Unless you’re a laptop-obsessive or you move from one device to another with the same frequency that we do, it can be tricky to stay up to date with all the latest developments in the world of computing and that can often lead to a lot of head-scratching when the time comes to finally upgrade from your old machine. The first question to ask yourself is what type of laptop you want? If there’s a specific task that you have in mind for your next workstation then you might want to consider checking out one of our other round-ups such as the Best Student Laptop, Best Budget Laptop, Best Chromebook or Best Gaming Laptop. Then again, you might be approaching this decision with a degree of brand loyalty in mind (particularly if your last laptop held up to scrutiny) and we’ve got you covered there too. In addition to our Best MacBook round-up, we’ve also put our expertise to the test and listed the Best Asus Laptop, Best Microsoft Surface Laptop, Best Acer Laptop, Best Dell Laptop and Best Huawei Laptop. If you have no such reservation at the present moment then fear not, as you’re exactly where you’re supposed to be. This very guide is designed to give you the best overview of the laptop space so you know exactly which models stand above the crowd in almost all major categories. With that in mind, keep on reading to see which laptops made the cut.
Best Laptop at a glance
Best Windows Laptop: Asus Zenbook S 13 OLED – check priceBest MacBook: MacBook Pro 16-inch (2021) – check priceBest Chromebook: Acer Chromebook Spin 513 – check priceBest lightweight MacBook: Apple MacBook Air M2 (2022) – check priceBest budget window laptop: Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 – check priceBest 15-inch laptop: Dell XPS 15 (2022) – check priceBest 16-inch laptop: LG Gram 16 (2022) – check priceBest high-performance productivity laptop: Huawei MateBook Pro X 2022 – check priceBest looking laptop: Dell XPS 13 Plus – check priceBest Windows laptop for content creation: Asus ZenBook Pro 16X OLED (2022) – check priceBest 2-in-1 laptop: Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio – check priceBest gaming laptop: Razer Blade 14 (2021) – check price
According to our tests, the chip even offers a decent gaming performance and an impressive battery life that surpasses the 13-hour mark. This makes it a more appealing laptop option compared to our previous favourite Windows laptop, the Dell XPS 13 OLED. During testing, we were also very impressed by the vibrant OLED screen as well as its exemplary colour space coverage (100% in sRGB, 96% in Adobe RGB and 97% in DCI-P3) to make this an ideal laptop for professionals, as well as a comfortable keyboard and ultra-portable design that makes it ideal for working on the go. There are a couple of negative points, such as the stingy port offering which totals three USB-C ports and a headphone jack; an additional USB-A wouldn’t have gone amiss. The Zenbook S 13 OLED nevertheless remains the best all-round Windows laptop that we’ve reviewed. However, with the laptop only recently launching, it may be difficult to find the AMD Ryzen 7 6800U SKU that we have reviewed. But if you’re keen to purchase this outstanding laptop, then it’s worth waiting a couple more weeks. And if you need a new laptop right now, the Dell XPS 13 OLED is a fantastic alternative. Reviewer: Ryan JonesFull review: Asus Zenbook S 13 OLED review The MacBook Pro is not only one of the best Macs money can buy right now, but it’s also our number one recommended portable for content creators, topping the charts in the performance benchmark tests that we run on every laptop. When we tested it, we found it could speed through heavy-duty tasks such as video editing and 3D animation, and our battery tests prove it can keep on working throughout the day. In addition, the redesigned MacBook Pro (2021) also comes with one of the brightest displays we’ve ever tested on a laptop, with a measured peak brightness of 1600 nits. This allowed for a properly vibrant performance that makes editing videos or photos a joy. And the fact this is a ProMotion capable panel is also excellent, as it allows for smoother motion thanks to a 120Hz refresh rate. If you don’t need to edit video or engage with any other professional-grade workloads, then we think the MacBook Air or 13-inch MacBook Pro are better options. They use the same macOS operating system and similar classy design, but are even more portable thanks to the less powerful Apple Silicon processors. Apple also offers the desktop-bound Mac Studio if you’re craving the most powerful performance available, but for us, the MacBook Pro remains the best option if you need to edit the likes of photos and videos on the go. Reviewer: Max ParkerFull review: MacBook Pro 16-inch review The Acer Chromebook Spin 513 is our current favourite Chromebook. We found that the Snapdragon chip’s benchmark results weren’t as impressive as processors made by AMD or Intel, but the laptop was still capable of dealing with basic tasks such as web browsing, video streaming and essay write-ups without noticeable slowdown. Unlike many other Chromebooks we’ve tested, this laptop is also very light at just 1.2kg. This means you don’t need to worry about getting back pains when porting this laptop around, which can’t be said about other Chromebooks. There are plenty of other Chromebooks worth considering too, such as the Lenovo Chromebook Duet that can double up as a tablet, and the Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5 which packs an Intel Core chip for an even faster performance. But we still think the Acer Chromebook Spin 