We’ve reviewed hundreds of laptops from all brands, all shapes and sizes and all price points, so that we can bring your our definitive list of the best laptops you can buy today

If you’re looking for the best laptops of 2024, then we’re here to help. Each year, we review a huge amount of laptops across every category, and we’re constantly updating this guide to give you the very latest buying advice, no matter what your budget is.

We’ve only just started 2024, so a lot of the laptops on this page were released last year – but that doesn’t mean they are outdated, with many coming with cutting-edge components. And, at CES 2024, the huge tech show in Las Vegas that ran at the beginning of January, we got an exciting glimpse of what the future holds for laptops.

But, if you want to know what the best laptop you can buy right now is, then our choice remains the MacBook Air (M2), which is available in both 13-inch and 15-inch models. This standout in the best MacBook category merges a sleek, contemporary design with an impressive screen, stellar performance, and exceptional battery life. The 13-inch model is particularly great value, especially after its price reduction since the launch of the 15-inch model.

If you don’t fancy a MacBook, don’t worry, as we have a huge range of other options, from Windows 11-powered laptops, to budget Chromebooks, powerful gaming laptops and everything in between. Each laptop on this page has been carefully reviewed by our team of experts, where we spend weeks using these laptops in day-to-day activities to assess their real-world performance. This comprehensive approach ensures that our recommendations on the best laptop options are based on extensive, firsthand experience, offering you advice you can trust.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR

Battery life: The best thing about laptops is that they allow you to break free from your desk and use them almost anywhere – which is why checking the battery life is essential. For pure battery life, Chromebooks are the best laptops you can buy – but Apple’s latest MacBooks with M1, M2 and brand-new M3 chips come close, offering well over 10 hours of battery life. Meanwhile, gaming laptops usually sacrifice battery life for performance instead.

Performance: When looking to buy the best laptop for your needs, you should consider the performance a potential purchase offers. You don’t want to be stuck with a laptop that starts lagging after a few years. For Windows laptops, look to get one with a modern 14th generation Intel processor, or AMD Ryzen 7000 series. With a MacBook, go for an M1, M2 or new M3 model – which are Apple’s powerful chips made specially for its laptops.

You should also go for a minimum of 8GB of RAM, though 16GB is more future-proof. Recently, Microsoft suggested that 16GB of RAM would be the minimum requirement for the next generation of ‘AI laptops’. For Chromebooks, however, 4GB of RAM is fine.