The best laptops in 2022: Our top picks tested and rated
The best laptops in 2022: Our top picks tested and rated
Included in this guide:
The best laptops are the ones that help you lot stay on top of all your different projects and gadgets. Once yous've equipped yourself with the right one, you've acquired the speed to ability yous through all of your assignments, and the battery life to get in through a day of piece of work without worrying near the nearest power outlet.
Finding the all-time laptop for y'all tin can exist tricky, because you lot've never had more choices. At that place are peak rated laptops for basic web surfing, mainstream machines with premium components and attractive designs, and beastly gaming laptops that will permit you play the hottest PC games the way they were meant to be played.
- These are the best Windows laptops on the market
- Don't miss the best laptops of CES 2022
- Like a laptop that doubles equally a tablet? Cheque out the best 2-in-1 laptops
What are the best laptops?
Our choice for the best laptop overall is the Dell XPS 13, which packs speedy performance and a gorgeous bezel-less display into an incredibly slim and lightweight design with long bombardment life. If yous tin afford the more expensive model with an OLED touchscreen, information technology's well worth the expense.
If yous love the thought of an OLED laptop but want something a bit more affordable, Asus has an OLED-equipped Zenbook 13 that packs great power and amazing battery life, and it's usually a few hundred bucks cheaper than the XPS 13.
If y'all want a laptop correct now that's guaranteed to run Windows xi and show it off to full result, the Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio is a smashing choice. It's a powerful, well-congenital ii-in-1 that (when you splurge for the discrete Nvidia 3050 Ti GPU) can do some decent gaming or video editing.
If Mac is more your thing, the MacBook Air with M1 is our recommendation for the best MacBook for most people, as it offer fantastic operation and long battery life. That said, if yous spend more, you can get a whole lot more than, as the M1 Pro and M1 Max push the MacBook Pro 14-inch to new heights of performance, and their 120Hz Liquid Retina displays are gorgeous. These are also the Macs for all the pros out there who desire HDMI out and an SD bill of fare reader without having to use a USB-C adapter.
The Acer Swift three is the all-time upkeep laptop for shoppers watching their wallets. If yous need more ideas for a high-quality upkeep laptop, cheque out our guide to the all-time laptops nether $500.
As well keep an heart out for the new Samsung Galaxy Volume, which is launching Feb 27. For our full recommendations, check out our picks for the all-time laptops beneath.
The all-time laptops you tin can buy today
The Dell XPS xiii is i of our favorite laptops thanks to its fantabulous performance, cute display, and graceful design. While the battery life isn't equally skillful as another laptops of similar price, it's ordinarily more plenty to get you lot through a 24-hour interval of work without scrambling for a charger.
Plus, in 2021 Dell began offering the XPS thirteen with a iii.5K OLED touchscreen selection. If you can afford it (it'south usually a couple hundred bucks extra, effectually the same price as the non-OLED 4K screen configuration) information technology's well worth the investment, as the OLED's deep, inky blacks, vibrant colors, and high contrast ratios really polish when mounted in the XPS thirteen's thin-bezeled InfinityEdge design.
Read our full Dell XPS xiii OLED review .
Not interested in OLED? Don't miss our Dell XPS 13 (2020, 11th Gen) review .
Apple has revolutionized its laptops, thanks to its own Apple silicon processors, which are replacing the Intel chips it'south previously used. This chip delivers faster speeds than the Air's always seen, and the longest battery life in any MacBook either: it lasted 14 hours and 41 minutes on the Tom's Guide battery test. Not since 2015 has a MacBook come up close to that. Not simply does the M1 chip make the MacBook Air a multi-tasking fiend, merely it also enabled me to play Rise of the Tomb Raider smoothly, and that'southward even with Rosetta 2 conversion of that Intel app.
Apple's motion to ARM-based processors await to reap massive benefits, and that includes the ability to run iOS and iPadOS apps on your Mac. Plus, the MacBook Air's webcam is clearer and more than color-accurate than always, cheers to signal processing. We're also however happy to see the Magic Keyboard, a not bad upgrade from the Butterfly-style keyboard of the previous MacBooks.
On peak of that, y'all get stronger sound than you'd wait from a laptop this small, which back up Dolby Atmos audio, for better-sounding movies and TV. Non merely is this the best laptop for many if non most Apple users, it's a laptop that should have the PC globe looking over its shoulders.
