From budget convertibles to high-performance portables, we've selected the best laptops for a wide range of needs.
Laptops come in a huge range of sizes, form factors, specifications, options and prices – and trying to balance all these factors and choose the right one for your needs can be a minefield. To help you make your decision, we’ve selected the best laptops that we’ve reviewed over the past year or so.
Here you’ll find just about every type of laptop there is – including ultraportable laptops, high-performance 15in laptops and 2-in-1 hybrids.
These are by no means the only good laptops available, however. You should definitely shop around and do your homework to ensure you choose the right one for your needs – considering how and where you want to use the device, what applications you run and, of course, your budget.
So, at the end of this feature we’ve included a buyer’s guide to the features that you need to consider, and specifications that you need to understand, before shelling out your hard-earned. First, however, here are the key specs of our recommended laptops.
Best laptops at a glance
| Price | Weight and form factor | Display | Processor | Storage and RAM | OS | |
| Apple MacBook Pro 13-inch | $1,899 – $2,999+ | 1.37kg clamshell laptop | 13.3in, 2560 x 1600 pixels non-touch | Intel Core i5-7360U, i5-7267U, i5-7287U, i7-7660U or i7-7567U | 128GB, 256GB, 512GB or 1TB PCIe SSD; 8GB or 16GB RAM | macOS Sierra |
| Dell XPS 13 | $2,299 – $2,999 | 1.29kg clamshell laptop | 13.3in, 1920 x 1080 non-touch or 3200 x 1800 touch | Intel Core i7-7560U | 256GB or 512GB PCIe SSD; 8GB or 16GB RAM | Windows 10 Home or Pro |
| Asus ZenBook UX330UA | $1,499 | 1.2kg clamshell laptop | 13.3in, 1920 x 1080 non-touch | Intel Core i7-7500U | 256GB SATA3 SSD; ; 8GB RAM | Windows 10 Pro |
| Lenovo X1 Carbon | $2,099 – $2,599+ | 1.1kg clamshell laptop | 14in, 1920 x 1080 or 2560 x 1440 non-touch | Intel Core i5-7200U, i5-7300U, i7-7500U or i7-7600U | 256GB, 512GB or 1TB PCIe SSD; 8GB or 16GB RAM | Windows 10 Home or Pro |
| Apple MacBook | $1,899 – $2,349+ | 0.92kg clamshell laptop | 12in, 2304 x 1440 non-touch | Intel Core m3-7Y32, i5-7Y54 or i7-7Y75 | 256GB or 512GB PCIe SSD; 8GB or 16GB RAM | macOS Sierra |
| Asus Zenbook 3 | $1,999 | 0.91kg clamshell laptop | 12.5in, 1920 x 1080 non-touch | Intel Core i7 7500U | 512GB SATA3 SSD; 8GB RAM | Windows 10 Pro |
| Asus ZenBook UX330UA | $1,499 | 1.2 clamshell laptop | 13.3in, 1920 x 1080 non-touch | Intel Core i7 7500U Processor | 256GB SATA3 SSD; 8GB RAM | Windows 10 Pro |
| HP Stream 11 Pro G3 | $499 | 1.18kg clamshell laptop | 11.6in 1366 x 768 non-touch | Intel Celeron N3060 | 64GB eMMC | Windows 10 Pro |
| Dell XPS 15 | $2,499 – $3,699+ | 2kg clamshell laptop | 15.6in, 1920 x 1080 non-touch or 3840 x 2160 touch | Intel Core i7-7700HQ | 256GB, 512GB or 1TB PCIe SSD; 8GB – 32GB RAM | Windows 10 Home or Pro |
| Apple MacBook Pro 15-inch | $3,499 – $4,099+ | 1.83kg clamshell laptop | 15.4in, 2880 x 1800 non-touch | Intel Core i7-7700HQ, i7-7820HQ or i7-7920HQ | 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB or 2TB PCIe SSD; 16GB RAM | macOS Sierra |
| Dell Precision 5520 | $5,578 – $7,180+ | 1.78kg clamshell laptop | 15.6in, 1920 x 1080 non-touch or 3840 x 2160 touch | Intel Core i5-7300HQ, i5-7440HQ, i7-7820HQ, Xeon E3-1505M v5 or Xeon E3-1505M v6 | 256GB, 512GB, 1TB or 2TB SATA or PCIe SSD; 8GB – 32GB RAM | Windows 10 Pro |
| Microsoft Surface Pro | $1,199 – $3,999 | 784g detachable hybrid | 12.3in, 2736 x 1824 touch | Intel Core m3-7Y30, i5-7300U or i7-7660U | 128GB, 256GB, 512GB or 1TB PCIe SSD; 4GB, 8GB or 16GB RAM | Windows 10 Pro |
| HP Elitebook X360 | $1,999 – $3,499 | 1.28kg flip-over hybrid | 13.3in, 1920 x 1080 touch | Intel Core i5-7200U, i5-7300U or i7-7600U | 128GB SATA SSD or 256GB or 512GB PCIe SSD; 8GB or 16GB RAM | Windows 10 Home or Pro |
| Toshiba Portégé X20 | $2,145 – $2,915 | 1.12kg flip-over hybrid | 12.5in, 1920 x 1080 touch | Intel Core i5-7200U, i5-7300U, Core i7-7500U, i7-7600U | 256GB or 512GB SATA or PCIe SSD; 8GB or 16GB RAM | Windows 10 Pro |
| Dell XPS 13 2-in-1 | $2,299 – $2,799 | 1.24kg flip-over hybrid | 13.3in, 1920 x 1080 or 3200 x 1800 touch | Intel Core i5-7Y54 or i7-7Y75 | 256GB or 512GB PCIe SSD; 8GB or 16GB SSD | Windows 10 Home or Pro |
| Lenovo Yoga Book | $699 (Android) or $899 (Windows) | 690g flip-over hybrid | 10.1in, 1920 x 1200 touch | Intel Atom x5-Z8550 | 64GB; 4GB RAM | Android 6.0 or Windows 10 Home |
| Dell Inspiron 11 3000 2-in-1 | $399 – $699 | 1.39kg flip-over hybrid | 11.6in 1366 x 768 touch | Intel Celeron N3060, Pentium N3710 or Core m3-7Y30 | 32GB eMMC or 128GB SATA SSD; 4GB RAM | Windows 10 Home |
| Dell Chromebook 11 2-in-1 | $864.60 – $969.10 | 1.43kg flip-over hybrid | 11.6in 1366 x 768 touch | Intel Celeron N3060 | 16GB, 32GB or 64GB SSD; 4GB RAM | Chrome OS |
Next: Best ultraportable laptops
