These are the Best Laptops you can buy in 2022

As much as smartphones have become the central tool for many aspects of our lives, there are some things you can only do on a PC. Even if smartphones have the power to do almost anything, some things are just more convenient on a laptop. To me, buying a new laptop is always an incredibly exciting experience (keep in mind, though, I’m a tech writer), and choosing the right one is incredibly important. It’s always hard to find the right balance of everything you want or need in a laptop. That’s why we’re here to help. We’ve rounded up the best laptops you can buy today, just in time for you to get your holiday shopping done.

There are a lot of factors that go into choosing the right laptop for you. Screen size, form factor, performance, and the overall design can all play a huge role in choosing the right fit for you. The choices we’ve rounded up cover a good range of use cases, and you’re sure to find something you like on this list. Let’s get right into it. Keep in mind, we’re mostly focused on Windows laptops on this list, but we also have a list of the best Macs if that’s what you’re looking for. Also, all the Windows laptops on this list either come with Windows 11 or support the upgrade, so you’ll be supported for the next few years.

Navigate this article:

• Best overall: Lenovo Yoga 9i
  • Also great: MacBook Air
• Best 13-inch laptop: Dell XPS 13 Plus
• Best 15/16-inch laptop: HP Spectre x360 16
• Best 17-inch laptop: Dell XPS 17
• Best business laptop: Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon
• Best convertible: HP Spectre x360 13.5
• Best for creators: MacBook Pro 16-inch
• Best gaming laptop: Dell Alienware X15
• Best budget laptop: HP Pavilion Aero 13
• Best detachable laptop: Surface Pro 8
• Best Chromebook: Acer Chromebook Spin 714

Best overall: Lenovo Yoga 9i

Lenovo is mostly known for its phenomenal business laptops from the ThinkPad family, but in 2022, the Yoga 9i might just be one of the best laptops for consumers, too. In fact, we said as much in our Lenovo Yoga 9i review. This is a stellar blend of performance, a stunning design, and a fantastic visual experience.

Starting with performance, the Lenovo Yoga 9i is powered by Intel’s 12th-generation processors, specifically from the new P series. These processors ahve a higher 28W TDP, and in turn, more performance. Right now, you can get it with a Core i7-1260P with 12 cores and 16 threads, but there will also be a configuration with a Core i7-1280P, featuring 14 cores and 20 threads, plus boost speeds up to 4.8GHz. Either way, you won’t be missing out on performance for all kinds of day-to-day tasks. Additionally, you can configure the laptop with up to 16GB of LPDDR5 RAM and a 1TB PCIe 4 SSD for storage, so the laptop will breeze through just about anything.

Something else that’s fantastic about the Lenovo Yoga 9i is the display. It’s a 14-inch panel with a 16:10 aspect ratio, which already makes this a great laptop for productivity. Taller screens mean more vertical space and more surface area, meaning you can see more with less scrolling. The base configuration is a Full HD+ (1920 x 1200) IPS panel, but there are two OLED upgrade options. One is a 2.8K (2880 x 1800) panel with a 90Hz refresh rate for smoother animations, and the other is an Ultra HD+ (3840 x 2400) display with a more conventional 60Hz refresh rate. No matter which one you go with, you’re getting a stellar viewing experience. And if you’re into watching movies and shows, the inclusion of a soundbar on the laptop’s hinge makes for one of the best media consumption experiences you can get anywhere.

The webcam above that display is great, too. Lenovo has finally upgraded to a 1080p camera, meaning you’ll look much clearer and sharper during video calls and meetings. Plus, the camera supports Windows Hello facial recognition, in addition to a fingerprint reader for the same purpose.

Another big upgrade with this iteration of the Lenovo Yoga 9i is the design. Lenovo has replaced the flat, monotone edges of the previous iteration with glossy rounded edges that make for a much flashier and premium-feeling look. The way these edges reflect light is a stark contrast to previous models, plus it makes it more comfortable to hold in your hand if you plan to carry it around. However, this new design does lose the space to carry the pen, which would have been nice for a convertible like this.

As for ports, it’s about what you might expect for a premium 14-inch laptop nowadays. You get three USB Type-C ports – two of which support Thunderbolt 4 – plus one USB Type-A port and a headphone jack. Sure, some might have wanted HDMI or more USB Type-A ports, but frankly, you won’t find that on a lot of premium laptops these days, unless they’re meant for business.

Al in all, the Lenovo Yoga 9i is easily one of the best laptops you can buy in 2022, even if it’s not perfect. You can buy it below.

