Best laptops for coding & programming 2022: upgrade your hardware this Black Friday
If you want to tackle coding and programming tasks then you need a good laptop to get the job done. And with Black Friday 2022 approaching, there's rarely a better time to buy.
Black Friday 2022 falls on November 25, and it's one of the year's key shopping dates. Every big retailer will offer top-notch discounts on the best laptops for coding and programming, and the best deals appear on Black Friday and the surrounding weekend – so if you concentrate on those key dates then you're sure to make stunning savings.
It's no good buying without doing your research, though, because you'll probably spend too much on a laptop that just isn't suitable - some of the fantastic devices in our best laptops for students guide will be rubbish for coding, and vice versa.
There's plenty to consider if you want a top-tier coding or programming laptop: it needs a powerful processor, plenty of memory, reliable connectivity and a great screen. It's also worth thinking about battery life and portability if you're going to work on the road – and you need to ensure that any new coding laptop has a comfortable keyboard.
It's undoubtedly a lot to think about, which is why we've picked out ten of the best laptops for coding and programming. The rigs we've chosen can satisfy every budget and every programming task, and if you buy around Black Friday and Cyber Monday then you'll get a great deal alongside an excellent new notebook.
We've got plenty of other coding content, too, including an explanation of the difference between coding and programming and a guide to the best online coding courses .
Black Friday coding laptop deals
(opens in new tab) MacBook Pro 16 - was $2699, now $2199 at Best Buy (opens in new tab) Save $500 on Apple’s most powerful 16" MacBook. The large screen and powerful hardware make it ideal for coding and programming tasks.
(opens in new tab) MacBook Air M2 - was $1199, now $1049 at Best Buy (opens in new tab) Save $150 on Apple’s latest MacBook Air M2. It's powerful, portable, and comes with 3 months of Apple TV, 4 months of Apple Music, and iCloud Plus.
Best laptops for coding & programming
(Image credit: Future)
1. Apple MacBook Pro 16-inch (2021) The best laptop for coding and programming. Specifications CPU: Apple M1 Pro chip 10-core GPU: Integrated 16-core GPU RAM: 16GB, 32GB, 64GB Storage: 512GB, 1TB, 2TB, 4TB, 8TB Screen size: 16-inch Liquid Retina XDR 3456 x 2234 display Weight: 4.7 lbs (2.1kg) Dimensions: 14.01 x 9.77 x 0.66in (358 x 284 x 17mm) Today's Best Deals View at Amazon (opens in new tab) View at Best Buy (opens in new tab) View at Walmart (opens in new tab) Reasons to buy + Huge programming power + Fantastic high-resolution display + Brilliant keyboard Reasons to avoid - Expensive
Professionals have long favored Apple’s machines, and that remains true with the MacBook Pro 16 – it ticks every box required for high-end programming.
Apple’s 10-core M1 Pro processor is a powerhouse. Combine that with the 32GB of memory and the 16-core graphics chip and you’ve got a machine that will handle any programming situation, from complex coding and compiling to running virtual machines. The battery easily lasts a full day, too.
The Liquid Retina XDR is sensational. Its 3456 x 2234 native resolution and 1000-nit brightness level means everything looks gorgeous, and you’ve got the width and on-screen space to spread work around.
The keyboard is crisp and comfortable, so it’s well-suited for all-day typing, and this machine has an SD card slot, three Thunderbolt ports and Magsafe power connectivity. It looks superb, and it’s got rock-solid build quality.
Downsides are minimal. Some people won’t like the camera notch, and the MacBook is a little heavier than many other productivity portables. There’s no HDMI 2.1. It’s expensive, too: the model we reviewed costs $2,899/£2,799. Pricing starts at $2,499/£2,399, and the cost can easily soar beyond $3,000/ £3,000.
This is the sort of laptop that will last for years, though, and it’s an unbeatable programming machine.
(Image credit: Future)
2. Dell XPS 15 (9510) The best Windows laptop for coding and programming. Specifications CPU: Intel Core i7-11800H/Core i9-11900H GPU: Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050/3050 Ti RAM: 16GB, 32GB, 64GB Storage: 512GB, 1TB, 2TB Screen size: 15.6-inch 1920 x 1200 IPS, 3840 x 2400 IPS, or 3456 x 2160 OLED Weight: 3.9 – 4.3 lbs (1.8 – 1.96kg) Dimensions: 13.5 x 9 x 0.7 in (345 x 230 x 18mm) Today's Best Deals View at Dell (opens in new tab) View at Amazon (opens in new tab) View at Walmart (opens in new tab) Reasons to buy + Plenty of power and customization + Great screen options + A good keyboard and robust design Reasons to avoid - Moderate battery life - Expensive
Dell’s XPS machines are the firm’s answer to Apple’s MacBook Pro, so it’s no surprise that the Dell XPS 15 is impressive. It looks fantastic, with a robust aluminum body, and its keyboard is comfortable and fast – ideal for long days of typing.
On the inside, the XPS is available with Intel Core i7 and Core i9 processors. Both are excellent: the Core i7 chip can easily tackle most mainstream programming situations, while the Core i9 part is well-suited to running virtual machines and emulated environments too.
It’s easy enough to upgrade this machine with more memory and storage, and you even get a modest Nvidia GPU for extra graphical grunt in content-creation tools. And while the Dell XPS 15 is not cheap, prices start at £1,999 / $2,299 for a notebook with a high-resolution screen, so it’s more affordable than a MacBook.
The XPS is available with three screens: two IPS models and one OLED panel. For programming, we’d recommend the higher-resolution IPS or OLED displays, which are both excellent. They’ve got 16:10 aspect ratios, which deliver extra vertical space, and the slightly wayward color accuracy doesn’t impact on programming.
Elsewhere, the XPS 15 has enough battery life to make it through your working day. And while it does have a couple of Thunderbolt ports and an SD card slot, there’s no HDMI output and no full-size USB connectivity.
(Image credit: Future)
3. Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 Best laptop for programming on the go Specifications CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 4980U/Intel Core i7-1185G7 GPU: AMD Radeon integrated/Intel Iris Xe integrated RAM: 8GB, 16GB, 32GB Storage: 256GB, 512GB, 1TB Screen size: 15-inch 2496 x 1664 touch IPS (13.5-inch version also available) Weight: 3.4 lbs (1.54kg) Dimensions: 13.3 x 9.6 x 0.57in (340 x 244 x 14.7mm) Today's Best Deals View at Best Buy (opens in new tab) View at Walmart (opens in new tab) View at Amazon (opens in new tab) Reasons to buy + Fantastic battery life + Excellent AMD processors + Great keyboard and solid display Reasons to avoid - No dedicated GPU options
The Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 is a great laptop for programming if you want a stylish, lightweight device with great battery life and a touchscreen.
The 15-inch version is our preferred choice, and there’s lots to like: the 3:2 display has a high resolution, impressive quality, and top-notch compatibility with Microsoft’s excellent Surface Pen.
The soft keyboard is comfortable, and the exterior is robust enough to handle life on the road. The Surface’s body is only 14.7mm thick and it only weighs 1.54kg, so it’s lighter than most 15-inch productivity laptops, and its battery life stretches beyond twelve hours. The only downside is a lack of ports.
On the inside, the 15-inch model comes with AMD Ryzen 7 and Intel Core i7 processors. They’re low-power chips, but they can still handle mainstream processing. The AMD chip is better than the Intel part, so stick with that, and bear in mind that there’s no dedicated graphics.
Prices start at a reasonable $899/£799 for the 13.5-inch base model, though we'd recommend you go for the 15-inch AMD Ryzen 7 configuration which will set you back a bit more at $1,699/£1,649, so the Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 is cheaper than its beefier rivals. It’s great if you need programming power away from the house.
(Image credit: HP)
4. HP Envy x360 13 Best budget laptop for coding Specifications CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5600U/Ryzen 7 5800U/Intel Core i5-1135G7/i7-1165G7 GPU: AMD Radeon integrated/Intel Iris Xe integrated RAM: 8GB/16GB Storage: 256GB/512GB Screen size: 13.3-inch 1920 x 1080 IPS touch Weight: 2.9 lbs (1.32kg) Dimensions: 12.1 x 7.6 x 0.64in (306 x 194 x 16.4mm) Today's Best Deals View at HP (US) (opens in new tab) View at Walmart (opens in new tab) View at Amazon (opens in new tab) Reasons to buy + Consistently affordable + Good AMD and Intel processing options + All-day battery life Reasons to avoid - No high-resolution screen options
The HP Envy x360 13 is the cheapest machine in this round-up, with prices that almost always duck under $1,000/£1,000. For that money you can pick from a wide array of AMD and Intel processors, but we’d always recommend AMD Ryzen 7 chips with 16GB of memory – those are superb choices for programming, even if full-power laptop chips offer a bit more pace.
The HP is the only convertible in this group, too, adding another dimension to this notebook. Swing its 360-degree hinge around and use the included stylus and you can deploy this machine as a tablet.
The HP’s lightweight body and 13.3-inch display means it’s easy to carry this machine around, and it has a reasonable port selection and a fast, comfortable keyboard. You’ll get between nine and eleven hours of battery life, so it’ll last through most working days.
Bear in mind, though, that the lower price does mean some compromises. You can’t go beyond 16GB of memory or 512GB of SSD space, and there’s no discrete graphics. And while the 1080p display is fine for everyday programming, it’s easily bettered elsewhere.
Despite that, there’s loads to like: the Envy is affordable, well-built, and fast enough for mainstream programming, so it’s a great mid-range choice.
(Image credit: Apple)
5. Apple MacBook Pro 13-inch A travel-friendly MacBook for coding and programming. Specifications CPU: Apple M1 chip 8-core GPU: Integrated 8-core GPU RAM: 8GB, 16GB Storage: 256GB, 512GB, 1TB, 2TB Screen size: 13.3-inch Retina 2560 x 1600 display Weight: 3 lbs (1.4kg) Dimensions: 11.97 x 8.36 x 0.61in (304 x 212 x 15.6mm) Today's Best Deals View at Woot! (opens in new tab) View at Apple (opens in new tab) Check Amazon (opens in new tab) Reasons to buy + Slim, light and sturdy exterior + Superb M1 processor + Bright, high-resolution screens Reasons to avoid - Limited port selection
The Apple MacBook Pro’s 16-inch model might be our favorite programming portable, but its smaller stablemate is fantastic too – especially if you need to code on the road.
The MacBook Pro 13 only weighs 1.4kg and it’s slim, so you’ll barely notice it in your bag. On the inside, Apple’s smallest MacBook Pro has an M1 chip with eight cores, and it’s an excellent bit of silicon with ample power for mainstream programming workloads. It compiles quickly, it’s a capable multi-tasker, and it’s especially good for Mac OS and iOS developers.
Apple’s 13.3-inch display has a 2560 x 1600 resolution, which means crisp imagery for programming tasks, and it’s got bright, bold colors. Fifteen-hour battery life means you can program for your working day and both commutes. This machine has a comfortable keyboard, and the customizable Touch Bar adds another layer of usefulness.
This smaller MacBook Pro isn’t available with more than 16GB of memory, so high-end programmers may look elsewhere. Connectivity is limited, too – this notebook only a headphone jack and a couple of Thunderbolt ports.
Those issues and the MacBook’s size mean it won’t work as a main machine for most programmers, but it can tackle programming on the road – so it’s an ideal secondary option. If you want the 16GB model, prepare to pay at least $1,499/£1,499.
(Image credit: Apple)
6. Apple MacBook Air M1 A cheaper alternative for MacBook fans Specifications CPU: Apple M1 chip 8-core GPU: Integrated 8-core GPU RAM: 8GB, 16GB Storage: 256GB, 512GB, 1TB, 2TB Screen size: 13.3-inch Retina 2560 x 1600 display Weight: 2.8 lbs (1.29kg) Dimensions: 11.97 x 8.36 x 0.63in (304 x 212 x 16mm) Today's Best Deals View at Amazon (opens in new tab) View at Amazon (opens in new tab) View at Verishop (opens in new tab) Reasons to buy + Incredibly slim and light + Powerful M1 processor + Bright, crisp display Reasons to avoid - Limited connectivity - So-so battery life
There’s always a more extreme choice if you want a lightweight laptop for programming on the move: The Apple MacBook Air. This notebook only weighs 1.29kg and it’s barely half an inch thick, so it’s never going to weigh you down.
Remarkably, Apple has still found room inside the Air for an M1 processor. That’s impressive – combine that with 16GB of memory and you’ve got the power to handle any mainstream programming task, even if the fanless design here means that the MacBook Pro 13 maintains high-end speeds for longer.
The reliably quick internals are paired with a responsive keyboard and a typically great screen. The 13.3-inch diagonal might not deliver loads of space, but the 2560 x 1600 resolution means everything is crisp. Expect eleven hours of battery life from this machine.
