13 Of The Best Laptops You Can Buy In 2026

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Whether you're replacing a broken laptop or you're simply feeling like it's time for an upgrade, trying to find the best laptop for your specific needs can be both tedious and overwhelming. Every laptop brand tends to launch yearly iterations of its most popular laptops, which is great for ensuring customers always have access to the best of the best. However, this can be bad as well because it gives customers almost too many options. You have to navigate not only different brands and ecosystems, but also current- and last-gen models at major retailers, similarly specced laptops within a single brand, and the ever-changing AI landscape.

Before you start looking for a laptop, think about how you intend to use it on a regular basis. Consider whether you only need it to access the internet, if you want to play games on it, whether a lightweight laptop with a long-lasting battery is appealing to you, and so on. Figure out what your ideal laptop would do for you first, and from there, build backwards to ensure the laptop's specs meet all your needs.

If you need some help beginning your search for the best laptop, we've got you covered. We've chosen laptops for 13 unique categories, including the best budget-friendly laptop, best gaming laptop, best Chromebook, and even best repairable laptop. One of these picks is surely going to be a good fit for you, so without further ado, let's jump into the list.

The Apple MacBook Air M4 practically has it all. It's a well-rounded gem with incredible battery life, powerful performance, and a thin, lightweight design — all at a relatively affordable price. Equipped with Apple's M4 chip, 16GB of RAM, 256GB of SSD storage, and two USB-C ports, this laptop is more than capable of handling daily productivity tasks like managing emails, browsing the web, working on essays or presentations, and so on.

For watching media, it has a beautiful 13.6-inch display with a resolution of 2560 x 1664 pixels and decent peak brightness of 500 nits. In our MacBook Air M4 review, we also loved the laptop's satisfying keyboard, responsive trackpad, upgraded webcam, and its impressive 2.7-pound weight. Generally, a new MacBook Air can last about five to seven years, depending on how well you treat it, how long you can expect macOS updates, and how you intend to use the laptop after software support ends.

If you don't want a MacBook because of compatibility with a specific app or just the Apple ecosystem in general, the best Windows laptop you can grab in 2026 is the Dell 14 Plus. Depending on the configuration you go with, this 14-inch Windows laptop can have up to an Intel Core Ultra 9 288V processor, 32GB of RAM, 1TB of SSD storage, and a non-touch 2.5K (2560 x 1600 pixels) display. It's also equipped with a nice variety of ports, including a USB-A port, two USB-C ports, an HDMI port, and a 3.5mm audio jack.

In addition to its practical array of ports, the Dell 14 Plus impressed PCMag with its comfortable, well-cushioned keyboard, crisp audio quality, sharp webcam quality, sturdy metal construction, fairly reliable performance, and incredible battery life of about 20 hours. CNET scored the Dell 14 Plus similarly to PCMag, highlighting its aluminum build, sharp display, and overall performance. Dell's 14 Both publications recommend waiting for a sale to get the best bang for your buck with this model.

If you're unfamiliar with Copilot+ PCs, here's what you need to know: it's a computer designed to deliver strong AI performance with a dedicated neural processing unit (NPU). At the time of writing, all Copilot+ PCs are powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor and, therefore, run a Windows 11 on ARM experience as opposed to x86-based processors from Intel and AMD. While Intel and AMD will inevitably get into the Windows on ARM game soon, Qualcomm's current CPU lineup in Copilot+ PCs is luckily pretty great.

The Snapdragon X Plus-powered, 13-inch variant of Microsoft's Surface Laptop is under $1,000 before any sales and equipped with a Qualcomm Hexagon NPU with 45 Trillion of Operations Per Second (TOPS) of AI processing power, 16GB of RAM, up to 512GB of UFS storage, and a 1920 x 1080-pixel display. Its internal specs moderately impressed critics at PCMag and CNET, but they were more enamored with the laptop's metal build, compact design, and exceptional battery life, lasting between 24 and 31 hours in battery tests.

Needing to save money on your next laptop doesn't mean you need to settle for a small Chromebook or a used laptop with a questionable history. The Acer Aspire 16 AI is typically just under $700, but you can often find it on sale for quite a bit lower (right now, the lowest it's ever been is $430 at Amazon). Despite that surprisingly low price tag for a 16-inch laptop, Acer's Aspire 16 AI is decked out with a solid set of specs.

Inside, you'll find the Aspire 16 AI powered by a Snapdragon X processor, 16GB of RAM, and 512GB of SSD storage — great specs for basic productivity tasks for work, school, or personal use. This laptop's display has a resolution of 1920 x 1200 pixels and a smooth refresh rate of 120Hz, and despite its large, 16-inch size, CNET notes that Acer strikes a good balance between laptop weight and screen size. CNET also highlights the Aspire 16 AI's comfortable keyboard and impressive battery life of over 21 hours on its in-house battery test.