Also great: MacBook Air

Not everyone is a Windows fan, and the latest MacBook Air is definitely one of the best laptops on the market right now, too. Featuring an all-new sleek design and the latest generation of Apple Silicon, this is a great laptop for almost anyone.

First off, as we’ve mentioned, it’s powered by the latest Apple chip, the M2. This processor includes eight CPU cores, and it promises an 18% increase in performance over the previous generation, while also being far more efficient than anything coming from Intel. The GPU is also up to 35% faster on the M2 compared to the M1, and again, it’s far better than Intel’s integrated graphics while using less power. This is a stellar machine for both performance and battery life, and you really can’t find anything quite like it anywhere else. You can also configure it with up too 24GB of unified memory (RAM) and a 2TB SSD for storage, so you have everything you need for a really good experience.

The display on the MacBook Air is also very unique, coming in a 13.6-inch size and featuring an unusual 2560 x 1664 resolution. This is because Apple stretched the display vertically to reduce the bezels, so it’s a little taller than a 16:10 aspect ratio now. However, in doing this, Apple also had to leave a notch on the screen for the front-facing webcam, which is one of the things you may not like about it. Otherwise, this is a great panel with up to 500 nits of brightness and support for P3 Wide Color and True Tone. There’s only one configuration available, but it’s really the only configuration you need, and it means no matter which version you get, you’ll get a great experience.

That notch in the middle of the display houses a new and improved 1080p webcam, which is definitely better than the 720p cameras of the past. This increase in resolution is very good for video calls and meetings, and Apple also uses the image signal processor in the M2 chip to enhance the quality further. Unlike many Windows laptops, facial recognition isn’t available here, but you do get Touch ID to log in to your PC easily.

The 2022 MacBook Air also has a brand-new design and it’s a much-needed breath of fresh air. This new chassis now features a flat unibody construction with an even 11.3mm thickness, which is incredibly thin for a laptop. It also weighs 2.7lbs, so it’s very light and easy to carry around. On top of that, Apple also introduced a pair of new beautiful colors for the MacBook Air. In addition to the classic Silver and Space Grey, it now comes in a soft gold color called Starlight, as well as a nearly-black shade of blue called Midnight. These new colors look great, and Starlight is a much nicer shade of gold than the previous gold models.

Finally, the ports are where things get a little bit iffy. The new MacBook Air brings back MagSafe charging, and it now even supports fast charging at 67W, which is great. Plus, it keeps the two Thunderbolt ports and it has a headphone jack, which has also been upgraded to support high-impedance headphones, which is great news for audio enthusiasts. That’s still not a huge setup of ports, though, and what’s more, even if you use Thunderbolt, the MacBook Air doesn’t support more than one external display at a time. There are ways to do it with certain docks that use something called DisplayLink, but those are uncommon in comparison to Thunderbolt docks.

Still, we would guess that not everyone interested in the MacBook Air really plans to use more than one external display at the same time, and for everything else, this is a phenomenal laptop. It’s got great performance without sacrificing battery life, a sharp and bright display, a beautiful new design, and an upgraded webcam. There really isn’t a ton more you could ask for.

Best 13-inch laptop: Dell XPS 13 Plus (9320)

Dell’s XPS lineup is iconic and it’s long been one of the most popular Windows laptops. But in 2022, Dell still decided to shake things up, and we got the Dell XPS 13 Plus – a radical redesign that’s more futuristic than ever – and also more powerful.

Performance-wise, the Dell XPS 13 Plus is packing Intel’s 12th-generation P-series processors with a 28W TDP. You can configure it with up to an Intel Core i7-1280P, with 14 cores, 20 threads, and boost speeds up to 4.8GHz. That also includes Intel iris Xe graphics built-in to power some lightweight GPU workloads, and overall, this is going to give you all the performance you could need for day-to-day tasks. Plus, you can get it with 32GB of LPDDR5 RAM and up to a 2TB SSD for storage, a great combo for a modern laptop.

The display is probably what will feel the most familiar if you’ve seen a standard Dell XPS 13 in the past. It’s a 13.4-inch display with a 16:10 aspect ratio, which gives you more surface area than a typical 16:9 display, so reading and writing content is much more convenient and efficient. The base configuration, with a 1920 x 1200 resolution, is already great, but you can go up to a 3.5K (3465 x 2160) OLED panel which is not only incredibly sharp, but gives you amazing contrast ratios, punchy colors, and true blacks. You really can’t go wrong with this screen. And if you want even more resolution, an Ultra HD+ (3840 x 2400) IPS display is also available, complete with 100% coverage of Adobe RGB so it’s ideal for color-sensitive work.

