fortune. While a new MacBook will do everything you need, a great Chromebook like the Acer Chromebook Plus 515 can cope with most day-to-day workloads for a fraction of the price. You get a large screen and comfortable keyboard to work on, and performance is snappy – especially when you boot up into Chrome OS, the operating system Chromebooks use (rather than Windows 11 or macOS).
Reasons to buy
✅ You want a laptop for working on at home: This is a great Chromebook for productivity with a large screen, comfortable keyboard and excellent performance.
✅ You want an eco-friendly laptop: This is an eco-friendly Chromebook made of recycled materials where possible.
✅ You want a portable 15-inch laptop: It’s impressively thin for a laptop, and its battery life means you won’t need to worry about plugging it in too often.
Reasons to avoid
❌ You need specific Windows or macOS apps: As a Chromebook, this uses Chrome OS which doesn’t have all the apps a Windows laptop or MacBook have access to.
❌ You want a powerful laptop: The specs of the Acer Chromebook Plus 515 are relatively high for a Chromebook, but pale in comparison with regular laptops or MacBooks.
❌ You want the very cheapest laptop: The Acer Chromebook Plus 515 offers superb value for money, but there are cheaper Chromebooks out there.
In-depth analysis
The design of the Acer Chromebook Plus 515 is pretty straightforward, with a gray body and Google logo, and while that might not make it the most interesting of laptops, it’s solidly built and dependable. The 15-inch screen makes it comfortable to work on, though it also means the overall size of the laptop is quite large.
Performance
As far as Chromebooks go, the Acer Chromebook Plus 515 is an excellent performer, with the Chrome OS operating system booting quickly, while apps run impressively smoothly. It feels fast and responsive – something you wouldn’t be able to say about many Windows 11 laptops at this price. For day-to-day tasks, including document creation, emails and video calls, the Acer Chromebook Plus 515 performs very well – though you are limited to apps built for Chrome OS or Android. This is an important consideration when buying the Acer Chromebook Plus 515 – or any Chromebook for that matter – as a lot of applications for Windows or macOS won’t run. The good news is that there are a growing number of Chrome OS versions, and some decent alternatives, and being able to run Android apps gives you even more choice. However, there is also a chance that a piece of software you rely on every day on a traditional laptop may not have a version for Chromebooks, so make sure you do a bit of research before you buy.
Battery life
Usually the battery lives of Chromebooks are one of their main selling points, but in our tests, the Acer Chromebook Plus 515 only lasted a disappointing five hours and 13 minutes. While that’s not ridiculously low, it is surprisingly short for a Chromebook, which is a shame.
Value for money
The Acer Chromebook Plus 515 offers exceptional value for money. Selling for $399.99 / £399.99, it’s an affordable laptop that punches well above its weight. While we recommend it for working from home, it’s also a great choice for students or anyone who wants a budget laptop but doesn’t want to make compromises on performance.
| Attributes | Notes | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| Price | As a Chromebook, this offers brilliant value for money | ★★★★★ |
| Design | It comes with a classic Chromebook design and comfortable keyboard | ★★★★☆ |
| Performance | Super-fast boot times and snappy app performance make working on this laptop a joy | ★★★★★ |
| Battery life | The battery life isn’t the best for a Chromebook, but it charges quickly | ★★★☆☆ |
💻 The Acer Chromebook Plus 515 is both a solid productivity machine in its own right, with specs tailor-made for work, and a surprisingly balanced laptop that can handle light editing and even native gaming. Read the full review: Acer Chromebook Plus 515
The best laptop for creatives
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The MacBook Pro 16-inch (M3 Pro/M3 Max) is hands-down the best laptop for creative professionals we’ve ever tested – even though it comes just nine months after the last model. It’s powered by the M3 Pro and M3 Max SoCs, Apple’s most powerful chips – for now, at least. There wasn’t a task it couldn’t handle during our testing. It did an impressive job of handling 4K video editing, even with multiple 4K and 8K video files, as well as running the latest and most demanding games. Along with the MacBook Pro 14-inch, this may be the very first MacBook for gaming.