Chromebooks have a reputation for being budget-friendly at the expense of design and power, but that's not the case with Lenovo's latest Chromebook Plus 14 model. This little laptop is widely regarded as one of the best Chromebooks you can get, surpassing expectations with a gorgeous 1920 x 1200-pixel OLED display, strong performance despite its lightweight, fanless design, and super long battery life for a Chromebook. Wired clocked the Chromebook Plus 14 at about 16 hours in a battery test, and it lasted roughly 19 hours for PCWorld.

With a typical retail price of $749, the Chromebook Plus 14 comes with a MediaTek Kompanio Ultra 910 processor, 16GB of RAM, 256GB of UFS storage, and a USB-C port on each side for convenient charging. Then, there's also a 3.5mm audio jack on the right side and a USB-A port on the left side. Overall, critics think the Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14 is a solidly built laptop with attention devoted to easily forgotten details, like the touchpad, keyboard, and speakers.

Lenovo is one of the best major gaming laptop brands around, and its Legion Pro 7i 16 OLED (Gen 10, 2025) is particularly excellent. Like other gaming laptops, it has a high retail price, but you can often find it discounted by $1,000 or more, making it an absolute steal for its internal specs. The Legion Pro 7i 16 OLED features an Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX processor, a Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 graphics card, 32GB of RAM, 1TB of SSD storage, and a ton of ports, including an HDMI port, two USB-A ports, a Thunderbolt 4 port, and a 3.5mm audio jack.

As its title implies, this laptop is equipped with a gorgeous OLED panel praised by TechRadar, PCWorld, and multiple other publications. Diving a little deeper, this Legion Pro 7i model has a 16-inch, 2560 x 1600-pixel OLED display with a 240Hz refresh rate and max brightness of 500 nits. Of course, it's worth noting that the Legion Pro 7i's powerful performance and beautiful OLED display translate to poor battery life, but if you're planning to stay plugged in most of the time, this won't be an issue. If you'd rather prioritize battery life over performance, the Razer Blade 16 might be a better model for you.

If you've been on the hunt for a decent gaming laptop that's often available under $1,000, look no further than the MSI Katana 15 HX. This gaming rig is chunky and it only offers 512GB of SSD storage — easily taken up by just a few modern games — but those few downsides are easy to forget when you see its specs. MSI's Katana 15 HX comes with an Intel Core i7-14650HX processor, a Nvidia GeForce RTX 5050 graphics card, and 16GB of RAM. 

On the other hand, the laptop's 15.6-inch IPS display has a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels and a 144Hz refresh rate is, to be fully transparent, nothing special. Tom's Hardware describes it as plain and dim, but ultimately still awarded the gaming laptop a great score of 4 out of 5 stars. Making up for the lackluster display, the Katana 15 HX is equipped with a healthy variety of ports, including three USB-A ports, a USB-C port, an HDMI port, a 3.5mm audio jack, and an ethernet port.

Not only is the Lenovo Yoga 9i 2-in-1 Aura Edition one of the best convertible laptops you can buy today, it's also one of the best-looking laptops you can own. In CNET's review, this laptop is dubbed a "near-perfect package," thanks to its relatively high-quality rotating soundbar, easily portable weight of 2.9 pounds, sharp and color-accurate webcam, stunning 3K OLED display (and stunning design overall), and insane battery life of nearly 26 hours. With the exception of battery life, these are all surface-level features of this laptop, and that's what makes it special.

With the Yoga 9i 2-in-1 Aura Edition, Lenovo gives proper attention to features too often forgotten, and somehow still manages to deliver good overall performance and impressive battery life. Looking closer at its specs, it's powered by an Intel Core Ultra 7 258V processor, decked out in Lenovo's Cosmic Blue shade all over, and fitted with 32GB of RAM, 1TB of SSD storage, one USB-A port, and two Thunderbolt 4 (USB-C) ports.

Your smartphone has replaced countless traditional travel items, but one thing it can't quite replace is a laptop. Sure, it can do a lot of the same things, like browse the internet and stream media, but some tasks like managing a budget spreadsheet or working on a presentation are ridiculously tedious on a smartphone. That's where an ultraportable laptop reveals itself as the travel-friendly companion you need.

The Asus Zenbook S 14 OLED certainly qualifies as an ultraportable laptop, with compact dimensions of 12.2 x 8.5 x 0.5 inches and a light weight of 2.65 pounds. On top of its svelte design, this laptop has a beautiful 14-inch, 3K OLED display, a sturdily built chassis, and incredible battery life, lasting almost 20 hours in PCMag's battery test. Our 2024 Asus Zenbook 14 OLED review also highlights these features, proving it's a tried-and-true laptop pick.

This updated model simply builds on previous success with modern specs. Asus' latest Zenbook S 14 OLED model is equipped with an Intel Core Ultra 7 258V processor, 32GB of RAM, 1TB of SSD storage, and a decent array of ports, including an HDMI port, two Thunderbolt 4 (USB-C) ports, a USB-A port, and a 3.5mm audio jack.