Read our full Apple tree MacBook Air M1 (tardily 2020) review .
If you see the Liquid Retina XDR display in the 14-inch MacBook Pro, yous may not be able to stop yourself from buying i. This mini-LED panel features improved dissimilarity and potent brightness that will take you reaching for your credit card. And that's just the tip of the iceberg, as the new M1 Pro processors are gobsmackingly fast and enable long battery life. But the story of the 2021 MacBook Pro models isn't simply about their speediness and gorgeous brandish, it'southward about all the minor things Apple inverse forth the way.
While the 2020 MacBook Pro and Air marked the start of the Apple tree Silicon era, the 2021 MacBook Pro is a demarcator of its own. Apple tree's bringing many beloved ports back to the Pro, for everyone who'southward been tired of bringing a USB-C dongle everywhere they become. That means HDMI-out and an SD bill of fare reader for when you demand to expand your display or apply external memory. Also, MagSafe charging is dorsum, though it doesn't displace USB-C charging either. What is gone, though is the Touch Bar, that little touch screen that saturday above the keyboard. Information technology'southward been replaced for total-sized function (F1-F12) keys, which we're happy to come across back.
Apple's also upgraded its internal webcam to 1080p (from 720p), as we're all spending far more fourth dimension on video conferencing calls than e'er before. Combined with that fantastic display, improved internal mics and a half-dozen-speaker setup that produces stellar audio, the new MacBook Pro will have everything looking and sounding better than earlier.
Read our full MacBook Pro 2021 (14-inch) review .
Microsoft's Surface Laptop Studio is a reimagined Surface Book with a more MacBook Pro-like pattern and an eye-catching hinged display. This is Microsoft's flagship device for Windows 11, which promises to make Windows a more inviting place for both piece of work and play. Like Windows 11, the Surface Laptop Studio is advertised every bit a one-finish shop for productivity, entertainment and creative work.
And for the most role, it is all that: its 11th Gen Intel CPU and 16+ GB of RAM gives you enough power to tackle near work, and if yous splurge for a model with the discrete Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 Ti GPU the Surface Laptop Studio also doubles as a decent machine for gaming or video editing on the go.
Still, information technology's a flake pricey when yous kit it out, and despite its great components the Surface Laptop Studio delivers subpar performance compared to similarly-priced machines. But few other laptops tin match its intriguing sliding hinged display, which can exist tented over the keys like an easel or slid all the style flat to turn the Studio into a heavy tablet.
Read our full Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio review .
The Framework Laptop is the anti-MacBook, a modular laptop that promises to allow you customize, repair, and upgrade it to an unprecedented caste, all while remaining affordable and ultraportable. Each laptop Framework ships comes with a screwdriver so y'all can crack open the example and swap out parts yourself, and everything from the memory to the screen bezel to the mainboard is user-replaceable.
It's not for everyone, just if you're the DIY type and dear the idea of being able to tinker with your laptop's innards this is the all-time laptop for you. The Framework laptop is currently only bachelor for purchase from the Framework website, and the price tag starts at $999 — though yous tin can pay as low as $749 for the DIY Edition if you're willing to assemble your laptop yourself and provide your own memory, storage, operating system, and Wi-Fi card.
The Microsoft Surface Laptop iv is the closest thing the company makes to a flagship Windows laptop. This 2021 addition to the Surface Laptop line packs premium components into a svelte chassis, and it comes with a clean Windows ten install that's bloatware-free.
If yous're looking for a premium Windows laptop to piece of work from anywhere, the Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 is the way to go. Information technology has a comfy keyboard with well-sized, satisfying keys and a nice Alcantara deck option that gives your wrists a trivial more comfort than a typical all-metal laptop. Factor in the respectable 10+ hour battery life and the screen's tall 3:two display ratio, which can help you lot read and edit documents more than comfortably, and yous have a great notebook for getting things done on the become. Plus, it won a recommendation for best-sounding laptop in our Tom'due south Guide Awards 2021.
Read our full Microsoft Surface Laptop four review .
When you desire the all-time bang for your buck, the Acer Swift 3 proves that y'all tin get bang-up operation at a surprisingly low price. Running on the AMD Ryzen 7 4700U CPU, this laptop offers exceptionally long battery life (eleven:09) in a lightweight design. It'southward got more ports than some of the laptops listed above it here: a USB Type-C, HDMI, and a USB-A. Plus, you become a fingerprint reader likewise.
