The Best Laptops In 2024
Table of Contents This content originally appeared on Mashable for a US audience and has been adapted for the UK audience.
There’s more to buying a new laptop than buying something that looks nice and shiny. A laptop is a lifestyle choice, which means you need one that suits your life and style. Indeed, your work and leisure (like streaming Netflix) will be vastly improved by the purchase of a slick, reliable, efficient laptop.
It’s certainly not a decision that should be made based on simply price or looks. Like everything else in life, it’s what’s on the inside that counts.
Laptop beginners may want something user-friendly and straightforward, while frequent travellers will need something that’s both light and long-lasting. Designers and gamers may seek top-notch 4K graphics and quick central processors. And everybody needs something that’s not just going to break after a year. If you’re stuck on a decision, we can help. We’re done the research and compiled a roundup of some of the best models available, along with some useful laptop info.
What are the best laptop brands?Apple reigns supreme as the most popular laptop manufacturer and its flagship models — such as the MacBook Pro and MacBook Air — regularly top lists of the very best laptops that money can buy. But it’s far from the only option out there.
The Microsoft Surface has been seriously impressing since its launch in 2012, peaking, in our opinion, with the Microsoft Surface 4 (though newer versions are available). HP offers a range of laptops that span price options and capabilities. Dell is another trusty and versatile manufacturer, with a laptop range including 2-in-1 models and dedicated gaming options. Lenovo is also worth your attention.
What are the best gaming laptops?If you’re a hardcore gamer, you need a laptop that’s built for gaming. Manufacturers such as Asus, Gigabyte, Razer, and Acer produce laptops that are dedicated to gaming and handling the latest software, combining powerful CPU, GPU, and RAM specs for smooth, uninterrupted gameplay. Household name brands such as HP and Dell also have machines built for top-flight gaming.
What are the most important laptop features?Not every laptop will suit everyone’s needs. But there are important inner components that every laptop has and it’s important to know what they are:
CPU — Also known as the the processor, this is the brain of the laptop. It controls and communicates with everything else. For general web-surfing, emails, and essay-writing, you won’t need an all-singing, all-dancing CPU. But if you’re a serious gamer, video editor, or graphic designer — or do anything that requires you running big-time software — look for a machine with a solid, up-to-the-minute CPU processor.
Display — If you’re a gamer or designer, a stunning, high-resolution display is absolutely essential. We recommend a HD 1080p resolution as a base level. Some laptops also have touchscreen capabilities, doubling up as laptop-tablet combos. This is one area where size does matter. Laptops built for gaming and creative work tend to have 15-inch displays but more portable laptops may be 13 or even 11 inches.
GPU — The graphics processing unit, otherwise known as the graphics card. This is responsible for your laptop’s visuals. Once again, the GPU will depend on your laptop activity. You might not need eye-popping graphics for answering emails or writing coursework, but for design work or — perhaps most importantly — rendering visuals in the latest games, choose a machine with the latest, supremely powerful GPU.
RAM — This stands for random-access memory. It’s for running various applications at the same time and using them as and when you need to access. (How many apps are open in your dock right now? That’s all thanks to RAM.) This basically controls the speed and dexterity of your laptop. 8GB of RAM is a good starting point if you’re a multitasker or do heavy-duty gaming and creative work.
Storage — You’ll notice that laptops usually come with one of two types of storage space — hard-disc drive (HDD) or a solid-state drive (SSD) storage. HDD is essentially a hunk of metal inside the machine that holds onto all your info. SSD stores the info on little flash-memory chips. A HDD typically holds more but it’s slower than SSD. Premium and higher-ticket laptops usually come with SSD as standard. There are also cloud and external storage options, depending on your storage needs.
How much should a laptop cost?As with anything in life, you get what you pay for. Just as there’s a laptop specification to suit everyone, there’s a price point too. The laptops included in this list range from around £280 to £3,060. Remember that a laptop is an investment in not just your work but your life too. It’s sometimes worth spending a little extra to get a laptop that will perform harder, faster, and better.
What is the best laptop for you?It’s overwhelming but this is the kind of stuff we enjoy researching. We’ve put together a definitive guide of the best laptops on the market right now. We compare top brands that you probably have in mind like Apple and Dell, as well as other players you may not have considered otherwise. You’re in good hands.
These are the best laptops in 2024.
We have to include the MacBook Pro, and not just because MacBooks give you great street cred, but because this MacBook is a powerhouse.
With the fast Apple M4 Pro chip — and with a 14‑Core CPU, 20‑Core GPU, 24GB RAM and 1TB SSD — the price makes sense. There’s no question that the MacBook Pro is the best laptop money can buy for photo and video editing, featuring unbeatable import and export speeds (even with those tough 4K videos), insanely fast handling of hardcore apps like Adobe and Final Cut Pro, and a crisp 14.2-inch retina display to see your work just as clear as in real life.