Apple’s slimmest machine is tiny, powerful, and robust. For a 16GB model you’ll have to pay £1,199 / $1,199, so it’s not ruinously expensive either. Negatively, you can’t make big memory upgrades, and the Air only has two Thunderbolt ports.
Still, the Air is a top choice if you want a powerful programming laptop that’s as light as possible. Be aware, though, that the MacBook Pro 13 has better battery life and more storage upgrade options, and is only slightly larger
(Image credit: Future)
7. Alienware x14 Small, light and powerful, this is ideal for coding on the move. Specifications CPU: Intel Core i5-12500H / Core i7-12700H GPU: Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 / RTX 3050 Ti / RTX 3060 graphics RAM: 16 GB / 32 GB Storage: 512 GB, 1 TB, 2 TB, 4 TB Screen size: 14 in, 1920 x 1080 IPS Weight: 3.94 lbs (1.79 kg) Dimensions: 12.6 x 10.35 x 0.57 in (322 x 263 x 14.5 mm) Today's Best Deals View at Best Buy (opens in new tab) View at Dell (opens in new tab) Check Amazon (opens in new tab) Reasons to buy + Compact, sturdy and light + Impressive processing power + Crisp keyboard Reasons to avoid - Mediocre battery life - Small trackpad - Relatively expensive in some configurations
The Alienware x14 is a gaming laptop, but don’t let that put you off if you need a small notebook for coding – it’s sturdy and enormously powerful.
It’s equipped with impressive Intel Core i5-12500H or i7-12700H processors – the former is well-suited for mainstream coding while the latter handles tougher jobs – and can be configured with large SSDs and either 16 GB or 32 GB of memory.
Alienware’s rig has a fast, crisp keyboard and its sturdy chassis has Thunderbolt 4 ports, full-size USB connectors and a microSD card slot. Its webcam has Windows Hello facial recognition, and the entire device weighs just 3.94 lbs (1.79 kg) and is 0.57 in (14.5 mm) thick – so it won’t take up much space.
The 1080 p display isn’t large, but it has ample quality for indoor and outdoor work and a 144 Hz refresh rate for gaming – a fine partner for an Nvidia GeForce GPU.
The Alienware’s gaming pedigree does mean you get middling battery life – expect five hours. The trackpad isn’t very big. And the x14 isn’t cheap, either: the entry-level models cost $1,499 / £1,549, but you’ll have to pay at least $1,599 / £1,905 for a Core i7 processor.
There’s always a price on compact design, though, and if you’ve got the cash then the Alienware x14 delivers great programming performance in a small, sturdy design.
(Image credit: HP)
8. HP Spectre x360 16 A versatile, capable coding machine with an incredible OLED display. Specifications CPU: Intel Core i7 12700H / Intel Core i7 1260P GPU: Intel Iris Xe graphics / Intel Arc A370M RAM: 16 GB / 32 GB Storage: 512 GB, 1 TB, 2 TB Screen size: 15.6 in, 1920 x 1080 IPS Weight: 4.4 lbs (2 kg) Dimensions: 14.01 x 10 x 0.79 in (356 x 254 x 20.3 mm)(WxDxH) Today's Best Deals View at Walmart (opens in new tab) View at Walmart (opens in new tab) Check Amazon (opens in new tab) Reasons to buy + Decent Core i7 power for mainstream coding + All-day battery life and a good keyboard + Surprisingly affordable + Gorgeous display Reasons to avoid - More processing power available elsewhere - Convertible chassis will be overkill for some programmers
The Spectre is one of the best-looking laptops we’ve seen for ages, and it’s got a specification to match its stunning alloy exterior.
The good-looking, robust chassis contains a 16 in OLED touchscreen that delivers incredible quality alongside a 4K-busting resolution. The convertible design means this rig can work as a laptop, tented screen or tablet – and the HP comes with a top-notch stylus.
Those features add versatility, and there’s plenty to like elsewhere. The keyboard is fantastic, the rig has Thunderbolt ports, a microSD slot and an HDMI 2.1 output, and its excellent 5 mp webcam ensures video call clarity. The HP has a fingerprint reader, a battery that lasts all day and a chassis that weighs 2 kg, which is a good figure for a 16 in notebook.
On the inside, the combination of Intel’s Core i7-1260P processor and A370M GPU is ideal for most coding tasks, although it won’t cope with the toughest programming situations.
That’s a reasonable compromise when this rig costs around $1,500 / £1,500, though – that’s a tremendous price for a 16-inch OLED convertible with so many upsides. If you want a programming portable with a slice of creative versatility, you’re in luck.
(Image credit: Future)
9. Lenovo Legion 5i Pro Loads of power inside a robust, sleek chassis with a good keyboard – an ideal coding companion Specifications CPU: Intel Core i7-12700H / Core i9-12900H GPU: Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 Ti / RTX 3060 / RTX 3070 / RTX 3070 Ti RAM: 16 GB / 32 GB Storage: 512 GB, 1 TB, 2 TB Screen size: 16 in, 2560 x 1600 IPS Weight: 5.4 lbs (2.49 kg) Dimensions: 14.7 x 10.4 x 1.05 in (360 x 264 x 27 mm) Today's Best Deals View at Walmart (opens in new tab) View at Lenovo USA (opens in new tab) Check Amazon (opens in new tab) Reasons to buy + Impressive performance levels + Surprisingly low prices + Good-looking chassis with great keyboard + Large, high-resolution display Reasons to avoid - Case is pretty large and heavy - Mediocre battery life
Gaming laptops are often the best choices for portable programming, and with good reason – as the Lenovo demonstrates. Intel’s Core i7-12700H is one of the best mobile workhorses around and it’ll pound through any coding task.
Every version of the Legion includes Nvidia graphics, at least 16 GB of memory and a fast SSD, so you’ve got enough power for after-hours gaming, content creation and anything else. It’s never particularly hot or loud, and its subtle exterior means it’s comfortable in offices and LAN parties.
There are other areas where this rig makes sense for coders. The 16in display is a large, high-quality unit with a high resolution, so you’ve got plenty of space for spreading windows around, and you get a solid keyboard, plenty of ports and both wired and wireless connectivity.
The Legion isn’t perfect. There are no biometric sign-in options, and it weighs 5.4 lbs (2.49 kg) so it’s pretty heavy. Push the battery and the Lenovo only lasts for a couple of hours – at best, you’ll get through until lunchtime.
The Core i7 CPU, big screen and decent design deliver impressive coding power, though, and the Lenovo Legion 5i Pro Gen 7 doesn’t break the bank – it starts at $1,329 / £1,699. Core an i7-12700H notebook, that’s a great price.
(Image credit: Future)
10. CrowPi-L A fun, educational option for anyone who wants to learn about electronics and coding. Specifications CPU: Raspberry Pi 4B GPU: Raspberry Pi 4B RAM: 4 GB Storage: MicroSD Screen size: 11.6-inch, 1366 x 768 IPS Weight: 2.4 lbs (1.1 kg) Dimensions: 11.4 x 7.4 x 1.8 in (291 x 190 x 46 mm)(WxDxH) Today's Best Deals View at Amazon (opens in new tab) Reasons to buy + Surprisingly easy to build + A great educational tool + Pretty cheap Reasons to avoid - Small, low-resolution screen - Underwhelming speakers, camera and microphone - Only suitable for basic tasks
You might not consider the CrowPi-L for coding, but if you want to start programming (and electronic tinkering in general), there are few better options.
Open the box and you'll see loads of parts – but the build process is pretty easy. When the rig is assembled, you’ll have an 11.6 in laptop that’s reminiscent of a netbook. Despite the tiny size you get a decent slate of features: there are several full-size USB ports, a USB-C charging port, a GPIO adapter socket and a microSD card slot. The keyboard is superb and you’ll get about six hours of usage from the battery.
There are negatives. The 11.6 in display is tiny and has a low resolution, and the speakers, camera and microphone are all poor.
The pricing situation needs explaining, too. The basic CrowPi-L costs just $239 and it’s $299 if you include the Crowtail kit, which contains 22 extra modules. Neither includes the actual Raspberry Pi, though – adding that costs $131. In the UK, the basic kit is just £229, but it costs £409 if you want the Crowtail kit and Raspberry Pi included. And, because it’s a Raspberry Pi, don’t expect benchmark-breaking speed.
The low-power Raspberry Pi, build-your-own design and compact size mean the CrowPi isn’t suitable for everyone. But if you (or your kids) want to learn about electronics and coding, this is a great buy.
Best budget laptops in 2022
If you’re on a budget but need a new laptop, there’s never been a better time to buy. As recently as last year, you just couldn’t get a cheap laptop that didn’t have a few glaring flaws: a low-res, washed-out screen; mushy keyboard; janky trackpad; underpowered processor; not enough memory; terrible battery life or an achingly slow mechanical hard drive. But right now you can get a good Windows laptop or Chromebook with a fast processor, plenty of memory, a blazing-fast SSD and a high-quality display — hardly any caveats at all — for less than $500.
We tested seven leading Windows laptops and Chromebooks to find the best cheap laptops. Sure, you can get a (much) nicer laptop for more money, but the price of entry for a decent experience has never been lower. And now’s the time to buy: Prices are low as manufacturers sell through their current stock, but they will probably go up this summer.
Dell Inspiron 14 Best budget Windows laptop overall Dell The Inspiron 14 has all-day battery life, enough power to chew through schoolwork or office tasks, an excellent keyboard and trackpad and a good (but dim) screen. It even includes nice-to-haves like a webcam cover and a more-useful USB-C port (it supports both charging and video out) than its competition From $500 at Dell
Acer Aspire 5 (A514-54-501Z) A great budget laptop with more power, but fewer features Walmart The Aspire 5 has a faster processor and more ports than the Dell, and its screen is brighter, but it’s bigger, heavier, doesn’t feel as nice to type on and lacks convenient features like USB-C charging and USB-C video out, among other things. $435 at Walmart
Lenovo Chromebook Flex 5i (13-Inch) Best budget Chromebook Amazon The Flex 5i’s Intel Core i3 processor and 8GB of RAM make it more powerful than most budget Chromebooks, and it has a 360-degree hinge, a great keyboard and trackpad and decent speakers, though it only got about 5.5 hours of battery life in our testing. $360 $318 at Amazon
Best budget laptop overall: Dell Inspiron 14
Dell Inspiron 14 Nathan Edwards/CNN Underscored
Key specs (as tested): OS: Windows 11 Home
Form Factor: Clamshell
Display: 14-inch 1920 x 1080, anti-glare, non-touch WVA panel
Processor: Intel Core i3-1125G4
RAM: 8GB DDR4/3200
Storage: 256GB PCIe NVMe SSD
Size and weight: 12.65 x 8.4 x .71 inches, 3.22 pounds
Ports: 2x USB-A 3.2 Gen 1 (5Gbps), USB-C 3.2 Gen 2x2 with DisplayPort and Power Delivery, HDMI 1.4, 3.5mm combo audio, microSD
The Dell Inspiron 14 has the best combination of power, battery life, usability and features — and the fewest major flaws — of any sub-$500 laptop we found. It has surprisingly powerful guts, an excellent keyboard and trackpad, a serviceable screen, all-day battery life and pretty good build quality. It even has a fingerprint reader, sliding webcam cover and a USB-C port that supports power delivery and video output, which is rare in this price range. There’s room for improvement almost everywhere — the screen’s a bit dim, the chassis flexes a bit and the speakers could use some oomph, but we didn’t hate any part of it, especially for $500.
An 11th-generation Intel Core i3 CPU (four cores, eight threads) and 8GB of RAM means the Inspiron 14 will be able to handle normal office or school multitasking much more effectively than any cheap laptop from a couple of years ago, and the 256GB SSD is fast and big enough that you won’t run out of space right away. These are the same basic guts as a $1,400 Dell XPS 13. The XPS 13 is smaller, lighter, fancier and has a much nicer screen, but you can get a $500 laptop that’s as powerful as a $1,400 laptop — something inconceivable even a year or two ago. I regularly juggled 30-40 browser tabs, Slack, Spotify and several other open programs without a hitch, though the CPU fan did spin up audibly sometimes. The integrated graphics can handle the occasional light photo or video editing work, but don’t expect to run modern games.
The 14-inch, 1920 x 1080 WVA display is competent but not amazing; that alone is a victory at this price. That size and resolution combo are good for getting work done, especially in side-by-side windows, without blurry text. Like most cheap laptops, the color gamut is limited and backlighting is a bit dim; even at peak brightness (which Dell claims is 250 nits) it was a little underpowered in a bright room. The Acer Aspire 5 is a little better and the Lenovo Chromebook Duet 5’s 400-nit OLED panel outclasses it in every way, but compared to the low-res, washed-out screens on many cheap laptops, the Inspiron’s is a relief.
