5 New Laptops Coming Out Soon That Might Be Worth The Wait

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If you're in the market for a new laptop, it might be tempting to simply buy whatever looks best at the moment. However, you could be making a mistake by just getting whatever is already on the market. Especially now, after the conclusion of various major tech events, including CES, Computex, and IFA. At these events, we saw various companies announce a slew of new products. For example, Anker announced new products, and as you might have also guessed, major laptop manufacturers didn't disappoint, with many of them revealing new models and some giving us a peek at concept devices. 

Some of the models announced at these events have yet to hit shelves and are slated to arrive soon. However, not every model that's scheduled to hit the market is worth waiting for. That said, there are a few upcoming laptops that could make holding off on your purchase worthwhile. Let's discuss some interesting laptop models that haven't been released yet and are scheduled to hit the market soon, which might be worth the wait based on the details we know so far. 

If you've been impressed by Apple's MacBook Neo and wish there could be a worthy Windows alternative, the Lenovo IdeaPad Vibe is what you're looking for. This laptop was revealed by the company at IFA 2026. The IdeaPad Vibe is a budget-friendly laptop that borrows inspiration from Apple's MacBook Neo playbook. It all starts with its budget-friendly price tag of $699.99, followed by an assortment of bright colors to pick from, including Radiant Coral, Chill Blue, Zen Green, Dreamy Violet, and Spicy Gold. 

Under the hood, the IdeaPad Vibe is powered by either a Qualcomm Snapdragon X, AMD Ryzen AI 400 series, or an Intel Core series chip — Lenovo gives you the freedom to pick the chipmaker that you prefer. For memory, the base model offers just 8 GB, but Lenovo lets you configure it to a maximum of 24 GB or 32 GB depending on the chip, and up to 1 TB of storage. It also comes in 14- and 15-inch sizes and weighs 2.8 and 3.3 pounds, respectively. 

It's a tad heavier than the 2.7-pound MacBook Neo, so it still falls under the portable laptop category for those working on the go. Despite its portable design and slim 0.59-inch thickness, the IdeaPad Vibe doesn't compromise on connectivity, giving you more than just USB-C ports. There's an HDMI port, a microSD card reader, a 3.5 mm headphone jack, two USB-A ports, and two USB-C ports. Lenovo says this laptop will be available to order from November 2026.

Microsoft announced the Surface Laptop Ultra back in June 2026 at Computex. What makes the Surface Laptop Ultra worth the wait is its chip. This laptop is powered by an Nvidia RTX Spark chip, an ARM-based processor that took the world by storm when it was announced at Computex. With a thickness of 0.71 inches, the Surface Laptop Ultra is a thin laptop, although it isn't exceptionally lightweight at 4.5 pounds. It features a 15-inch mini-LED display with touchscreen support and a tall 3:2 aspect ratio, giving you more vertical screen real estate. 

That panel has 262 pixels per inch and offers up to 2,000 nits of peak HDR brightness. It offers plenty of connectivity options, with three USB-C ports, one USB-A port, a full-size HDMI port, and a full-size SD card reader. Additionally, there's a headphone jack if you need to connect your wired headphones or bookshelf speakers. The Surface Laptop Ultra will allow you to pair the RTX Spark chip with up to 128 GB of unified memory. 

The device includes an Nvidia Blackwell RTX GPU (though the company hasn't specified the specific model) and a replaceable SSD. The Surface Laptop Ultra will ship in two colors: Nightfall and Platinum. At the time of this writing, Microsoft has yet to reveal the price of the Surface Laptop Ultra. The company is set to officially release it this fall, although no specific launch date has been announced.

For students and young professionals who don't need all the power of the current $1,399.99 Dell 14S, the company is offering a more budget-friendly variant. Dell is one of the companies competing with Apple's MacBook Neo, and the 14S is its second attempt to give Apple's entry-level laptop a run for its money. The Dell 14S has a 14-inch display, although the company offers two different panels that you can pick from. 