Reasons to buy
✅ You need the most powerful MacBook: You’re guaranteed incredible performance that’ll crush the more demanding workloads, whether it’s the M3 Pro or M3 Max model you go for.
✅ You’re a traveling creative pro: If you’re a creative who needs power, a gorgeous display, great-sounding speakers and lots of ports, this is the perfect travel companion.
✅ You want to game on a MacBook: The MacBook Pro 16-inch M3 Max boasts seriously impressive gaming prowess.
Reasons to avoid
❌ You have an earlier 16-inch MacBook Pro: The M3 Pro and M3 Max 16-inch MacBook Pro models are the second to have launched last year, so if you have the M2 Pro or M2 Max models, don’t worry – they are still very good.
❌ You’re looking for an affordable workstation laptop: The 16-inch MacBook Pro is an expensive investment, which means it may be priced out of many people’s reach. The 14-inch model is more affordable, and you can get it with the base M3 chip.
❌ You’re a casual user: Unless you’re a creative professional, you’re unlikely to need the kind of performance that the MacBook Pro 16-inch offers, especially with the M3 Max chip. For regular use, the MacBook Air 15-inch will be a better buy.
In-depth analysis
Design-wise, the MacBook Pro 16-inch (M3 Pro/M3 Max) doesn’t deviate from its predecessor. There is, however, a new color option, called Space Black, that’s apparently made with a material with an anodization seal that’s designed to minimizes fingerprint retention, helping you maintain a clean laptop.
Performance
Our independent benchmark tests showed a hefty leap in performance between the M3 Max and M1 Max MacBook Pro 16-inches. We saw a good 35% increase in single core and a considerable 69% increase in multi-core CPU performance in Geekbench 6. You should, therefore, see a noticeable time reduction when completing workloads, specifically graphics-intensive ones. The MacBook Pro 16-inch M3 Max’s performance makes workloads fast, fluid and incredibly seamless, especially for creatives. At the moment, the M3 Pro and M3 Max remain Apple’s most powerful chips, but if you’re concerned that they might be outdated soon I don’t blame you. They came out less than a year after the M2 Pro and M2 Max, and Apple has recently released the M4 chip in the iPad Pro. While the M4 doesn’t reach the performance levels of the M3 Pro or M3 Max, it does suggest we may see an M4 Pro and M4 Max, along with updated MacBook Pros, sooner rather than later. However, even if these do arrive soon, I believe that it won’t mean the current MacBook Pros will suddenly feel underpowered.
Battery life
Apple promises up to 22 hours of video playback, and 15 hours of web browsing on a single charge for the MacBook Pro 16-inch, with what it says is the “longest battery life ever in a Mac”. The good news is that those claims are pretty spot on, as I found that in our battery life benchmark test, where I ran a looped 1080p video until the MacBook Pro turned off, the battery lasted over 24 hours. Considering the power on offer here, that’s extremely impressive.
Value for money
The MacBook Pro 16-inch (M3 Pro/M3 Max) is an incredibly ambitious laptop both in terms of hardware and design, and it’s aimed at creative professionals who need powerful mobile hardware. Yes, it’s an expensive laptop – but if you need all that power, it’s well worth paying for it.
| Attributes | Notes | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Same base price as the previous model (in the US at least) is welcome – but it’s still pricey | ★★★☆☆ |
| Design | New Space Black color is great, same best-in-class display and port selection | ★★★★★ |
| Performance | The M3 Max inside our review unit offers incredible performance, even when gaming | ★★★★★ |
| Battery life | We managed a huge 24 hours in our battery benchmark. This is seriously impressive | ★★★★★ |
💻 The MacBook Pro 16-inch (M3) is the latest and greatest version of Apple’s powerful prosumer laptop. With a choice of the new M3 Pro or M3 Max chips, and support for up to 128GB unified memory, this is an incredibly powerful laptop that’s ideal for heavy workloads, especially graphically intensive ones. Read the full review: MacBook Pro 16-inch (M3 Max)
The best laptop for gaming
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This year’s Razer Blade 14 refresh has been outfitted with the latest specs, including the AMD Ryzen 9 7940HS CPU, which sports a 5.2 GHz max clock speed and eight cores/16 threads, and up to the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 GPU. Despite coming with high-end components, it’s a stunningly thin and light laptop – something most gaming laptops just cannot offer.
