Iâll admit it: as much as I like the power and pizazz of a supercharged desktop PC, thereâs nothing like taking that performance on the go. Thatâs why the laptop is still very much alive, versatile enough to serve needs from gaming to 3D modeling to simply having a convenient all-in-one experience. Some modern-day laptops are strong enough to replace full desktops. Other lap-based devices, like the touchscreen-based 2-in-1s, stretch what the form factor is capable of, bringing in some tablet-like convenience.
The best overall laptop is the Apple Macbook Pro with M3. Yeah, we were surprised, too, but the MacBook Proâs performance turns it into quite the portable workstation, and it can even do some light gaming, though the pickings can be a little slim on that front. Plus, it comes in black.
While it seems weâve long reached the point when most manufacturers have figured out what does or doesnât work with laptops, weâre still seeing designers stretch how many ports they hold, pure screen quality, and just how thin they can make these PCs. Not all laptops are built the same, and price doesnât necessarily mean quality. Itâs hard to parse the entire laptop landscape, so letâs walk through which product is best for your needs.
What laptop should I buy?
Your laptop buying decision should be defined by what you plan to do with the device and your budget. If itâs going to be your primary computer, sit on a desk, and never really move around or get packed in a bag, you donât need to worry about size and weight. If you want to play video games, youâre going to need a faster processor. If youâre a road warrior, you want something small, light, and hard to break.
In our list below, weâve identified several of those use cases and identified our top laptop pick for you. If moneyâs no object, you donât have niche power user concerns like financial modeling, and you donât care what operating system the hardware runs, go for our best overall laptop. Anything else, read on.
Finally, keep in mind that one of the rules of consumer electronics is that as soon as you buy a new gadget, it will immediately be eclipsed by a newer, faster, better model. We can say with confidence that chipmakers will continue to release powerful new processors in 2024, and laptop makers will roll out new products. But generally speaking, the first few months of the year are when we see the most new products announced and released.
The editorial staff of Gizmodo independently tests and reviews each product found in our Buyerâs Guides. If you purchase something using our affiliate links, G/O Media may earn a commission. Affiliate linking does not influence our editorial content.
Best Overall Laptop â MacBook Pro with M3
Apple declared its newest M3-powered products were âscary fastâ during an event bearing the same name. They are, indeed, powerful machines, and we were able to prove that with all the benchmarks. Yet the MacBook Pro is most comfortable when itâs running like it always has, for intensive tasks that allow users a fair bit of wiggle room so youâre not overtaxing your device. It can effectively power some heavy-duty rendering programs with ease. The M3 is, indeed, a more powerful chip than the M2. But depending on the user, that might not change muchâor anythingâabout how you use Appleâs laptops sporting the companyâs own silicon. Read More âKyle Barr
Best Premium Laptop â Lenovo Legion Pro 7i
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The Lenovo Legion Pro 7i 16 comes close to having practically everything you could want or need in a gaming laptop, almost to the point of excess. There may not be many folks out there who demand numpad controls on a mobile device. Why include it? Because why not. The only thing itâs missing is an SD card slot. Knowing just how many things have been shoved into this beast of a laptop, Iâm honestly surprised by its absence.
Best Work Laptop â MSI Prestige 16 AI EVO
Thereâs little you could want more from a dedicated productivity laptop than you can get with the MSI Prestige 16. Ignore all the talk of âAIâ for now since this laptop has a 4K OLED screen thatâs as bright and beautiful as you need for your daily tasks, or more so, watching Netflix or YouTube videos while trying to ignore those tasks altogether. Itâs relatively lightweight and thin, has a very nice and clacky yet subdued keyboard, and is packing an Intel Core Ultra 7 155H at and below $1,399, all of which is pretty good for that price point.
So now letâs talk about the AI. Itâs the main selling point of the current generation of âAI PCsâ since it has a few built-in features meant to streamline usersâ experience. You wonât honestly see much of a difference between this and other PCs, but in benchmarks, the AI performance boost capabilities did put the Prestige 16 above the competition. Unless youâre doing a lot of rendering, you probably wonât notice any real difference. While 4K and OLED are becoming far more mainstream, the Prestige 16 has some of the best stats for its price point, making it one of the best devices you can use for daily productivity tasks. Read More â Kyle Barr
Best (Expensive) Gaming Laptop â Razer Blade 16 (2024)
The Razer Blade 16 is the same as it ever was, AKA damn nice to look at and use. The 2024 Blade 16 refresh brought on a new OLED display boasting 240 Hz max refresh rates. Normally, when buying up a high-refresh panel, you first have to consider whether your gaming hardware can support those frames. As you can already guess, the latest Blade is up to the task thanks to its Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090 mobile GPU and its 14th-generation Intel Core i9 14900Hx.