You can go with a 2.8K resolution panel with a 120 Hz refresh rate or, if you need more battery life, get the toned-down 2K 60 Hz panel. This laptop is powered by an Intel Core 5 or Core 7 Series 3 chip paired with up to 16 GB of memory. It has an aluminum body and comes in four colors: Linen, Dusty Rose, Washed Denim, and Velvet Green. The 14S is designed with portability in mind, weighing just 2.5 pounds and with a slim profile of just 0.53 inches thick. It offers four ports, including two USB-C ports, an HDMI port, and a headphone jack. 

You can expect battery life of up to 21 hours, according to the company. The major selling point that makes the Dell 14S worth the wait is its price. Dell is yet to reveal how much it will cost; the company says it complements its budget-friendly $699.99 Dell XPS 13, so it could join the list of the best student laptops for 2026. The Dell 14S will be available starting this fall.

At Computex 2026, Asus unveiled its new ProArt P16 laptop that is also powered by Nvidia's RTX Spark chip. The company's ProArt lineup is usually targeted at creators, and this new model doesn't go against that. However, what makes it exciting, and perhaps worth the wait, is the new chip, which should speed up performance, thanks to its 20 CPU cores and an Nvidia Blackwell RTX GPU with 6,144 CUDA cores. Aside from the RTX Spark chip, the ProArt P16 also offers solid specs in other areas. 

Starting with the display, you get a 4K OLED panel with 1,600 nits peak HDR brightness, 120 Hz refresh rate, 100% coverage of the DCI-P3 color space, and touch screen support. The base model offers 24 GB of memory, but you can configure it with 32 GB, 64 GB, or 128 GB. Storage starts at 512 GB and is upgradable to 1 TB or 2 TB. Connectivity-wise, the Asus ProArt P16 isn't as generous (or as versatile) as some other options on this list, as it only offers three USB Type-C ports, a single USB Type-A port, and a headphone jack. 

At 3.90 lbs, it isn't particularly ultraportable, but it has a slim profile with a thickness of just 0.51 inches. It draws its power from a 99.9-watt-hour cell. This laptop will be available starting in fall 2026, and Asus has yet to reveal how much it'll cost.

The Lenovo ThinkBook 14 Gen 9 is already selling with an Intel chip, but the company has also announced a variant with Qualcomm's Snapdragon X2 series chip under the hood. Qualcomm's ARM-based chips are known for their excellent battery life and have proven to outperform Intel chips in power efficiency. For those who prioritize battery life, the Snapdragon X2 Plus-powered ThinkBook 14 Gen 9 could be worth the wait. 

The laptop is powered by a 50-watt-hour cell, with the company reckoning up to 26 hours of screen time while playing local videos. Elsewhere, this laptop features a 14-inch panel with a 60 Hz refresh rate, 400 nits of brightness, and optional touch input support. The Snapdragon X2 Plus chip is paired with up to 32 GB of memory and up to 1 TB of storage. 

There are plenty of ports available, including two USB-C, two USB-A, HDMI, an SD card reader, and a headphone jack. For internet connectivity, this laptop supports Wi-Fi 7, which enables faster wireless speeds of up to 40 Gbps. At 2.87 pounds, the ThinkBook 14 Gen 9 can easily be carried around. The Lenovo ThinkBook 14 Gen 9 will be available to buy starting October 2026 with a starting price of $1,300.

At different tech events held this year, some of the major laptop manufacturers showcased their latest offerings. Some of those devices have already made it to the market while others still don't have concrete release timelines. To compile this list of laptops that might be worth the wait, we only considered models that met two key requirements. First, we looked for models that are not yet available for purchase as of the time of this writing. 

Second, every laptop we considered had to be scheduled for release at some point in the next few months, before the end of 2026. Any laptop without a solid release timeline didn't make it to the list. To select a laptop, we looked at whether it offers something interesting to potential buyers that could make it worth the wait. Some of the factors we considered before selecting any model include whether it has a brand-new chip that doesn't exist on the currently available variant, a budget-friendly price, or something else that makes it worth checking out.