9 best laptops of 2024: tested and reviewed by our team of experts

We're at a turning point in laptops. Apple's MacBook train continues to run, all while Windows laptops are undergoing their biggest transition in decades under the banner of Copilot+ PCs.

But which laptop you should actually go out and buy? Well, we've reviewed dozens and dozens of new models this year already, and whether it's the best gaming laptops, the best budget laptops, or the best 2-in-1 laptops, we've got you covered.

Microsoft Surface Laptop 7th Edition

The best Windows laptop

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Apple MacBook Air (M3)

The MacBook most people should buy

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Asus ZenBook 14 OLED

Best affordable laptop

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Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 (2024)

The best gaming laptop

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Surface Pro 11th Edition

The best 2-in-1 laptop

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Apple MacBook Pro

The best content creation laptop

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Lenovo Chromebook Duet 3

The best Chromebook

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Razer Blade 14

The best alternative to the ROG Zephyrus G14

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Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Aura Edition

Best Lenovo laptop

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Microsoft Surface Laptop 7th Edition

I have always been rooting for the Surface Laptop. I've always liked the taller, 3:2 aspect ratio of the screen and its simple design aesthetic. But over the years, the actual laptop itself has always disappointed me. Performance and battery life weren't up to par, and it often lagged behind in high-end features.

But those days are over. With the 7th Edition, Microsoft has made the Surface Laptop a true competitor to the MacBook Air by offering a better 120Hz display, more ports, removable storage, and overall faster performance. Most of the improvements are due to the Snapdragon X chip inside, which offers MacBook-like efficiency to the Windows platform. I reviewed the X Elite version, which offers significantly better performance (and better battery life as well), so I'd recommend that model if you can afford the bump in price. Compared to the MacBook Air M3, the Surface Laptop 7th Edition has a cheaper starting price and includes more memory.

In addition to the new chip and super-bright screen, the Surface Laptop 7th Edition also now comes with a haptic feedback trackpad. It really has it all. It's made transitioning away from the MacBook a lot easier than I would have imagined — and for now, it's my new favorite laptop.

Microsoft Surface Laptop 7th Edition

The best Windows laptop

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Apple MacBook Air (M3)

The MacBook Air remains a remarkable little laptop. Both in its 13-inch and 15-inch variants, the MacBook Air is incredibly thin, yet surprisingly powerful. Toss in that M3 chip, and you even get a surprising boost to the GPU. Making that performance even more impressive is that it's accomplished in a completely fanless design, meaning the machine remains silent, regardless of what you're doing. In that sense, there's still nothing else quite like it.

That balance of performance and portability is really what makes this laptop so special. For this class of laptop, the screen is high quality, as are the speakers and webcam. Yes, the MacBook Pro is tempting, but for this price, the MacBook Air remains a strong contendor.

The recent changes to configurations have only increased the value of this laptop in its starting configurations. The MacBook Air M3 now starts with 16GB of RAM rather than 8GB, an upgrade that would have cost $200 in the past! The only wrinkle is that this change has also been applied to the M2 MacBook Air, which comes in at $100 cheaper overall.

In my testing of both of these laptops, the main reason to opt for the M3 is the either the improved GPU performance or the better external display support. The biggest downsides are the port selection and multimonitor support, which are quite limited. It can only handle one external display. If you're using the M3 model, it can support two external monitors, but only with the laptop lid closed.

The M4 model isn't due out until sometime in 2025, so you're still OK to pick up the M3 model -- or even the M2, if you're trying to save a few bucks.

Apple MacBook Air (M3)

The MacBook most people should buy

Asus ZenBook 14 OLED

Finding a new laptop for under $1,000 that doesn't make some significant compromises isn't easy. But sometimes, a laptop comes along that walks that balance in just the right way. The Asus Zenbook 14 OLED was one such laptop when it came out in 2023. The combination of the OLED screen, solid performance, and affordable price make it a killer deal.

There's just not another laptop, outside of perhaps the M1 MacBook Air, that can compete at this price. Even then, the Zenbook 14 has the advantage of its stellar OLED screen. This model, the Zenbook 14 OLED UM3402, is still a fantastic purchase today, selling for under $600 at some retailers. Even among the best OLED laptops you can buy, the Zenbook 14 OLED ranks high.

The 2024 model is also really solid after making the switch from AMD to the Intel Core Ultra 7 155H. Everything that made the UM3402 so good is still present. Our longtime laptop reviewer, Mark Coppock, called it "undefeated" when it comes to value, noting how uncommon it is to see OLED screens on laptops this well-priced. Although we reviewed a higher-end option, there are now more affordable starting configurations available, which keep it top of mind when shopping for laptops at this price point.

