Our experts used the PerfectRec decision engine to comb through our laptop database and find the best laptops available in 2024. Here are our top picks.
Our criteria for the best laptops:
Our experts looked for the best laptops available, without giving any special weight to operating system, usage, budget, screen size, weight, or battery life.
To consider others factors, try the PerfectRec decision engine to get your personalized laptop recommendation
The ASUS Zenbook S 13 is a premium, lightweight laptop, making it highly portable and suitable for on-the-go use, especially with its long battery life. With a midrange price, you're getting solid build quality, a vivid OLED touchscreen, and excellent heat management. It has an Intel i7-1355U processor paired with 32GB RAM, which will handle general use very efficiently. Its Intel Iris Xe graphics are fine for casual gaming and moderate creative tasks, but might fall short for intensive 3D rendering or engineering software. The laptop offers a good selection of ports, including Thunderbolt 4, and a comfortable backlit keyboard, although it lacks an Ethernet port and an option for hardware upgrades due to having no available RAM or storage slots.
The Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 is a midrange-priced laptop, equipped with an AMD Ryzen 7 processor and an AMD RX 6500M graphics card, suitable for moderate to intensive tasks and light gaming. It sports a high-quality OLED screen with a sharp 3840 x 2400 resolution, perfect for professional creative work. However, it is not the lightest at over 4 pounds, which might affect its portability for users who travel frequently. For connectivity, it includes a variety of ports but lacks an SD card reader. The laptop offers robust security features and is expected to have fair battery life, making it ideal for professionals who need a durable, secure, and reasonably powerful machine. It comes with Windows 11 Pro and its build quality is rated as excellent.
The Apple MacBook Air 15 (2023) comes with an appealing combination of features for those who prioritize a blend of performance and portability. It has a larger 15-inch display and a powerful Apple M2 chip with ample memory for smooth multitasking and everyday tasks. However, note that it's priced in the upper midrange spectrum. While it has a very slim design and light weight, enhancing its portability, it may not be the first choice for those seeking the utmost in gaming or intensive engineering due to its display limited to a standard refresh rate and integrated GPU. It offers fanless operation for a silent experience and a backlit keyboard. Although excellent for general use, performance may be fair for more demanding 3D and machine learning applications, and good for engineering tasks. Battery life is solid, allowing for extended use between charges. The MacBook Air has a top-tier build quality, excellent keyboard, and great speakers, making it a strong all-around laptop, but the premium price reflects its status as a high-end Apple product.
The Acer Swift Go 14 offers robust performance with its Intel Core Ultra 7 processor and Intel Arc graphics, suited for general use and capable of handling some engineering and creative tasks. The OLED display is of high quality, boasting a high resolution and color accuracy, which is great for visual work but not touch-enabled. This laptop is lightweight and thin, enhancing its portability, but the tradeoff comes in battery life, which is moderate. There are ample ports, including Thunderbolt, for connectivity, and features such as a backlit keyboard and fingerprint reader are present for convenience. It's described as having a lower midrange price, indicating a balance between affordability and features. Overall, it's a versatile choice for everyday use, with some capacity for more demanding applications.
The Dell Inspiron 14 5425 is a budget-friendly option with decent computing power, courtesy of the AMD Ryzen 7 processor, making it suitable for everyday tasks and some more demanding applications. It offers a satisfactory amount of storage and memory, with options for expansion. The integrated Vega 8 graphics can handle light gaming and graphical tasks, but may not be ideal for intensive gaming or high-end graphic design. With a weight that balances portability and build, it's a good fit for on-the-go use while maintaining a 14-inch display, which has a resolution favouring productivity and content consumption. Battery life is adequate for a day's work, and the laptop has a backlit keyboard, which is helpful in low-light conditions. Keep in mind, though, that while it's versatile enough for general use, professionals needing advanced computational or graphical capabilities may find it limited.
The Apple MacBook Air (2022) is priced in the upper midrange category and features a 13.6-inch IPS display, 512GB of storage, and 24GB of RAM, powered by the Apple M2 chip with a 10-core GPU. Its battery life is robust, allowing up to 15 hours of typical usage. The sleek design at just 0.44 inches thick and a weight of 2.7 pounds makes it highly portable. It runs MacOS and has a fanless design which ensures silent operation. The laptop does not cater to intensive gaming, but its high-quality build and strong performance are well-suited for general use and some creative tasks. The backlit keyboard adds comfort and the inclusion of a fingerprint reader ensures security. It does not feature a touchscreen, hardware ray tracing, or DLSS technology, but it supports USB-C charging and Thunderbolt connectivity.
The Acer Swift Go 14 is a midrange-priced laptop with a 14-inch OLED screen featuring a resolution higher than Full HD and a 90Hz refresh rate which is good for smoother visuals. It has an Intel i7 processor with integrated graphics good for everyday tasks and light gaming but may not handle intensive 3D rendering or engineering simulations as well as devices with dedicated graphics cards. The laptop includes 512GB of storage and 16GB of RAM which is ample for general use and multitasking. It's also fairly lightweight and portable with a decent battery life for typical use. With its backlit keyboard and fingerprint reader, it offers convenience and security, making it suitable for general use and on-the-go productivity. However, it might not be the best option for gamers or professionals in need of more powerful performance for demanding applications.