I’ve tested a wide range of laptops in the past few months and have favorites across a broad range of categories, from sleek, long-lasting ultraportables and MacBooks to high-powered laptops for gamers and creators. The newest addition to the list, the MacBook Neo is best $600 laptop you can buy. The Dell XPS 14 and MSI Prestige 14 Flip AI Plus are the next-newest additions to the list. They're the first Intel Panther Lake laptops I've tested, and each made a big first impression. If you value battery life above all else, then the HP OmniBook 5 14 is the pick. Based on a Qualcomm Snapdragon X series processor, it won CNET's Editors' Choice and Lab Awards for pairing a stylish design and OLED display with record-setting battery life at a great price.
Our Picks
The 15-inch MacBook Air is proof that you don't need a Pro to get a larger display. It supplies a larger screen that you once found only on the pricier Pro models. If you're eyeing the 14- or 16-inch Pro models primarily for the added screen size, the MacBook Air 15 is the more affordable option you should go for.
Pros
- Optimal balance of screen size and system weight
- Improved app, graphics and AI performance from M5 chip
Cons
- Costs $500 more than MacBook Neo
- Smooth ProMotion display still exclusive to MacBook Pro
The MacBook Neo is easily the best laptop for school use, especially if you (or the student you're buying for) already have an iPhone. The two devices work seamlessly together. At $599, the Neo is nearly half the price of the cheapest MacBook Air, and students and teachers can get it for only $499. Given the convenience and security that Touch ID provides, however, I'd view Apple's $100 educational discount as a way to get the added Touch ID (along with more storage) for free, rather than lowering the price of the base model.
Pros
- Premium MacBook look and feel at much lower cost
- 13-inch display not much smaller than Macbook Air's
- A18 Pro chip is powerful enough to provide fulfilling MacOS experience
- Surprisingly impressive sound from stereo speakers
Cons
- Touch ID costs $100 extra
- Baseline 256GB SSD will fill up fast
- No MagSafe or fast charging
- Smaller battery and shorter battery life than MacBook Air
Weighing less than 3.5 pounds and offering amazing battery life, the Acer Aspire 16 AI is a 16-inch laptop that's easy to take with you.
Pros
- Optimal balance of screen size and laptop weight
- Incredible battery life
- Comfortable keyboard and roomy touchpad
- Crisp 1440p webcam
- Excellent external expansion options
Cons
- Design can't be described as "exciting"
- So-so speakers
Only a few weeks after ceding the battery life throne to Lenovo in our tests, HP has snatched back the crown with the OmniBook 5 14.
Pros
- Unbelievable battery life
- Sturdy, stylish and compact design
- OLED display delivers deep blacks, vivid colors
- Generous RAM and SSD for the price
Cons
- OLED display isn't the brightest
- Slow USB-C ports
The Prestige 14 Flip AI has a Core Ultra Series 3 processor from Intel's new Panther Lake series and offers an unprecedented combination of 3D graphics power and all-day battery life.
Pros
- Playable framerates from integrated Intel Arc B390 graphics
- Around-the-clock battery life
- Thin and light and quiet
- New MSI Prestige design is huge improvement
Cons
- Display is only 60Hz
- Bottom panel gets hot during games
- Diving-board effect with mechanical touchpad
The ProArt P16 boasts a big, beautiful 16-inch 4K OLED alongside enough graphics horsepower to deliver the performance in Adobe and CapCut that creators crave inside a reasonably slender, lightweight chassis.
Pros
- Gorgeous 16-inch, 4K OLED touchscreen
- Strong component lineup, including RTX 5070 GPU
- Slim and light given the size and what's under the hood
- DialPad controller on touchpad is useful
Cons
- Runs hot and loud
- 3D frame rates are good but not great
- Display bezels are a bit thick
- Stylus not included for the touchscreen
The Zephyrus G16 we tested is relatively pricey at $2,700 for an upscale configuration with a 16-inch OLED screen, RTX 4080, 32GB of RAM, a 1TB SSD and an Intel Core Ultra 9 185H.
Pros
- Excellent fast, calibrated OLED screen
- Well designed
- Performance vs. size reasonably balanced
- Good port selection
Cons
- Battery life is just okay
- Big power brick
- Bottom and hinge areas can get hot
- Settings in Armoury Crate software can get confusing
The Lenovo Legion 5i Gen 10 is overkill for most budget gaming laptop shoppers, both in terms of price and features. But if you view it as two laptops in one -- a competent gaming laptop with a reasonably large 15.1-inch display and a general-use laptop that's thin and light enough to carry around more than occasionally -- then its price begins to look like a great value.
Pros
- 2.5K OLED display is crisp, bright and fast
- Snappy keyboard feels fast for games
- Thin and light for its size
- Free M.2 slot to add second SSD
Cons
- Short battery life
- No biometrics for easy, secure logins
- Lacks fast Thunderbolt 4 or USB4 ports
- Always-on power button LED is annoying
After killing it off last year, Dell turned right around this year and brought back the XPS this year. The XPS 14 marks a grand return for Dell’s longtime premium laptop brand.
Pros
- Sleek, solid design at a reasonable weight
- Strong performance with long battery life
- Quiet and cool operation
- Physical keys have returned to the Function row
- Huge, haptic touchpad
- Quad speakers produce great sound
Cons
- Matches MacBook Pro in price but not performance
- Seams along the edges and below the keyboard are magnets for debris
- Limited port selection with no adapter included
- No fingerprint reader
The Surface Laptop 7 reverses earlier Arm-based efforts plagued by lackluster performance and limited compatibility. Many x86 apps were unable to run on an Arm-based system. This time around, performance and compatibility are improved.