Homing bars make the down arrow and Esc key easier to find by feel. Nathan Edwards/CNN Underscored
The keyboard has well-separated, backlit keys with a nice tactile snap, just a hint of texture and about a millimeter of travel. The backlighting has two settings, neither of which is particularly bright, but they do help with legibility in a dim room. The fingerprint reader built into the top-right power button works, but doesn’t always read the fingerprint the first time. The Precision trackpad is large and accurate, with a decent click and good multi-touch gesture support. Much like a bad screen, a mushy keyboard or inaccurate trackpad will frustrate you every time you use it, and the Inspiron 14 dodges those bullets too.
That trackpad click does reveal a weakness in overall build quality: if you pick the Inspiron up by the corner while the lid is open—say, when moving from room to room—the bottom chassis flexes enough to click the trackpad on its own. If you’re not trying to use the laptop while walking around, you may never notice, but I did.
The Inspiron 14’s USB-C 3.2 Gen 2x2 port supports DisplayPort output and USB Power Delivery, so it can receive power and data and send a video signal to a USB-C monitor all with the same cable. Nathan Edwards/CNN Underscored
The Inspiron 14 has fewer ports than other Windows laptops in its price range: HDMI, microSD, combo audio, an AC power input, two 5Gbps USB-A ports and a single USB-C 3.2 Gen 2x2 port with DisplayPort and Power Delivery. Offering a single USB-C port isn’t unusual, but the Dell’s USB-C port is unusually powerful for a $500 laptop. Unlike the USB-C ports in the Acer and Asus laptops we tested, this one supports DisplayPort video out and power in, which means that with a compatible monitor you can charge the laptop, send video and audio and use the monitor’s USB and Ethernet ports, all with a single cable.
The 720p webcam is good enough. The resolution and image quality won’t impress anyone, but the microphones picked up much less room noise than the Asus Vivobook’s, and the webcam does have a sliding privacy cover. The bottom-firing speakers have a bit more presence than the top-firing speakers on some of the other laptops we tested. They’re still a bit tinny and compressed on the high end, and lacking bass on the low end, like everything we tested, but they’re tolerable if you don’t have headphones around.
The Inspiron 14 ships with Windows 11 Home in S mode, a locked-down version of Windows that only lets you install apps from the App Store and only lets you browse using Microsoft Edge. This is easy to disable if you want to use whichever apps you want, so it isn’t a dealbreaker
If you’d like a little more power, more ports and a bit brighter screen, and don’t mind trading battery life, portability, keyboard backlighting and some USB-C functionality, the Acer Aspire 5, below, is another great choice, but we think for most users the Dell’s longer battery life and better overall usability will make more sense.
A great budget laptop with more power, but fewer features: Acer Aspire 5 (A514-54-501Z)
Acer Aspire 5 (A514-54-501Z) Nathan Edwards/CNN Underscored
Key specs (as tested) OS: Windows 11 Home
Form Factor: Clamshell
Display: 14-inch, 1920 x 1080, anti-glare, non-touch IPS panel
Processor: Intel Core i5-1135G7 with Iris Xe graphics
RAM: 8GB DDR4/3200
Storage: 256GB PCIe NVMe SSD
Size and weight: 12.9 x 8.8 x .71 inches, 3.75 pounds
Ports: 2x USB-A 3.2 Gen 1 (5Gbps), USB-C 3.2 Gen 1 (5Gbps), USB-A 2.0 (480Mbps), power, Ethernet, HDMI 2.0, combo audio
The Acer Aspire 5 (A514-54-501Z) is bigger and heavier than the Dell Inspiron 14, shorter on battery life and missing some features and creature comforts, but it has a brighter screen, more ports and a more powerful processor and graphics card, and it’s often cheaper. Which you should get depends on your priorities, but like the Inspiron 14, the big news here is how few annoyances you have to put up with for the price.
The 11th-gen Intel Core i5 processor has a higher maximum clock speed than the Core i3 on the Inspiron 14, and its Intel Iris Xe integrated graphics processor is more powerful than the basic UHD graphics on the Dell. This doesn’t make the Aspire 5 a gaming laptop, but it helps a bit for light photo or video editing, and the extra power will speed up CPU-intensive tasks.
The Aspire 5’s 1920 x 1080 non-touch IPS display gets a little brighter than the Inspiron 14’s WVA, which means less eye strain in bright rooms or outdoors. It has decent viewing angles and color reproduction. The Aspire’s Precision Trackpad is just as good as the Dell’s, and the Acer has more ports: HDMI, three USB-A ports, a USB-C port, a combo audio jack and an Ethernet port.
The brighter screen on the Acer Aspire 5 (rear) makes it easier to use than the Dell Inspiron 14 (front) in brightly-lit environments, such as outdoors. Nathan Edwards/CNN Underscored
The Aspire 5 can’t charge or output a video signal over USB-C like the Dell Inspiron 14. That means it can’t do the single-cable-connection thing with a USB-C monitor. Most Windows laptops under $500 can’t do this, however, and you can still use the Aspire 5 with an external monitor, of course. You just need to use its HDMI port and AC adapter, plus a third cable if your monitor has USB ports you want to use.
The Aspire 5 has an Ethernet port and one more USB 3.0 port than the Inspiron 14, but its USB-C port doesn’t support DisplayPort or Power Delivery. Nathan Edwards/CNN Underscored
The Aspire 5 weighs a half pound more than the Inspiron 14, it’s a bit wider and longer and it got around 6 hours of battery life in our tests compared to the Inspiron’s 8. Its keyboard isn’t backlit, the texture’s a bit less pleasant and typing isn’t as crisp. There’s no fingerprint reader or microSD card slot, and the webcam, an average performer like the Dell’s, doesn’t have a privacy cover. The fan comes on more often, and a bit more loudly. The lid doesn’t tilt back quite as far as the Dell’s, but the Dell’s isn’t great. A person above 6’ 2”, or one with a particularly long torso, won’t have an ideal viewing angle on either.
Like the Dell, the Aspire 5 ships with Windows 11. It comes with a bunch more bloatware, including a trial for Norton Antivirus, but that’s easy to disable and you can always use Windows’ built-in Reset tool for a clean slate.
For $399 (at press time), this really is a great deal.
Best budget Chromebook: Lenovo Chromebook Flex 5i (13-Inch)
Lenovo Chromebook Flex 5i Nathan Edwards/CNN Underscored
Key Specs: OS: Chrome OS
Form Factor: Laptop (360 hinge)
Display: 13.3-inch, 1920 x 1080 IPS, glossy, touchscreen
Processor: Intel Core i3-1135G7 (i3-1011U tested)
RAM: 8GB DDR4 (4GB DDR4 tested)
Storage: 64GB eMMC (tested)
Size and weight: 12.2 x 8.4 x .66 inches, 2.97 pounds
Ports: 2x USB-C 3.2 Gen 1 with DisplayPort and Power Delivery, 1x USB-A 3.2 Gen 1 (5Gbps), 3.5mm audio, microSD, Kensington lock slot
The Lenovo Chromebook Flex 5i is the best Chromebook under $500, largely because it doesn’t try to be anything other than a decent laptop that happens to run ChromeOS.
Most budget Chromebooks are hobbled by slow processors, so they start bogging down with under a dozen Chrome tabs — earlier, if you try to run Android apps alongside Chrome. The Flex 5i (and older Flex 5) use dual-core Intel Core i3 processors, so they can handle heavier workloads. The Flex 5 we tested, with 4GB of RAM, handled over two dozen Chrome tabs, Google Docs, the Slack web app and the Spotify Android app over the course of several workdays. Though it did occasionally choke, generally this only meant that the Spotify app crashed, or sometimes the Google Doc with this draft in it would crash and need to be reloaded. Note that we tested the Flex 5, with a 10th-generation processor and 4GB of RAM. The current Flex 5i model has an updated processor and 8GB of RAM. Get that if at all possible; Chrome is a memory hog.
The backlight on the Flex 5i’s IPS screen isn’t quite powerful enough to overcome glare in bright environments. Poor Oscar Isaac. Nathan Edwards/CNN Underscored
The 13.3-inch 1920 x 1080 IPS touchscreen is vibrant and has great viewing angles, unlike the washed-out 1366 x 768 screen on the HP Chromebook 14b-nb0010nr, but you’ll have to keep your expectations realistic. It doesn’t show as much detail in dark scenes as the matte screens on the Dell Inspiron 14 or Acer Aspire 5 Windows laptops, or the much better OLED display of the Lenovo Chromebook Duet 5. Like the budget Windows laptops, it’s not as bright as we’d like, and the glossy coating makes it much more prone to glare in bright environments.
The 360-degree hinge is occasionally useful for watching videos, or getting the keyboard out of the way so you can use a nicer one. It also just lets you tilt the screen farther back than many laptops can. That does mean more wobble when you tap the touchscreen, compared to the rock-solid feel of tablets with kickstands, but since ChromeOS is not a good tablet operating system, you’ll likely spend much more time using the keyboard and trackpad, which are much nicer than the ones on any detachable tablet.
The Flex 5i’s backlit keyboard is comfortable, with snappy key feedback and decent travel, and the trackpad is wide and accurate. Mostly they recede into the background, which is a relief; if you notice your keyboard and trackpad at all, it’s usually because they’ve messed up. Same with the 720p webcam: it’s comparable to all the others we tested, though it does include a privacy shutter. The speakers are above average: not much bass, and some compression on the high end, but we’ve heard (much) worse.
Chromebooks run Android apps now, but that doesn’t mean you should count on them for much. ChromeOS was developed for laptop hardware — Intel and AMD chipsets — but Android was designed for ARM, a whole different architecture. Many Android apps won’t run on Intel Chromebooks at all, but for use with ChromeOS itself, Intel-based machines like the Flex 5i just perform better. And we think you won’t really miss the access to Android apps, because then you won’t be disappointed when they don’t seem aware that they’re running on a laptop.
The extra power of the Intel chipset does come at the expense of battery life. Lenovo advertises up to 10 hours, but we generally got around 6 hours of work in with the screen at 80% brightness and music playing. You could probably go a full school or workday without charging, assuming you stay out of bright light and don’t inflict your music on the world around you. The Asus Chromebook Detachable CM3 and Lenovo Duet 5, which use (different) ARM-based chipsets, got closer to 10 hours each, though the CM3 was much less pleasant to use for that long.
The Flex 5 has two USB-C 3.2 Gen 1 ports, a USB-A 3.2 Gen 1 port, a microSD slot and a combo audio jack. Its 45W power brick ends in a USB-C connector, and it can charge from either port. It also supports single-cable charging, data and video transfer over USB-C, so you can connect it to a USB-C monitor and peripherals.
If you know you want a Chromebook (perhaps work or school requires it), the Flex 5i is the best choice under $500. Its Intel Core i3 processor lets you get more done at once, it comes with up to 8GB of RAM and a 128GB SSD and it doesn’t tempt you into trying to use it like a tablet by including a detachable keyboard or stylus.
Best budget 2-in-1 Chromebook: Lenovo Chromebook Duet 5 (13-Inch)
Lenovo Chromebook Duet 5 Nathan Edwards /CNN Underscored
Key Specs: OS: ChromeOS
Form Factor: Detachable
Display: 13.3-inch 1920 x 1080 OLED touchscreen
Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon SC7180
RAM: 4GB DDR4
Storage: 265GB eMMC
Size and weight: 12 x 7.4 x .62 inches, 2.6 pounds (with keyboard cover and rear cover)
Ports: 2x USB-C 3.2 Gen 1
The Lenovo Chromebook Duet 5 is a detachable two-in-one Chromebook with a bright and beautiful OLED screen, excellent battery life, good keyboard and trackpad and a surprisingly capable ARM-based Snapdragon processor. The Flex 5i is a better laptop — it’s better at running ChromeOS, which is the thing most people need from a Chromebook. But if screen quality and battery life matter more to you than ports, processing power or keyboard backlighting, the Duet 5 is a good choice.
The OLED screen on the Duet 5 is the brightest and most color-accurate we’ve ever seen on a laptop this inexpensive. With a DCI-P3 color gamut, it shows many more colors than the sRGB screens on the other laptops we tested. Its peak brightness, at 400 nits, is noticeably better than the Dell Inspiron 14 or Lenovo Flex 5i (around 250 nits) and the Acer Aspire 5 (around 300). It’s a much nicer screen for watching movies or playing games on, or just working in a bright room. The Duet 5 also gets around twice the battery life of the Flex 5i, at over 10 hours on a charge in normal workloads compared to 5.5 hours for the Flex.
The Duet 5’s OLED screen is brighter and more accurate than the display of the Flex 5 or any other budget laptop we tested. (More accurate displays often appear pink in photos.) Nathan Edwards / CNN Underscored
We expected the Snapdragon SC7180 processor and 4GB of RAM to struggle more than it did, but the Duet 5 handled two dozen Chrome tabs at once, including the Spotify and Slack web apps, and multiple Google docs. It’s good enough, but if you’re trying to get serious work done, you’ll reach the Duet 5’s limits much sooner than the Inspiron 14, Acer Aspire 5 or Flex 5i, with their Intel processors and twice as much RAM.