Asus ZenBook 14 OLED

Best affordable laptop

Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 (2024)

The ROG Zephyrus G14 was redesigned in 2024, and its transformation has made it quite a compelling laptop. In fact, one our gaming laptop reviewers, Jacob Roach, proclaimed it to be "damn near perfect" in his review, complimenting it both from a design and performance standpoint in his testing.

On one hand, it's a gaming laptop unlike any that's been made. It's significantly cheaper than the Razer Blade 14, despite being even thinner and more modern. More than that, though, in its latest iteration, it becomes a serious MacBook Pro competitor. After all, very few laptops of this size are as powerful as this, and that's thanks to an RTX 4070 GPU.

Pair that kind of performance with an OLED 120Hz screen, and you have a laptop that even surpasses the MacBook Pro in some ways. It really does have an incredible display. Of course, the G14 doesn't have the kind of battery life that the MacBook Pro has. But as far as a proper Windows alternative goes, it's hard to find one better than the G14. If you want something even more powerful, you can opt for the larger G16, which can be configured with up to an RTX 4080.

With RTX 50-series graphics reportedly coming soon, however, you may want to see how if a refreshed model gets introduced and if it brings any important changes.

Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 (2024)

The best gaming laptop

Surface Pro 11th Edition

The Surface Pro hasn't changed much over the years, but it hasn't needed to. The design is rock-solid, and there aren't many Windows 2-in-1s to choose from these days. But in its 11th version, it's reached its true potential.

Sporting the new Snapdragon X chip under the hood and a fantastic OLED screen, the Surface Pro finally competes with the iPad Pro in a way it just couldn't before. And, of course, you get all the benefits of the Windows ecosystem — this is a real PC through and through, not just a tablet.

In my testing of this device, I found so much to like about it. It feels like the Surface Pro we should have always had, especially when it comes to battery life. There's never been a Windows tablet this long-lasting, which allows it to really give the iPad Pro a run for its money. I also love the fact that you can use the keyboard while detached too, which comes in handy in lots of circumstances.

The only thing I don't like about it is its lack of a headphone jack. Microsoft also still doesn't sell it in a bundle with the excellent new Type Cover, which it really needs. That aside, if you like the idea of a 2-in-1 device to travel with, or even just a super-portable laptop, the Surface Pro 11th Edition just might be the best choice there's ever been.

Surface Pro 11th Edition

The best 2-in-1 laptop

Apple MacBook Pro

Apple brought the M4 to the MacBook Pro, and in doing so,it made the MacBook Pro better in just about every way. I already adored this laptop, but in my testing of the latest model, I found it to raise the bar in a big way.

The base M4 MacBook Pro, which is only available in the 14-inch size, may have received the biggest bump. Without increasing the cost, the M4 MacBook Pro now starts with 16GB of RAM instead of 8GB, making it a far more attractive offering. The M4 chip itself, meanwhile, provides a meaningful upgrade in terms of both single-core and GPU performance.

Of course, bumping up to the M4 Pro or M4 Max greatly expands the power of the GPU even further, adding more and more cores. I tested the M4 Pro, which I found extremely impressive in terms of performance. All of the M4 MacBook Pros also have a screen that's able to range up to 1,000 nits of brightness in SDR when under harsh lighting. These MacBook Pros also have the option for the fantastic nano-texture screen, which deflects glare and reflections without losing image quality.

All in all, these are the most premium laptops that exist, and they're the perfect companion for content creators of all kinds. They certainly rank highest among the best laptops for video editing.

Apple MacBook Pro

The best content creation laptop

Lenovo Chromebook Duet 3

Laptops that cost $300 shouldn't be this good. Seriously. Most laptops you can buy at that price have serious deficiencies, like pitiful performance or awful 720p screens. That's often true, even on Chromebooks.

But the Lenovo Chromebook Duet 3 manages to deliver a great laptop experience, albeit on a very small device. But this little 10.9-inch laptop is perfect for students or anyone who just needs a compact device to take on the go. The screen resolution is even better than 1080p, reaching up to 2000 x 1200. That's very sharp for a screen of this size, making it excellent for writing and reading text. It even gets up to 400 nits of brightness, meaning working near windows isn't an issue. Again, this is unheard of for a laptop at this price.

When our veteran laptop reviewer, Mark Coppock, tested this device back in 2022, he found it to be a "great secondary computer or starting tablet," and he observed that "you'll spend hundreds of dollars more for a similar setup that won’t gain you much additional functionality."

One of the features mentioned is the 5-megapixel camera for solid videoconferencing, which is still better than many laptops that cost $1,000 more. This little tablet has just about everything it needs to compete with the iPad (especially with the recent price jump). The iPad is undoubtedly a better tablet, though. It's lighter and has a wide range of gestures and apps to support touch-only controls. The Lenovo Chromebook Duet 3 will disappoint you in that regard, even with support for Android apps. But that's nothing new for ChromeOS tablets.