Reasons to buy
✅ You want a lightweight gaming laptop: We’re not talking about performance, but the actual build and design of the Razer Blade 14 is seriously svelte.
✅ You want epic performance: As for performance, Razer has kitted this out with some of the best mobile tech around – and it shows.
✅ Audio quality is important: The dual speaker setup leads to some of the best audio we’ve heard from built-in speakers.
Reasons to avoid
❌ You’re on a budget: Razer laptops are notoriously expensive, and the Razer Blade 14 is no exception. Check out the HP Victus 15 instead, which we’ve picked as the best cheap laptop you can buy right now.
❌ You want long battery life: As you might expect from a powerful gaming laptop, the battery doesn’t last long.
❌ You want to travel really light: While thin compared to most gaming laptops, the Razer Blade 14 has a chunky power brick. Yes, you can use USB-C instead, but it won’t supply enough power to keep up when gaming.
In-depth analysis
Razer makes some of the best thin and light laptops on the market, including the Razer Blade 14 (2023). Razer has done a great job of including high-end specs like the Nvidia RTX 4070 graphics card, while keeping the overall weight and thickness down – it weighs just four pounds, and with the 14-inch screen, the Razer Blade 14 proves that gaming laptops don’t have to be big and bulky.
Performance
The Razor Blade 14 (2023) offers superb performance when gaming, allowing you to play even the most demanding games, such as Cyberpunk 2077 at their highest settings, while maintaining high frame rates. The 14-inch screen comes with a high 240Hz refresh, and that combined with the RTX 4070 GPU ensures your games feel fast and responsive. We really can’t fault the performance of the Razer Blade 14 in any way.
Battery life
According to Razer, the Razer Blade 14 (2023) should offer up to 10 hours of battery life, but in our review, we found it was more like eight hours when using it for day-to-day work. When you start playing games on it, the battery struggles to make it past four hours – so you’ll want to have this plugged in.
Value for money
Razer’s reputation for expensive laptops is well deserved here. Despite it being a 14-inch laptop, its starting price point of $2,399 / £2,499.99 / AU$4,499 will be far too high for many people, though remember this is a gaming laptop with some of the best components you can currently buy.
| Attributes | Notes | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| Price | You get a lot for the price, but there’s no getting around the huge price tag | ★★★★☆ |
| Design | Its thin and light design makes it stand out against other gaming laptops | ★★★★★ |
| Performance | You’ll be able to fire up any modern game and play at high or ultra settings with ease | ★★★★★ |
| Battery life | While it’s not too bad at day to day tasks, if you’re gaming on this laptop, the battery disappears quickly | ★★★☆☆ |
💻 The 2023 model of the Razer Blade 14 remains one of the best laptops you can buy today, thanks to its powerful eight-core AMD Ryzen 9 7940HS CPU, which sports a 5.2 GHz max clock speed, and can come with Nvidia’s latest 4000 series laptop graphics cards, topping out with the RTX 4070, which will handle modern games at high settings with ease. Read the full review: Razer Blade 14 (2023)
The best 17-inch laptop
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The Dell XPS 17 (9730) remains the best large-screen laptop you can buy. If you find that working on a 13-inch or even 15-inch laptop isn’t comfortable, then this is a laptop that’s well worth considering. One of the best things about the Dell XPS 17 is that as well as offering an excellent large screen to work on, it maintains the thin, light and stylish design of the smaller XPS 13 and XPS 15 models, so you’re not making too many compromises to portability for the bigger display. As a flagship laptop, the Dell XPS 17 comes with some of the most powerful mobile components around, including a discrete graphics card from Nvidia’s latest RTX 4000 series, and while it can play game, it’s best used as a productivity laptop. Digital creatives will especially love its mix of large screen and powerful components.
Reasons to buy
✅ You want a solid and attractive 17-inch laptop: The Dell XPS 17 (9730) features the premium design and build quality we’ve come to expect from Dell’s XPS lineup, alongside a large 17-inch screen.