There was a good chunk of time during which you'd never see anyone recommend a non-MacBook as a long-lasting laptop. Now, there's a plethora of Windows laptops with great battery life to throw into the mix as well. One of the best laptops for battery life right now is the HP OmniBook 5 14. Based on battery life tests run by CNET, this affordable laptop's runtime well surpasses that of the MacBook Pro (14-inch, M4, 2024) and the MacBook Air (13-inch, M4, 2025). In an online streaming battery drain test, the HP OmniBook 5 14 held out for over 28 hours.

CNET also highlights the laptop's vivid 14-inch OLED display and sleek design that's mostly metal and easily portable. One HP OmniBook 5 14 configuration features a Qualcomm Snapdragon X Plus processor, 16GB of RAM, 512GB of SSD storage, and minimal ports, including two USB-C ports, one USB-A port, and a 3.5mm audio jack.

If you need a laptop to edit video content for work or as a hobby, you can't go wrong with the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (M4 Pro, 2025). The M4 Pro chip powering the system offers stronger performance than the base M4 chip, at a more affordable price than the M4 Max chip. Apple's M5 series processors will be available as of mid-March 2026, but for most people, the M4 Pro chip will still offer the best value. Apple is one of the most reliable laptop brands to buy used as well, so if you want to get the best bang for your buck, check out a few reputable online marketplaces.

One of the most popular MacBook Pro 14 M4 Pro configurations is equipped with 24GB of RAM and 512GB of SSD storage. Then, all configurations feature a 14-inch LED display with a resolution of 3024 x 1964 pixels, Apple's famously satisfying keyboard, a superb webcam, high quality speakers, three Thunderbolt 5 (USB-C) ports, an HDMI port, a sleek aluminum design, and a battery that just won't quit. In a Tom's Guide battery test, the 16-inch M4 Pro MacBook Pro lasted almost 21 hours, and it stands to reason the 14-inch variant would last a bit longer.

We reviewed an early iteration of the Framework Laptop and, with the exception of critical notes on its battery life, speakers, and fan noise, we absolutely loved it. Since early 2023, Framework has refined its laptop offerings even more. The 2025 model of the Framework Laptop 16 is available with Nvidia's RTX 5070 GPU, and like with all of Framework's other laptop components, the graphics unit is modular, so you can swap it in or out at any time.

With easily removable components, the Framework Laptop 16 is the best repairable laptop currently on the market. PCMag calls it the "most versatile and future-proof desktop-replacement laptop," and that's not an exaggeration. It is pricey, but you can replace or upgrade your RAM, storage, ports, keyboard, trackpad, and even your entire mainboard, which contains the motherboard, processor, and fans. Essentially, no matter what you need your laptop to do, the Framework Laptop 16 can be configured to handle it with grace.

A business laptop needs to be portable and sturdy enough for commuters and frequent travelers, with the specs to juggle multiple tabs, apps, and projects at once, and come equipped with security features that make you feel confident when working with sensitive information. The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 13 Aura Edition meets all those requirements, and then some.

Lenovo's latest ThinkPad X1 Carbon can be configured with up to an Intel Core Ultra 7 268V processor, 32GB of RAM, 2TB of SSD storage, Windows 11 Pro, and a 14-inch, 2.8K OLED display. No matter what internal spec pairings you go with, every ThinkPad X1 Carbon will weigh about 2.2 pounds, feature a snappy, satisfying keyboard with the classic red TrackPoint dot in the center, and come with plenty of ports, including two USB-A ports, two Thunderbolt 4 (USB-C) ports, an HDMI port, and a 3.5mm audio jack.

For all these reasons and this laptop's strong overall performance, Tom's Hardware awarded 4 out of 5 stars. The biggest factor holding the ThinkPad X1 Carbon back from notching a more impressive score is its battery life. It lasted about 11.5 hours in the site's in-house battery test, which is a respectable result, but not as great as its competitors.

To compile this list, we looked through dozens of laptops from top brands like Apple, Lenovo, Microsoft, MSI, Acer, and more. Our main goal was to find top-tier options satisfying different user needs, including portability, low budget, battery life, gaming performance, and so on.

To ensure we picked reliable, well-rounded laptops for each category, we sifted through hundreds of reviews from reputable websites like CNET, PCMag, TechRadar, and PCWorld, just to name a few. On average, each laptop we selected earned a score of 80% or higher, sometimes represented as four out of five stars and other times as a percentage or as a simple numerical score out of 10.

Every decision we made here is also backed by personal experience. The SlashGear team has decades of collective experience testing, reviewing, and using laptops in both professional and personal capacities. Thanks to this experience, we were able to narrow down this list from hundreds of laptops to just 13.