The webcam is, unfortunately, still 720p resolution, but at least Dell has replaced the terrible sensor from previous models with a better one. The webcam itself is now a separate sensor from the IR camera used for Windows Hello, so it actually improves image quality quite a bit. Speaking of Windows Hello, there’s still a fingerprint reader here, too.

The design, however, is a major change from any XPS we’ve seen before. Dell has achieved an incredibly clean look, starting with the seamless touchpad below the keyboard. There’s no indication of where it starts and ends, and it just blends perfectly into the chassis. Instead of buttons, it uses haptic motors to simulate clicks, and while that may seem odd, it works pretty well. Plus, there’s an edge-to-edge zero-lattice keyboard that also helps the laptop look as modern as it does, and to round things out, the function row keys have been replaced with capacitive touch buttons. All of this makes for a futuristic look that’s unlike anything else we’ve seen.

All of these modern elements culminate in one potential major downside, though – the port selection. The Dell XPS 13 Plus has two Thunderbolt 4 ports, and that’s it. If you want anything else, Dell does include a USB Type-C to Type-A adapter in the box, along with an optional Type-C to 3.5mm adapter if you want to use wired headphones. However, that’s not super convenient, and the number of ports just isn’t that good. More than any other laptop, this one probably calls for a Thunderbolt dock.

Despite a couple of downsides, though, the Dell XPS 13 Plus is one of the best laptops anyone can buy, particularly if you don’t want a convertible. You can buy it below if you’re interested.

Best 15/16-inch laptop: HP Spectre x360 16

Much like Dell’s XPS lineup, the HP Spectre family is not just the flagship device for the brand, but for Windows laptops as a whole. The Spectre family is the premier lineup of Windows convertibles, and with the Spectre x360 16, HP made the best one yet. Now, it’s been upgraded with the latest processors, and it’s more interesting than ever.

First off, this is the most powerful Spectre convertible you can buy right now. It comes in two major variants. The base model is powered by the Intel Core i7-12700H, a 45W processor with 14 cores and 20 threads that can boost up to 4.7GHz. It also features integrated Intel Iris Xe graphics, but this configuration is ideal if you want the most CPU performance. If you want a better GPU, there’s a configuration with an Intel Core i7-1260P, a 28W processor with 12 cores and 16 threads, capable of boosting up to 4.7GHz. This processor is paired with an Intel Arc A370M discrete GPU, which is ideal for content creation. Depending on your needs, these are both great configurations, and it’s an interesting approach to have processors with different TDPs available. Additionally, you can configure the Spectre x360 16 with up to 32GB of RAM and a 2TB SSD.

The display is also one of the best in any Spectre laptop. It’s a 16-inch panel, and it comes in a 16:10 aspect ratio, so it gives you more vertical space than the 15-inch model. The base configuration is already very sharp, starting with a 3072 x 1920 resolution, and you can add an HP Sure View Reflect privacy screen if you want to protect sensitive information. If you want an even better screen, there’s also an Ultra HD+ (3840 x 2400) OLED panel option. In addition to being sharper, this OLED panel can deliver true blacks, vivid colors, and higher contrast ratios.

A particularly great thing about the HP Spectre x360 16 is its webcam. Unlike previous Spectre models, this version comes with a sharp 5MP camera with 1080p video. Not only that, the camera has smart features like auto framing, lighting correction, and a beauty mode. Of course, you also get Windows Hello facial recognition with an infrared camera, and there’s also a fingerprint reader if you prefer that.

Design-wise, the HP Spectre x360 16 uses a dual-tone design similar to other Spectre laptops, but with some changes. It uses more rounded edges so the laptop is more comfortable to hold, and the dual-tone accents are more subtle. The Nightfall Black model combines black and bronze tones, and Nocturne Blue uses slightly different shades of blue for the same effect. Portability-wise, the Spectre x360 16 starts at 4.45lbs of weight, which is about what you’d expect for a convertible of this size.

Finally, in terms of ports, the Spectre x360 16 comes with two Thunderbolt 4 ports, one USB Type-A port, HDMI, a headphone jack, and a microSD card reader. This is a solid setup that covers just about all basic needs you’ll have, so there isn’t much more you can ask for here.

All in all, the Spectre x360 16 is a fantastic convertible laptop in almost every way, and while its starting price may seem high, it’s definitely priced fairly considering everything you get in this package.

