This year’s CES was a processor palooza, spawning several new AI PC laptops. We spent time with dozens of notebooks in Las Vegas, and these are our favorites across eight key categories.
You can always count on CES for a crop of shiny new laptops. We’ve scoured the show floors and meeting halls of the biggest tech show in the world to find you the absolute finest laptops previewed here in Las Vegas. We found a high-profile laptop that’s more repairable than ever, two devices that serve notice to Apple and Microsoft icons, a dazzling dual-screen darling, and even one with a display that bends a full 180. These are the eight top laptops of CES 2026.Best Laptop OverallLenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 14 Aura Edition
Lenovo reworked the interior of the existing ThinkPad X1 Carbon chassis, creating savings for IT managers and end users by letting them replace a part easily instead of buying a whole new laptop. The ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 14 Aura Edition is our number one laptop of the show. It’s packed with Intel Core Ultra Series 3 Panther Lake processors, but the bigger story is on the inside. Lenovo’s biggest innovation here is its “Space Frame” design, which makes the interior components more upgradable and replaceable by mounting them on both sides of the internal frame. You can access the laptop’s guts from under the keyboard (it simply lifts off from some magnets!), or through the bottom panel to swap out parts—the ports, the battery, the fans—when something needs repair. This is the classic top-end ThinkPad you know, but made even more compelling, earning it the top spot on our list. (For a deeper dive, see our hands on with the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 14.)Best Ultraportable LaptopAsus Zenbook A16
Asus practically stole the show at CES 2025 with its 14-inch Zenbook A14 laptop, so this year it followed that up with something even bigger and better: the 16-inch Zenbook A16. Still an Arm-based Windows AI PC, now packing Qualcomm’s top-end, 18-core Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme processor, the A16 chooses “more” as its operative word: more screen, more power, and more battery life. Yes, this also means more thickness and weight, but the gains in girth are marginal given the upsides. It measures just 0.65 inch thick and weighs only 2.65 pounds—lighter (but thicker) than Apple’s 13-inch MacBook Air. We fully expect the Asus Zenbook A16 to be a 16-inch ultraportable laptop to beat in 2026. (See our hands on with the Asus Zenbook A16.)Best Content Creation LaptopMSI Stealth 16 AI+
MSI’s ultra-thin Stealth gaming laptop line has been transformed into a sleek, portable high-power device for more than just gaming.
