The best laptops you can buy in 2023

While old-school laptops aren’t as versatile as more modern 2-in-1 PCs or as lightweight as tablets, they still hit a sweet spot for performance and portability that’s easy to like. If you grew up in the time before the iPad and iPhones, there’s something familiar and robust about the form factor itself. The fact that there’s a physical keyboard in the mix is a pro rather than a con.

While tablets and convertibles quickly went from novel to normal for many consumers, there are still plenty who prefer to stick with a more conventional portable computing form factor. It doesn’t hurt that the list of typical laptop compromises gets shorter and shorter each year.

These days, buying an ultrathin laptop doesn’t involve as big a sacrifice in performance, nor does buying a performance-focused laptop doesn’t involve settling as much when it comes to portability. For those who aren’t demanding power users, using a laptop as a replacement for your desktop is a much more viable course of action than it was previously.

Where tablets and convertibles are sometimes experimental, laptops are a known quantity. You know what you’re buying, and you know what you’re getting. Unfortunately, there are still an overwhelming number of options to choose from if you’re in the market for a new laptop.

For all that recent chip shortages have squeezed the tech supply chain to the breaking point, laptop buyers remain spoiled for choice. And as more and more businesses move towards working from home, it’s become vital to ensure you have the right tools for the job.

If you’re looking to buy a new laptop in 2023, these machines represent the cream of the crop.

If you’ve got the money to spend on a brand laptop, the ASUS Zenbook 14 OLED is one of the best ways you can spend it.

Although the name might suggest that ASUS have just traded out the LCD-LED screen on last year's Zenbook 14 and called it a day, the truth is anything but. A change in display tech is enough to make anything look new, but it's the swag of savvy improvements here that serve to make the Zenbook 14 OLED actually feel it.

By looking beyond the glitz and glamour of its namesake, the new Zenbook 14 OLED takes strides where lesser laptops fumble. As with many of its competitors, it’s powered by Intel’s finest crop of 12th-Gen Core silicon, Iris Xe graphics and a generous sum of PCIe SSD storage.

The ASUS Zenbook 14 OLED excels on every front that matters and manages to find a few edges of its own against the finest of its competition.

Ever since Huawei got its name notched on the US government’s infamous Entity List, the Chinese tech giant has been losing ground in Western markets. However, their desperation can sometimes be to the benefit of consumers looking for a bargain.

This is absolutely the case when it comes to Huawei’s Matebook laptops, and especially the case when it comes to the Matebook D14. Boasting a sleek design that’s designed to be a dead-ringer for Apple’s MacBook, this particular Matebook comes powered by an 11th Generation Intel Core i5 processor and armed with a gorgeous 14" FullView display.

With up to 512 GB of SSD storage, thinner 4.8 mm bezels, fast charging via USB Type-C and a fingerprint sensor for added security, the Huawei Matebook D14 comes with many of the premium perks of a luxury laptop at half the price.

Huawei’s fast depreciation in Western markets might be bad news for them, but it leaves the Matebook D14 looking like a steal for those on the lookout for a budget-friendly Windows laptop in 2023.

Even if the new MacBook Pro sports a few extra ports and a larger screen, the latest MacBook Air remains the MacBook to beat. Keeping things as simple as possible, it’s the option that’s most likely to hit the sweet spot for most consumers.

Like most MacBooks, the new MacBook Air doesn’t have a touchscreen, but it does incorporate Apple’s reworked magic keyboard, a Touch ID fingerprint sensor and a matching set of Thunderbolt ports for power users.

Powered by Apple’s headlining-grabbing M2 processor, you get the latest version of the macOS operating system and hardware designed to get the most out of it. For those seeking a standout laptop that integrates effort with the rest of the Apple ecosystem, the new MacBook Air is built to deliver.

It’s all wrapped up in a familiar design and a price tag that, even for Apple, rarely feels all that egregious. If you’re the kind of person who can dance to Apple’s tune when it comes to what a modern laptop should look like, the new MacBook Air is the obvious way to go in 2023.

ASUS' ZenBook Flip 13 has always been a standout when it comes to flexible 2-in-1 laptops, and this OLED-laced update is no different. The Zenbook Flip S13 OLED brings together the power of Intel's 11th Gen Core processors, the flexibility of a hybrid form factor and the stylish looks of the Zenbook line.

It's easy to find laptops that bend the way this one does. It's hard to find one with an OLED screen. Even if you do, the chances of it delivering the performance as well are almost as slim as the form factor found here.

It's easy to wish for a version of this Zenbook that's cheaper or one that runs on an AMD chipset, but it's hard to deny the reality that this premium PC is one of the best and brightest 2-in-1 laptops you can buy in 2023.

Lenovo has been cranking out Legion-branded gaming laptops for a number of years now, but the OEM's heavyweight Legion 7i cuts above the rest of the crowd in a number of ways.

The latest Lenovo Legion 7i isn't cheap, but the high price involved also includes all the bells, whistles, and performance you could want from a gaming laptop. There's an expansive 16-inch WQXGA IPS display clocked at 165Hz. There are also the best-in-class Intel Core and Nvidia RTX chips, up to 32GB of DDR5 RAM and up to 2TB of onboard storage.

More than just piling on the right parts and ticking all the right boxes, the Lenovo Legion 7i elevates a familiar formula through smart innovations like the inclusion of a vapour chamber, Lenovo's own ColdFront 4.0 fan tech and a suite of software tools that make optimising the performance of the hardware here easy and instant.