Best 17-inch laptop: Dell XPS 17 (9720)

It hasn’t been that long since we praised the Dell XPS family, but the Dell XPS 17 is almost the perfect 17-inch laptop. When you buy a laptop with this screen size, it’s very often a gaming laptop, taking advantage of that bigger screen to pack a ton of power. The Dell XPS 17 powerful, but it’s still true to the XPS family.

Let’s start with performance, because the Dell XPS 17 has it. It now comes with 12th-generation Intel processors, specifically from the H-series with a 45W TDP. Specifically, it comes with up to an Intel Core i9-12900HK – a 14-core, 20-thread processor that can boost up to 5GHz, making it one of the most powerful laptop CPUs out there. But that’s not all, because you also get dedicated NVIDIA graphics up to a GeForce RTX 3060, making this a viable gaming PC, but also a fantastic one for tasks like video editing. And on top of that, you can get up to 64GB of RAM and up to 2TB of SSD storage. You can upgrade the Dell XPS 17 RAM and storage yourself, too, so this is truly a laptop you can use for years to come.

And the display is no joke, either. It’s a 17-inch panel, of course, and the base configuration comes with Full HD+ resolution (1920 x 1200), but you can upgrade all the way to a 4K+ (3840 x 2400) display which is absolutely fantastic. We’ve reviewed the Dell XPS 17, and it covers pretty much the entirety of sRGB, Adobe RGB, DCI-P3, and NTSC. There isn’t much more you can ask for. Plus, it’s a touchscreen (if you choose the 4K panel), so you can use it a bit more intuitively. Plus, you get quad stereo speakers for an immersive audio experience that most other Windows laptops can’t match.

But here’s the kicker: this isn’t a gaming laptop design. This isn’t a bulky 17-inch laptop that you can’t really take anywhere. It keeps the same compact design as the rest of the XPS lineup, with minimal bezels around the display and a relatively thin chassis. All of this power is condensed into a laptop that still fits in most backpacks easily, even if it is a little heavy. Plus it has a cool dual-tone design with the black carbon fiber interior and the silver exterior.

This compact design comes with a major sacrifice, though, and that’s the webcam. In 2022, many laptops are upgrading to a 1080p sensor for better video quality, but Dell is sticking with its 720p camera, and it really hasn’t changed much from last year’s model, which was pretty bad.

For connectivity, you have four Thunderbolt ports, with an adapter for USB Type-A and HDMI included in the box so you can still easily connect legacy peripherals and non-Thunderbolt monitors. It’s not amazing for a 17-inch laptop, but concessions have to be expected to get this compact design with this much performance.

The only downsides are that, once again, the minimal bezels make for a below-average webcam (though you do get facial recognition on this one), and even though it’s compact for a 17-inch laptop, it’s still a bit heavy. But this is still a phenomenal laptop, and one of the best ones out there.

Best business laptop: Lenovo Thinkpad X1 Carbon Gen 10

When it comes to business laptops, Lenovo has been one of the most recognizable brands in the space, and for good reason. Its ThinkPad lineup has an absolutely classic look, business-oriented features, and highly configurable specs to match the specific needs of every user. Out of the ThinkPad family, the ThinkPad X1 Carbon is the most well-known, and the latest iteration is better than ever.

Performance-wise, of course, it’s packing the latest Intel Core processors, this time from the new P series with a 28W TDP. You can get up to an Intel Corei7-1280P with 14 cores, 20 threads, and boost speeds up to 4.8GHz. Plus, you can get it with up to 32GB of RAM and a 2TB SSD for storage. The best part about this is that customization is very flexible, so you can mix and match these specs to fit your needs. If you want 1TB of storage and just 8GB of RAM, you can do that, but you can also get 32GB of RAM and just 256GB of storage. It’s up to you.

The display comes in a few variants, but no matter which one you go for, you’re getting a 16:10 aspect ratio, and that taller screen gives you more surface area, which is great for reading, browsing the web, and writing. The base configuration is a Full HD+ (1920 x 1200) display, but there are multiple upgrade options available, including a touchscreen, Privacy Guard, a sharper 2.2K IPS panel, a 2.8K OLED display, or an Ultra HD+ IPS option at the top end. This gives you a wide range of options to choose from so you can get something that’s just right for your needs.

For the 2022 model of the ThinkPad X1 Carbon, Lenovo has also brought a major improvement to the webcam, which is now a 1080p camera in most configurations. That should deliver much better video call quality, plus you can add Windows Hello support or go even further with a MIPI camera with Computer Vision. In addition to better image quality, this upgrade option also allows the laptop to detect when you approach it, so it can wake up the screen and be ready to use right away.