Its keyboard makes for a solid typing experience, with quiet, clicky keys. We just wish its display had more effulgence and colour, and that its speakers had a little more kick. Just if you lot're looking to get things done on a budget, it's difficult to argue with the AMD-based Acer Swift three, which gives you plenty of reasons to inquire virtually AMD-based versions when you're looking effectually.
Read our total Acer Swift three (AMD) review .
The Microsoft Surface Pro 8 is the latest in the visitor's line of 2-in-1 Surface Pro tablets. This iteration includes an 11th generation Intel CPU, a thirteen-inch 120Hz display, two Thunderbolt 4 ports and a removable SSD. Just as important, y'all'll get Windows xi right out of the box with this 2-in-i.
Its small size and lightweight design make the Surface Pro 8 ideal to utilise at domicile or on the road. The front end-facing and rear cameras are likewise fantastic, providing make clean detailed images. Unfortunately, the Surface Pro eight disappoints equally a gaming device and didn't alive upwards to the promised 16 hours of battery life in our testing. Despite some of those qualms, the Surface 8 Pro is arguably the all-time Surface Pro yet.
Read our full Microsoft Surface Pro 8 review .
The Dell XPS 15 is one of our favorite laptops here at Tom'south Guide because it's powerful, portable, and like shooting fish in a barrel on the eyes. Nosotros especially love its immersive 15.vi-inch InfinityEdge brandish, which ditches the bottom bezel for a stunning 92.ix% screen to torso ratio. The new XPS xv is as well made better by some smart design tweaks, such as bigger keycaps and a responsive touchpad that's more than 60% larger than that of the previous generation.
Plus, in 2021 Dell began offering the XPS 15 with a 3.5K OLED touchscreen selection. If you can afford the extra $1k or and then it costs (though you get a few upgraded components arranged in with that, in add-on to the OLED screen) it's well worth the investment, as the OLED's deep, inky blacks, vibrant colors, and high contrast ratios really shine when mounted in the XPS 15'due south eye-catching InfinityEdge design.
Read our full Dell XPS fifteen OLED review .
Non interested in OLED? Don't miss our Dell XPS 15 (2020) review .
The new xvi-inch MacBook is a speedy beast, cheers to the M1 Max bit, which pushes graphics performance on the Mac to a whole new level. On top of that, its amazing redesign helps improve its brandish (anybody will get over the notch, trust us), with thinner bezels than ever, catching up to the Dell XPS InfinityEdge display (except for that notch, of grade). That screen, besides, is ameliorate than ever, with mini-LED technology and improved picture quality thank you to fantastic contrast and a 120Hz refresh charge per unit for excellent smoothness.
And that'south just the start of the story. The 2021 MacBook Pros meet a realignment on ports for MacBooks, moving back from the "USB-C or bosom" situation of the by five years. Now, you've got HDMI-out for connecting to displays and an SD retention reader for pros with real cameras. Apple'due south basically put the "pro" back in MacBook Pro. Oh, and that Affect Bar? The little OLED strip of a touch screen? It's been ripped out, likely because it never got to the point where the simple physical function keys (F1-F12) would be meliorate.
Cheque out our full MacBook Pro 2021 (16-inch) review .
The Lenovo Yoga 9i entered a crowded field of two-in-1s and made a splash with a competitive toll. Not only does it take latest 11th Gen Core i7 processor, a built-in stylus and long battery life, but its brandish is plenty colorful and its neat rotating speaker packs a ton of punch.
And, yes, its port selection may be a niggling sparse, and its display could stand to exist slightly brighter. But when information technology's $650 less than a similar Dell XPS 2-in-1 and $430 less than the a HP Spectre x360 with the same parts, the Lenovo Yoga 9i is a serious competitor for your investment. Talk about bang for your buck. Oh, and if you pay $600 more? You can get the Shadow Black edition that ups the style, puts the fingerprint reader in a more convenient location and has a glass palm residue that covers the entire deck.
Read our full Lenovo Yoga 9i review .
When we hear a laptop is incredibly thin and light, it makes u.s. worry near how long information technology will concluding on a single accuse. That's not the example hither, as the 2-pound Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Nano lasted 12 hours on our bombardment test, which puts it up there against some of the very best laptops on the market place today. And that's quite impressive when you think that the 2.9-pound XPS 13 is almost a whole pound heavier.