513 represents the best all-round value. Reviewer: Reece BithreyFull review: Acer Chromebook Spin 513 review This sits in the middle of Apple’s current MacBook line. It lacks the high-end chipsets and stunning screen of the MacBook Pro 14 and 16, but it has a sleeker design, improved webcam and a 13.6-inch display that you won’t find on the cheaper MacBook Pro M1. At the heart of this machine is the M2 chip, While not as speedy as the M1 Pro or M1 Max, or even a huge jump over the still very capable M1, this remains an excellent chipset that makes this laptop one of the fastest around when you consider its sleek body and minimal weight. During our in-depth review process, we found the machine could easily handle 4K video editing and even some gaming. The 13.6-inch display does lack some of the higher-end features of other laptops on this list. It’s not an OLED panel, doesn’t support true HDR and sticks to a standard 60Hz refresh rate. There’s also no touchscreen here, which is the norm for Apple’s laptop range, but should put you off if you want a machine for drawing on. With that being said, our reviewer was impressed with the display, especially its high level of brightness and punchy colours. There is a notch jutting into the screen, but it doesn’t really cause any issues. Our reviewer managed to comfortably get through a full workday on a single charge and there’s the magnetic MagSafe charging port for getting back to 100%. Two Thunderbolt 3 ports sit on one side, while Apple’s excellent Magic Keyboard remains. However, it’s still worth considering the MacBook Air M1 due to its more affordable price, especially if you’re not too fussed about the graphics upgrade found with the M2. Reviewer: Max ParkerFull review: Apple MacBook Air M2 (2022) Despite its low price, it boasts excellent build quality and offers a nippy performance for basic day-to-day workloads. Microsoft has opted for a new processor for this sequel, which has even given it a battery life boost compared to the original laptop. During our standard battery test, it managed to keep running for 9 hours and 11 minutes. Of course, the Surface Laptop Go 2 isn’t as powerful as some of the other laptops on this list and will struggle with the likes of gaming and content creation, but it’s not expected to cope with such workloads at this budget-friendly price. Our only major gripe with this ultra-portable laptop is its screen quality. With a low 1536 x 1024 resolution, images and video don’t look sharp, making it a substandard option for the likes of Netflix. And that tiny 12.4-inch may make this laptop super portable, but it’s also difficult to have multiple browser windows and apps open simultaneously. We recommend checking out the similarly priced Acer Swift 3 if you really care about the screen quality. But if you can overlook those drawbacks, then we still think the Surface Laptop Go 2 is one of the absolute best Windows laptops at this price point. Reviewer: Ryan JonesFull review: Surface Laptop Go 2 review One of the most impressive aspects of this laptop is the incredible 15-inch 3.5K OLED panel, which our reviewer thought could elevate just about anything. TV shows and movies looked bright and the colours popped without looking unnatural, and we thought it was more than bright enough to work in sunny environments. And since this is an OLED device, it was able to cover both the sRGB and DCI-P3 gamut, making it a great choice for any creative professionals who require high colour accuracy for their work. The model we reviewed came with a 12th-generation Intel Core i7-12700H processor and an Nvidia RTX 3050 Ti GPU. The processor was more than fast enough for productivity tasks, outpacing other quality laptops like the LG Gram 16 and Acer Swift Edge. The GPU is a little less powerful than you may expect, since it uses the low-power 40W variation, although we were still able to play games like Horizon: Zero Dawn in 1080p at 53fps, making this a perfectly serviceable gaming laptop for casual play. This is one of our favourite 15-inch laptops currently on the market thanks to its high colour accuracy and impressive specs. If you’re looking for an all-rounder that can tackle most tasks, then the Dell XPS 15 (2022) is possibly the perfect choice, provided that the high price point isn’t too offputting. Reviewer: Stuart AndrewsFull Review: Dell XPS 15 (2022) Review LG has needed to compromise on build quality to achieve this lightweight form, which we found to be noticeable when pushing down on the deck. But our testing still found this laptop to be robust enough to survive multiple trips in a rucksack. But such compromises are well worth it if you like to watch video, as we were highly impressed with the 16-inch panel with its 2560 x 1600 resolution and excellent colour coverage. The 16:10 aspect ratio is also ideal for office workloads, with plenty of vertical space for spreadsheets and documents. For the 2022 iteration, LG has upgraded the laptop with Intel’s 12th Generation chip. This is comfortably speedy enough for day-to-day workloads, and is even capable of entry-level content creation. However, the likes of the Huawei MateBook D 16 (2022) offer an even faster performance while also flaunting a huge 16-inch screen. But in terms of hitting the sweet spot between portability and having a large screen, there’s no better option than the LG Gram 16. Reviewer: Ryan JonesFull review: LG Gram 16 (2022) Review It’s a shame that it doesn’t offer the option for a discrete GPU, and so can’t compete with the MacBook Pro when it comes to intense workloads. But the vast majority of office