✅ You want excellent performance: The XPS 17 comes with very powerful components that means it performs brilliantly no matter what you throw at it.
✅ You want a laptop that lasts: Despite its large screen and powerful components, battery life of the Dell XPS 17 impresses, with almost 10 hours on a single charge.
Reasons to avoid
❌ You want a gaming laptop: The Dell XPS 17 can be configured to come with a dedicated GPU, but this is not a gaming laptop. Serious gamers can get better performance with the Razer Blade 14 (click for details).
❌ You want a budget laptop: The Dell XPS 17 is a large, flagship laptop with a premium design, which means it’s quite expensive compared to other laptops – even big screen ones.
❌ Portability is a must: Unsurprisingly, this 17-inch laptop isn’t the easiest to carry around compared to 13-inch Ultrabooks. That said, for the size, it is impressively svelte.
In-depth analysis
The Dell XPS 17 looks and feels extremely premium thanks to its machined aluminum body. Thin bezels surround the display, giving it a modern look while also keeping the overall size of the laptop as compact as possible. This isn’t a laptop you can comfortably carry around in a small bag, mind you, but Dell has done a great job of making sure it’s not big or bulky.
Performance
This is an excellent performer, packed with high-end components from Intel and Nvidia. Day to day tasks feel fast and responsive, and heavy creative workloads, such as 3D rendering and 4K video editing, are handled well. If you want a powerful workstation laptop with a large screen for creative work, and you don’t fancy the MacBook Pro 16-inch (which is also in this guide), then this is an excellent alternative.
Battery life
Powerful laptops with large screens often suffer from poor battery life, but thanks to the efficient hardware in the Dell XPS 17, it avoids that fate. During our review, we found that for watching videos and web browsing, it’ll last just under 10 hours on a single charge, meaning you can use it unplugged for a whole workday – though heavier workloads will see the battery deplete faster.
Value for money
The Dell XPS 17 (9730) starts at $1,599 / £2,698.99 / AU$4,398.90, though the base model varies depending on location. This is certainly pricey for a laptop, though you do get good specs, a large screen and thin and light design for your money. If you configure it with more powerful components, expect the price to rise even further.
| Attributes | Notes | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Not cheap, and the price creeps up depending on how you configure it | ★★★★☆ |
| Design | This is an impressively thin and light laptop considering its screensize | ★★★★☆ |
| Performance | Excellent at day-to-day and creative workloads, but don’t expect a gaming powerhouse | ★★★★☆ |
| Battery life | Almost 10 hours is impressive given all the power | ★★★★☆ |
💻 The Dell XPS 17 is everything one could want out of a larger laptop. By giving up the portability of smaller laptops, it can offer a large, vibrant screen and powerful performance. Of course, it also keeps the elegant trappings set out by the XPS laptop line. Read the full review: Dell XPS 17 (9730)
The best OLED laptop
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The Samsung Galaxy Book4 Pro is a truly impressive Ultrabook that proves that Samsung can make laptops as stylish and desirable as major laptop brands such as Dell, HP and Asus… and Apple, which is a clear inspiration. Offering cutting-edge components alongside an absolutely gorgeous AMOLED screen and premium design, this is a laptop that is a joy to work on. It also offers an excellent battery life of over 10 hours, so you can keep working without worrying about being near a power outlet.
Reasons to buy
✅ You want high-end performance: This laptop handles all kinds of workloads with ease thanks to Intel’s latest processor.
✅ You want a great screen to work (and play) on: Thanks to its AMOLED screen with HDR support, this is the best display you can currently get on a Windows 11 laptop.
✅ You want amazing battery life: Offering easily over 10 hours on a single charge, you could use this through a whole work day and still have battery left.
Reasons to avoid
❌ You want an original design: The Samsung Galaxy Book4 Pro is clearly inspired, looks-wise, by the MacBook Air, and while that’s not a particularly bad thing, it does make it feel less original.
❌ You love watching movies: The OLED screen is stunning, but sadly the built-in speakers can’t compare, so you’d be better off looking elsewhere – or investing in some PC speakers.
❌ You don’t need a powerful OLED-equipped laptop: The Samsung Galaxy Book4 Pro comes packed with cutting edge tech and an industry-leading screen, but if you don’t need the kind of performance on offer here, your money is better spent elsewhere.
