Looking for the best laptops to buy in 2023? We’ve tested and reviewed top laptops, Chromebooks, and MacBooks to help you choose.
To earn the crown as the best laptop in 2023, a device needs to have it all: gorgeous design, killer performance, a productive keyboard, long-lasting battery life, and much more.
Each of the laptops below has been vetted thoroughly by us here at Digital Trends. Whether it’s an affordable Chromebook or a top-of-the-line gaming laptop, they’ve all been subjected to real-world testing, as well as benchmark and battery tests to collect data to objectively pit them against each other.Quick Overview
Apple MacBook Air M2: a fast, efficient, and portable laptop for everyone
Dell XPS 13: an affordable and well-built mainstream option
Razer Blade 14: a fast yet mobile gaming workstation
Asus ZenBook 14 OLED: the best laptop you can buy under $1,000
Apple MacBook Pro (M3 Max): the best creator pro laptop
Lenovo ThinkPad Z13: a modern gem with excellent performance and design
Microsoft Surface Pro 9: the best touchscreen laptop just keeps getting better
HP Spectre x360 13.5: HP’s loveliest and most useful convertible 2-in-1
Lenovo Yoga 9i Gen 8: a fast, solidly built convertible 2-in-1 that looks great
Lenovo Chromebook Duet 3: a usable and flexible Chromebook 2-in-1 for less than $300 Why you should trust us
Our expert laptop reviewers have tested and reviewed more than 500 laptops over the years, searching for the best of the best. We’ve reviewed every kind of laptop available, from traditional clamshell laptops to a variety of 2-in-1s to gaming laptops to unusual and innovative machines. We’ve applied a consistent and reliable formula to each of our reviews, pulling from a massive database of performance testing to make it possible for you to compare laptops with confidence.Key considerations when selecting the best laptop
Laptops are complex machines, so there are a few key considerations we focus on when evaluating them.Performance
You’ll want a laptop that’s fast enough for your needs, but you don’t want to overspend for performance you don’t need. So don’t buy a gaming laptop with a super-fast CPU and a powerful discrete GPU if you’ll just be surfing the web and answering email. Pay close attention to the processor choice, regardless if it’s Intel, AMD, or Apple. And in the end, it’s key to be honest with yourself and the kind of performance you actually need.Portability
If you need a large display for tasks like video and photo editing, then by all means, choose a 15-inch or larger laptop. You’ll also be able to get more powerful components. But if you need something you can easily slip inside a backpack without weighing yourself down, then you’ll want to pick a laptop that’s smaller and lighter. It’s also important to consider battery life here to ensure you have what suits your lifestyle.Build quality
You’ll be handling your laptop and carrying it around into all kinds of environments. Some laptops are built better than others, so make sure you pick a machine that will stand up to your typical abuse. No matter the price, you want something that feels sturdy and robust. It’s not worth saving a couple hundred bucks if the thing is falling apart one year later.Price
You probably have a budget to work with, which can range from a few hundred dollars up to many thousands. If you’re using your laptop to drive a business, then you’ll probably be more inclined to make a significant investment, whereas if you’re a hungry college student, you might be willing to compromise in a few areas to make it fit your budget.And more
Beyond those listed above, you should also consider the display quality, the webcam, port selection, design, keyboard, touchpad, and speakers. That’s a lot, but don’t be overwhelmed! These are all factors we consider when reviewing and recommending laptops.
Apple MacBook Air M2The best laptop
When Apple updated the MacBook Air to its latest M2 processor, it didn’t stop there. Instead, the laptop was completely redesigned, starting with the chassis which took on the same general design as the larger MacBook Pro. The iconic MacBook taper was dropped and the chassis was trimmed, resulting in a minimalist and elegant laptop that’s among the thinnest ever made at just 0.44 inches thick.
The M2 is an incremental improvement over the M1, slightly faster and more efficient but not a game-changer. It provides outstanding productivity performance and excellent battery life, making it one of the more balanced laptops you can buy today. The Liquid Retina IPS display is as good as always, and the keyboard (making it among the best laptops for writers) and Force Touch touchpad are the best available.
A recent price drop to $1,099 makes the MacBook Air M2 the second-most affordable MacBook, behind only the MacBook Air M1 that’s $100 cheaper. There’s even a larger 15-inch model that’s also excellent.
Dell XPS 13 (9315)The best Windows laptop
There are two things you need to know about the Dell XPS 13 before buying one. First, it doesn’t have a headphone jack. Second, its performance is a bit lackluster compared to many of the 12th-generation Intel-powered laptops.
With those downsides in mind, you might wonder why a laptop like this is still showing up on this list. Well, it all comes down to value. If you can set those two negatives aside, you’ll find a gorgeous little laptop priced like none other. The base configuration tends to fluctuate in price, but it ranges between $749 and $1,099, making it the cheapest the XPS laptops have ever sold for. Keep in mind, you’re getting 512GB of storage in that model, too. That makes a lot of laptops on this list seem overpriced, especially considering how good the battery life and display are. That’s even true sitting next to the M1 MacBook Air. It’s a fantastic value — so long as you can accept the lack of a headphone jack.
Of course, you’ll also find a laptop here with premium features, such as a comfortable keyboard, a great touchpad, and a killer IPS screen. And, of course, the design is stellar. The compact little machine that’s one of the best 13-inch laptops continues to have remarkably thin bezels, and the new color options are both unique and tasteful. It’s very hard to find a laptop under $1,000 that hits all those marks, especially without sacrificing anything major.
You might wonder why we’ve included the XPS 13 on the list rather than the XPS 13 Plus. After all, the Plus model is more powerful and has some really excellent features, such as the seamless haptic feedback trackpad and the larger, edge-to-edge keyboard. Those features are all neat and certainly make it a futuristic-feeling laptop, but we’re not sure they’re worth the extra cost over the standard XPS 13, which comes in at hundreds of dollars cheaper.
Razer Blade 14The best gaming laptop
Gaming laptops are their own class of laptop that demand their own list, but we wanted to include some here that could easily double as your standard laptop – of course, with the added benefit that these can do some serious gaming after work.