Wrapped up in stylish looks and ports aplenty, the Lenovo Legion 7i is currently our pick for the best gaming laptop you can buy.

While those who can afford the more recent MacBook Air should spring for it, cash-strapped students may be hard-pressed to find a better option than the 2020 version of Apple's iconic MacBook Air.

While this older model is synonymous with an older processor and a more traditional design, these details are hardly going to be dealbreakers when it comes to the demands of students. So long as you're not planning on any gaming, the M1 processor found inside the older MacBook Air still more than holds its own in 2023.

There’s a consistency and balance to the 2020 MacBook that's hard to find at price points that lean towards affordability. It's not quite as cheap as something like the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 or Acer's Swift X, but when you factor in Apple's own student discount and the reality that what's here is better equipped to go the distance than most of the alternatives, the pros of stretching your budget that little bit further begin to outweigh the cons.

The MacBook Air won’t cover all the bases, but it’ll probably do a great job at almost all of your computing essentials if you're a student looking for an easy solution to laptop confusion.

It might not do all it could to dispel the usual caveats that come with gaming laptops (and cheap ones in particular), but if you’re after something that will let you jump into PC gaming without breaking the bank, then Dell’s G15 gaming laptop delivers a ton of bang for your buck. 

Even if the display on the baseline Dell G15 is only FHD when it comes to quality, it's more generous when it comes to size and refresh rate than many other laptops in its class. What's more, it comes in both AMD and Intel varieties.

The Intel-based version of the laptop relies on an Intel Core i5-12500H as standard, but this can be upgraded to an Intel Core i7-12700H for an extra $200 or so. If you're looking at sticking with the  G15 for the long haul and squeezing as much performance out of it as possible, this is surcharge is probably one worth paying.

On the other hand, those looking to squeeze every bit of possible savings should seriously consider the Ryzen-based version of the G15. This model boasts an AMD Ryzen 5 6600H processor, an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 graphics card, 8GB of DDR5 RAM and 256GB of PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD storage.

The Dell G15  won’t let you crank up the in-game settings in the way that something twice its price will, but if you’re looking to do a modest amount of gaming on the go, it’s our pick for the best way to go about it.       

Not everyone needs a screen this big, this bright or this squared. However, if your needs are more pro-grade, then the math changes and it changes fast. Laptops with a 4K OLED screen this big and nice are available through other OEMs, but you’re almost certainly looking at spending extra and ending up with a few key compromises.

The Vivobook Pro 16X isn't immune from that dynamic nor is it a laptop for everyone, but if you can tell at a glance that its big screen is going to be to your benefit, you’re gonna love it. Those who find such quirks to be quintessential and a dedicated graphics card to be a necessity rather than a nice-to-have will come away pleased that the Vivobook Pro 16X OLED  provides both for a half-decent price.

When it comes to picking and choosing the best laptops on the market, the easiest place to start is with the similarities that each brand brings to the table. This helps give us a basis for what the "meta" of laptops looks like at any given time.

The next phase in our analysis specifically looks into the details. Where do the different laptop designs brought to market by hardware manufacturers like Lenovo, Dell, HP and ASUS differ, and why? What additions or twists on the formula are novelty versus necessary? How much value do these niche features really provide end consumers?

We then weigh the findings of this process against the price expectations of the market segment attached to the category involved. While the overall category assumes you're a consumer who isn't looking to cut corners, neither does it act like your budget is unlimited. This helps us determine which laptops are providing the best bang for our buck and value for money.

Whether you're looking at a mainstream computer brand like Dell or a dedicated gaming brand like MSI, there's an immense number of decisions you'll need to make when purchasing a laptop. If you're not sure where to start, here are a few important features to consider when shopping for your next laptop:

• Screen size and type: Unlike upgradeable components like your GPU, RAM and storage, you're stuck with the display you buy when you purchase a laptop. Is it a comfortable size? Does it offer a wide-viewing angle?
• Resolution: Similarly, you can't change your display's resolution after the fact. 1080p (Full HD) is the bare minimum these days and most laptops worth their price tag aim for 1440p at least (QHD or QuadHD) but you can also opt for 4K if you're willing to spend a little extra.
• Refresh rate: A screen's refresh rate is the measurement of how frequently it changes. If you play fast-paced multiplayer games like Call of Duty, you know that the difference a few milliseconds that a high refresh rate gets you can count for a lot. The higher the refresh rate, the better. Most conventional laptops offer 60Hz to 90Hz but fancier gaming laptops can offer 144Hz, 165Hz or even 240Hz screens.
• Ports and connections: Like your screen, ports will impact your everyday experience with a laptop, particularly if you use it for work. While you can work around this with USB hubs and adapters, a laptop with fewer ports than you need can quickly become a headache.
• Future-proofing: There are no hard and fast rules here but as a general suggestion, you'll want to sure you're laptop has the legs to survive a few years of technology improvements in any way you can. You can overshoot on your desired specs, spending more on a machine that's more powerful than you currently need, or opt for a model or brand that has support for upgrades down the track. Check which features of the machine are upgradeable. The Dell XPS 15, for example, supports additional RAM, while Apple MacBooks do not.

Check out our dedicated laptop buying guide for more suggestions on shopping for the best laptop for your needs.