In-depth analysis
If the design looks familiar to you, then that’s because the Samsung Galaxy Book4 Pro features a look that’s heavily influenced by the MacBook Air. This isn’t particularly bad, especially for people who love the look of Apple’s laptops, but want to stick with Windows 11, but it also means it’s hard to get too excited about the look of this laptop. One thing we do love, however, is the gorgeous AMOLED screen that really makes images look bright and vibrant. It’s also a touchscreen – something you won’t get on a MacBook.
Performance
The Samsung Galaxy Book4 Pro offers excellent performance curtesy of the new Intel Core Ultra 7, which is Intel’s latest mobile CPU and means this laptop can power through pretty much any task you throw at it – though don’t go expecting it to play games on its integrated graphics. The screen is the real star of the show, however, and makes working on this laptop a joy. However, while the screen is also great for watching movies and TV shows on, unfortunately the built-in speakers aren’t as good, leading to tinny sound quality. If you want audio to go with the spectacular visuals, you’ll want to connect some external speakers.
Battery life
Last year’s Samsung Galaxy Book3 Ultra did a lot of things right, but its battery life was very disappointing. Thankfully, the new Samsung Galaxy Book4 Pro is a massive improvement, offering over 10 hours of life on a single charge.
Value for money
As a Samsung Galaxy product, you should expect a premium price tag, and while the $1,449 / £1,599 puts it above the base MacBook Air 13-inch (M3) model, it offers better specs, a larger SSD and a better display as well thanks to AMOLED technology. It’s not cheap, but you get a lot for your money.
| Attributes | Notes | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| Price | This is an expensive laptop, but build quality and performance justify the price tag | ★★★★☆ |
| Design | The design isn’t anything new, but it’s solidly built with one of the best screens you can get on a laptop | ★★★★☆ |
| Performance | This laptop comes with Intel’s latest processor for superb performance | ★★★★☆ |
| Battery life | Battery life is incredible considering the performance on offer here | ★★★★★ |
💻 Physically, the new Samsung Galaxy Book4 Pro looks like a dead ringer for the outgoing Galaxy Book3 Pro. Inside, however, it’s running Intel’s very latest Meteor Lake Core Ultra 7 CPU. That means more performance than ever and even better battery life. You also get the same stunning 14-inch OLED screen as before and great build quality that almost matches Apple, but some features including the speakers still disappoint. Read the full review: Samsung Galaxy Book4 Pro
The best affordable gaming laptop
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The MSI Katana 15 is in our opinion the best cheap gaming laptop you can buy right now. While it’s not the cheapest gaming laptop out there, it offers fantastic value for money considering its modern specifications, including a 13th gen Intel Core i7 processor, 16GB of RAM, an Nvidia RTX 4050 and 1TB of storage. These specs put a lot of cheap gaming laptops to shame, as they often come with older hardware. And, while you won’t be playing the likes of Cyberpunk 2077 in all its visual glory with settings cranked up to the max and ray tracing on, it does do a great job of playing games at 1080p, and thanks to the lower price, it’s a great first gaming laptop for many people.
Reasons to buy
✅ You play at 1080p: While it won’t manage 4K visuals, this laptop plays modern games at full HD without issue.
✅ You want a cheap gaming laptop that doesn’t suck: Despite its lower price, the MSI Katana 15 (2023) offers strong performance and good build quality.
✅ You new to PC gaming: The mix of performance and price makes this a great first gaming laptop for people.
Reasons to avoid
❌ You want to max out your games: The MSI Katana 15 (2023) can play most modern games at 1080p and medium settings, but if you want 4K gaming at ultra settings and with ray tracing on, you may want to check out the Razer Blade 14 if you have the money.
❌ You want a long battery: In our review we found that its battery lasted just two hours and 40 minutes when web browsing. Even by gaming laptop standards, that’s not great.
❌ You want a thin and light gaming laptop: When reviewing the MSI Katana 15, we found it to be quite heavy, so it’s not the most comfortable laptop to carry around with you.