The Lenovo Duet 5 (top) is smaller than the Flex 5i, and .4 pounds lighter. Nathan Edwards/CNN Underscored
The keyboard and trackpad on the Duet 5 are much better than those on most detachables. The keys aren’t backlit, but they’re full-sized, aren’t mushy and have decent travel. Like most keyboard covers, the Duet 5’s attaches to the tablet with magnets and a set of pogo pins. Those magnets are strong. If you’re not careful, they can click together before the pins are aligned, leaving you with a non-working keyboard until you re-attach. But you probably won’t remove the keyboard much.
Like the Flex 5i, the Duet 5 can run some Android apps, but it’s rarely useful. Most Android apps don’t recognize standard keyboard shortcuts; many won’t install at all, and the ones that do are rarely optimized for a tablet screen. It’s best not to think of the Duet 5 as a tablet at all, but rather a laptop with a keyboard you can take off, if you want to use a separate keyboard and mouse, are trying to save space on an airplane tray table or you just want to use it to watch a movie.
The magnets that hold the kickstand cover are also too enthusiastic, and the cover can partially block the rear camera if you’re not careful. The kickstand makes the Duet 5 much more stable for touchscreen use than a standard laptop, but at the expense of table space. And that stability vanishes if you try to use the Duet 5 on your lap. Only the long-thighed need even try.
The Duet 5 has two USB-C ports, one on each side, and that’s it. It can charge from either using its included 30W USB-C charger and frankly too-short 3-foot USB-C cable. Both ports allow charging, DisplayPort output, and data transfer, so you can live the dongle life or connect to a USB-C monitor. There’s no headphone jack, either. The speakers are okay, though voices can sound muffled in songs with lots of high-hat or other treble noise.
How to shop for a budget laptop
Finding the best laptop under $500 used to be an exercise in futility, bounded on all sides by misery. It was about finding the least bad, most tolerable laptop and hoping it stayed available for a few weeks. Inevitably there would be a performance bottleneck — a slow hard drive, not enough memory or a not-quite-good-enough CPU — that would drag the whole thing down. But over the last couple of years, the inflection point has shifted, in particular as manufacturers have begun to clear inventory as supply chain problems have eased. A $350 laptop will probably still have a performance bottleneck or two, and probably a janky screen or keyboard, but at $400 you start being able to avoid both.
For Windows laptops, you should look for a 10th, 11th or 12th-generation Intel Core i3 or i5 or AMD Ryzen 5000-series processor, 8GB of DDR4 RAM and a 128GB or 256GB PCIe NVMe SSD. These are the same basic guts as a $1,000 ultrabook, and you can get them all in sub-$500 laptops now. Most Chromebooks with similar specs cost more, but you should still aim for a Core i3 processor and as much RAM as you can get; storage space isn’t as important in Chromebooks, so compromise there if you must.
The keyboard, trackpad and monitor are how you interact with the laptop, and if any of them suck you’ll be frustrated every time you use your computer. Look for a 1920 x 1080 LED-backlit screen, a keyboard with decent key travel (and backlighting, if you want that) and a Precision trackpad.
If you want to use an external monitor, keyboard and/or mouse, make sure the laptop has the ports you need for that. The Windows laptops we tested each had at least two USB-A ports and a video-out port, but some of the Chromebooks were USB-C only. Every laptop had at least one USB-C port, but many inexpensive ones don’t support DisplayPort Alternate Mode, so they can’t output a video signal over USB-C and won’t let you use a single USB-C cable to output video and charge simultaneously.
Who are Chromebooks and cheap Windows laptops good for?
Cheap laptops are great for students who need their own computers for homework or hybrid/remote learning. They’re also good for anyone who needs a personal computer — for household administration, research, correspondence, hobbies and so forth. Most people eventually run into tasks they can’t do (or can’t do easily or fast) on a smartphone or a tablet. There’s no substitute for a large screen, keyboard and mouse when you’re researching and writing an essay or creating a presentation, and some websites just don’t function properly on a smartphone.
Even if you have access to a work- or school-issued computer at home, you shouldn’t use it for personal tasks (for your own sake, not your school’s or employer’s). It’s better to keep your private information separate, and a dedicated computer is a great way to do it.
Chromebooks are easier to maintain than Windows laptops. They keep themselves up-to-date and backed up, and have fewer things that can go wrong—you’re much less likely to get viruses or accidentally download an app that turns your computer into a cryptocurrency mining rig.
While it’s no longer true that they can only do things you can do in the Chrome web browser, it’s still mostly true. Android app support just isn’t that useful yet, and though they can run Linux, that’s not helpful for most people. Still, you can do almost anything in the browser these days, including working with actual Office documents and even light photo and video editing. Unless you know you need specific Windows software or features, a Chromebook will do almost everything you need with less upkeep.
On the other hand, a $400 Windows laptop in 2022 will have a faster processor and more storage capacity than a Chromebook. It will work much better when there’s no Internet connection, and it will run a much wider and more powerful array of software, from the full versions of Microsoft Office and Adobe Creative Suite to decades’ worth of software and games. And, of course, you can use a web browser other than Chrome. But Windows laptops are more work to keep up-to-date and secure, and they include plenty of features that most people won’t ever use.
How we tested
Nathan Edwards/CNN Underscored
We called in the best-rated laptops under $500 that met our minimum hardware requirements. We updated each to the most recent version of its operating system; we disabled S Mode on Windows laptops that shipped with it and upgraded the ones that shipped with Windows 10 to Windows 11 — not so much to avoid Windows 10, which is fine, but to remove variables and make sure we were running the latest OS, as most users will likely upgrade eventually.
You can’t optimize for everything if you’re optimizing for price, but we focused on finding the most usable, least annoying laptops we could, and understanding their limitations.
We tested each laptop by using it for several days of regular productivity work: several dozen tabs in Chrome or Microsoft Edge, including many Google Docs and Sheets, Outlook 365, Gmail, Slack and Spotify. We also ran PCMark 10, GeekBench 5 and a looping–video battery rundown test on the Windows laptops, but frankly we got more out of the real-world use.
Beyond processing power and specs, we compared screen brightness, ports, keyboard feel, trackpad accuracy, size and weight, handfeel, build quality, webcam and mic performance, speakers, battery life, wireless capabilities, bloatware, even the power bricks — anything that changes how you interact with the laptop. A certain amount of suffering is inevitable in life but it shouldn’t be the default laptop experience.
Other laptops we tested
$450 $333 at Amazon (F515EA-AH34) or $400 at Walmart (F515EA-OS36)
The Asus Vivobook has a physically larger screen than the other laptops we tested, and its keyboard has a built-in number pad. But it’s bigger and less pleasant to cart around and had poor battery life in our testing, so we’d only recommend it if you need an inexpensive laptop with a number pad.
The Vivobook 15 has many variants under $500 with good-enough specs. We tested the F515EA-0S36, with an 11th-gen Intel Core i3-1115G4 CPU, 8GB of RAM, 256GB PCIe SSD and 15.6-inch 1080p anti-glare screen. It shipped with Windows 10 Home in S Mode; we disabled S Mode and upgraded it to Windows 11 for testing.
In our benchmarking and real-world use, the Vivobook 15 kept up with the Dell Inspiron 14 and Acer Aspire 5 in everything but battery life. Its 37 watt-hour, two-cell battery got about 4 hours to a charge; the Acer Aspire 5’s 3-cell got around 6 hours, and the Dell Inspiron got about 8 hours.
The 15.6-inch screen is physically larger than the screens on the other laptops we tested but has the same 1920 x 1080 resolution, so text and UI elements are a little larger and easier to see. It gets about as bright as the Acer Aspire 5, and a little brighter than the Dell. Like those screens, it has an anti-glare coating, so it’s easier to use in well-lit areas than a glossy screen, but doesn’t show as wide a range of colors as the OLED display on the Lenovo Chromebook Duet 5.
The backlit keyboard has firmer feedback than the Aspire 5, and is the only laptop we tested with a number pad (the Aspire 5 has a numpad layer, but you can’t use it at the same time as the regular keyboard layer). The precision trackpad worked well enough and has a fingerprint reader built in.
$370 at Amazon
The Asus Chromebook Detachable CM3 has a great screen, excellent battery life and surprisingly capable performance for the price, with an emphasis on “for the price.” If you absolutely can’t spend more than $350 and need a small laptop for school or basic productivity work, it’s a far better option than an iPad or the Surface Laptop SE or HP Stream, two sub-$300 Windows laptops around the same size. But if you spend a little more money on one or our picks you’ll have a much better time, and if you mostly want a good tablet, just get an iPad.
The CM3 isn’t a great laptop, but it’s a much better laptop than it is a tablet. The detachable keyboard and trackpad are cramped but usable, and ChromeOS does a much better job with multitasking and window management than iPadOS. The 10.5-inch, 1920 x 1200 display is high-res enough that you can have a Google Doc on one half of the screen and a webpage or another doc on the other, though you’ll probably revert to fullscreen before long.
Unfortunately, its ability as a multitasker is hampered by the MediaTek CPU, which can start struggling around the tenth Chrome tab, or as soon as you try to do anything with an Android app.
Like the Lenovo Chromebook Duet 5 we tested, the CM3’s keyboard snaps onto the edge of the Chromebook with magnets and communicates via physical pogo plugs. This confuses Chrome, which sometimes refused to pop up an on-screen keyboard when the physical one was detached, and other times wouldn’t stop popping up the on-screen keyboard when we were using the physical one.
A magnetic kickstand cover can hold the CM3 in portrait orientation, not just landscape, but we didn’t find this useful. The keyboard can’t connect in portrait mode and the included stylus is hard to get out of its holder and not intuitive to use once you do manage to free it. The CM3’s webcam, which is above the screen in landscape mode and on the right side in portrait, often failed to turn on at all.
$315 at Amazon
The HP Chromebook 14b-nb0010nr is almost great. It’s one of the few Chromebooks we found with an 11th-gen Core i5 processor, 8GB of RAM and a 128GB SSD for under $500 (at the time of testing). It has solid build quality and one more USB-A port than the Lenovo Flex 5i. Its backlit keyboard and large trackpad are excellent and pleasant to use, and it has a fingerprint reader. Unfortunately, the rest of the hardware is dragged down by the 1366 x 768 display, which is not just low-res, but also looks washed out except within a very narrow range of viewing angles. If you tilt the screen far enough back to see well, you’re mostly out of view of the webcam.
We look forward to testing the HP Chromebook x360 - 14ct-cc000, which has similar guts to the 14b, but adds a 360-degree hinge and 1920 x 1080 glossy screen like the Lenovo Flex 5i, which should address this Chromebook’s biggest weakness.
Best laptops 2022: the ultimate guide for all budgets
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The best laptops of 2022 is a list that wasn't easy to make. These mobile machines come in thousands of configurations and setups for different uses, ranging in power and performance to overall value. With a bit of research and testing, however, the laptops we've selected aim to provide the best experience for the money.
While our best choice may be the best fit for some, different people need different things from their laptop. So while you might find the powerful, sturdy, battery-rich Apple MacBook Air (M1, 2020) at the top of our list it may not be the best laptop for everyone.
For Back to School shoppers, there's a variety of MacBooks and other laptops to browse through. Many make some of the best student laptops available today, but they'll also run a pretty penny. Some sales are on the horizon which should feature discounts on MacBooks, so keep a clear eye out over the coming weeks. Some of the best MacBooks you'll find on our list may just get a decent price drop soon.
For that reason, we've covered a wide range of options in our ranking. Whether you're looking for the best Windows 10 laptop, a top-rated system running macOS Big Sur, or the streamlined and snappy ChromeOS, an everyday workhorse or pro-level performer, we have the best laptop to suit your needs right here.
Best laptops 2022
Why you can trust T3 Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about how we test.
(Image credit: Future)
1. Apple MacBook Air (M1, 2020) The best laptop for most people Specifications CPU: Apple M1 Graphics: Apple M1 RAM: 8GB Screen: 13.3-inch 2,560 x 1,600 pixel-resolution Retina display Storage: 256GB SSD Connectivity: 2 x Thunderbolt 4 / USB-C Camera: 720p FaceTime camera Weight: 2.8lbs Dimensions: 11.97 x 8.36 x 0.63 inches (W x D x H) Today's Best Deals View at Amazon (opens in new tab) View at (opens in new tab) View at John Lewis (opens in new tab) Reasons to buy + Astounding power + Excellent build quality + Sturdy, luxe design + Giant battery life Reasons to avoid - More ports would be nice - Webcam still not great - Some potential niche software compatibility issues
"The MacBook Air (M1) is a small revolution. As much power as you could need in a light and silent design, with giant battery life." – T3's Apple MacBook Air review (opens in new tab)
As our MacBook Air (M1, 2020) review explains, Apple's cheapest laptop is the start of a revolution. Think thin and light laptops have to sacrifice power? Not any more. Or that big performance means smaller battery life? Nope. Or that getting all of these things in one machine would be expensive? Wrong again. This is the best of all worlds.