The design of the ThinkPad X1 Carbon may be a bit boring to some, but it’s a perfect fit for business environments. And of course, you get other classic business features like the pointing stick and buttons above the touchpad many business users still appreciate.

Ports and connectivity are also a highlight for the ThinkPad X1 Carbon. You get two Thunderbolt 4 ports, two USB Type-A ports, HDMI, and a combo audio jack. This is what you expect in a business laptop, and Lenovo goes further by also adding cellular network support for those that need to work on the go. You can choose between adding 4G LTE or 5G, or skip cellular connectivity if you don’t need it.

This is a fantastic laptop with tons of configuration options available on Lenovo’s website, and it definitely earns its spot as one of the best laptops out there.

Best convertible: HP Spectre x360 13.5

HP’s Spectre x360 series has long been one of the most popular families of convertible laptops, and the latest iteration, the Spectre x360 13.5, shows why that’s the case.  This new version keeps the high-end specs and stunning premium design the family is known for, and if you love convertible laptops, it’s a no-brainer.

Starting off with performance, the HP Spectre x360 13.5 is powered by Intel’s 12th-generation processors, specifically from the U15 series. You can go up to an Intel Core i7-1255U, which has 10 cores, 12 threads, and boost speeds up to 4.7GHz, so there’s plenty of performance here. It also includes Intel Iris Xe graphics, like most of Intel’s mobile processors, so it can handle some light GPU workloads. These 15W processors aren’t as powerful as the P-series, but they’re better for battery life, so this is a great choice if you care about that. Plus, the laptop still comes with up to 32GB of RAM and a 2TB SSD for storage, so this is absolutely a premium device through and through.

It also has one of the best displays on any laptop out there. This is a 13.5-inch panel and it comes in a tall 3:2 aspect ratio, which is even taller than 16:10. This makes it great for productivity, whether you’re reading an article, working on a document, or even editing video, thanks to the additional vertical space. The base panel comes in Full HD+ (1920 x 1280) resolution, and it even gives you the option to add a privacy screen if you’re worried about people spying on what you’re doing. But the real upgrade is the 3K2K (3000 x 2000) OLED panel, which is not only incredibly sharp but also looks fantastic thanks to the benefits of OLED, like true blacks and a high contrast ratio. This is a costly upgrade, but it really does look amazing. Of course, it’s a convertible, so every panel supports touch and pen input, and the pen is included in the box, too.

HP is also using its new top-tier 5MP webcam on most of its premium products, so after the Spectre x360 16 above, the 13.5-inch version has it too. It has the same smart features like auto framing and lighting correction, and it also still supports Windows Hello facial recognition (in addition to having a fingerprint reader). This is easily one of the best webcams out there.

Something else the Spectre x360 13.5 draws from its larger sibling is the design. This new model still has the iconic dual-tone look many love about the Spectre x360 family, but now, the accents are much less prominent. Curved surfaces lead into thinner edges, which are accented in a different color (in some models), along with the edges of the touchpad and the hinges. Just like before, the Nightfall Black model has copper accents, and the new Nocturne Blue version has accents in a lighter shade of blue. If you want something more subdued, Natural Silver is a single-color option, which you may prefer. Portability-wise, the Spectre x360 13.5 weighs 3.01lbs and it’s about 17mm thick, so while it’s not winning any awards for being compact, it’s definitely still very portable.

Finally, the port setup is actually solid for a laptop of this size. The laptop comes with two Thunderbolt 4 ports, one USB Type-A port, a headphone jack, and a microSD card reader. Some may have liked a traditional display output like HDMI, but laptops this small usually don’t have it. You can use the Thunderbolt ports to connect a display instead.

Overall, the HP Spectre x360 13.5 is a fantastic convertible laptop, with everything from powerful performance to a fantastic screen and webcam, and even a beautiful design. There isn’t much more you could ask for.

Best for creators: MacBook Pro 16-inch

Content creators and creative professionals often prefer working on Mac, and with the 2021 MacBook Pro, we can’t blame them. This is an absolutely stellar laptop, packing a ton of power and efficiency, along with a stunning display that’s almost unmatched in the laptop space.

First off, the 2021 MacBook Pro models are powered by Apple’s in-house M1 Pro and M1 Max processors. These are based on Arm technology, and that means this processor includes the CPU, GPU, RAM, and some other components. The CPU is a 10-core unit, with two power-efficient cores and eight high-performance cores resulting in performance that rivals many of the best Windows laptops. For the GPU, you get up to 32 cores, depending on your configuration, and that gives you performance on par with many dedicated GPUs on Windows laptops, especially for content creation. That’s helped even further by the up to 64GB of unified memory (RAM), which can be allocated to the CPU or GPU on demand.