The Lenovo Chromebook Duet 3 excels, though, as a work or school device, and is one of the best laptops for college. As good as iPads have become at doing work, if you're needing to do actual work or school work, having a normal desktop browser and a full keyboard goes a long way toward being more efficient. There is a newer model out there that we tested, but our reviewer found that it actually takes a step backward in terms of performance, despite costing more -- so stick with the old model if you can find it.

Lenovo Chromebook Duet 3

The best Chromebook

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Razer Blade 14

Gaming laptops are their own class of laptop that demand their own list, but we wanted to include some here that could easily double as your standard laptop – of course, with the added benefit that these can do some serious gaming after work.

The Razer Blade 14 might be the best example of such a premise. Up to an RTX 4070 in a thin, 14-inch laptop? Yep, that's right. And it does it with some pretty impressive performance, too. It comes with a 1600p screen with a 240Hz refresh rate, ensuring that you're never bottlenecked by the display. Then again, the previous model, which is still available to purchase, has an optional 1080p 144Hz panel that can be configured with up to an RTX 3060 and a Ryzen 9 6900HX CPU and manages to land well under $2,000, which is a rare feat for a Razer laptop.

Yes, this bad boy's expensive. But what you're paying for is the ability to switch between work and play without batting an eye. The Razer logo on the lid and the per-key RGB backlighting might catch some attention at the office, but other than that, it's modern and premium a laptop as you'll find.

If you want more performance, there's always larger gaming laptops like the Razer Blade 15 or Lenovo Legion 5 Pro, but the Razer Blade 14 works better as hybrid machine for work and play.

A minor update to the Razer Blade 14 is in the works for 2024 with the latest AMD processors, but it hasn't yet been launched.

Razer Blade 14

The best alternative to the ROG Zephyrus G14

Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Aura Edition

Lenovo has lots of great laptops in its lineup, whether under the Yoga, ThinkPad, or Legion brands. Its latest Yoga is a real winner, though. It features a very thin design, a larger 15.3-inch screen, and thanks to the integration with Intel's Core Ultra Series 2 chips, some really impressive battery life.

It got over 14 hours of web browsing battery life in our testing of the device, putting it among the longer-lasting laptops you can buy right now -- except for the MacBook Air. But the overall package is here, especially since the starting configuration comes with not only 16GB of RAM, but also 512GB of storage. That's important to keep in mind when you consider the starting price.

It's true that it's missing a couple of high-end features that are often reserved for top-end models, such as a haptic feedback trackpad or an OLED display. You'll find some of those scattered on other laptops on this list that are priced more affordably, but if you're partial to Lenovo laptops, the Yoga Slim 7i Aura Edition comes recommended.

Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Aura Edition

Best Lenovo laptop

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h2>What to consider<h/2>

What size laptop is best?

There are three main laptop sizes to choose from: 13-inch, 14-inch, and 16-inch. As always, it's a balance between portability and performance -- although, increasingly there's less compromises to make as larger laptops gets thinner and smaller ones get more powerful. The best 14-inch laptops are the definitely the default happy-medium, so if you're unsure about where to start, a 14-inch laptop is offers the best balance, providing a powerful laptop that's still portable and travel-friendly. There are configurations with powerful discrete GPUs and high-end display options, as well as super-thin models that prioritize portability.

The best 13-inch laptops, however, are best for those who value portability above all, and plan to consistently carry their laptop to classrooms, coffee shops, and on airplanes. There are very few 13-inch laptops with discrete GPUs and a less thermal headroom, but options like the Dell XPS 13 or MacBook Air 13-inch still have plenty of performance for the average person's work.

Meanwhile, 16-inch laptops are good in two demographics. The first is for those who need the most powerful laptops, whether for PC gaming or for running heavy applications in video editing, AI training, data science, design, or more. You'll often find the most high-end configurations available in this size, whether that's maxing out the RAM or pumping up the graphics. The other demographic that's good for 16-inch laptops is those who just need a large display. Whether that's due to restricted eye sight or just for multitasking, having a larger screen can be beneficial, even for those who don't need the extra performance. Lastly, the best 15-inch laptops are more rare, but they also fit this demographic well, such as the Surface Laptop 15-inch or MacBook Air 15-inch.

Intel, AMD, or Qualcomm?

That's never been a tougher choice to make. The rise of Qualcomm with the Snapdragon X chip has made a permanent change to the PC landscape that's forced both Intel and AMD to respond with more efficient CPUs that produce better battery life. We've tested most of the available Snapdragon X-based laptops, as well as the latest models powered by Core Ultra Series 2 (also known as Lunar Lake) to see how the latest from Qualcomm and Intel stack up.