It's all thanks to the M1 processor – the first Apple-made chip for Macs. It's an eight-core chip that's as powerful as what you find in the high-end MacBook Pros or gaming PCs, but uses a fraction of the power. Combined with the fastest storage in the business, this laptop is fast. But it also runs cool enough that it doesn't need any fans at all, so it's silent.
It's even got pretty solid graphics performance, playing games far more smoothly than anything else with an integrated GPU (though, being a Mac, the selection is more limited). And it can give you around 15 hours of battery life in real-world use (for things like light browsing) – a huge leap over previous Macs.
Comfort and usability are top-notch too – the keyboard and trackpad are excellent, it's a great size and weight to be portable, and the all-aluminum build is solid and feels premium. The sharp screen is also a pleasure to use, with a good level of brightness.
It's a shame that it only has two USB-C ports (which also must be used to power it), since that means you'll probably need adapters, but maybe you're all in on wireless and cloud already anyway. There can also be some issues with software compatibility with the new processor, but these tend to only be with really niche stuff, so won't be a worry for the vast majority of people.
The base specs of 256GB storage and 8GB of RAM may also be too little for some people, but you can upgrade and customize when you buy (though you can't add more after purchase, we should note).
As long as you can live without Windows, the MacBook Air is a laptop that balances portability and power without compromises.
The best laptop for most people? That's the Asus VivoBook S15. (Image credit: Future)
2. Asus VivoBook S15 The best Windows 10 laptop for most people Specifications CPU: Intel Core i5-10210U or Intel Core i7-10510U Graphics: Intel Iris Graphics RAM: 8GB Screen: 15.6-inch, 1,920 x 1,080 pixel resolution Storage: 256GB / 512GB / 1TB Today's Best Deals View at Laptops Direct (opens in new tab) Check Amazon (opens in new tab) Reasons to buy + Superb, vivid 15.6-inch screen + Very stylish and lightweight + Comfortable, eye-catching keyboard Reasons to avoid - Not the cheapest out there - Screen sticks to 1080p - 16:9 aspect ratio display
"The Asus VivoBook S15 doesn't excel in any one area – it excels in a whole bunch of them, from the internal specs to the external design. Whether it's the best laptop for you depends on your budget, but at this price we think this is a very difficult laptop to beat." – T3's Asus VivoBook S15 review (opens in new tab)
Wedded to Windows? The best mid-range Windows 10 laptop you can buy now is the Asus VivoBook S15. It's lightweight despite the 15.6-inch screen, it's stylish, and it wraps just about everything you could want in a laptop in one appealing package. The price is a little on the high side, but you do get a lot back for your money, including the latest 11th-gen Intel CPUs – i5 or i7 is the choice. Those chips will guarantee excellent performance without sucking up too much battery life, and unless you're wanting to play top-tier games or do some 4K video editing, this portable computer will cope with everything you've got to throw at it.
There are plenty of ports to play around with, and the fingerprint sensor built into the trackpad makes logging into Windows a breeze. Simply put, the Asus VivoBook S15 will be the perfect laptop for many users, combining a quality tech spec and everyday-versatile design at a very firmly mid-range price point.
(Image credit: Future)
3. Dell XPS 13 (2020) The best premium Windows 10 laptop Specifications CPU: Up to 10th-generation Intel Core i7-1065G7 Graphics: Up to Intel Iris Plus RAM: Up to 16GB Screen: 13.4-inch display (up to 4K, 3,840 x 2,400 resolution) Storage: Up to 1TB Today's Best Deals View at Amazon (opens in new tab) View at Amazon (opens in new tab) View at Amazon (opens in new tab) Reasons to buy + Powerhouse performance + Will last you many years Reasons to avoid - Average battery life - Limited number of ports
"The Dell XPS 13 doesn't get top marks in every single category, but overall it's one of the laptops leading the field in the premium compact category – with a brilliant screen, excellent build quality and top specs, it's a difficult laptop for anyone else to beat." – T3's Dell XPS 13 review (opens in new tab)
The Dell XPS 13 series has consistently wowed us here at T3, and the latest version of the laptop continues that trend. In our Dell XPS 13 (2020) review we found it to be powerful, supremely well built, and compact – essentially just about everything you could possibly want in your search for the best laptop around at the moment.
With the latest 10th-gen Intel processors installed and up to 16GB of RAM installed, this is a portable computer that's going to be able to handle everything that you want to throw at it. From late-night Netflix to early-morning report writing, you'll find the Dell XPS 13 a capable and competent laptop.
It's that 13.4-inch display with the super-thin bezels that really makes the XPS 13 stand out though: if you want to, you can go all the way up to a 4K resolution, but the 1,920 x 1,080 resolution models still look fantastic (4K doesn't make a huge amount of difference on a laptop display this size).
See how it shapes up against our top pick in our Dell XPS 13 (2020) vs Apple MacBook Air (M1, 2020) showdown.
(Image credit: Apple)
4. 14-inch and 16-inch Apple MacBook Pro (M1, 2021) The best premium Mac laptop Specifications CPU: Apple M1 Pro or Apple M1 Max Graphics: Apple M1 Pro or Apple M1 Max RAM: Up to 64GB Screen: 14.2-inch (3024 x 1964 pixels) or 16-inch (3456 x 2234 pixels) Storage: Up to 8GB Connectivity: SDXC card slot, HDMI port, 3.5 mm headphone jack, three Thunderbolt 4 (USB-C) ports Camera: 1080p FaceTime camera Today's Best Deals View at Amazon (opens in new tab) View at (opens in new tab) View at Amazon (opens in new tab) Reasons to buy + Top-tier performance + Quality design + Excellent display Reasons to avoid - We're not sure about the display notch
"The MacBook Pro 14-inch and 16-inch models offer a screen to die for, class-leading power, and long battery life. The 16-inch is a big beast that's probably overkill for anyone other than genuine creative pros, but the 14-inch is a compact rocket that's the ultimate do-anything, go anywhere laptop of today." – T3's Apple MacBook Pro review (opens in new tab)
Apple has updated its top-tier 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro laptops with its new M1 Pro and M1 Max processors, and the results are quite stunning – top-level performance and yet hugely impressive battery life all in the same machine. If you want the very best laptops that Apple has to offer, then these are the ones to go for, provided you have deep enough pockets.
The high prices – especially as you start to ramp up the RAM and the SSD storage – are the only potential downside here, but we don't think you're going to be disappointed with one of these no matter how much you spend. These MacBook Pros really are a significant step forward from their predecessors.
Apple has even got all of the little touches right as well, from the 1080p webcam upgrade to the removal of the Touch Bar (which never seemed like a well thought-through idea). Windows laptop manufacturers, it's over to you, because this is some seriously stiff competition that you're up against.
(Image credit: Dell)
5. Dell XPS 15 (2020) The step-up power users will want over the Dell XPS 13 Specifications CPU: 10th Gen Intel Core i5 – i9 GPU: Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 Ti RAM: 8GB – 64GB Storage: 512GB – 1TB SSD Screen: 15.6" FHD+ (1920 x 1200) IPS - UHD+ (3840 x 2400) OS: Windows 10 Webcam: Yes Dimensions: H34.4 x W34.4 x D23.01cm Battery life: Up to 8 hours Today's Best Deals View at Amazon (opens in new tab) View at Amazon (opens in new tab) View at Amazon (opens in new tab) Reasons to buy + A beast at max spec + Stylish and light + WiFi 6 networking Reasons to avoid - It loves fingerprints - Only two USB ports
"The Dell XPS 15 is a fantastic laptop and a no-brainer purchase for anyone who wants a laptop that lives primarily on a desk at home or in the office. It's cheaper and more highly specc'd than a MacBook Pro and makes far more sense to buy than something like a Microsoft Surface Pro 3." – T3's Dell XPS 15 review (opens in new tab)
The Dell XPS 15 is more of a niche recommendation as a premium laptop choice than our best premium laptop, the Dell XPS 13. And this is despite the fact that it can be scaled up to a superior spec. The reason it doesn't get the nod over its younger brother is that, for most users, the power and performance delivered by a maximum spec Dell XPS 15 is just not necessary, and unless you have to have the 15.6-inch screen size, we'd recommend the 13 instead.
If you are a power user who does want the 15-inch screen size then the Dell XPS 15 is undoubtedly a brilliant choice, though. At maximum spec it delivers a 10th Gen Intel Core i9 CPU, Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 Ti GPU, 64GB of RAM, a 1TB SSD and a 4K Ultra HD+ screen. In layman's terms, it is an absolute beast of a system and one that will crush any application you throw at it. This is the sort of system that, if specced in its upper echelons, can edit 4K and even 8K video. And, thanks to a strong internal cell stack, the battery life on it is great, too, meaning you can do high-level processing on the go.
All of this awesomeness costs, though, and shoppers will be blasting over $2500 to bring the system home. Is it worth it? Yes, you are getting a superb powerhouse laptop – but we still think most users looking for a premium laptop would be better off with a Dell XPS 13.
(Image credit: Razer)
6. Razer Book 13 A superb laptop for professionals and creatives Specifications CPU: 11th-gen Intel Core i5-1135G7 or i7-1165G7 GPU: Intel Iris Xe Graphics RAM: 8GB / 16GB Storage: 256GB / 512GB Screen: 13.4-inch 1920 x 1200 pixel or 3840 x 2400 pixel OS: Windows 10 Webcam: Yes Dimensions: 0.60”x 7.80” x 11.60” (15.15 mm x 198.50 mm x 295.60 mm) Today's Best Deals View at Amazon (opens in new tab) View at Laptops Direct (opens in new tab) View at Amazon (opens in new tab) Reasons to buy + Brilliantly well built + Several cool touches + Crisp, bright 16:10 display Reasons to avoid - Not the thinnest of laptops - Doesn't do gaming much
"The Razer Book 13 is an excellent Windows 10 productivity laptop that gets just about everything right, from the quality of the display to the specs and performance. This is a genuine rival to the 13-inch MacBook Pro and the Dell XPS 13 – it really is that good." – T3's Razer Book 13 review (opens in new tab)
Razer is of course better known for its gaming laptops, but the Razer Book 13 is something rather special in the non-gaming category: it lacks the GPU of Razer's other portable computers, but it keeps the solid build quality, the customizable keyboard backlighting, and the strong performance.
The premium nature of the Razer Book 13 is evident as soon as you turn the 13.4-inch display on. You can get this configured with up to a 4K resolution, and whether you're browsing the web or binge-watching movies, everything is vivid and smooth. In short, it's a pleasure to use, including the typing experience.
With 11th-gen Intel processors inside, this laptop can handle its fair share of demanding tasks, and can even cope with some light, dialed-down gaming if necessary. If you decide to splash your cash on the Razer Book 13, then you're not going to be disappointed.
(Image credit: Asus)
7. Asus ZenBook Duo 14 The best laptop with two screens Specifications CPU: 11th-gen Intel Core i7-1165G7 or i5-1135G7 GPU: Intel Iris Xe Graphics up to Nvidia GeForce MX450 GPU RAM: Up to 32GB Storage: Up to 1TB Screen: 14-inch, 1920 x 1080 pixel touchscreen and 12.65-inch, 1920 x 515 pixel touchscreen OS: Windows 10 Webcam: Yes Dimensions: 12.76" x 8.74" x 0.67" (324 mm x 222 mm x 16.9 mm Weight: 3.46 lbs (1.57 kg) Today's Best Deals Check Amazon (opens in new tab) Reasons to buy + It has two displays + Solid typing experience + Plenty of power Reasons to avoid - The second screen – if you don't use it - Weird keyboard arrangement
"The Asus ZenBook Duo 14 scores highly in a lot of key departments but it is obviously all about that second screen – if you're going to find that display useful then it's a great option for your next laptop, otherwise you'll probably want to look at something else." – T3's Asus ZenBook Duo 14 review (opens in new tab)
The main party trick offered by the Asus ZenBook Duo 14 – and it's a good one – is a second screen just below the main one. You can use it for whatever you like, from Photoshop dialog boxes to Spotify playlists to social media feeds, and Windows will treat it just like any other second display.
It's fair to say that this laptop isn't going to have the same appeal if you can't see yourself using that second screen on a regular basis, but it's also very well built and well-specced, with a fantastic main display. Battery life is good too, so you don't have to worry about lasting a day away from the office.