Pros
- Beautiful, durable design
- Class-leading battery life
- Strong performance
- Awesome and accurate haptic touchpad
Cons
- No OLED option
- Upgrades get costly and don't include dedicated GPU
- Your Arm-on-Windows compatibility mileage may vary
Built around an Arm-based Qualcomm Snapdragon X processor, the Zenbook A14 is the lightest Copilot Plus PC we've tested and the second-longest running. It weighs less than 2.2 pounds and offers a battery life of more than 24 hours.
Pros
- Incredibly thin and light without feeling flimsy
- All-day-and-all-night battery life
- OLED display at this price is a nice surprise
- Ample RAM and storage for the price too
Cons
- Meh performance from Snapdragon X CPU
- Meh mechanical touchpad
- Meh speakers
This recent release from Acer's budget Aspire line is based on an Intel Lunar Lake CPU. Its Intel Core Ultra 5 226V features a neural processing unit (NPU) capable of 40 trillion operations per second (TOPS) for local AI processing, which happens to be the minimum requirement for Microsoft's Copilot Plus PC platform. The Aspire 14 AI is on sale for $619 at Amazon and only $500 at Costco, making it easily the cheapest Copilot Plus PC I've reviewed.
Pros
- Exceedingly long battery life
- Competitive performance for the price
- Useful port selection
Cons
- Dull display
- Dull design
The Lenovo Yoga 9i 2-in-1 Aura Edition is greater than the sum of its parts. Based on a common Intel Core Ultra Series 2 processor, its component lineup is not all that unusual. But placed inside a sleek and compact enclosure and outfitted with a beautiful 2.8K OLED display becomes a truly exceptional two-in-one.
Pros
- Beautiful OLED display
- Compact package with sleek aesthetics
- Record-setting battery life
- Great audio and webcam
Cons
- Mechanical rather than haptic trackpad
- No HDMI port or SIM card reader
With its excellent build quality, adequate display, strong performance and lengthy runtime, the Yoga 7 14 Gen 9 provides a ton of value and is a great fit as a versatile machine for home use or students.
Pros
- Strong build quality
- Great performance for the price
- Long battery life
- Comfortable, quiet keyboard
- Good port selection
Cons
- A little on the heavy side
- Clacky touchpad
- Uninspired audio output
If you love the sleek look and great portability of a MacBook Air but need a Windows laptop for work, then HP's flagship EliteBook Ultra is a great alternative.
Pros
- Excellent 2.8K OLED display
- Beautiful design that's also compact and lightweight
- Competitive application and AI performance from Intel Lunar Lake CPU
Cons
- Very expensive when not on sale
- Battery life is good but not great
LAPTOP DEALS OF THE WEEK
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What is the best laptop overall?
The new MacBook Neo is the perfect laptop for student budgets, and the MacBook Pro is better suited for creators who need the added power and have the money to get it. In between, the MacBook Air offers an ideal balance of power, portability and price. That’s why the MacBook Air is still CNET’s pick for the best laptop for most people. But I think if you are eyeing a MacBook Air, I say you go big or go Neo.
A Windows rival to the MacBook Air arrived in the form of Microsoft's first Copilot Plus PC. Based on a Qualcomm Snapdragon X series CPU, the Surface Laptop 7 offers strong application and AI performance and outstanding battery life. It was the first Windows laptop I tested with a longer battery life than that of the MacBook Air. With a design that's on par with the Air, the Surface Laptop 7 is one of the best laptops available. So is the Asus Zenbook A14, which is a lightweight laptop with an even longer battery life than the Surface Laptop 7. But if you want a laptop with the longest battery life I've tested, then you want the HP OmniBook 5 14. Seriously, you won't believe how long this 14-inch laptop can run on a single charge.
Intel has responded to Qualcomm's Snapdragon X processors making laptop headlines with the release of its Core Ultra Series 3 processors, developed under the name Panther Lake. I reviewed two of the first Panther Lake laptops in the Dell XPS 14 and MSI Prestige 14 Flip AI Plus, and they offer an unprecedented combination of power and efficiency. Not only do they provide all-day battery life on the level of Snapdragon X laptops, but it also delivers capable 1080p gaming performance from its integrated Intel GPU.
Read more
Best laptops of 2026
Pros
- Optimal balance of screen size and system weight
- Improved app, graphics and AI performance from M5 chip
Cons
- Costs $500 more than MacBook Neo
- Smooth ProMotion display still exclusive to MacBook Pro
The 15-inch MacBook Air is proof that you don't need a Pro to get a larger display. It supplies a larger screen that you once found only on the pricier Pro models. If you're eyeing the 14- or 16-inch Pro models primarily for the added screen size, the MacBook Air 15 is the more affordable option you should go for.
Why we like it
Apple just updated the MacBook Air with its M5 processor, catching it up to the MacBook Pro that got an M5 refresh at the end of last year. I tested the M5 chip in the smaller 13-inch Air and found the new silicon adds incremental improvements, especially in the areas of graphics and AI performance. Apple also upped the minimum storage for the Air to 512GB, which actually makes it a better deal than last year's model despite the higher starting price. You can read my review of last year's 15-inch M4 MacBook Air -- much of it still applies because the design remains unchanged on what I think is the laptop that sits in the Goldilocks Zone of Apple's MacBook lineup.
Who it's best for
People looking for a big-screen MacBook who don't need the power of a MacBook Pro. With its roomy display, trim design and ample performance for most users, the 15-inch MacBook Air should be viewed as the default Air, with its cheaper and smaller 13-inch sibling a good alternative for students and others with tighter budgets and busy, on-the-go lifestyles who might need more power than the MacBook Neo.