While Apple hasn’t gone totally touchscreen yet, this comes with fast-and-easy touch ID, which you can also use to make payments via Apple Pay. Other bonuses include a large trackpad, around 22 hours of battery, and a nice selection of ports — 3 Thunderbolt 5 ports, HDMI, a memory card slot, and 3.5mm headphone jack. Not to mention the trusty MagSafe 3 port.
All in all, the ever-evolving MacBook Pro packs a punch with the strongest, fastest specs ever, making it a great choice for editing pros and regular folk.
Tech users are often divided by allegiance to a specific OS, but there’s always a Windows machine out there that can turn the heads of Apple devotees.
One such machine is the Microsoft Surface Laptop 4, a 15-inch model with the brand’s PixelSense touchscreen display and plenty more top-of-the-line tech to entice you. Even at 15 inches it’s a sleek design — though alternative, lighter options are available if portability is a deal-breaker.
The Surface 4 continues a trend we’ve seen in previous models, with a spacious, comfortable keyboard. The Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 is an absolute breeze to type on, whether you’re banging out a quick email or composing a 15,000-word thesis. It’s bolstered by a 4.5-inch touchpad and 1.3mm of key travel.
The HD display with PixelSense touchscreen technology really is topnotch. It has a resolution of 2496 x 1664 pixels and crisp, jerk-free visuals courtesy of FreeSync technology. Yes, this is a powerful piece of kit — especially for its price. An AMD Ryzen 7 chip puts this on the level of MacBook Pro performance. It’s fast, smooth, and responsive. What more could you want?
It comes equipped with a headphone jack and USB A and C ports, plus a Surface Connect port which can be used for charging up other devices.
Graphic design? Product development? Photography? And a Windows user? Meet your new righthand man. Dell’s traditional powerhouse laptop, the Dell XPS 15, continues to see improvements year after year, keeping it as a top choice for masses of advanced users and artists alike.
Beginners or casual laptop users may be happy with a 13-inch screen (for which a Dell XPS 13 will do the trick) but hardcore laptop users who have their entire lives or careers on their device need something bigger.
The exterior is built with Dell’s InfinityEdge technology, which is a fancy term for extra-thin bezels and a wide-as-possible, gorgeous screen. The 15.6-inch Full HD display isn’t quite 3K level, but visuals are powered the Intel Arc CPU that will satisfy even the pickiest gamers or designers.
Inside sits an Intel Core i7 processor, solid memory, and storage options up to 1TB SSD. One drawback in the battery, which is a bit average. You’ll get six, maybe seven hours at best — which isn’t great, but isn’t terrible either. Keep the charger handy. Or go for the Dell XPS 13, which offers a bit more juice — but on a significantly smaller display.
Dell has also changed its webcam placement, so it’s now above the screen (where it should be) rather than catching you from below with an unflattering up-the-nose shot, which was a problem on previous gen models.
If you’re looking for a convertible laptop, the HP Spectre x360 is one of the slickest machines around right now. As soon as it hit shelves it was being talked about by tech experts as a contender for the best 2-in-1 laptop ever produced.
When it comes to touchscreen technology, a dazzling display is a must-see. It has an eye-catching 14-inch OLED screen with 1920 x 1280-pixel IPS, plus 3K resolution and Intel Arc integrated graphics. And while its 3:2 aspect ratio isn’t unheard of in laptops but it’s not exactly standard either.
The colours are rich and vivid and the visuals are impressively sharp. In fact, the entire laptop has an elegant design — more stylish than the sometimes-generic design that you get with non-Apple devices.
It’s not all about looks, of course. The HP Spectre x360 is loaded with powerful, innovative features. It has an 1Intel Core Ultra 5, a 256GB solid-state drive, fingerprint sensor and facial recognition, and plenty of ports, including Thunderbolt 4 and USB Type-A — a feature that’s all-too-often missing.
It comes with a rechargeable stylus (with a bonus carrying sleeve for safekeeping) that clings magnetically to the side of the laptop. Not only that, the action and response is zippy —just check out its instant wake-up feature — but long-lasting too, thanks to a decent battery life of up to 13 hours.
Gaming geeks have good reason to be particular over the specs of their purpose-bought laptop. They might call it gaming, but plugging in for a hi-def session is a serious business. And there’s nothing more frustrating than having the experience hampered by a pixelated display or irritating lag as you’re getting deep into the game.
Asus is a brand that knows what it’s doing when it comes to gaming laptops. And this year’s upgraded Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 has scored rave reviews — an improvement on an already popular gaming machine.