With the latest 11th-gen Intel laptops inside, the ZenBook Duo 14 will give you plenty of power under the hood, although serious gamers will need more oomph in the GPU department. A laptop with a crazy gimmick that's actually not that gimmicky, and currently one of the best laptops around.
If you need a portable and versatile 2-in-1 laptop then you won't get much better than the Microsoft Surface Pro 8 (Image credit: Microsoft)
8. Microsoft Surface Pro 8 The best laptop for work and play Specifications CPU: 11th Gen Intel Core i5 or i7 Graphics: Intel Iris Xe Graphics RAM: Up to 32GB Screen : 13-inch Storage: Up to 1TB OS: Windows 11 Today's Best Deals View at Amazon (opens in new tab) View at Microsoft UK IE (opens in new tab) View at (opens in new tab) Reasons to buy + 120Hz refresh rate + HD webcam and 4K rear camera + Impressive performance Reasons to avoid - Webcam could be better - No SD card slot
"The Microsoft Surface Pro 8 is a 2-in-1 laptop and tablet that works just as well in both forms. It packs in plenty of power as well as a stunning touchscreen display, and it runs on the most recent Windows 11. It won't be for everyone but it's a truly fantastic piece of kit." – T3's Microsoft Surface Pro 8 review (opens in new tab)
The Microsoft Surface Pro 8 is the best laptop for switching between work and play because you can use it as a laptop or as a tablet, and it works just as well in either form as long as you buy the optional Surface Type Cover.
To transform it into a tablet you just need to pull the screen away from the keyboard, and it’ll magnetically snap back on when you need it to. The keyboard feels comfortable to type on because you can angle it to a more comfortable position although it’s not quite as sturdy as a standard keyboard.
Running on Windows 11 with a powerful 11th Gen Intel Core processor and up to 32GB of RAM, it’ll be sure to speed up your workflow day-to-day even though it may not quite match up to the performance of some of the top-end PCs on this list. You’ll be able to do everything you need to without any problems, which even includes more demanding tasks like photo editing and gaming. You’ll be able to download Android apps if you want to as well.
The 13-inch touchscreen is very responsive and it looks stunning with bright colors and impressive detail. If you buy the Surface Pen 2 you’ll really be able to make the most of it, it’s one of the most satisfying screens to take quick notes or draw on.
(Image credit: Asus)
9. Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 The best laptop for a compact design with gaming credentials Specifications Weight: 3.53 pounds (1.6kg) Dimensions: W x D x H = 12.7 x 8.6 x 0.7 inches (32.4 x 22.0 x 1.79cm) CPU: 2.9GHz AMD Ryzen 7 4800HS Graphics: Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060 (6GB GDDR6 VRAM) RAM: 16GB DDR4 Screen: 14-inch, WQHD (2560x1440) IPS (60Hz refresh rate) Storage: 1TB NVMe SSD Today's Best Deals View at Amazon (opens in new tab) View at (opens in new tab) View at John Lewis (opens in new tab) Reasons to buy + Quality WQHD screen + Superb compact design + Powerful hardware + Genuine gaming chops Reasons to avoid - Whiny fans
"As this Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 review shows, this gaming laptop is just a beautiful thing. A laptop that's small and tough, powerful and slick, detailed and desirable. If you can find one - particularly the spin we have on test here - you're in for a treat even if you're not a full-on gamer." – T3's Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 review (opens in new tab)
The Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 does what a lot of laptops strive to but don't pull off – it delivers a portable and powerful system that also has some genuine gaming chops.
Yes, this is a system that thanks to its Nvidia RTX 2060 graphics card can play the latest AAA PC games like Cyberpunk 2077 with state-of-the-art special effects like real-time ray tracing turned on, but also be transported with ease.
It also looks professional, too, making it useable in a business setting, meaning it is just as at home in the office as it is at the heart of a battle station.
Its internal specs read incredibly well, with a Ryzen 7 processor joined with 16GB of RAM and a massive 1YB NVMe SSD.
The only downside to this system is that it does not come with a webcam built-in, so streamers and those who need to partake in office meetings will need to invest in a separate webcam if they ring this system up.
Overall, though, the Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 ticks basically every box you could want from a best laptop, and also throws in some strong gaming functionality, too.
(Image credit: Lenovo)
10. Lenovo IdeaPad 3 The best budget laptop Specifications CPU: Up to AMD Ryzen 7 3700U Graphics: AMD Radeon/Integrated Graphics RAM: Up to 8GB Screen: 14-inch (1920 x 1080 or 1366 x 768 pixels) Storage: Up to 1TB Today's Best Deals View at John Lewis (opens in new tab) View at (opens in new tab) View at Amazon (opens in new tab) Reasons to buy + Appealing price point + Stylish and lightweight + Battery saving mode Reasons to avoid - Screen could be brighter - Average battery life - Low-powered components
"While the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 has its weaknesses, it also has some strengths too – not least the low price that you can now pick the laptop up for. If you're primarily concerned with day-to-day computing tasks, affordability and durability, it definitely ticks those boxes." – T3's Lenovo IdeaPad 3 review (opens in new tab)
When it comes to value-for-money laptops, it's difficult to beat the Lenovo IdeaPad 3: it's lightweight, it's stylish, and yet it won't cost you much at all. Not everyone needs the laptop with the biggest screen, or the most powerful components – some people want a lot of bang for their laptop buck first and foremost, and that's where the IdeaPad 3 delivers. Everything else falls into place around that.
As cheap as the IdeaPad 3 is, it still looks great and will handle all the everyday tasks you need it to very nicely indeed. As long as you're sticking to some light web use and office work, you won't be disappointed with what this laptop has to offer, and the dedicated battery saving mode comes in handy too. A variety of different spec configurations are available, which affect the price accordingly – but whatever model you go for, you get a reliable and attractive 14-inch laptop.
See how it compares to our best premium Windows 10 laptop in our Dell XPS 13 vs Lenovo IdeaPad 3 head-to-head.
(Image credit: Dell)
11. Dell XPS 17 The best laptop for Windows 10 users who need a premium spec and large screen Specifications Starting weight: 4.65 lb (2.11 kg) Dimensions: 9.76" x 14.74" x 0.77" Screen: 17.0" UHD+ (3840 x 2400) InfinityEdge Touch CPU : 10th Generation Intel Core i9-10885H GPU: Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060 6GB RAM: 64GB Storage: 2TB M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD Today's Best Deals View at Amazon (opens in new tab) Reasons to buy + Large, top-tier screen + Powerful hardware spec + Superb Dell fit and finish Reasons to avoid - Not the most portable - Newer model now available
"The Dell XPS 17 is a powerful laptop with screen real estate to spare, but it is large in size and has a price tag to match." – T3's Dell XPS 17 review (opens in new tab)
Dell makes arguably the finest laptops in the world, and if you are a Windows 10 user who is looking to invest in a large-screened, powerful laptop upgrade, you must check out the Dell XPS 17. At maximum spec, the XPS 17 delivers what could be the best screen on any laptop, ever, in the form of a 17.0" UHD+ (3840 x 2400 resolution) InfinityEdge Touch panel, which also comes with an Anti-Reflective coating. The screen, in partnership with tiny bezels, means real estate is bountiful and thanks to the Ultra HD resolution, everything on it is absolutely pin-sharp. It is truly a stunning display.
When kitted out to maximum, this laptop's hardware spec is also incredibly powerful, with buckets of performance on tap no matter what application or game you are running. A titanic 64GB of RAM in partnership with an Intel Core i9 handles even 8K video editing with ease. Working in Photoshop? You can edit huge TIF files side-by-side without the Dell XPS 17 breaking sweat. And an Nvidia GeForce RTX2060 6GB ensures that modern AAA games are crushed.
Throw in the rest of the typical Dell package – which includes a fantastic fit and finish, excellent connectivity options, a built-in webcam and microphone, a stereo woofer and multiple speakers, and a full-fat copy of Windows 10 Home 64-bit – and it becomes easy to see how this laptop will serve its owner for years to come.
(Image credit: LG)
12. LG Gram 17 The best 17-inch laptop... unless you're a gamer Specifications CPU: Quad-core 10th-gen Intel Core i7-1065G7 Graphics: Integrated Iris Plus RAM: 16GB Screen: 17-inch, 2560 x 1800 pixels Storage: 512GB SSD Reasons to buy + Fantastic 17-inch screen + Lightweight, stylish design + Plenty of battery life Reasons to avoid - Graphics aren't up to much - It'll cost you quite a bit - A large laptop to carry around
"LG has worked wonders in getting such a big screen inside a laptop so thin, and if you add in a stylish, understated design and a decent Intel CPU, then this is a laptop well worth checking out for all kinds of uses – even with a relatively high price and built-in graphics." – T3's LG Gram 17 review (opens in new tab)
The LG Gram 17 is an impressive laptop on many levels, not least with that gorgeous 17-inch, 2560 x 1600 pixel screen. Despite that large screen (well, large for a laptop anyway), this is an incredibly portable machine – in fact, it has earned a place in our best lightweight laptop guide. It's the sort of laptop that you'll barely notice you've got in your bag, and when you pick it up, it feels as though there are some components missing. Everything from the metal alloy finish to the backlighting on the keys is well judged and well done.
You get some up-to-date Intel processors, and plenty of RAM and SSD storage space if you're willing to pay for it – it's capable of taking on most tasks with aplomb. The integrated graphics card is perhaps the only weak spot, but as long as you're not doing any gaming or any heavy video editing, it'll serve you well.
Overall, the LG Gram 17 is a super stylish and lightweight system that will suit just about anyone other than those who necessitate proper gaming credentials. Its build quality and overall fit-and-finish are first-rate, and its remaining hardware will ensure plenty of future-proofing, too.
(Image credit: Razer)
13. Razer Blade Stealth 13 The best laptop for gaming and creative work Specifications CPU: 10th-gen Intel Core i7-1065G7 Graphics: Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 Ti Max-Q 4GB RAM: 16GB Screen: 13.3-inch 4K Storage: 512GB Today's Best Deals View at Amazon (opens in new tab) Reasons to buy + Superb, sleek design + Enough GPU power to get by + 4K touchscreen display Reasons to avoid - Gets hot quickly - Battery life isn't great
"The Razer Blade Stealth 13 is going to fall between two stools for some people, but for others it could just be the perfect blend of portability, creativity and gaming. Make sure you check out the various configuration options before parting with your cash." – T3's Razer Blade Stealth 13 review (opens in new tab)
With the Blade Stealth 13, Razer has managed to take the gaming expertise that it's known for and mix in other influences to create a laptop with broad appeal. Yes, it can play games better than pretty much any other laptop of this size, but it's also going to appeal to creatives and professionals with a clean design and a 4K touchscreen display.
There's a reason that just about every gaming laptop out there is 15 inches or above in terms of its display size: the extra room is needed for heat dissipation. The Blade Stealth 13 does its best in packing an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 Ti Max-Q 4GB inside its compact frame, though you will notice it getting hot during gaming (and battery life isn't great either). That GPU won't give you frame rates up there with the best gaming laptops on the market, but you can still play top-tier games at reasonable quality and at very decent frame rates. Add to that a really nicely designed laptop with a fantastic screen that excels at other tasks too, and Razer has another winner on its hands.
(Image credit: Lenovo)
14. Lenovo Yoga Slim 7 Power and performance in a compact form Specifications CPU: Up to Intel Core i7 / AMD Ryzen 7 Graphics: Up to Nvidia GeForce GTX RAM: Up to 16GB Screen: 14-inch or 15.6-inch, up to 3840 x 2160 pixels Storage: Up to 1TB SSD Today's Best Deals Check Amazon (opens in new tab) Reasons to buy + Polished and stylish design + Impressive battery life + Wide choice of spec options Reasons to avoid - No fingerprint scanner - 16:9 display aspect ratio
"The Yoga Slim 7 is another excellent laptop from Lenovo that's well worth considering as your next upgrade: it brings with it really good battery life, decent performance, and an overall design that we find hard to fault apart from one or two minor annoyances." – T3's Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 7 review (opens in new tab)
Another excellent Windows laptop, the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 7 comes in so many different configurations that you can really tailor it to suit your own particular needs and budget – there's even a choice of 14-inch or 15.6-inch displays, with resolutions up to 4K, so you can decide whether you want to prioritize portability or screen space. There aren't many laptops that give you the option of AMD or Intel chips, and you've got a few choices when it comes to integrated or discrete graphics as well. At the very top level spec, the laptop will be able to take everything you can throw at it, and it can even cope with some light gaming.
You've got further options when it comes to the design: a fabric-covered model is available alongside the standard aluminum, for example, and you can pick opt for slate grey or a more striking orchid as the basic color. Whichever configuration you go for, the laptop looks really good. Add in an impressive level of battery life, plenty of ports for your peripherals and external monitors, and a competitive price, and the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 7 looks like a great all-round package. Whatever you're looking for in a laptop, it's worth giving this one some serious consideration.