Who shouldn't get it
The majority of sudents who need a more affordable and portable laptop will be better off spending a lot less on the new MacBook Neo. Creative types who need more graphics oomph will need to spend more for the added power of a MacBook Pro.
Pros
- Premium MacBook look and feel at much lower cost
- 13-inch display not much smaller than Macbook Air's
- A18 Pro chip is powerful enough to provide fulfilling MacOS experience
- Surprisingly impressive sound from stereo speakers
Cons
- Touch ID costs $100 extra
- Baseline 256GB SSD will fill up fast
- No MagSafe or fast charging
- Smaller battery and shorter battery life than MacBook Air
The MacBook Neo is easily the best laptop for school use, especially if you (or the student you're buying for) already have an iPhone. The two devices work seamlessly together. At $599, the Neo is nearly half the price of the cheapest MacBook Air, and students and teachers can get it for only $499. Given the convenience and security that Touch ID provides, however, I'd view Apple's $100 educational discount as a way to get the added Touch ID (along with more storage) for free, rather than lowering the price of the base model.
Why we like it
It has the same luxurious, all-aluminum design as Apple’s other MacBooks, and its 13-inch display is nearly as big as the 13.6-inch Air’s. The Neo’s iPhone chip can’t match the performance of an M-series processor, but it’s still powerful enough to provide a smooth MacOS experience for most people.
Who it’s best for
Anyone on a student budget who can’t spend $1,000 or more on a laptop, especially if you already own an iPhone, because iOS and MacOS work so well together.
Who shouldn’t buy it
Students in STEM or design programs will likely need more power than the Neo offers and will need to spend more on a MacBook Air or even a MacBook Pro.
Pros
- Optimal balance of screen size and laptop weight
- Incredible battery life
- Comfortable keyboard and roomy touchpad
- Crisp 1440p webcam
- Excellent external expansion options
Cons
- Design can't be described as "exciting"
- So-so speakers
Weighing less than 3.5 pounds and offering amazing battery life, the Acer Aspire 16 AI is a 16-inch laptop that's easy to take with you.
Why we like it
The Aspire 16 AI offers an optimal balance of screen size and system weight, making it a unique laptop: the rare 16-inch ultraportable. Plus, its battery life is fantastic, which lets you lighten your load further by leaving the power cord at home. If you are looking for an affordable and portable productivity machine, the Aspire 16 AI checks a lot of boxes.
Who it's best for
Budget laptop shoppers who are unwilling to choose between screen size and a light weight. The 16-inch Aspire 16 AI doesn't weigh much more than the average 14-inch laptop, giving you extra screen real estate without sacrificing much in portability.
Who shouldn't buy it
Students and others constantly on the go will be better served with a smaller, 14-inch laptop that's more compact and even lighter than the Aspire 16 AI.
Pros
- Unbelievable battery life
- Sturdy, stylish and compact design
- OLED display delivers deep blacks, vivid colors
- Generous RAM and SSD for the price
Cons
- OLED display isn't the brightest
- Slow USB-C ports
Only a few weeks after ceding the battery life throne to Lenovo in our tests, HP has snatched back the crown with the OmniBook 5 14.
Why we like it
For starters, it runs and runs (and runs and runs). The OmniBook 5 14 lasted more than 28 hours in testing and earned our lab award for longest laptop battery life. In addition to record-setting battery life, the OmniBook 5 14 offers a simple, elegant design and easy-to-carry weight -- plus, an OLED display that delivers stellar contrast and vivid colors. It also supplies an ample 32GB of RAM and a roomy 1TB SSD, neither of which is a given in a laptop that costs less than $1,000.
Who it’s best for
For students and others constantly on the go, the OmniBook 5 14 is a fantastic pick at a great price.
Who shouldn’t buy it
If you are concerned about Windows-on-Arm compatibility issues, then you should skip the Snapdragon X-based OmniBook 5 14 and go for an Intel- or AMD-based laptop.
Pros
- Playable framerates from integrated Intel Arc B390 graphics
- Around-the-clock battery life
- Thin and light and quiet
- New MSI Prestige design is huge improvement
Cons
- Display is only 60Hz
- Bottom panel gets hot during games
- Diving-board effect with mechanical touchpad
The Prestige 14 Flip AI has a Core Ultra Series 3 processor from Intel's new Panther Lake series and offers an unprecedented combination of 3D graphics power and all-day battery life.
Why we like it
It's the first laptop with integrated graphics I've tested that delivers playable 3D framerates in AAA titles. So, without needing a dedicated GPU, the Prestige 14 Flip AI is compact, portable and quiet during operation. These are not things that usually describe a laptop capable of playing games. And it offers incredible battery life -- calling it "all-day" battery life undersells it.
Who it's best for
Anyone who wants a do-it-all laptop with enough power for gamers and creators inside a compact, lightweight design with luxuriously long battery life.
Who shouldn't buy it
If you're shopping for a true gaming laptop, then you’ll still want a model with dedicated Nvidia RTX graphics that supplies higher frame rates. You'll also want a display that's faster than the 60Hz panel found here.
Pros
- Gorgeous 16-inch, 4K OLED touchscreen
- Strong component lineup, including RTX 5070 GPU
- Slim and light given the size and what's under the hood
- DialPad controller on touchpad is useful
Cons
- Runs hot and loud
- 3D frame rates are good but not great
- Display bezels are a bit thick
- Stylus not included for the touchscreen
The ProArt P16 boasts a big, beautiful 16-inch 4K OLED alongside enough graphics horsepower to deliver the performance in Adobe and CapCut that creators crave inside a reasonably slender, lightweight chassis.