In-depth analysis
The MSI Katana 15 isn’t an ugly gaming laptop, but the design does feel a bit old fashioned. This is a bulky, heavy gaming laptop, rather than a thin and light model, but that’s the price you pay for a more affordable gaming laptop – you’re not going to get premium designs and build quality here, though the Katana 15 doesn’t feel like it would easily break. The 15.6-inch 1080p screen does the job well, and with a high 144Hz refresh rate, competitive games in particular feel fast and responsive.
Performance
While you definitely shouldn’t expect to play the latest games at their very highest settings, the MSI Katana 15 does a very good job. The 1080p screen means that the RTX 4050 GPU, Nvidia’s lower-mid-range graphics card, isn’t put under too much stress, and slightly older games, such as Far Cry 6, can hit over 80fps (frames per second) at Ultra settings. Considering that game remains an impressive graphical showcase proves that the MSI Katana 15 can certainly punch above its weight. Considering the relatively affordable price tag, you’ll be very impressed with the performance on offer here.
Battery life
Gaming laptops often struggle to offer decent battery life, and unfortunately the MSI Katana 15 is one of the worst offenders. In our web surfing test, which is hardly intensive, it lasted two hours and 40 minutes, and the PCMark battery test, which replicated light to medium-intensity work, didn’t even hit an hour. So, this is a laptop that will need to be plugged in a lot of the time.
Value for money
The MSI Katana 15 is excellent value for money, which is why it’s our pick for the best affordable gaming laptop you can buy right now. It’s not the cheapest, but we recommend you saving up a bit more to get this laptop thanks to its new components – cheaper gaming laptops often stick with older tech to keep down costs. The MSI Katana 15 is far more future-proof, and offers excellent performance when gaming at 1080p, so if you can afford the slightly higher price, your investment will certainly pay off.
| Attributes | Notes | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| Price | The MSI Katana 15 offers a great mix of affordability and performance. | ★★★★☆ |
| Design | It’s not a stunning laptop, but it’s well built. | ★★★★☆ |
| Performance | For 1080p gaming, the MSI Katana does a good job of playing modern games | ★★★★☆ |
| Battery life | Battery life is very poor, even for a gaming laptop, so bear that in mind before you buy. | ★★★☆☆ |
💻 The MSI Katana 15 balances design and performance with a relatively affordable price to be a great option for those seeking their first or at least an affordable gaming laptop. It has solid 1080p performance and everything – except for the battery life and trackpad – is good enough. Read the full review: MSI Katana 15 (2023)
How to choose the best laptop for you:
What are the best laptop brands? The best brands for laptops include Apple, Dell, Lenovo and HP, and they all have their strengths. For example, Apple make brilliantly-designed slim and light laptops, while Dell does a great range of high-end ultrabooks, as well as affordable devices and Chromebooks as well. Lenovo’s well known for making solidly-built business laptops (and some great 2-in-1 laptops as well), and HP’s also been making some gorgeous laptops recently that are some of the best laptops in the world.
When it comes to gaming, the best laptop brands include Alienware, Asus and Acer.
How much RAM does a laptop need? RAM (Random Access Memory) is an important specification to look for in a laptop. You’ll want 4GB at the very least for a Windows laptop – though we’d actually recommend for many people to go for 8GB. That will ensure that the laptop runs well for years to come. Budget Chromebooks can get away with less RAM, such as 1GB or 2GB.
Battery life considerations Finally there’s battery life. This is likely to be one of the most important considerations you have when choosing what laptop to buy. The best laptops need to be able to let you work – and play – for hours on end without you having to scramble for a power adapter. Modern laptops are getting ever more power-efficient, which has led to longer battery lives. For a laptop to be included in our best laptops list, it needs to offer a battery life of five hours or more.
What to look for
Battery life: The best thing about laptops is that they allow you to break free from your desk and use them almost anywhere – which is why checking the battery life is essential. For pure battery life, Chromebooks are the best laptops you can buy – but Apple’s latest MacBooks with M1, M2 and brand-new M3 chips come close, offering well over 10 hours of battery life. Meanwhile, gaming laptops usually sacrifice battery life for performance instead.