(Image credit: Samsung)
15. Samsung Galaxy Book S The best laptop for users on the go Specifications CPU: Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Graphics: Integrated RAM: 8GB Screen: 13.3-inch, 1,920 x 1,080 pixels Storage: 256 GB SSD Today's Best Deals View at Amazon (opens in new tab) Reasons to buy + Great design and build + 4G LTE connectivity everywhere + Amazing battery life Reasons to avoid - Low-powered processor - Trackpad isn't great - Some apps not optimised
"The Samsung Galaxy Book S is one of those laptops that's really good for some people and some use cases, while also having weaknesses that are going to put certain people off. If you need what this laptop can offer, then it's worth its admittedly high asking price." – T3's Samsung Galaxy Book S review (opens in new tab)
The Galaxy Book S from Samsung earns a place in our best laptop ranking for a number of reasons: it's really lightweight and stylish, the battery goes on and on between charges, and it offers cellular connectivity which means you can always be online (data plans and signal coverage permitting). You've got the option of a Qualcomm Snapdragon chip (as in our Samsung Galaxy Book S review), which means it can wake up and get online very quickly, but it also means performance isn't quite on a par with similarly priced Windows laptops.
Alternatively, there's the more traditional Intel processor (which earned this laptop a full five stars in our Galaxy Book S (Intel) review). It all depends on what you want most from a laptop, and we think the Galaxy Book S is going to appeal to a lot of people.
As more and more Windows applications are optimized to run on ARM chips, the usefulness of the Galaxy Book S should increase. In our eyes, it's a case of the positives far outweigh the negatives on this laptop – just don't try to do any 4K video editing with it.
(Image credit: Microsoft)
16. Microsoft Surface Book 3 The best premium 2-in-1 laptop Specifications CPU: Quad-core 10th-en Intel Core i7-1065G7 Graphics: Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 with Max-Q RAM: 8GB / 16GB / 32GB LPDDR4x (3733Mhz ) Screen: 13.5-inch, 3000 x 2000 pixels (267 ppi) Storage: 256GB / 512GB / 1TB Today's Best Deals View at (opens in new tab) View at Microsoft UK IE (opens in new tab) Check Amazon (opens in new tab) Reasons to buy + A no-compromise laptop and tablet + Excellent PixelSense display + Powerful gaming GPU option Reasons to avoid - Not especially fast - Slightly chunky
"The third generation of the Microsoft Surface Book 3 remains a stunning physical specimen with world-beating engineering and a unique feature set. However, it's very expensive compared to the conventional laptops that will be a better fit for most user's needs." – T3's Microsoft Surface Book 3 review (opens in new tab)
For the best of both worlds, the Microsoft Surface Book 3 is one of the best 2-in-1 laptops around. Yes, the screen can be detached and used as a tablet, but that doesn't mean this isn't an absolute beast of a laptop. The Surface Book 3 can be packed full of power as well – you can fit an Intel Core i7 processor and an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 graphics chipset in this laptop if you need to, and multiple configurations are available (so you don't necessarily need to max out on the internal components).
You've got a choice of 13.5-inch and 15-inch screens, which gives you even more options when it comes to deciding which Surface Book 3 model is right for you, and as usual for Surface hardware, the build quality is excellent.
See how it compares to another popular 2-in-1 in our Asus ZenBook Flip 13 vs Microsoft Surface Book 3 face-off, or for more info, head to our Should I buy the Surface Book 3? article.
We've also compared this premium 2-in-1 to Dell's best offering, too, so if you're torn between the two brands check out our Microsoft Surface Book 3 vs New Dell XPS 13 2-in-1 comparison feature.
(Image credit: Apple)
17. Apple MacBook Pro 16-inch The best laptop for Apple MacBook users Specifications CPU: 2.6GHz six-core Intel Core i7 Graphics: AMD 5300M 4GB RAM: 16GB of 2666MHz DDR4 RAM Screen: 16-inch, 3072x1920 Storage: 512 GB PCIe 3.0 SSD Today's Best Deals View at John Lewis (opens in new tab) Check Amazon (opens in new tab) Reasons to buy + Big, sharp, accurate 16-inch display + Plenty of power + New keyboard Reasons to avoid - No 4K screen - 720p webcam - Limited ports can still be an issue - Graphics power still a little behind
"Though the Apple MacBook Pro 16-inch is edged out by other machines on pure specs, Apple’s appeal has always been about the whole package, which is excellent here – and it fixes the keyboard issues that overshadowed its predecessors." – T3's Apple MacBook Pro 16 inch review (opens in new tab)
Before the M1 Macs came along, the 16-inch MacBook Pro was the best Apple laptop you could buy, and it's still a great computer for pro and power users. As you would expect from a high-end Apple laptop, the MacBook Pro 16-inch is supremely slick and powerful, built with a best-in-class fit and finish, and loaded with a vastly improved keyboard that's leaps and bounds better than previous incarnations.
The fact the system runs the very latest version of macOS, Big Sur, which delivers a plethora of exclusive, quality apps, and that it is supported by Apple's first-rate support network if anything goes wrong, adds a layer of sheen that many Windows 10 machines can't compete with.
On raw specs alone the MacBook Pro 16-inch is pipped to the post slightly by the Dell XPS 15, which can be outfitted with a 4K OLED screen, 32GB of RAM, 1TB of storage, and a more powerful Nvidia GPU, but it is the overall package and user experience where the MacBook Pro shines. The M1 Macs may be getting all the attention right now, but the 16-inch MacBook Pro remains a powerhouse computer for pro-level apps.
(Image credit: Asus)
18. Asus ROG Zephyrus S GX701 The money no object ultimate gaming laptop Specifications CPU: 2.2GHz Intel Core i7-8750H (hexa-core, 9MB cache, up to 4.1GHz) Graphics: Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q (8GB GDDR6 VRAM); Intel UHD Graphics 630 RAM: 24GB DDR4 (2,666MHz) Screen: 17.3-inch, Full HD (1,920x1,080) IPS, Pantone Validated (144Hz refresh rate with Nvidia G-Sync) Storage: 1TB M.2 PCIe x4 SSD Today's Best Deals Check Amazon (opens in new tab) Reasons to buy + Incredible gaming power + Premium build quality + Very portable and thin design Reasons to avoid - Cramped keyboard - Battery life is short
"Loaded with a suite of state-of-the-art hardware and boasting an incredibly premium design, the Asus ROG Zephyrus S GX701 is a dream gaming laptop, with its monstrous power capable of crushing even today's most graphically demanding AAA PC games without compromise." – T3's Asus ROG Zephyrus S GX701 review (opens in new tab)
As we noted in our Asus ROG Zephyrus S GX701 review, this is absolutely the best laptop for playing games on the market today in 2022. Building on last year's competition-slaying GX501, the new Zephyrus ensures it stays on the gaming laptop throne by dialing things up to 11. That means the system rocks an Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 graphics card (Ray Tracing bliss!), a juiced-up Intel Core i7-8750H CPU capable of running up to 4.1GHz and a 24GB stack of DDR4 RAM.
The result of all this top-end gaming hardware is, for a portable machine, ludicrous levels of AAA gaming performance. Metro Exodus, with all graphics settings turned up to maximum, and with the gorgeous Ray Tracing lighting tech-enabled, looked absolutely stunning and ran like a dream. And, the GX701 crushed our 3DMark benchmark tests, too. A gorgeous and thin magnesium chassis, fantastically engineered vent cooling system, and a 17.3-inch, Full HD (1,920x1,080) IPS, Pantone Validated, 144Hz refresh rate with Nvidia G-Sync panel complete the package.
(Image credit: Asus)
19. Asus ZenBook Pro 14 UX480 Good specs and a tasteful design make this strong all-round laptop Specifications CPU: Intel Core i7-10510U Graphics: Nvidia GeForce MX250 RAM: 16GB Screen: 14-inch, 1920 x 1080 resolution Storage: 512GB Today's Best Deals Check Amazon (opens in new tab) Reasons to buy + High-end specs + Attractive design + Bright, vibrant touchscreen Reasons to avoid - Battery life is average - Gamers will want more power - ScreenPad can be a distraction
"The Asus ZenBook Pro 14 sits rather snugly in the middle of the budget laptops and the high-end laptops – you get some very good specs, a really rather tasteful design, and a quirky touchpad feature for your money. It's not perfect but it gets a lot of things right." T3's Asus ZenBook Pro 14 review (opens in new tab)
As we note in our official Asus ZenBook Pro 14 review, this "is a laptop that scores highly in a lot of departments. It looks really nice, it has plenty of power under the hood, and the price you're going to pay represents decent value for what you get in return." And, really, that sums it up. Well, that is apart from this system's unique feature: its ScreenPad.
The ScreenPad is a large touchpad that can also operate as a second screen, with Windows extendable and certain apps like Microsoft Office and Spotify granting you extra information or controls. It feels indebted to Apple's TouchBar.
Specs-wise the Pro 14 really is a rock-solid all-rounder, coming with an 8th-gen quad-core Intel Core i7-8565U processor, 8GB of RAM, and 256GB of SSD storage, as well as an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 Max-Q chipset with 2GB of video RAM. In short, it is a powerful machine that will handle most computing tasks with ease.
(Image credit: Dell)
20. Dell XPS 15 2-in-1 A thin and powerful hybrid laptop with genuine gaming credentials Specifications CPU: 3.1GHz Intel Core i7-8705G Processor (quad-core, 8MB cache, up to 4.1 GHz) Graphics: Radeon RX Vega M GL graphics, Intel HD Graphics 630 RAM: 6GB DDR4 (2,400MHz) Screen: 15.6-inch, 4K Ultra HD (3840 x 2160) InfinityEdge anti-reflective touch display Storage: 512GB PCIe SSD Today's Best Deals Check Amazon (opens in new tab) Reasons to buy + AMD Radeon RX Vega M + Luxe aluminium design + Innovative maglev keyboard Reasons to avoid - Under full load it runs hot and loud - Top spec is rather expensive
"The Dell XPS 15 2-in-1 is one of the most complete hybrids ever made, scoring big across the board and leaving no obvious weak point for rivals - and critics - to launch a major counter attack. A premium all-rounder 2-in-1 that should appeal to creative tech enthusiasts looking to both work and play hard." – T3's Dell XPS 15 2-in-1 review (opens in new tab)
As we note in our full Dell XPS 15 2-in-1 review, "the Dell XPS 15 2-in-1 is one of the most complete hybrids ever made, scoring big across the board and leaving no obvious weak point for rivals – and critics – to launch a major counter-attack. A premium all-rounder 2-in-1 that should appeal to creative tech enthusiasts looking to both work and play hard."
A shoo-in on our best laptops 2022 list if ever we saw one, then, and a machine that should be at least considered by anyone who is looking for a premium upgrade right now. Yes, the Surface Book 2 does have a little bit more power-wise, and obviously has the ability to eject its screen, too, but the Dell XPS 15 2-in-1 is almost half the price.
The Pixelbook Go is another excellent Chromebook from Google. (Image credit: Google)
21. Google Pixelbook Go One of the best laptops around for Chrome OS fans Specifications CPU: Intel Core m3, i5, i7 Graphics: Integrated graphics RAM: 8GB – 16GB Screen: 13.3-inch up to 4K resolution Storage: 64GB, 128GB or 256GB SSD Today's Best Deals View at John Lewis (opens in new tab) Check Amazon (opens in new tab) Reasons to buy + Lightweight and fast + Stylish and sensible design + Chrome OS rapidly improving Reasons to avoid - 16:9 display feels squashed - No integrated stylus
"The Google Pixelbook Go isn't perfect – and it's possibly a little overpriced – but it's one of the best Chromebooks in terms of how much fun it is to use." – T3's Google Pixelbook Go review (opens in new tab)
When it comes to Chromebooks and Chrome OS, you've got a huge number of models to choose from – and the Pixelbook Go from Google is one of the best Chromebooks around right now. It's stylish, it's lightweight, and you can customize the specs of the device to meet your exact requirements as well. Every Pixelbook Go comes with a 13.3-inch screen: it runs at a 1,920 x 1,080 resolution on the cheaper models but does go up to 4K if you're willing to pay for it. The other internal components can be specced out as required, so it's really up to you how much you spend.
We like the black and pink color options, we like the grippy rubber on the bottom to keep the laptop in place, and we like the smooth and subtle lines of the design as well. You're not going to be embarrassed to pull this Chromebook out at a coffee shop or your next meeting at work. And as for Chrome OS, it continues to get better and better. It doesn't slow down, it's easy to use, and the addition of Android apps means that it's now more versatile than ever before.