Why we like it
The ProArt P16 series is built around a powerful AMD Strix Point processor, the Ryzen AI 9 HX 370. Our P16 test system also features an RTX 5070 GPU from Nvidia's latest series along with an ample 32GB of RAM and a roomy 2TB SSD, a welcome inclusion for video editors and gamers who tend to require capacious storage. The port selection is fairly standard, but includes an SD card slot, which creators will appreciate.
Who it's best for
Creators and media editors. The ProArt P16 is an extremely capable workday companion that can also double as a suitable gaming machine for anything short of 4K.
Who shouldn't get it
Gamers looking to squeeze out the highest frame rates possible from an RTX 5070 laptop.
Pros
- Excellent fast, calibrated OLED screen
- Well designed
- Performance vs. size reasonably balanced
- Good port selection
Cons
- Battery life is just okay
- Big power brick
- Bottom and hinge areas can get hot
- Settings in Armoury Crate software can get confusing
The Zephyrus G16 we tested is relatively pricey at $2,700 for an upscale configuration with a 16-inch OLED screen, RTX 4080, 32GB of RAM, a 1TB SSD and an Intel Core Ultra 9 185H.
Why we like it
The ROG G16 configuration my colleague Lori Grunin tested isn't cheap but a good all-around system for both gaming and creative work. She liked the huge, calibrated OLED display and performance from the pairing of the Core Ultra 9 CPU and RTX 4080 graphics. The port selection is also a positive.
Who it's best for
Gamers who want a large screen for a more immersive gaming experience, and creators who will make use of the calibrated OLED display. Solid configurations start at $2,000, so you don't need to spend as much as the model we reviewed. If you have a smaller budget, then peep our picks for best cheap gaming laptop.
Who shouldn't get it
The Zephyrus G16 is a great pick for gamers, but its little sibling -- the G14 -- is a little more highly rated because of its more general-use advantages, like size, weight and lower price.
Pros
- 2.5K OLED display is crisp, bright and fast
- Snappy keyboard feels fast for games
- Thin and light for its size
- Free M.2 slot to add second SSD
Cons
- Short battery life
- No biometrics for easy, secure logins
- Lacks fast Thunderbolt 4 or USB4 ports
- Always-on power button LED is annoying
The Lenovo Legion 5i Gen 10 is overkill for most budget gaming laptop shoppers, both in terms of price and features. But if you view it as two laptops in one -- a competent gaming laptop with a reasonably large 15.1-inch display and a general-use laptop that's thin and light enough to carry around more than occasionally -- then its price begins to look like a great value.
Why we like it
It provides great performance for the price, and the 2.5K OLED display is outstanding. The Legion 5i Gen 10's OLED wins the Triple Crown for displays: a high resolution for crisp text and images, a speedy refresh rate for smooth movement and a high peak brightness that allows colors to pop. It's one of the best laptop displays I've ever seen.
Who it's best for
It's a great pick for gamers, but it's more than just a gaming laptop. Creators engaged in color-accurate work will love the bright, high-res OLED display and the laptop's portability relative to other gaming laptops.
Who shouldn't buy it
If you need a portable laptop with good battery life, then most gaming laptops, including this one, are the wrong choice.
Pros
- Sleek, solid design at a reasonable weight
- Strong performance with long battery life
- Quiet and cool operation
- Physical keys have returned to the Function row
- Huge, haptic touchpad
- Quad speakers produce great sound
Cons
- Matches MacBook Pro in price but not performance
- Seams along the edges and below the keyboard are magnets for debris
- Limited port selection with no adapter included
- No fingerprint reader
After killing it off last year, Dell turned right around this year and brought back the XPS this year. The XPS 14 marks a grand return for Dell’s longtime premium laptop brand.
Why we like it
The XPS 14 corrects many errors of the Dell 14 Premium, including the most egregious ones, while coming in at a reasonable weight and retaining a solid, well-built chassis. Physical keys returning to the Function is another move in the right direction. Based on Intel's latest Panther Lake processors, the XPS 14 delivers strong overall performance and long battery life.
Who it's best for
Creators and other power users who want the power and style of a MacBook Pro in a Windows laptop.
Who shouldn't buy it
If you are OS agnostic, the MacBook Pro offers better performance and battery life for the same price.
Pros
- Beautiful, durable design
- Class-leading battery life
- Strong performance
- Awesome and accurate haptic touchpad
Cons
- No OLED option
- Upgrades get costly and don't include dedicated GPU
- Your Arm-on-Windows compatibility mileage may vary
The Surface Laptop 7 reverses earlier Arm-based efforts plagued by lackluster performance and limited compatibility. Many x86 apps were unable to run on an Arm-based system. This time around, performance and compatibility are improved.
Why we like it
I like it for its polished design and class-leading battery life. The Surface Laptop 7 ran for nearly 20 hours in testing -- that’s the longest of any 13- or 14-inch laptop I've ever tested -- including the M4 MacBook Air. The Surface Laptop 7 competes with the MacBook Air in performance and battery life and supplies a similarly sleek and solid build.
Who it's best for
People who love the look and long battery life of the MacBook Air but want a Windows laptop. We wish there were an OLED display option, and you’ll need to conduct a compatibility check for your mission-critical applications before embracing the Arm-based Surface Laptop 7. If you can overcome these hurdles, however, you’ll get a well-built, good-looking, and long-lasting Windows ultraportable. You don't necessarily need to spend the roughly $2,000 that our test system costs. One of the lower-priced configurations on sale for $1,250 at Amazon should meet the needs of most people.
