Good 14-inch laptops offer a little more display space while still being lightweight and portable. These are the best models for all sorts of needs.
The 14-inch laptop has a small — but noticeable — screen size upgrade over even the best 13-inch laptops, making them better choices for entertainment, gaming, or professional design while still being slim and portable enough to carry anywhere with you. If this seems like a good fit for your busy life, we have the best 14-inch laptops you should check out, beginning with the excellent all-rounder Apple MacBook Pro 14. The brand-new machine has some of the best performance and battery life around to go with an excellent display. We also have picks for gaming, extra power, and affordability, so there should be something for everyone. You can also look at our list of the overall best laptops for 2022 for more options. Why you should buy this: It offers the best combination of performance, efficiency, and display quality in a 14-inch laptop. Who’s it for: Anyone who wants an incredibly fast laptop that also offers superior efficiency. Why we chose the Asus Apple MacBook Pro 14: The Apple MacBook Pro 14 is a brand-new model that slots in between the 13-inch and 16-inch models. However, it shares much more in common with the larger machine, including running Apple’s M1 Pro or M1 Max CPUs. On the MacBook Pro 14, these hybrid processors are available with either eight or ten CPU cores and 14,16, or 32 GPU cores. RAM can be configured from 16GB to 64GB, and storage can be ramped up to an 8TB PCIe solid-state drive (SSD). Not only are the M1 Pro and M1 Max incredibly fast chips, but they’re also efficient, meaning the MacBook Pro 14 should get superior battery life as well. The laptop’s display is also top-notch, utilizing Apple’s 14.2-inch Liquid Retina XDR mini-LED ProMotion panel. This display offers incredibly wide and accurate colors, inky blacks thanks to deep contrast, and a 120Hz refresh rate. Apple has finally incorporated thin bezels in the MacBook Pro 14, making it a smaller laptop as well. And finally, Apple improved connectivity, adding an HDMI port and SD card reader to USB-C Thunderbolt 4 ports, and wireless connectivity is as fast as you can get today with Wi-Fi 6E. Read our in-depth Apple MacBook Pro review Why you should buy this: It’s an incredibly thin and light 14-inch laptop that still packs a punch. Who’s it for: Anyone who wants a well-performing 14-inch laptop but doesn’t want to carry around a lot of weight. Why we chose the Asus ExpertBook B9450: Can you have a lot of power without giving up the slim and portable nature of 14-inch laptops? Asus thinks so, and this ExpertBook is proof. Inside, you’ll find a 10th-gen Intel Core i7-10510U processor,16GB of RAM, and a 512GB PCIe NVMe SSD. This is all housed in a slender frame that includes military-grade durability and a touchpad that can double as a touch-based numeric keypad. For connections, you have a USB-A, a Thunderbolt 3/USB-C, and HDMI, as well as a microSD card reader. Asus also reports that, with optimal settings, the battery can last up to 24 hours. All this on a laptop that weighs about 2.2 pounds. The Asus ExpertBook B9450 is a great pick for designers and video editors on the go or anyone who wants to push the power possibilities for a laptop of this size. Why you should buy this: It’s the best 14-inch gaming laptop by a country mile. Who’s it for: Gamers who want all the power but not all the weight. Why we chose the Razer Blade 14: Many gaming laptops are massive affairs, with aggressive venting and angles that make them embarrassing to use in conference rooms. That’s definitely not the Razer Blade 14, which adheres to Razer’s conservative yet elegant aesthetic with its all-black chassis with simple lines and a single Razer logo on the lid. It’s a gaming laptop you can proudly use anywhere. Inside, you’ll find a powerful beast centered around the ultrafast AMD Ryzen 5900HX CPU. GPU choices include the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060,3070, and 3080, meaning you can pack a real powerhouse into that svelte chassis. The Razer Blade 14 goes head-to-head with the best 15-inch laptops you can buy, including Razer’s own Blade 15. And it does so in a chassis that’s remarkably thin at just 0.66 inches and light at 3.9 pounds. Read our full Razer Blade 14 review Why you should buy this: It’s a reasonably priced and well-performing laptop with an excellent 14-inch display. Who’s it for: Anyone who wants a 14-inch laptop and doesn’t want to skimp on the display. Why we chose the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 7i Pro: Lenovo’s IdeaPad Slim 7i Pro is built around an exceptionally nice 14-inch IPS display in the productivity-friendly 16:10 aspect ratio and with a high 2.8K (2,880 x 1,800) resolution. It provides wider and more accurate colors than the typical thin-and-light productivity laptop, high contrast, and even runs at 90Hz for smoother on-screen movement and animations. This is one 14-inch laptop where the 14-inch display stands out. You also get good performance with a 35-watt H-series CPU that’s great for productivity and can even meet the needs of entry-level creative types. Up to 16GB of RAM and up to 1TB of fast PCIe SSD storage round out the package, providing a laptop that will churn through demanding productivity tasks. Connectivity isn’t this laptop’s greatest strength with just two USB-C with Thunderbolt 4 ports and a USB-A port, but add a Thunderbolt 4 dock and you’ll be ready to get to work.