Both are quite good, producing excellent battery life and solid performance. The main difference right now is that Intel Core Ultra Series 2 laptops are priced a bit more expensive right now without lower-tier configurations being offered. The primary benefit of Intel right now is its strong integrated GPU performance and guaranteed compatibility. The Snapdragon X chip is an Arm processor, meaning if your application isn't compiled for that system infrastructure, it'll have to be emulated, which can result in lower performance. Increasingly, however, this isn't nearly as big of a problem as it used to, thanks to wider adoption by developers, the increased performance of the chip itself, and a much more efficient emulation layer.

All that to say, for basic thin and light laptops, I do think most people should be buying Snapdragon X laptops at this point. They're a better value, with lower starting prices and a wide variety of options. If you want something with discrete graphics right now, though, you'll want to look to AMD or Intel, as the Snapdragon X laptops all rely only on the fairly weak integrated graphics.

How much RAM does your laptop need?

When considering how much RAM you need, most people will want get 16GB. In the past, 8GB would cut it, but outside of the most basic computers these days should have 16GB. This was a big change that happened in 2024, where both Windows laptops and MacBooks made the jump to 16GB as the starting configuration. You'll still find 8GB Windows laptops out there, but Microsoft made it requirement to be a part of the Copilot+ PC program, and that has incentivized most of the new high-end laptops to move to 16GB as the default.

This is great news, not only for running all the AI models in the background (which was the reason for the requirement), but also just for handling something like an instance of Google Chrome with dozens of tabs open. Chromebooks and lower-end Windows laptops are still fine to get 8GB for, but people will want to start with 16GB.

From there, 32GB (or more) should be reserved for the most powerful gaming laptops and workstations. If you're editing video all day, you'll absolutely benefit from the jump to 32GB.

Does your laptop need a discrete GPU?

Not unless you have a specific need where it's necessary. For basic web work, you won't need anything beyond the integrated graphics. Not even light photo editing or video editing require anything too intense, just know that if you start attempting more intense workflows in those applications, you may face some bad slowdowns.

While integrated GPUs have improved quite a lot over the past few years, if you're doing a lot of PC gaming or video editing, opting for a more powerful system with an integrated GPU is a good idea. Even the RTX 4050 represents a solid step up from modern-day integrated graphics, and allow you to much more with your laptop.

How we test laptops

We extensively handle every laptop we review and use them in a variety of real-world conditions. We're looking for how well a laptop is built, how it feels in hand, and hold it generally holds up to the uses for which it's designed. We describe our experiences and discuss the materials and concepts used in a laptop's design to provide an informative hands-on impression.

On all laptops, we test the keyboard and touchpad to make sure that both are comfortable to use for extended periods of time. For keyboards, we consider the key spacing, keycap size, travel distance, and overall feel to determine how precise and comfortable it is to use -- all of which are important factors when considering the best laptops for writers, for example. For touchpads, we test for how smooth the surface is and how responsive it is to taps and clicks. We're sticklers on touchpads with a click that is too loud or stiff.

We give the display both an objective test with a professional colorimeter, judging it based on color width and accuracy, brightness, and contrast. We also provide our subjective viewpoint – is the display pleasant to use, is it sharp enough, and does it support advanced capabilities like high dynamic range (HDR) video. We also listen to the speakers, giving an impression of its volume and clarity and its suitability for more than just playing system sounds.

And, of course, we run every laptop through a suite of benchmarks, both synthetic and real-world, to provide an indication of how it performs relative to other similar machines. That includes Geekbench and Cinebench, but also Handbrake, 3DMark, and Pugetbench to test both the CPU and the GPU. During those high-stress tests, we evaluate internal and external temperature, as well as fan noise. And lastly, battery life. We conduct three battery tests on every laptop to get a sense of how long it lasts in different workflows, including video loop, web browsing, and an all-core stress test. With these three scores, we can get a good sense of how long battery life lasts compared to other models.

Why you should trust us

Our expert laptop reviewers have tested and reviewed more than 500 laptops over the years, searching for the best of the best. We've reviewed every kind of laptop available, from traditional clamshell laptops to a variety of 2-in-1s to gaming laptops to unusual and innovative machines. We've applied a consistent and reliable formula to each of our reviews, pulling from a massive database of performance testing to make it possible for you to compare laptops with confidence.

More than that, our reviewers are laptop enthusiasts. We love these devices, and are set out to find the absolute best options for people. We make the same recommendations to readers as we do to family members and friends, and always keep budget front of mind.