Who shouldn't get it
Anyone worried about potential Windows-on-Arm compatibility issues should consider skipping Qualcomm-based laptops and opt for an Intel or AMD model instead. The Surface Laptop 7 is also not the pick if you want an OLED display on your next laptop. For more, check out my other favorite Windows laptops.
Best ultra-light laptop
Asus Zenbook A14
Pros
- Incredibly thin and light without feeling flimsy
- All-day-and-all-night battery life
- OLED display at this price is a nice surprise
- Ample RAM and storage for the price too
Cons
- Meh performance from Snapdragon X CPU
- Meh mechanical touchpad
- Meh speakers
Built around an Arm-based Qualcomm Snapdragon X processor, the Zenbook A14 is the lightest Copilot Plus PC we've tested and the second-longest running. It weighs less than 2.2 pounds and offers a battery life of more than 24 hours.
Why we like it
Its Ceraluminum shell allows the Zenbook A14 to be incredibly light yet rigid, and its 14-inch OLED display is excellent. It also serves up ample RAM and storage for the price.
Who it's best for
Students and anyone who is on the road with regularity for their job. If portability is paramount, then the lightweight, long-running Zenbook A14 is the pick.
Who shouldn't get it
If you are concerned about Windows-on-Arm compatibility issues, then you should skip the Zenbook A14 and find an Intel- or AMD-based laptop.
Pros
- Exceedingly long battery life
- Competitive performance for the price
- Useful port selection
Cons
- Dull display
- Dull design
This recent release from Acer's budget Aspire line is based on an Intel Lunar Lake CPU. Its Intel Core Ultra 5 226V features a neural processing unit (NPU) capable of 40 trillion operations per second (TOPS) for local AI processing, which happens to be the minimum requirement for Microsoft's Copilot Plus PC platform. The Aspire 14 AI is on sale for $619 at Amazon and only $500 at Costco, making it easily the cheapest Copilot Plus PC I've reviewed.
Why we like it
The Aspire 14 AI a great pick among budget laptops. Its performance and battery life exceed what you can expect for the price and the design is nearly the same as you get with Acer's more expensive Swift models. You're forced to sacrifice display quality to hit such a low price but that's an item that's usually not very high on a budget shopper's priority list. More important is getting a modern CPU that delivers sufficient performance for everyday use that's also efficient to allow for lengthy battery life, plus a bit of future-proofing with its AI capabilities.
Who it's best for
With the lengthy battery life we've come to expect from Copilot Plus PCs and with application and AI performance that's competitive with pricier models, the Aspire 14 AI offers great value for budget shoppers looking for a Copilot Plus PC.
Who shouldn't get it
If you care about the overall look of your next laptop and have the money, you can find more exciting designs. Spending more will also get you a brighter display with better color performance.
Pros
- Beautiful OLED display
- Compact package with sleek aesthetics
- Record-setting battery life
- Great audio and webcam
Cons
- Mechanical rather than haptic trackpad
- No HDMI port or SIM card reader
The Lenovo Yoga 9i 2-in-1 Aura Edition is greater than the sum of its parts. Based on a common Intel Core Ultra Series 2 processor, its component lineup is not all that unusual. But placed inside a sleek and compact enclosure and outfitted with a beautiful 2.8K OLED display becomes a truly exceptional two-in-one.
Why we like it
This 14-inch ultraportable two-in-one is well-crafted, well-specced and remarkably well-priced. We love the trim and sturdy chassis, beautiful 2.8K OLED display and unique rotating soundbar that produces robust audio output. And the Yoga 9i runs and runs and runs.
Who it's best for
The Yoga 9i is perfectly tailored for remote or office workers or anyone who wants a modern laptop that can also rotate into a tablet. Its record-setting battery life will let you leave the charger at home for days at a time and makes up for the fact that this premium two-in-one lacks a premium haptic touchpad.
Who shouldn’t buy it
Anyone who demands a haptic touchpad in a premium laptop. Students and other budget shoppers can save some money and still get a great package with Lenovo’s mainstream Yoga 7 series.
Pros
- Strong build quality
- Great performance for the price
- Long battery life
- Comfortable, quiet keyboard
- Good port selection
Cons
- A little on the heavy side
- Clacky touchpad
- Uninspired audio output
With its excellent build quality, adequate display, strong performance and lengthy runtime, the Yoga 7 14 Gen 9 provides a ton of value and is a great fit as a versatile machine for home use or students.
Why we like it
It's a great deal at its price of $900 at Best Buy and an even better deal at its regularly discounted price of $800 direct from Lenovo. We like its solid, all-metal chassis and the power and efficiency you get from its AMD Ryzen 7 8000-series CPU.
Who it's best for
Anyone looking for a flexible two-in-one for a great price, including students who might like to take notes in tablet mode. It lacks some of the refinement and extras you get with Lenovo’s flagship Yoga 9i 14, but the midrange Yoga 7 14 is much more affordable. We think it's the better option for most people.
Who shouldn't get it
Laptop buyers who want a lighter two-in-one with a better OLED display and better speakers -- and are willing to spend more to get those extras -- should instead consider the Yoga 9i 14.
Pros
- Excellent 2.8K OLED display
- Beautiful design that's also compact and lightweight
- Competitive application and AI performance from Intel Lunar Lake CPU
Cons
- Very expensive when not on sale
- Battery life is good but not great
If you love the sleek look and great portability of a MacBook Air but need a Windows laptop for work, then HP's flagship EliteBook Ultra is a great alternative.
Why we like it
With a spectacular 14-inch, 2.8K OLED display wrapped up in an elegant and compact enclosure, the EliteBook Ultra G1i deserves its Ultra label. It definitely has a premium look and feel that's on par with a MacBook Air in terms of being thin and light yet rigid and sturdy. Its Intel Lunar Lake CPU is a well-rounded performer with great efficiency for good battery life that'll get you through almost any workday on a single charge.