Just know youâll need to pay a pretty penny for all that beefiness. The laptop starts at $3,000, $400 more than the 2023 model (which is still available if you donât care about OLED or high refresh rates). Performance between this yearâs and last yearâs Blade 16 is mostly on par. Not to mention, Razer still hasnât fixed palm rejection on its trackpad or made its keyboard any more fun to type with. Those caveats donât do enough to detract from the Blade 16’s appeal, but we do hope for something more dramatic with newer Blades down the line. Read More â Kyle Barr
Best 14-inch Laptop â Asus ROG Zephyrus G14
Itâs a category that emphasizes maximizing power and performance compared to the 15-inch, 16-inch, and even larger laptops. At the same time, people buying a 14-inch notebook want something that is portable, which is why the 13- and 15-inch MacBook Airs have reigned for so long among other pint-sized laptops. However, the 2024 version of ROG Zephyrus G14 takes the top spot thanks to the added gaming capabilities and beautiful design that hits the sweet spot of power, size, and price.
Itâs a well-designed laptop whether youâre using it to run through your Steam library or catch up on streaming shows you havenât had the chance to watch. It has a gorgeous OLED display thatâs bright and fast and a keyboard thatâs simply a joy to type on. Plus, it weighs just 3.3 pounds. Itâs not as slim as the MacBook Air, but with a GPU that goes up to an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070, it has far more graphical horsepower. Read More – Kyle Barr
Best Gaming Laptop for Everyday Use â Alienware m16 R2
Sometimes, you just need a 16-inch laptop that can do everything, whether gaming or just your average daily browsing. Itâs not perfect in every situation, but considering ease of use, weâd say the Alienware m16 R2 is your best bet for taking your gaming PC anywhere and still feeling comfortable.
Sure, you hear the word âAlienwareâ and think itâs just a big, flashy gaming PC. Youâre not wrong, but the m16 R2 manages to thread the needle between excess and comfort the best compared to pretty much any other laptop weâve used. The comfortable keyboard and palm rest make typing feel natural and easy. You can also turn on âStealth Modeâ by pressing F2 to turn off all the fancy RGB lighting and opt for a cleaner look if youâre at the office or trying to look innocuous at a Starbucks. The laptop is still a little on the heavy side, and it lacks a full SD card slot, but taken together, it has solid performance for its price, plus it could easily become your daily driver. Read More â Kyle Barr
Best Ultrathin Laptop â Lenovo Slim 7i
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The Lenovo Slim 7i is a machine that offers premium features at an affordable price point in a notebook-type sleek and slim body. Affordability and versatility are supposed to be this laptopâs two main selling points.
While it’s CPU isn’t all that exciting, a bevy of ports, a snappy keyboard, and a nice-looking display helps put the Slim 7i over the top for it’s $1,000 price. Read MoreâDua Rashid
Best Chromebook â Acer Chromebook 516 GE
On the productivity side, the Chromebook 516 GE is fine for day-to-day use. The keyboard is comfortable for long bouts of typing, and ChromeOS has improved since Google introduced more ways to sync up the software with an Android smartphone. But this is far from a gaming laptop like in the Windows world. If anything, at least Chromebook manufacturers have found a way to âbeef upâ the systems without increasing the price point, as Chromebooks are still considered secondary machines rather than primary ones. Read Moreâ Florence Ion
Best Budget Gaming Laptop â HP Victus 15
The HP Victus 15 isnât free from compromise, but itâs got great value. Starting at $800, itâs far from the top-of-the-line but still allows you to get in the PC (and portable) flexibility without paying significantly more than you might for, say, a PS5. Our configuration costs $645, which is a bigger ask, but we have snagged an RTX 3050 Ti, 16GB of RAM, and 512GB of storage. If ray tracing isnât important to you, you might be able to make do with the cheaper models that use a GTX 1650.
Aside from the internals, the Victus 15 gets you the wide variety of I/O that gamers need, an unintrusive (if plasticky) design, and a 144Hz screen that allows for smoother gameplay and surprisingly deep blacks. During our testing, it can also perform above its price point, hitting 96 fps on Shadow of the Tomb Raiderâs 1080p benchmark.
If youâre the type of person who cares more about fundamentals than flash, thereâs plenty to work with here. Read More â Prakhar Khanna
Best 2-in-1 Laptop â Dell Inspiron 14 2-in-1
A budget laptop has to walk a very fine line. Cut too many features, and itâs going to offer disappointing performance and be annoying to use, no matter how low the price. Get too ambitious, and feature creep will drive the price up so much that itâs no longer a budget laptop.
So, while itâs missing a few of my preferred features and components, I walked away mostly impressed with this $750 version of the Dell Inspiron 14 2-in-1 I tested as part of Gizmodoâs Back-to-School guide.
The bottom line is that you can get a slimmer, more design-friendly laptop in this price range, yet probably not one with this many features, plus a decent screen size for all-day use. There are some compromises in the design and performance; if youâre willing to drop a few hundred dollars more, the options expand greatly. Itâs not an especially fancy-looking or feeling machine, but it covers a lot of ground for a very reasonable price. Read More â Dan Ackerman
This list is updated regularly with new recommendations and product forecasts.
Update 04/15/24: Added a section Best Gaming Laptop for Everyday Use and added Alienware m16 R2.
Want more of Gizmodoâs consumer electronics picks? Check out our guides to the best phones best laptops, best TVs, and best headphones. If you want to learn about the next big thing, see our guide to everything we know about the iPhone 16.