All of that power comes in a far more efficient package than typical Intel, AMD, or NVIDIA components. Because of that, most of that performance is still available when you unplug your laptop, and not only that, you can actually use your laptop without having to worry as much about charging. The MacBook Pro has far better battery life than other high-performance laptops, so you can actually use it on the go for creative workloads. Aside from its impressive processor, you can also configure the MacBook Pro with up to a whopping 8TB of SSD storage.

Moving on to the display, the MacBook Pro continues to impress. The latest model comes with a 16.2-inch display and it has a super-sharp 3456 x 2234 resolution. That’s slightly taller than a 16:10 aspect ratio, but not quite 3:2. What makes this display special isn’t its resolution, though, it’s that this is one of the first laptops to have a mini-LED display, or Liquid Retina XDR, as Apple puts it. Instead of a single source of light, the MacBook Pro has thousands of individual lighting zones that are controlled independently, and that allows black areas of the picture to turn off completely. This results in very high contrast ratios, and the display itself can reach a whopping 1600 nits of brightness (1000 nits sustained), which you won’t find on any other laptop. It also has an adaptive refresh rate up to 120Hz.

One downside of this display is that it has a notch, and that’s where you’ll find the webcam. Apple has upgraded to a new 1080p camera that delivers far better image quality than previous models, also helped by AI processing. There’s no Face ID facial recognition, oddly enough, but you can use Touch ID to unlock your laptop easily.

The design of the MacBook Pro is frankly fairly standard, being an all-metal laptop with a clamshell design and starting at 4.7lbs of weight. It’s not exactly light, but it’s packing the power to back that up. As for ports, Apple finally returned some classic ports to the MacBook Pro, including HDMI, an SD card reader a headphone jack with support for high-impedance headphones, and the return of MagSafe, now with support for high-speed charging. You still get three Thunderbolt 4 ports, and Apple is, for now, the only company supporting Thunderbolt on non-Intel processors. You can connect up to four external displays in total, including the HDMI port.

There’s no doubt that the 2021 MacBook Pro is the most powerful MacBook yet, but it’s also one of the best laptops in general. It’s powerful and efficient in a way that other laptops have yet to match, so it’s ideal for creating content at home or on the go. If you don’t find the configuration you want below, check out Adorama for higher-end options.

Best gaming laptop: Dell Alienware X15 R2

For the gamers out there, the Dell Alienware X15 R2 is one of the best options you can get today. It offers a fantastic blend of performance and a sleek design considering its powerful specs. Alienware’s X series is still relatively new, and it was already fantastic in its first iteration, but now it’s even more powerful and better cooled.

Of course, the Alienware X15 packs seriously powerful specs, featuring 12th-generation Intel Core H-series processors, all the way up to a Core i9-12900H, which has 14 cores, 20 threads, and boost speeds up to 5GHz. Paired with that, you can get up to an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti GPU with 16GB of GDDR6 memory. That’s about what you’d expect for a gaming laptop, but to keep things running cool and smooth, Alienware has also created a brand-new thermal compound using something it calls Element 31. This is a gallium-silicone liquid metal compound, and Alienware says it performs 25% better than competing thermal solutions on the market. That means the laptop can stay cool for longer, and thus, sustain its peak performance for longer so you don’t start seeing your frame rate drop. Of course, you can also get up to a 4TB SSD and 32GB of RAM.

Another important factor for gaming is a high-refresh-rate display, and the Alienware x15 delivers. The base model has a Full HD (1920 x 1080) display with a 165Hz resolution, but you can upgrade to a super-fast 360Hz panel or upgrade the resolution with a Quad HD (2560 x 1440) panel at 240Hz. Both of these variants also include NVIDIA G-Sync and Advanced Optimus support.

The webcam above the display is unfortunately still a 720p camera, but it does include Windows Hello facial recognition, which isn’t always present on gaming laptops. If you’re interested in streaming, though, you might still want an external webcam.

One of the most impressive things about the Alienware x15 is its design. Somehow, these powerful specs fit in a laptop that’s under 16mm thin, something unheard of for a gaming laptop until just recently. In addition to the new Element 31 thermal interface, the fans and thermal vents are designed to maximize airflow and keep things cool. This is helped by the fact that there are almost no ports on the sides of the laptop, making room for ventilation.