Who it's best for
With its compact chassis and deluxe design, the EliteBook Ultra G1i is well suited for traveling executives or anyone who appreciates a small, lightweight OLED laptop for work.
Who shouldn't get it
Anyone who can't wait for it to go on sale or isn't purchasing at a quantity that qualifies for a volume-pricing discount should take a pass. At its sale price of $1,899 or $1,999, the EliteBook Ultra G1i is an excellent value and a great choice for your next work laptop, but it's harder to recommend at its full price of nearly $3,000.
Best laptops compared
See the specs of our favorite laptops.
| Display size/resolution | Weight | CPU tested | GPU tested | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apple MacBook Air 15 (M5, 2026) | 15.3-inch, 2,880x1,864 | 3.3 pounds | Apple M5 10‑core CPU | Apple M5 10‑core GPU |
| Apple MacBook Neo | 13-inch, 2,480x1,506 | 2.7 pounds | Apple A18 Pro 6-core CPU | Apple A18 Pro 5-core GPU |
| Acer Aspire 16 AI | 16-inch, 1,920x1,200 | 3.45 pounds | Qualcomm Snapdragon X X1-26-100 | Qualcomm Adreno |
| HP OmniBook 5 14 | 14-inch, 1,920x1,200 OLED | 2.85 pounds | Qualcomm Snapdragon X Plus X1P-42-100 | Qualcomm Adreno |
| MSI Prestige 14 Flip AI Plus | 14-inch 1,920x1,200 OLED | 3.02 pounds | Intel Core Ultra X7 358H | Intel Arc B390 |
| Asus ProArt P16 | 16-inch 3,840x2,400 OLED | 4.08 pounds | AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 | Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 |
| Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 | 16-inch, 2,560x1,600 OLED | 4.3 pounds | Intel Core Ultra 9 185H | Nvidia GeForce RTX 4080 |
| Lenovo Legion 5i Gen 10 | 15.1-inch 2,560x1,600 OLED | 4.3 pounds | Intel Core i7-14700HX | Nvidia GeForce RTX 5060 |
| Dell XPS 14 (IPS LCD) | 14-inch, 1,920x1,200 IPS LCD | 3.18 pounds | Intel Core Ultra 7 355 | Intel Graphics |
| Dell XPS 14 (OLED) | 14-inch 2,880x1,800 OLED | 3.15 pounds | Intel Core Ultra X7 358H | Intel Arc B390 |
| Microsoft Surface Laptop 7 | 13.8-inch, 2,304x1,536 | 2.96 pounds | Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite X1E-80-100 | Qualcomm Adreno |
| Asus Zenbook A14 | 14-inch, 1,920x1,200 OLED | 2.16 pounds | Qualcomm Snapdragon X X1-26-100 | Qualcomm Adreno |
| Acer Aspire 14 AI | 14-inch, 1,920x1,200 | 3.05 pounds | Intel Core Ultra 5 226V | Intel Arc 130V |
| Lenovo Yoga 9i 2-in-1 Aura Edition | 14-inch 2880x1800 OLED | 2.91 pounds | Intel Core Ultra 7 258V | Intel Arc 140V |
| Lenovo Yoga 7 14 Gen 9 | 14-inch, 1,920x1,200 | 3.6 pounds | AMD Ryzen 7 8840HS | AMD Radeon 780M |
| HP EliteBook Ultra G1i | 14-inch 2,880x1,800 OLED | 2.6 pounds | Intel Core Ultra 7 268V | Intel Arc 140V |
What I'm testing next
I'm currently testing a massive 18-inch gaming laptop from Alienware. Look for my review of the RTX 5090-powered Alienware 18 Area-51 soon. After that, I've got another Intel Panther Lake laptop, this time from Acer in the form of the Swift 16 AI with a Core Ultra X7 CPU and integrated Intel Arc B390 graphics.
Other laptops we've tested
GeekBook X14 Pro: Geekom's first laptop is impressively thin and light but battery life disappoints. And I detest the touch pad.
Lenovo IdeaPad 5i 16 2-in-1 Gen 10: Lenovo's low-cost, 16-inch two-in-one is a versatile machine, but it forces you to live with more than a couple of compromises in the design.
Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i 16 Aura Edition: Centered around a gorgeous 16-inch OLED display, this fantastic Yoga laptop provides the performance and build that graphics pros demand.
Microsoft Surface Pro (12-inch): The 12-inch version of Microsoft's detachable two-in-one will suffice for most users, but getting nickel-and-dimed by optional accessories that feel quite necessary is annoying.
Dell 14 Premium: Dell's creator laptop is rock solid to a fault.
Dell 16 Premium: It's a good fit for creators as long as you aren't turned off by its peculiar design, hefty weight and high price.
Lenovo LOQ 15: This budget gaming laptop has an outdated design but serves up modern components and good 3D performance for the price.
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 2-in-1: This business convertible boast great build quality and battery life but the display disappoints.
HP Omen 16: This Nvidia GeForce RTX 5060 rig offers good looks and competitive 1080p performance along with surprisingly long battery life and a cool twist on four-zone RGB keyboard backlighting
Alienware Aurora 16: I tested two Alienware Aurora gaming laptops, and this is not the one to get.
Alienware Aurora 16X: This is the Aurora to get.
Acer Nitro V 16S AI: This budget gaming laptop serves up a big screen and big value.
MSI Katana 15 HX: I liked its 1080p performance but little else.