It’s equipped with up-to-date and powerful components — the latest AMD Ryzen 9 CPU and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 series graphics card. That makes this a robust game-player that’s capable of handling the complex and demanding games with relative ease.
If you’re all about appearances, then check out its 120Hz OLED display, which boasts a 3K resolution and Nvidia G-sync support. In short, it looks fantastic — though you may want play around with the settings to get the most out of it. It also comes with two USB Type-C ports, plus HDMI and audio connections. But note there’s no Thunderbolt support. And while the battery will last up to 10 hours, it very much depends on what you’re running at the time.
It’s not cheap, of course — especially if you’re new to gaming — but that’s par for course with high quality gaming. Seasoned gamers know that you’ll pay a high price for any halfway decent gaming tech.
Don’t believe the marketing hype: Not every laptop has to cost a small fortune. In fact, you can find some very respectable options for a comparative steal.
Take the Lenovo IdeaPad Duet 3, which is part of a well-reviewed range of low-cost, 2-in-1 laptop/tablets. With its detachable keyboard, this device easily converts between the two, which means that it’s not only affordable — it’s highly portable too. Indeed, this is the kind of laptop you can take everywhere with you.
The screen is small, surrounded by overly chunky bezels, but the display — an 11-inch, 10-point touchscreen — is impressive. It’s bright and punchy and a pleasure to watch your favourite streaming platforms on. If you are streaming, it’s worth mentioning that this laptop doesn’t have a headphone jack — an increasingly common omission — but you can easily connect Bluetooth headphones, so it’s not a complete loss.
The Lenovo IdeaPad Duet 3 is actually a Chromebook, in case that’s a deciding factor for you. It’s actually a bonus if you like to keep things simple. Just use your Google login and you’re immediately synced and set up — you also have access to all the apps on the Google Play Store. In terms of keeping the cost down, this one’s hard to beat.
If you need portability but you want as much hi-end technology as possible, there’s really only one choice — the Apple MacBook Air. If you’re a regular commuter, or you’re used to working on-the-go and parking up in cafes, it’s a no brainer. The 13-inch laptop weighs just 1.24kg and measures just 1.13 cm when closed.
Even at this size, the MacBook Air still packs plenty of processing power. This is Apple, after all. It’s powered by the fast and muscular M3 chip, which handles everything you need from a top-end laptop — web browsing, streaming, and multi-tasking — and then some (minus gaming, of course, which is not Apple’s forte). And if video editing is your thing, this can handle 4K editing no problem.
You’ll get a solid set of spec, with 8GB RAM and 256 SSD, along with features such as Touch ID and a very competitive battery life of up to 18 hours — depending on the demands of your usage. Unless you want something for gaming, or have specific needs, this is pretty much the best laptop you’ll find.
Another great thing about the MacBook Air, of course, is the price, which is under £1,000. Though there is a slightly more expensive version available that doubles the SSD storage and RAM.
Leah Stodart is a Philadelphia-based Senior Shopping Reporter at Mashable where she covers essential home tech like vacuums and TVs as well as sustainable swaps and travel. Her ever-growing experience in these categories comes in clutch when making recommendations on how to spend your money during shopping holidays like Black Friday, which Leah has been covering for Mashable since 2017.
The robot vacuum beat in particular has cemented itself as Leah’s main ~thing~ across the past few years. Since 2019, her expertise has been perpetually bolstered by the meticulous eye she keeps on robot vacuum deals and new releases, but more importantly, her hands-on experience with more than 25 robot vacuums tested in her own home. (This number has probably gone up by the time you’re reading this.) That at-home testing is standardized through Mashable’s robot testing guide — a granular scoring rubric for assessing all aspects of owning and using a robot vacuum on the daily — that Leah created herself.
Leah graduated from Penn State University in 2016 with dual degrees in Sociology and Media Studies. When she’s not writing about shopping (or shopping online for herself), she’s almost definitely watching a horror movie, “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” or “The Office.” You can follow her on X at @notleah or email her at [email protected].
Joseph Green is the Global Shopping Editor for Mashable. He covers VPNs, headphones, fitness gear, dating sites, streaming services, and shopping events like Black Friday and Prime Day.
Joseph is also Executive Editor of Mashable’s sister site, AskMen.
Dylan Haas is a Lead Shopping Reporter for Mashable, where he covers all things gaming, pets, fitness, sleep, and shopping events like Black Friday and Prime Day. Before joining the team at Mashable, Dylan received a B.A. in Communications from Pace University and contributed to publications like Paste Magazine, Bandsintown, and others following a brief stint as a marketing and management assistant in the music industry.
When he’s not writing or testing products, you can find Dylan playing lots of video games, working out, spending time with loved ones (especially his dog, Stevie), or watching reality TV. Follow him on X at @iamdylanhaas, or send him an email at [email protected].