Performance: When looking to buy the best laptop for your needs, you should consider the performance a potential purchase offers. You don’t want to be stuck with a laptop that starts lagging after a few years. For Windows laptops, look to get one with a modern 14th generation (or 13th) Intel processor, or AMD Ryzen 7000 series. With a MacBook, go for an M1, M2 or new M3 model – which are Apple’s powerful chips made specially for its laptops.
You should also go for a minimum of 8GB of RAM, though 16GB is more future-proof. Recently, Microsoft suggested that 16GB of RAM would be the minimum requirement for the next generation of ‘AI laptops’. For Chromebooks, however, 4GB of RAM is fine.
Which type of laptop is best for you?
General laptops: Where the best cheap laptops are found, devices that focus more on practicality than style, portability or power. That’s not to say they can’t be fast, but you’ll typically find a non-Ultrabook clamshell laptop with an HD screen and spinning drive-based storage for less than $600 or £400.
Ultrabooks: Where you’ll find thin-and-light notebooks sporting SSD storage and display resolutions that exceed 1080p. Paired with powerful, albeit mobile-centric components and especially long battery life, the best Ultrabooks will cost a pretty penny – $700 or £500 to $2,000 or £1,800.
2-in-1 laptops: The best 2-in-1 laptops double as tablets and are outfitted with both detachable and 360-degree rotating hinges, these hybrids are the most versatile way to experience Windows 10 (or Chrome OS) on a touchscreen.
Chromebooks: The best Chromebooks, running Chrome OS, do much of what Windows and macOS can in the browser, focused on cloud storage over local, while recently getting Android app support for touchscreen models. They generally cost less than $300 or £200 and some can even withstand a slight tussle.
Gaming laptops: Need a laptop to play games (almost) just like a shiny desktop PC can? Then you’ll want one of the best gaming laptops. These machines generally cost from $800 or £600 to upwards of $3,000 or £2,800 and they’ll likely be the ones to take advantage of AMD’s laptop-grade Ryzen processors first. If you’re really on a budget, then you can check out the best cheap gaming laptop deals.
Laptop-tablet hybrids: Designed from the tablet-first approach to laptop-tablet hybrids, the best Windows tablets pack beyond-HD touchscreens, sometimes with kickstands in their frames or provided via keyboard covers. These generally shine with a stylus and range from the budget to the premium price ranges.
How we tested these laptops
How we test the best laptops
Why you can trust TechRadar
We spend hours testing every product or service we review, so you can be sure you’re buying the best. Find out more about how we test.
Why you can trust TechRadar
✅ More than 1,800 laptops, Chromebooks and MacBooks reviewed
✅ 15 years of product testing
✅ Over 16,000 products reviewed in total
✅ Nearly 200,000 hours testing tech
We understand that a new laptop is a significant investment, so each laptop on our list has been thoroughly tested by our team (read more on how we test laptops). We integrate these laptops into our daily routines to evaluate their performance comprehensively, in addition to running industry standard benchmarks like GeekBench, PCMark, 3DMark, and the latest PC gaming benchmarks.
Our assessment includes examining a laptop’s design, with special attention paid to the aesthetics, portability, and overall comfort for everyday use. We also consider any additional accessibility and security features like haptic feedback, key backlighting, fingerprint scanning or facial recognition, and physical privacy shutters for the built-in webcam.
On the performance side, we use a combination of real-world tasks and synthetic benchmarks to determine the laptops’ capabilities. We test all laptops in a given model year using the same benchmark versions to ensure consistent comparisons across reviews for the laptops you might be considering. And since benchmark scores can sometimes be difficult to interpret, we leverage our expertise to explain these scores for you to help you compare the performance of competing laptops in easy-to-understand terms.
Battery life is another critical factor we measure. We track how long we can use each laptop before needing to recharge. Additionally, we perform our own battery life test, which involves looping a 1080p movie until the battery depletes, a proprietary web surfing script, and the PC Mark 10 battery life benchmark, which simulates real-world usage such as web browsing and document creation. These tests provide us with a clear understanding of the battery longevity for each laptop.
Finally, we consolidate all our findings and compare them to the laptop’s price, determining if it offers the best value for customers.
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