Lenovo didn't sacrifice on operation or usability either. The Nano's Intel 11th Gen Tiger Lake processors provide the speed you need for tons of productivity — and its keyboard provides a snappy and comfy typing experience that lives upwardly to the ThinkPad brand. Yous just might need to pack a USB-C hub, though, as it's a niggling light on ports.
Read our full Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Nano review .
The Alienware m15 R4 is more than than the best gaming laptop on the market, it'southward what other gaming laptops should aspire to be (for the nigh part). It's got a ton of power for running all of the games you could desire, even in full UHD 4K. Speaking of 4K, its screen is vibrant and gorgeous, then everything you play will look as great as it runs. Its blueprint is also impeccable, with a beautiful white chassis (that'southward also pretty portable). And when it'south time to get productive, information technology'south got an excellent keyboard for a comfy typing experience.
That's non to say we wish there were some changes. About notably, its battery life is on the short side (which will exit you hunting for wall outlets). But that's not exactly surprising, as gaming notebooks aren't known for their endurance on their internal power supply. The fan can get pretty loud, and its price is on the high cease of the spectrum. Just for those who want to game, and do it with speed and fashion, this is the machine you demand to check out.
Read our full Alienware m15 R4 review .
The HP Elite Dragonfly is the rare laptop that comes forth and sets a new standard for the entire category. This ii-in-one laptop's pattern is 1 of the most stunning we've ever seen on a laptop, with an incredibly thin edges that measure merely 0.half-dozen inches in thickness and a deep bluish coat of paint that looks refreshing, mesmerizing and classy all at in one case. And while the Dragonfly is wonderfully light at 2.five pounds, it likewise feels impressively sturdy, has an oleophobic coating to prevent fingerprints and uses recycled body of water-bound plastics to help the surround.
Functioning and features-wise, this beauty is a animal. Its stunning 13.iii-inch display looks gorgeous for movies and Idiot box shows and crushed our color and effulgence tests. Its 8th-gen Intel CPU can handle everyday workloads without bug, and its keyboard is one of the nearly pleasant we've e'er typed on. There's also its incredibly epic battery life of more than 12 hours, which beats favorites such as the MacBook Air and XPS thirteen. The Dragonfly is on the expensive side with a starting price of $1,629, simply those who are willing to pay a premium will be rewarded with one of the best laptops on the marketplace.
Read our full HP Elite Dragonfly review .
The Asus ZenBook Duo 14 is for anyone who wants a second screen just doesn't want an external display. And it pulls off this feat past putting a 12-inch touch screen above the keyboard. This screen is slap-up for your secondary windows, such every bit Spotify, Slack, Discord and more than. It can also be used by creative apps from the likes of Adobe, who put touch controls there.
On top of that, its functioning is speedy, and competitive with the XPS thirteen, which it trades rounds with in caput-to-caput comparison. Plus, its battery life is long — especially when yous realize it'south got two screens to light up. The large downside, though, is that without a wrist-balance, the ZenBook Duo 14 is a bit ergonomically unfriendly. Just if you've got an external wrist rest, you should be good.
Read our full Asus ZenBook Duo 14 review .
This 1 doesn't really brand sense — that'due south how skilful of a deal information technology is. At $279, the Lenovo Chromebook Duet storms into the front of the conversation when information technology comes to value. Not only is information technology a tablet Chromebook, merely its keyboard comes free — something that nosotros don't look to see from the iPad or any Surface, fifty-fifty the more-affordable Go. Oh, and it's also a solid tablet as well, thanks to strong color output and a precipitous resolution that you lot rarely see at this price betoken. We like information technology so much we awarded it best budget laptop in our Tom's Guide Awards 2021.
The Chromebook Duet also sees ChromeOS gain some touchscreen tablet optimizations that it's needed for a while, making it easier to navigate all of your tabs. Oh, and as if that wasn't enough, it'due south got astonishing battery life, lasting 12 hours and 47 minutes, nearly thirteen hours, on our web-surfing test. The merely knock against it? Its keyboard might accept some getting used to for larger handed-folks.
Read our full Lenovo Chromebook Duet review .