A laptop that combines sophistication with speed, and its very own soundbar. (Image credit: Lenovo)
22. Lenovo Yoga 9i 14 The best premium laptop for streaming video Specifications CPU: 11th Gen Intel Core i5 or i7 Graphics: Intel Iris Xe Graphics RAM: Up to 16GB Screen : 14-inch Storage: Up to 1TB OS: Windows 10 Today's Best Deals View at (opens in new tab) View at (opens in new tab) View at Amazon (opens in new tab) Reasons to buy + Powerful performance + Great sound + High-quality display Reasons to avoid - Basic stylus - Average battery life
"Be it for business or academia, the Lenovo Yoga 9i 14 is sure to help boost your productivity. It’s a good-looking and powerful machine with a fantastic keyboard as well as a stunning touchscreen display. The battery life might be mediocre but this PC is far from average overall." – T3's Lenovo Yoga 9i 14 review (opens in new tab)
A premium laptop through and through, the Lenovo Yoga 9i 14 has a leather coating over the lid and a glass touchpad integrated into the matching palm rest. It may seem a little over the top but anyone who loves a touch of class is sure to appreciate how sophisticated the design actually is.
What makes it ideal for streaming video is the combination of its high-quality 4K display paired with its very own miniature soundbar with Dolby Atmos, which produces ultra-clear 360-degree audio. That's not something you see very often and the difference really shows.
Business users will also appreciate the sheer speed of it, this laptop is perfect for productivity. Packing the 11th Gen Intel Core processors, it's seriously fast and can cope with just about anything. Helping you get work done, the low-profile keyboard is a joy to type on, and you'll be able to convert this PC into a tablet as well by pushing the screen backwards. There's even a stylus that comes garaged in the body of the laptop.
Admittedly, the battery life could be better and the touchpad wasn't always that efficient but those are just minor downsides in an otherwise outstanding piece of kit. The Lenovo Yoga 9i 14 will best suit business users, and could also be a great choice for students who are willing to splash out on a high-end PC.
(Image credit: Microsoft)
23. Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 The best lightweight Microsoft laptop Specifications CPU: Up to 11th-gen Intel Core i7 or AMD Ryzen Graphics: Intel Iris Xe or AMD Radeon RAM: 8GB, 16GB, 32GB Screen: 13.5-inch or 15-inch Storage: 256GB, 512GB, 1TB Weight: Up to 1.54 kg (3.4 lbs) Today's Best Deals View at John Lewis (opens in new tab) View at (opens in new tab) View at Amazon (opens in new tab) Reasons to buy + AMD or Intel powered + Lots of style in the design + Excellent display Reasons to avoid - Can get expensive - Chunky display bezels - Proprietary Surface port
"The Surface Laptop 4 is another superb laptop from Microsoft. The drawbacks are very minor, and the list of plus points is a lengthy one. Give this a serious look if you want a stylish Windows laptop that can go just about anywhere and do almost anything." – T3's Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 review (opens in new tab)
As the name suggests, the Surface Laptop 4 is the fourth incarnation of this particular laptop, so Microsoft has had plenty of opportunity to get it right – and we think it has got it right, very much so. The Surface Laptop 4 excels in pretty much every area, from the quality of the screen to the battery life.
Serious gamers and video editors are going to want a bit more oomph in the processor and graphics departments, but we think everybody else is going to be more than happy with what the Surface Laptop 4 has to offer. Not only is there plenty of power under the hood, but the computer looks great too, and there's a choice of appealing colors to pick from.
Another reason to go for the Surface Laptop 4 is that you've got so many different configurations to pick from – Intel and AMD CPUs are offered with this laptop, together with a choice of RAM and storage options, so you can pick the perfect one to match your needs and budget.
The HP Spectre x360 is a beautiful, flexible, premium 2-in-1. (Image credit: HP)
24. HP Spectre x360 A brilliant Windows alternative to the MacBook Air Specifications CPU: 11th-generation Intel Core i5 – i7 Graphics: Intel Iris Xe RAM: 8-16GB Display: 13.3" FHD (1920 x 1080) IPS BrightView micro-edge WLED-backlit multitouch – 13.3" diagonal 4K (3840 x 2160) UWVA BrightView micro-edge AMOLED multitouch Storage: 256GB to 2TB SSD Today's Best Deals View at Amazon (opens in new tab) Reasons to buy + 11th Generation Intel processors + Better graphics + Superb battery life + Beautiful design Reasons to avoid - Pricey compared to similar spec rivals - Limited connectivity
"While expensive, the HP Spectre x360 14 2-in-1 Windows laptop's combination of gorgeous screen, lovely keyboard and fantastic audio offers very good value. Just be aware of the 3:2 screen ratio, and limited number of ports." – T3's HP Spectre x360 14 2-in-1 review (opens in new tab)
The Spectre just keeps getting better with every new version, boasting an 11th generation Intel Core processors and improved graphics in the form of Intel Iris Xe.
The Spectre retains the 2-in-1 design and spectacular good looks of its processor, and in terms of build quality its closest rival is Apple’s M1 MacBook Pro: this is in a whole different league from other Windows 10 laptops. The keyboard is superb, the screen is bright and clear and it’s a genuinely good-looking machine with good ergonomics and strong security, and the only real criticism we can think of is that the fans can get a bit noisy when you drive it hard.
This isn’t a gaming laptop, but it’s perfectly powerful for other kinds of computing. It’s capable of 13 hours from a single charge and transforms from a laptop into a tablet, and there are lots of configuration options. It’s not the cheapest Windows laptop around but deals will be out there if you shop around.
(Image credit: Asus)
25. Asus Vivobook Pro 14X OLED The best laptop for creatives on a budget Specifications CPU: Ryzen 9 5900HX / 5800H / 5600H Graphics: Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 RAM: 8GB / 16GB / 32GB Screen: 14inch 2880 x 1800 or 3840 x 2400 Storage: 256GB / 512GB / 1TB SSD Connectivity: 2x USB-A, USB-C, HDMI, audio jack, micro SD, DC-in Camera: 720p Weight: 1.45kg Dimensions: 317.4 x 228.5 x 17.9mm Today's Best Deals Check Amazon (opens in new tab) Visit Site (opens in new tab) Reasons to buy + Premium screen + Sensitive trackpad + Virtual dial Reasons to avoid - Not the fastest performance
"If you're a creative student, or content creator at the start of their career, this mid-priced laptop is an excellent choice. Designed with creatives in mind, it has some unique functionality to help you use software such as Photoshop, a beautiful 2.8K-resolution screen, and decent (if not earth-shattering) levels of performance, connectivity and battery life. Be aware, though, that there's no touchscreen or pen input." – T3's Asus Vivobook Pro 14X OLED review (opens in new tab)
If you're a creative at the start of their career, you'll ideally want one of the more expensive laptops on this list. But if your budget is tight, this mid-priced laptop is a good compromise to make.
Designed with creatives in mind, it has some unique functionality to help you use software such as Photoshop, including a sensitive trackpad and a virtual dial for making small tweaks to fine detail. It also boasts a beautiful high resolution screen, that beats the picture quality of more expensive models.
Be aware, though, that there's no touchscreen or pen input. And while it bats above its weight with its screen, its processor, graphics performance and battery are more what you'd expect from a mid-ranger.
Want big power from a portable Mac? The Apple MacBook Pro M1 2020 is the best laptop for you. (Image credit: Apple)
26. Apple MacBook Pro (M1, 2020) The best compact premium laptop for Mac users Specifications CPU: Apple M1 Graphics: Apple M1 RAM: 8GB Screen: 13.3-inch 2,560 x 1,600 pixel-resolution Retina with P3 and True Tone Storage: 256GB Size: 11.97 x 8.36 x 0.61 inches (30.41 x 21.24 x 1.56cm), W x D x H Weight: 1.4kg (3.0 pounds) Today's Best Deals View at (opens in new tab) View at Studio (opens in new tab) Check Amazon (opens in new tab) Reasons to buy + Blazing speed + All-day battery + Excellent build quality Reasons to avoid - Lack of ports - Design is a tad dated
"Sleek, long-lasting and mightily powerful, the MacBook Pro 13-inch (M1, 2020) puts Apple's new M1 chip to brilliant use. This is an excellent showcase for what Apple hardware can do, and if you're a creative professional that wants a portable powerhouse to work on while travelling, this is a top choice." – T3's Apple MacBook Pro 13 inch review (opens in new tab)
We've already mentioned the 14-inch and 16-inch M1 MacBook Pros, but these laptops are so good that we want to mention the 13.3-inch model too. It has a more powerful 8-core GPU than the MacBook Air, and it has a fan – so where the MacBook Air has to throttle performance to stay cool under sustained load, the MacBook Pro doesn’t. You won’t notice the difference or hear the fan in everyday computing, but for intensive tasks such as video rendering the Pro is significantly faster than the Air.
There are some obvious trade-offs between this MacBook Pro and the newer ones, not least the screen size: a 13.3-inch screen is nice and portable but it obviously lacks the screen area of the larger models. The more expensive models offer more configuration options too, and have more ports; here you’re stuck with two. But this M1 Mac boasts excellent battery life, which makes a huge difference for pros on the go. This is a Pro laptop that really does last all day on a single charge.
(Image credit: Acer)
27. Acer Swift 3 One of the best compact and lightweight laptops around Specifications CPU: Quad-core 1.3GHz Intel Core i7-Intel Core i7-1065G7 Graphics: Intel Iris Plus RAM: 8GB Screen: 14-inch, 1,920 x 1,080 pixels (16:9 aspect ratio) Storage: 512GB SSD Today's Best Deals View at Acer UK (opens in new tab) View at (opens in new tab) Check Amazon (opens in new tab) Reasons to buy + Bright, sharp screen + Appealing design + Comfortable to type on Reasons to avoid - Limited integrated graphics - Ordinary battery life
"When everything is tallied up, the Acer Swift 3 definitely ends up in credit – we do have a few reservations about the laptop, but in general we think it's one of the best options you've got at this size and price point, continuing a strong run of Acer Swift laptops." – T3's Acer Swift 3 review (opens in new tab)
There's a lot of competition in the market if you're wanting to spend more than $500, and the Acer Swift 3 is one of the best sub-$1,000 laptops. This 14-inch compact star really shines in terms of its design and lightness, and the internal specs mean it can cope with just about anything you want to do with your portable computer too, excluding the more demanding games and video renderings.
In our Acer Swift 3 review we were impressed with how snappy and responsive the laptop was while watching movies and browsing the web (even as the number of open tabs started to rack up).
Okay, the battery life isn't fantastic, but it should still get you through the working day quite comfortably, and given the pedigree of previous Acer machines, we'd bet that the Swift 3 is going to serve you well for a number of years. A variety of configurations are available (with many falling under that $1,000 mark), so you can tailor it to suit your budget and needs.
Buying Advice
(Image credit: Microsoft)
How to choose the best laptop for you The laptop market continues to evolve, with new components and price pressure from low-end Chromebooks meaning you can now get more bang for your buck than ever before: it really is a great time to be choosing a laptop. Picking the best laptop for 2022 for you is all about compromise, though – if you want something as powerful as possible, then it's going to be bigger and less easy to lug around on your travels. If you want something slim and ultra-light, then you simply can't pack in as many components. Another important consideration is which operating system you're going to go with: you may already have a favorite, but Windows is best for gaming, macOS is great for creatives, and Chrome OS is brilliant as a lightweight computing platform. Look at the strengths and weaknesses of each before committing. Make sure you've weighed up exactly what you need to do with your laptop and the features that it needs to have before parting with any cash – otherwise you could be looking for an upgrade sooner rather than later. Of course, price is going to play a big part in your decision-making as well, and with that in mind, we've included links to all the latest and greatest deals on the web for easy reference. Keep checking back here often as we update our guide with newer models. If you need some extra guidance deciding, take a look at our guide on how to choose the right laptop for you. For example, if you're a student looking for an affordable system to take to university then you'll want to check out the best student laptops and best Chromebooks on the market. While if you're a passionate gamer and need serious pixel-pushing power then one of the best gaming laptops will be more suitable. If you're a creative, though, then one of the best 2-in-1 laptops will likely offer you the flexibility you need, while busy professionals will likely warm to the best lightweight laptops, as they are easy to lug around from meeting to meeting. If you want more information on any of these head on down to the section entitled 'Laptop types explained'. We've also got a brand-specific roundup for Dell, so if you're looking for one of the best Dell laptops head on over there. Regardless of what laptop you're looking for, though, be sure to consider one of the best webcams to go with it. Looking for laptops on sale? Check out our best laptop deals guide for the best deals on laptops this month.
What is the best laptop brand? While we've ranked Apple as the best in the biz, there's a good amount of great laptop brands out there. Each tends to deliver quality machines all-around, but their purpose may be better suited to specific niches' depending on what you're after. Are you a creative type that likes to draw, edit photos or even create them in Photoshop? Apple MacBooks may be a good choice for you. Are you a gamer looking to get a solid mobile machine? Options from brands like Alienware, Razer and ASUS may be what you're looking for. Check out our reviews for more details into just what each laptop is best at!