Instead, all the ports are on the back, and that includes two USB Type-C ports, one of which supports Thunderbolt 4, a USB Type-A port, and HDMI 2.1. This also frees up space next to the laptop for moving your mouse more freely during gaming sessions. Also on the back is a ring of RGB lighting so you can customize the look of your laptop.

While there are undoubtedly plenty of great laptops out, there Alienware x15 is one of the best you can buy today, delivering terrific performance in an incredibly compact package.

Best laptop on a budget: HP Pavilion Aero 13

Affordable laptops don’t get much better than the HP Pavilion Aero, and in many ways, it’s surprising that this is part of HP’s budget Pavilion family. If you’re looking for a relatively affordable laptop that’s still more than good enough for day-to-day use, this is it. At a base price of $799, it’s not as affordable as some other options, but you get incredible value for that price.

Let’s start with performance, which is fantastic starting with an AMD Ryzen 5 5625U, though you can go up to a Ryzen 5 5825U. That’s an 8-core, 16-thread processor with clock speeds up to 4.5GHz, which is going to give you fantastic performance for not just day-to-day tasks, but also things like video rendering, so you can use this for editing Full HD videos with no issue. You also get a minimum of 8GB of RAM, and you can upgrade to 16GB, another rarity for a budget laptop. You can also configure it with up to 1TB of SSD storage, with the base model giving you 256GB, a great starting point already.

But it gets even better. The HP Pavilion Aero is one of the very few laptops in this price range that comes with a 16:10 aspect ratio for the display. Taller aspect ratios have been a premium feature for a while now, but the Pavilion Aero brings it to a much lower price point and a new market. They give you more surface area, which is great for reading and writing, making this a fantastic choice for students. Not only that, but even the base configuration comes with Full HD+ resolution (1920 x 1200), while many other budget laptops tend to start with a resolution like 1366 x 768. You can even upgrade to a Quad HD+ (2560 x 1600) display, making this a truly great experience.

Of course, corners have to be cut somewhere, so the HP Pavilion Aero does come with a 720p webcam, and there’s no Windows Hello facial recognition. That’s not too surprising at this price, and you do get a fingerprint reader, so it’s not like you’re out of options for biometric authentication.

All of that comes together in a package that starts at under 2.2lbs, or less than one kilogram. That’s where you’d usually see a budget laptop cut costs to get higher-end specs. You might find a chunky plastic design, but not here. The HP Pavilion Aero is lightweight, it uses magnesium for its chassis, and it’s just 17mm thin. It’s also great to see this device come in four colors to choose from, since that’s also uncommon in cheaper laptops made of metal. You can choose from silver, white, rose gold, or warm gold, and while they’re all fairly subdued colors, this lets you get something that matches your personal style a but more.

It’s also got a solid port selection with one USB Type-C port, two USB Type-A ports, HDMI 2.0, and a headphone jack. There’s no Thunderbolt here, but that’s to be expected with an AMD-powered laptop since Intel owns Thunderbolt.

The HP Pavilion Aero is already a great deal for its base price, but on top of that, you can often find it with a big discount. In fact, it’s just under $550 at writing time, and at that price, it’s an absolute steal. You can’t go wrong with this one.

Best detachable laptop: Surface Pro 8

Microsoft’s Surface lineup has long offered some of the best detachable laptops you can buy, but with the Surface Pro 7, the design was starting to get a little stale. But the Surface Pro 8 is an all-new device, and it finally makes the Surface Pro family exciting again with new hardware inside and out.

The most exciting thing about the Surface Pro 8 is undoubtedly its display, so let’s start there. It now comes with a 13-inch screen and a very sharp resolution of 2880 x 1920. That also means it has the typical 3:2 aspect ratio of Surface devices, giving you more vertical space (in landscape mode) for text, web pages, and so on. But that’s not all: Along with the Surface Laptop Studio, the Surface Pro 8 is the first Surface device to support a 120Hz refresh rate, a feature that’s typically been reserved for gaming laptops. This higher refresh rate makes animations, transitions, and motion appear much smoother on the screen. Plus, this screen is brighter than before, and it supports Dolby Vision.

Another similarity with the Surface Laptop Studio is support for haptic feedback with the Surface Slim Pen 2. Thanks to a special microprocessor inside the Surface Pro 8, the new pen can make it truly feel like you’re using a pen on paper, and it’s fantastic.

Performance is also significantly improved from the Surface Pro 7. The Surface Pro 8 comes with Intel’s 11th-generation processors, up to an Intel Core i7-1185G7. That’s a quad-core processor, and now it comes with Intel Iris Xe graphics, making the Surface Pro better than ever for some light gaming and video editing. These aren’t the newest processors from Intel anymore, but they’re still plenty fast. They’re paired with up to 32GB of RAM (and the minimum is now 8GB), and up to 1TB of SSD storage, which is easily replaceable under the device’s kickstand.

