Anyone looking for the best laptop to suit their needs has never had a wider selection. Fans of Apple have the easiest decision to make, but look past the MacBooks and you’ll find blisteringly fast Windows laptops alongside great budget options and versatile Chromebooks.
The latest laptops from the likes of Dell and Acer actually trounce Apple’s MacBook in one key area: OLED displays. The vibrant colours, sharpness and perfect contrast offered by an OLED screen make many Windows laptops the ideal choice for creatives, videographers, gamers, or anyone who wants to stream entertainment in the best possible quality.
If you want to spend next to nothing on a laptop you’ll use only occasionally then Chromebooks have you covered. Google’s range of Chrome OS laptops has come a long way since a decidedly underwhelming launch in 2011. We’ve included the Asus Chromebook plus CX34 in our list of the best laptops below.
So, which laptop should you buy? However much you want to spend, the breadth of options out there can be overwhelming, but we’re here to help, with our comprehensive reviews of the best laptops on the market.
How we tested the best laptops
We test each laptop by first running benchmarking software to accurately rank the performance of the device against every other laptop we’ve reviewed. Where possible, we stress-test each laptop’s performance using a selection of graphically demanding PC games. For our most recent round of testing, we ran Forza Horizon 5 , Cyberpunk 2077 and Cities: Skylines II .
Even if you don’t plan on using your laptop for gaming, these kinds of performance tests tend to reveal any underlying problems with a laptop’s heat dissipation and thermal throttling – that’s when a CPU slows itself down to avoid damaging the components. It’s a common issue with fanless ultrabooks in particular.
To get the best idea of what they’re actually like to use on a daily basis, we swap out our regular laptop for our testing unit and put it through several weeks of our regular work schedule. That includes photo-editing, video-rendering, Zoom calls, extensive writing sessions, moving from home to the office and connecting to external monitors.
Most of the laptops featured here can be configured to have more RAM, a bigger hard drive or a faster processor. You can also find a bargain by searching for earlier models of the laptops we’ve picked, though, be aware some of the features we mention might not appear in previous generations.
The best laptops for 2024 are:
- Best laptop overall – Dell XPS 15: £1,258.99, Dell.com
- Best budget laptop – Lenovo Yoga slim 7: £849.99, Amazon.co.uk
- Best Windows ultrabook – Asus Zenbook pro 14 OLED: £1,899, Currys.co.uk
- Best Chromebook – Asus Chromebook plus CX34: £299, Currys.co.uk
- Best laptop for creatives – Apple MacBook pro M3: £1,539.97, Amazon.co.uk
- Best laptop for gaming – Razer blade 15: £1,799, Amazon.co.uk
Dell XPS 15
Lenovo yoga slim 7
Asus ZenBook pro 14 OLED
Apple MacBook pro M3
Razer blade 15
Microsoft Surface laptop 5
Apple MacBook air M3
Asus Chromebook plus CX34
MSI Prestige 14 evo
Laptop FAQs
Which is the best processor for a laptop?
What’s the difference between AMD and Intel?
What does generation mean in processors?
What is Celeron?
How much RAM does a laptop need?
What is the difference between a Chromebook and a laptop?
The verdict: Laptops
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