The Google Pixelbook Become isn't merely more affordable than the original Pixelbook -- it'south also better in almost every manner. This highly portable Chromebook stands out with a slim, lightweight blueprint that weighs in at simply over 2 pounds, besides every bit a rubberized, easy-to-grip chassis that comes in sleek Simply Black and Not Pink variations. The tranquillity, comfortable keyboard doesn't injure either.
The Pixelbook Get stands out with its long battery life, as we saw it last well over xi hours on our test. Couple that with solid performance, a bright and colorful display and a responsive touchscreen, and you've got i of the all-time Chromebooks yet for those willing to dip into the premium range. Only be aware that the Pixelbook Go is a bit brusque on ports, and doesn't fold into tablet mode like its bigger Pixelbook brother does.
Read our full Google Pixelbook Become review .
Fast, long-lasting and affordable. Typically, you lot'll exist able to go at to the lowest degree two out of three, but it's rare that y'all get the trifecta that Acer nailed with the Chromebook Spin 713. And it'due south all packaged together in a sleek silver laptop that's just three pounds. One of the best laptops for those looking for a low-maintenance culling to Windows x or macOS, the Chromebook Spin 713 is too a convertible with a touch screen display, which you'll want for Chrome Os' support of Android apps via the Google Play store.
We'd rank it higher were its speakers a bit stronger, or its keyboard a little larger. Still, the Chromebook Spin 713 is more than than deserving of a spot on this listing of the best laptops around. Considering this is a neat offer at $629 — and it oft gets put on sale at lower prices. It's so skillful it won a recommendation for best Chromebook in our Tom'south Guide Awards 2021.
Read our full Acer Chromebook Spin 713 review .
The AMD-equipped Asus Zenbook xiii OLED is an fantabulous value, offer an eye-catching 1080p OLED brandish and exceptional bombardment life in a slim, lightweight parcel for less than a thousand bucks.
Certain, the speakers aren't amazing, the webcam leaves something to be desired, and there's no headphone jack, simply these are stumbling blocks yous can work around. If yous demand a zippy picayune ultraportable with a keen screen that will terminal you all twenty-four hour period long, you tin can't practise meliorate than the OLED-equipped Asus Zenbook 13 at this cost.
Read our full Asus Zenbook 13 OLED review .
How to cull the best laptop for y'all
Performance: If you simply need something basic for surfing the spider web, consider a Chromebook or a cheap Windows laptop with an Intel Core i3 processor and 4GB of RAM. If you programme on getting more intensive work done, consider starting specs such as a Core i5 CPU, 8 to 16GB of RAM and a 256GB to 512GB SSD.
Graphics and gaming: Most mainstream laptops feature integrated graphics, which can handle lightweight titles such every bit Minecraft and Overwatch simply aren't platonic for intensive AAA games or heavy visual piece of work. For that, you lot'll want a laptop with a discrete graphics carte du jour, such as an Nvidia GTX 3000-series on the higher end.
Size: Consider how mobile yous want your laptop to be. Machines such equally the Dell XPS xiii and HP Elite Dragonfly are feather light with slim designs, while gaming notebooks such as the Alienware m15 R4 take more heft to them (but offer large power in exchange).
Operating system: Laptops typically come in three flavors: Windows 10 (about mainstream PCs), macOS (MacBooks) and Chrome OS (Chromebooks). Windows ten is the most mutual operating arrangement, while macOS is more ideal for folks already tied into Apple's ecosystem. Chrome Os is a lightweight operating system built to allow for cheap, fast systems, though it has gotten a flake more robust over the years with support for full Android apps.
Whichever system you decide on, you may also desire to pick up the best mouse for your detail work situation.
How we test the all-time laptops
To observe the best laptop, we run every machine through a rigorous suite of benchmarks and real-world tests to gauge how it volition perform during everyday use.
We measure the average brightness and color quality of each laptop'due south display using our in-business firm calorie-free meter and colorimeter. For general performance, we run our machines through tests that include Geekbench 5 (CPU performance), too every bit various 3DMark tests to measure graphics capabilities. Nosotros also run a file transfer test to measure how fast a machine's hard drive is, and a custom battery test that has the automobile browse the internet over Wi-Fi until it runs out of juice.
When testing dedicated gaming laptops, we run benchmarks for popular games such equally Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Hitman two and Far Weep: New Dawn.
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Source: https://www.tomsguide.com/best-picks/best-laptops
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