The design is another highlight for the Surface Pro 8, which looks much more modern now. As we’ve mentioned the display is bigger than previous generations, but the bezels are also smaller, so this looks a lot sleeker, too. Another big change with this design is that it now comes with two Thunderbolt 4 ports, so you can connect docks, monitors, and even external GPUs if you want to use the Surface Pro 8 for gaming at your desk. It truly expands your possibilities by a lot, but if you already have a Surface Dock, the Surface Connect port is still here. You also get a microSD card reader and a headphone jack, but no legacy ports like USB Type-A or HDMI.

The biggest downside of the Surface Pro 8 is potentially its starting price of $1,099, but to be fair, this is now a much more advanced device than the Surface Pro 7 was. Plus, it no longer comes with an Intel Core i3 processor (it starts with a Core i5), in addition to having double the RAM in the base configuration. It’s definitely the best detachable laptop you can buy today, though you’ll need to buy the Surface Pro Signature Keyboard and Slim Pen 2 separately.

Best Chromebook: Acer Chromebook Spin 714

We’ve focused mostly on Windows laptops so far, but if you’re keener on Google’s Chrome OS, there are some great Chromebooks out there as well. For a long time, our recommendation has gone to the Acer Chromebook Spin 713, but now, there’s a successor in the form of the Spin 714, and it’s yet another fantastic Chromebook. You really can’t go wrong with this one.

For starters, the Acer Chromebook Spin 714 is one of the Chromebooks that’s already packing Intel 12th-generation Core processors, and a pretty good one at that. It has an Intel Core i5-1235U, which gives you 10 cores, 12 threads, and boost speeds up to 4.7GHz. That’s a very good processor overall, and for a lightweight operating system like Chrome OS, it’s going to do exceptionally well. On top of that, the laptop has 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD, which is also a very strong combination for a Chromebook. It’s not quite on the same level as premium Windows laptops, but for Chrome OS, it’s great.

The display on the Acer Chromebook 714 is a 14-inch panel, which is slightly larger than its predecessor, and it now comes in a 16:10 aspect ratio instead of 3:2. That means it’s not quite as tall, but this is the more popular aspect ratio for laptops, so it makes sense. This model also comes in Full HD+ (1920 x 1200) resolution, which is sharp enough for a screen of this size, and it does the job well. Some models are also planned with a sharper Quad HD+ (2560 x 1600) screen, but this should really be all you need. Of course, it’s a convertible, which means touch and pen support is available across the board. In fact, a pen is included and stored inside the laptop itself so it’s always ready to go.

Above that display, the Acer Chromebook Spin 714 also comes with a Full HD 1080p MIPI webcam, meaning camera quality for video calls and meetings should be very good. That’s not something you see a lot of on Chromebooks. One thing you may not like is that there’s no form of biometric authentication, but that’s also quite common for Chrome OS devices.

Design-wise, there isn’t a whole lot to say about the Acer Chromebook Spin 714, except that it does look nice. It’s a metal laptop, and it comes in a dark Slate Blue colorway that’s a bit more unique than its predecessor. Like many of Acer’s Chromebooks, it’s also designed to meet MIL-STD-810H standards for durability, so it can withstand a few drops and bumps. As for portability, it measures roughly 18mm in thickness and weighs 3.09lbs, so it’s not particularly light, but it’s about what you’d expect for a metal convertible.

As for ports, you’re getting two USB Thunderbolt 4 ports, one USB Type-A, HDMI, and a headphone jack, so you actually have more ports than many premium laptops these days. It’s a well-rounded setup and it’s hard to ask for much more at this price.

All in all, while it may not be the fanciest laptop around, the Acer Chromebook Spin 514 is one of the best options if you’re in need of a relatively affordable Chromebook. You can buy it below.

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Those are what we’d consider the best laptops you can buy right now, and some of the best choices as gifts for someone who might be looking to upgrade. The Lenovo Yoga 9i is the best overall offering because it offers a blend of high-end performance for day-to-day tasks, two beautiful OLED display options to choose from, and a stunning design that looks better than a Yoga ever has.

But if you have more specific needs, there are other fantastic options on this list. The Spectre x360 16 is a personal favorite, and that’s all thanks to its form factor. I love the versatility of going from a laptop to tablet, and it’s still an very powerful device. But that’s a matter of personal preference, and you can surely find something you love on this list, too.