workers and students arguably won’t need that level of graphical grunt. We were also impressed by the lovely 14-inch screen, featuring a super-sharp 3120 x 2080 resolution. Our testing with a colorimeter also showed it capable of a wide colour coverage, to ensure images and photos are displayed accurately. Other great features include the haptic feedback trackpad, a lightweight design and a touchscreen. However, this laptop is one of the more expensive options on this list, so you’re going to have to pay a premium for the high performance. If you want to check out more affordable Huawei laptops, we recommend checking out the Huawei MateBook 16s and Huawei MateBook D 16. Reviewer: Gemma RylesFull review: Huawei MateBook X Pro (2022, 12th gen) Review Its edge-to-edge keyboard covers the entire width of the laptop, with no gaps in-between each key. There’s also no physical trackpad here, with Dell instead using haptic feedback vibrations to simulate presses. We were impressed with how natural the experience felt, while also allowing for a sleek glass interior design. You’ll also find a Touch Bar above the keyboard, which lacks the complex functionality of Apple’s Touch Bar on the MacBook Pro, but makes swapping between shortcuts and function keys more pleasing to the eye. Beauty does come at a cost though, as the laptop is so thin that it’s lacking in the port department and features a smallish battery which comprises this portable’s longevity on a single charge. In addition, the thin design seems to have led to some throttling of the XPS 13 Plus’ overall performance, despite having a powerful 12th gen Intel Core i7 processor and 32GB of RAM to boot. Its results are still respectable for basic and more intense workloads alike, but they do fall behind the likes of the M2 MacBook Air and Samsung Galaxy Book Pro 2 by a margin. Nonetheless, if you want the best looking laptop available, as well as the bragging rights to some cutting-edge features, then the Dell XPS 13 Plus is one of the best laptop options available. Reviewer: Ryan JonesFull review: Dell XPS 13 Plus review There are a number of reasons why this is such a good laptop for content creation. Firstly, our benchmark tests show it to be a powerful laptop thanks to the double act of an Intel Core i9-12900H and Nvidia RTX 3060 GPU. We were also hugely impressed with the 16-inch OLED panel, with our tests showing it be incredibly accurate at displaying colours to ensure photos and videos don’t look distorted. This ZenBook Pro laptop also has a killer feature in the Asus dial. We really enjoyed using it for finer control in supported apps such as Lightroom, Photoshop, Premiere Pro and more. There are a few trade-offs with this Asus laptop when compared to the MacBook Pro though. Our benchmark tests showed that battery life wasn’t quite as impressive, while the design is a bit cumbersome which could prove problematic if you need to port the laptop around frequently. But if you need a powerful Windows laptop that’s optimised for creative applications, there are few better than the Asus ZenBook Pro 16X OLED. Reviewer: Mike JenningsFull review: Asus ZenBook Pro 16X OLED (2022) Review The Surface Laptop Studio’s screen can be folded flat on top of the keyboard, allowing you to use the device as some sort of graphics tablet if you buy the Surface Pen stylus. During testing, we were really impressed by the seamless ability to sketch and doodle directly onto the screen, making it a great option for digital artists. But if you want to use your 2-in-1 laptop just like an iPad, so you can carry it around and hold it in one hand, then you’ll need something else. We really like the Surface Pro 8, although you’ll need to buy the magnetic clip-on keyboard separately in order to use it like a laptop. The HP Spectre x360 13 (2021) offers a great middle-ground, with the hinge allowing the keyboard to be flipped so it’s resting on the screen’s rear. Which 2-in-1 design you should go for depends largely on what you need the device for. In our opinion, the Surface Laptop Studio is superb for content creation, while the Surface Pro 8 and HP Spectre x360 are optimised for productivity workloads. Reviewer: Ryan JonesFull review: Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio review Our benchmark tests showed it to be incredibly powerful, while also featuring a 1440p screen resolution so games look sharp and vibrant, as well as a display that also featured some amazing colour reproduction and the powers of a 165Hz refresh rate to provide smoother output that should be more than enough for most gamers. And like with most gaming laptops we’ve tested, it features an RGB keyboard backlight that we were able to personalise with a range of colourful lighting in just a couple of clicks. There are plenty of alternative gaming laptops to choose from, including the Gigabyte Aorus 17G with its huge 17-inch display and the more portable Asus ROG Flow X13 that can be bundled with an external GPU. The Blade 14 (2021) weighs 1.78kg which isn’t too heavy for a gaming laptop, and at 16.8mm thick, it’s also a lot thinner than other gaming laptops we’ve tested. The only thing to note is that if you do want to take this laptop out, you may well need to take the 660g power brick with you, which tips the total weight of the Blade 14 (2021) over the 2kg mark, which may be a little too heavy for day to day use. If you plan on only playing Fortnite and Minecraft, stick to a more conventional laptop – a gaming laptop is only really worthwhile for more demanding titles. Reviewer: Ryan JonesFull review: Razer Blade 14 review 2,908 Laptop
