Looking for the best laptops to buy in 2024? We’ve tested and reviewed top laptops, Chromebooks, and MacBooks to help you choose.
We’re at a turning point in laptops. Apple’s MacBook train continues to run, all while Windows laptops are undergoing their biggest transition in decades under the banner of Copilot+ PCs.
But which laptop you should actually go out and buy? Well, we’ve reviewed dozens and dozens of new models this year already, and whether it’s the best gaming laptops, the best budget laptops, or the best 2-in-1 laptops, we’ve got you covered.
Microsoft Surface Laptop 7th EditionThe best Windows laptop
I have always been rooting for the Surface Laptop. I’ve always liked the taller, 3:2 aspect ratio of the screen and its simple design aesthetic. But over the years, the actual laptop itself has always disappointed me. Performance and battery life weren’t up to par, and it often lagged behind in high-end features.
But those days are over. With the 7th Edition, Microsoft has made the Surface Laptop a true competitor to the MacBook Air, offering a better 120Hz display, more ports, removable storage, and overall faster performance. Most of the improvements are due to the Snapdragon X chip inside, which offers MacBook-like efficiency to the Windows platform. I reviewed the X Elite version, which offers significantly better performance (and better battery life as well), so I’d recommend that if you can afford the bump to price. Compared to the MacBook Air M3, the Surface Laptop 7th Edition has a cheaper starting price too, especially since it includes more memory.
In addition to the new chip and super-bright screen, the Surface Laptop 7th Edition also now comes with a haptic feedback trackpad. It really has it all. It’s made transitioning away from the MacBook a lot easier than I would have imagined — and for now, it’s my new favorite laptop.
Apple MacBook Air (M3)The MacBook most people should buy
The MacBook Air remains a remarkable little laptop. Both in its 13-inch and 15-inch variants, the MacBook Air is incredibly thin, yet surprisingly powerful. Toss in that M3 chip, and you even get a surprising boost to the GPU. To make that performance even more impressive, it’s accomplished in a completely fanless design, meaning the machine remains completely silent, regardless of what you’re doing.
That balance of performance and portability is really what makes this laptop so special. For this class of laptop, the screen is high quality, as are the speakers and webcam. The biggest downside is the port selection and multi-monitor support, which are quite limited. It can only handle one external display. If you’re using the M3 model, it can support two external monitors, but only with the laptop lid closed.
The MacBook Air M3 isn’t exactly cheap. A starting price of $1,099 doesn’t sound too bad, but many people will want more than 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. Fortunately, you can get the M2 MacBook Air for as low as $899 sometimes, and it still comes highly recommended. The M3 MacBook Air is worth the extra money in terms of performance, but if that’s less of a deciding factor for you, the M2 MacBook Air is the better option.
The M4 model isn’t due out until sometime in the few months of 2025, so you’re still okay to pick up the M3 model.
Asus ZenBook 14 OLEDBest affordable laptop
Finding a new laptop under $1,000 that doesn’t make some significant compromises isn’t easy. But sometimes, a laptop comes along that walks that balance in just the right way. The Asus Zenbook 14 OLED was one such laptop when it came out in 2023. The combination of the OLED screen, solid performance, and affordable price make it a killer deal.
There’s just not another laptop, outside of perhaps the M1 MacBook Air, that can compete at this price. Even then, the Zenbook 14 has the advantage of its stellar OLED screen. This model, the Zenbook 14 OLED UM3402, is still a fantastic purchase today, selling for as low as $629 at some retailers.
The 2024 model is also really solid after making the switch from AMD to the Intel Core Ultra 7 155H. Everything that made the UM3402 so good is still present. Unfortunately, the configurations are fairly limited at the moment, and restricted to just high-end models that are probably more than what people need from this type of laptop.
Don’t get me wrong — $1,300 for a laptop with 32GB of RAM and 1TB of storage is still a really good deal. But the starting configurations are the ones most value-oriented buyers are going to be interested in. And while our review unit does appear to include a bit of a price increase, we’ll have to wait until some of the base configurations are available.
Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 (2024)The best gaming laptop
The ROG Zephyrus G14 has been redesigned in 2024, and its transformation has made it quite a compelling laptop. On one hand, it’s a gaming laptop unlike any that’s been made. It’s significantly cheaper than the Razer Blade 14, despite being even thinner and more modern. More than that, though, in its latest iteration, it becomes a serious MacBook Pro competitor. After all, very few laptops of this size are as powerful as this, and that’s thanks to an RTX 4070 GPU.
Pair that kind of performance with an OLED 120Hz screen, and you have a laptop that even surpasses the MacBook Pro in ways. It really does have an incredible display.
Of course, the G14 doesn’t have the kind of battery life that the MacBook Pro has. But as far as a proper Windows alternative goes, it’s hard to find one better than the G14. If you want something even more powerful, you can even opt for the larger G16, which can be configured with up to an RTX 4080.