HP OmniBook X Flip 16: While it has a handful of appealing features, this midrange 16-inch convertible ends up being a clumsy assemblage of disparate parts.
Lenovo ThinkPad X9 14 Aura Edition: It offers a cheap path to an OLED ultraportable, but is a ThinkPad a ThinkPad without the little red nub in the middle of the keyboard?
HP OmniBook X Flip 14: This two-in-one laptop offers style, value and configuration options abound, including a 3K OLED display for only an extra $100.
Microsoft Surface Laptop (13-inch): It’s compact, solidly built and great for travel, but the 13.8-inch version is the better choice as your daily driver.
Dell 14 Plus: Skip the two-in-one and opt for the clamshell laptop I tested, when it goes on sale.
Acer Swift Go 16 (2025): Built around a beautiful 16-inch OLED screen, the latest Swift Go 16 improves on its predecessors without significant price inflation.
Dell 16 Plus 2-in-1: This big-screen, mini-LED convertible laptop certainly has some positives, but there are a few too many negatives to give this Plus a full-throated recommendation.
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 13 Aura Edition: It’s a great business laptop, but it can get pricey fast with upgrades.
How we test laptops
The review process for laptops consists of two parts: performance testing under controlled conditions in the CNET Labs and extensive hands-on use by our reviewers. This includes evaluating a device's aesthetics, ergonomics and features with respect to price. A final review verdict is a combination of both objective and subjective judgments.
We test all laptops with a core set of benchmarks, including Primate Labs Geekbench 6, Cinebench 2024, PCMark 10, a variety of 3DMark benchmarks (whichever can run on the laptop), and our own battery life test where we continually stream a YouTube video until the battery dies. If a laptop is intended for PC gaming, we'll also run benchmarks from Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Guardians of the Galaxy, The Rift Breaker (CPU and GPU), Assassin's Creed Shadows and F1 24.
For the hands-on, the reviewer uses it for their work during the review period, evaluating how well the design, features (like the screen, camera and speakers) and manufacturer-supplied software operate as a cohesive whole. We also place importance on how well they work given their cost and where the manufacturer has potentially made upgrades or tradeoffs for its price.
The list of benchmarking software and comparison criteria we use changes over time as the devices we test evolve. You can find a more detailed description of our test methodology on our How We Test Computers page.
Best laptop brands
Apple’s MacBooks are the most popular laptops and for good reason. They offer excellent build quality and leading performance and battery life ever since Apple introduced its M series processors in 2020.
The top two brands on the Windows side are Lenovo and HP. Both offer a wide variety of models, from thin-and-light ultraportables to larger, more powerful models for gaming content creation. Lenovo’s ThinkPads have long been a favorite among business laptops and its Yoga models are usually highly rated two-in-one laptops.
HP is in the middle of a branding transformation. It's ended its Pavilion, Envy and Spectre laptop brands in favor of OmniBook consumer models and EliteBook business models. Its Omen brand will continue as the home for its gaming laptops. I liked the first OmniBook laptop I reviewed and look forward to testing more.
For a budget laptop, Acer and Apple have great options -- each dominates our best budget laptop list. Acer makes great low-cost laptops and budget gaming laptops and Apple's MacBook Air can usually be found for less than $1,000 where it's a great deal. And the older M1 model costs even less.
Factors to consider when shopping the best laptops
There are a ton of laptops on the market at any given moment and almost all of those models are available in multiple configurations to match your performance and budget needs. If you're feeling overwhelmed with options when looking for a new laptop, it's understandable. To help simplify things for you, here are the main things you should consider when you start looking.
Price
The search for a new laptop for most people starts with price. If the statistics that chipmaker Intel and PC manufacturers hurl at us are correct, you'll be holding onto your next laptop for at least three years. If you can afford to stretch your budget a little to get better specs, do it. That stands whether you're spending $500 or more than $1,000. In the past, you could get away with spending less upfront with an eye toward upgrading memory and storage in the future. Laptop makers are increasingly moving away from making components easily upgradable, so again, it's best to get as much laptop as you can afford from the start.
Generally speaking, the more you spend, the better the laptop. That could mean better components for faster performance, a nicer display, sturdier build quality, a smaller or lighter design from higher-end materials or even a more comfortable keyboard. All of these things add to the cost of a laptop. I'd love to say $500 will get you a powerful gaming laptop, for example, but that's not the case. Right now, the sweet spot for a reliable laptop that handles average work, home office or school tasks is between $700 and $800 and a reasonable model for creative work or gaming is upward of about $1,000. The key is to look for discounts on models in all price ranges so you can get more laptop capabilities for less.
Operating system
Choosing an operating system is part personal preference and part budget. For the most part, Microsoft Windows and Apple MacOS do the same things (save for gaming, where Windows is the winner), but they do them differently. Unless there's an OS-specific application you need, get the one you feel most comfortable using. If you're not sure which that is, head to an Apple store or a local electronics store and test them out. Or ask friends or family to let you test theirs for a bit. If you have an iPhone or iPad and like it, chances are you'll like MacOS, too.
In price and variety (and PC gaming), Windows laptops win. If you want MacOS, you're getting a MacBook. Apple's MacBooks regularly top our best lists, the least expensive one is the M1 MacBook Air for $999. It is regularly discounted to $750 or $800, but if you want a cheaper MacBook, you'll have to consider older refurbished ones.
Windows laptops can be found for as little as a couple of hundred dollars and come in all manner of sizes and designs. Granted, we'd be hard-pressed to find a $200 laptop we'd give a full-throated recommendation to but if you need a laptop for online shopping, email and word processing, they exist.
If you are on a tight budget, consider a Chromebook. ChromeOS is a different experience than Windows; make sure the applications you need have a Chrome, Android or Linux app before making the leap. If you spend most of your time roaming the web, writing, streaming video or using cloud-gaming services, they're a good fit.
Size
Remember to consider whether having a lighter, thinner laptop or a touchscreen laptop with a good battery life will be important to you in the future. Size is primarily determined by the screen -- hello, laws of physics -- which in turn factors into battery size, laptop thickness, weight and price. Keep in mind other physics-related characteristics, such as an ultrathin laptop isn't necessarily lighter than a thick one, you can't expect a wide array of connections on a small or ultrathin model and so on.
Screen
When deciding on a screen, there are a myriad number of considerations, like how much you need to display (which is surprisingly more about resolution than screen size), what types of content you'll be looking at and whether you'll be using it for gaming or creative work.
You really want to optimize pixel density; that is, the number of pixels per inch the screen can display. Although other factors contribute to sharpness, a higher pixel density usually means a sharper rendering of text and interface elements. (You can easily calculate the pixel density of any screen at DPI Calculator if you don't feel like doing the math, and you can also find out what math you need to do there.) I recommend a dot pitch of at least 100 pixels per inch as a rule of thumb.
Because of the way Windows and MacOS scale for the display, you're frequently better off with a higher resolution than you'd think. You can always make things bigger on a high-resolution screen, but you can never make them smaller -- to fit more content in the view -- on a low-resolution screen. This is why a 4K, 14-inch screen may sound like unnecessary overkill but may not be if you need to, say, view a wide spreadsheet.
If you need a laptop with relatively accurate color that displays the most colors possible or that supports HDR, you can't simply trust the specs -- not because manufacturers lie, but because they usually fail to provide the necessary context to understand what the specs they quote mean. You can find a ton of detail about considerations for different types of screen uses in our monitor buying guides for general purpose monitors, creators, gamers and HDR viewing.
Processor
The processor, aka the CPU, is the brains of a laptop. Intel and AMD are the main CPU makers for Windows laptops, with Qualcomm as a new third option with its Arm-based Snapdragon X processors. Both Intel and AMD offer a staggering selection of mobile processors. Making things trickier, both manufacturers have chips designed for different laptop styles, like power-saving chips for ultraportables or faster processors for gaming laptops. Their naming conventions will let you know what type is used. You can head over to Intel or AMD for explanations so you get the performance you want. Generally speaking, the faster the processor speed and the more cores it has, the better the performance will be.
Apple makes its own chips for MacBooks, which makes things slightly more straightforward. Like Intel and AMD, you'll still want to pay attention to the naming conventions to know what kind of performance to expect. Apple uses its M-series chipsets in Macs. The entry-level MacBook Air uses an M1 chip with an eight-core CPU and seven-core GPU. The current models have M2-series silicon that starts with an eight-core CPU and 10-core GPU and goes up to the M2 Max with a 12-core CPU and a 38-core GPU. Again, generally speaking, the more cores it has, the better the performance.
Battery life has less to do with the number of cores and more to do with CPU architecture, Arm versus x86. Apple’s Arm-based MacBooks and the first Arm-based Copilot Plus PCs we’ve tested offer better battery life than laptops based on x86 processors from Intel and AMD.
Graphics
The graphics processor handles all the work of driving the screen and generating what gets displayed, as well as speeding up a lot of graphics-related (and increasingly, AI-related) operations. For Windows laptops, there are two types of GPUs: integrated (iGPU) or discrete (dGPU). As the names imply, an iGPU is part of the CPU package, while a dGPU is a separate chip with dedicated memory (VRAM) that it communicates with directly, making it faster than sharing memory with the CPU.
Because the iGPU splits space, memory and power with the CPU, it's constrained by the limits of those. It allows for smaller, lighter laptops, but doesn't perform nearly as well as a dGPU. There are some games and creative software that won't run unless they detect a dGPU or sufficient VRAM. Most productivity software, video streaming, web browsing and other nonspecialized apps will run fine on an iGPU.
For more power-hungry graphics needs, like video editing, gaming and streaming, design and so on, you'll need a dGPU; there are only two real companies that make them, Nvidia and AMD, with Intel offering some based on the Xe-branded (or the older UHD Graphics branding) iGPU technology in its CPUs.
Memory
For memory, I highly recommend 16GB of RAM (8GB absolute minimum). RAM is where the operating system stores all the data for running applications and it can fill up fast. After that, it starts swapping between RAM and SSD, which is slower. A lot of sub-$500 laptops have 4GB or 8GB, which in conjunction with a slower disk can make for a frustratingly slow Windows laptop experience. Also, many laptops now have the memory soldered onto the motherboard. Most manufacturers disclose this but if the RAM type is LPDDR, assume it's soldered and can't be upgraded.
Some PC makers will solder memory on and also leave an empty internal slot for adding a stick of RAM. You may need to contact the laptop manufacturer or find the laptop's full specs online to confirm. Check the web for user experiences because the slot may still be hard to get to, it may require nonstandard or hard-to-get memory or other pitfalls.
Storage
You'll still find cheaper hard drives in budget laptops and larger hard drives in gaming laptops. Faster solid-state drives have all but replaced hard drives in laptops and can make a big difference in performance. Not all SSDs are equally speedy, and cheaper laptops typically have slower drives. If the laptop only comes with 4GB or 8GB of RAM, it may end up swapping to that drive and the system may slow down quickly while you're working.
Get what you can afford and if you need to go with a smaller drive, you can always add an external drive or two down the road or use cloud storage to bolster a small internal drive. The exception is gaming laptops: I don't recommend going with less than a 512GB SSD unless you really like uninstalling games every time you want to play a new game.
