The 15-inch MacBook Air is proof that you don't need a Pro to get a larger display. It supplies a larger screen that you once found only on the pricier Pro models. If you're eyeing the 14- or 16-inch Pro models primarily for the added screen size, the MacBook Air 15 is the more affordable option you should go for, especially at its new lower starting price.

Why we like it

The roomy, 15.3-inch display is powered by Apple's M4 chip and 16GB of unified RAM. The M4 update adds incremental improvements -- and a new sky blue color -- to an already fantastic laptop that sits in the Goldilocks Zone of Apple's MacBook lineup.

Who it's best for

People looking for a big-screen MacBook who don't need the power of a MacBook Pro. With its roomy display, trim design and new lower starting price, the 15-inch M4 MacBook Air should be viewed as the default Air, with its cheaper and smaller 13-inch sibling a good alternative for students and others with tighter budgets and busy, on-the-go lifestyles.

Who shouldn't get it

Students who need a more affordable and portable laptop will be better off with the 13-inch Air. Creative types who need more graphics oomph will need to spend more for the added power of a MacBook Pro.

Only a few weeks after ceding the battery life throne to Lenovo in our tests, HP has snatched back the crown with the OmniBook 5 14.

Why we like it

For starters, it runs and runs (and runs and runs). The OmniBook 5 14 lasted more than 28 hours in testing and earned our lab award for longest laptop battery life. In addition to record-setting battery life, the OmniBook 5 14 offers a simple, elegant design and easy-to-carry weight -- plus, an OLED display that delivers stellar contrast and vivid colors. It also supplies an ample 32GB of RAM and a roomy 1TB SSD, neither of which is a given in a laptop that costs less than $1,000.

Who it’s best for

For students and others constantly on the go, the OmniBook 5 14 is a fantastic pick at a great price.

Who shouldn’t buy it

If you are concerned about Windows-on-Arm compatibility issues, then you should skip the Snapdragon X-based OmniBook 5 14 and go for an Intel- or AMD-based laptop.

The Surface Laptop 7 reverses earlier Arm-based efforts plagued by lackluster performance and limited compatibility. Many x86 apps were unable to run on an Arm-based system. This time around, performance and compatibility are improved.

Why we like it

I like it for its polished design and class-leading battery life. The Surface Laptop 7 ran for nearly 20 hours in testing -- that’s the longest of any 13- or 14-inch laptop I've ever tested -- including the M4 MacBook Air. The Surface Laptop 7 competes with the MacBook Air in performance and battery life and supplies a similarly sleek and solid build.

Who it's best for

People who love the look and long battery life of the MacBook Air but want a Windows laptop. We wish there were an OLED display option, and you’ll need to conduct a compatibility check for your mission-critical applications before embracing the Arm-based Surface Laptop 7. If you can overcome these hurdles, however, you’ll get a well-built, good-looking, and long-lasting Windows ultraportable. You don't necessarily need to spend the roughly $2,000 that our test system costs. One of the lower-priced configurations on sale for $1,250 at Amazon should meet the needs of most people.

Who shouldn't get it

Anyone worried about potential Windows-on-Arm compatibility issues should consider skipping Qualcomm-based laptops and opt for an Intel or AMD model instead. The Surface Laptop 7 is also not the pick if you want an OLED display on your next laptop. For more, check out my other favorite Windows laptops.

After killing it off last year, Dell turned right around this year and brought back the XPS this year. The XPS 14 marks a grand return for Dell’s longtime premium laptop brand.

Why we like it

The XPS 14 corrects many errors of the Dell 14 Premium, including the most egregious ones, while coming in at a reasonable weight and retaining a solid, well-built chassis. Physical keys returning to the Function is another move in the right direction. Based on Intel's latest Panther Lake processors, the XPS 14 delivers strong overall performance and long battery life.

Who it's best for

Creators and other power users who want the power and style of a MacBook Pro in a Windows laptop.

Who shouldn't buy it

If you are OS agnostic, the MacBook Pro offers better performance and battery life for the same price.

The Prestige 14 Flip AI has a Core Ultra Series 3 processor from Intel's new Panther Lake series and offers an unprecedented combination of 3D graphics power and all-day battery life.

Why we like it

It's the first laptop with integrated graphics I've tested that delivers playable 3D framerates in AAA titles. So, without needing a dedicated GPU, the Prestige 14 Flip AI is compact, portable and quiet during operation. These are not things that usually describe a laptop capable of playing games. And it offers incredible battery life -- calling it "all-day" battery life undersells it.

Who it's best for

Anyone who wants a do-it-all laptop with enough power for gamers and creators inside a compact, lightweight design with luxuriously long battery life.

Who shouldn't buy it

If you're shopping for a true gaming laptop, then you’ll still want a model with dedicated Nvidia RTX graphics that supplies higher frame rates. You'll also want a display that's faster than the 60Hz panel found here.

The Lenovo Legion 5i Gen 10 is overkill for most budget gaming laptop shoppers, both in terms of price and features. But if you view it as two laptops in one -- a competent gaming laptop with a reasonably large 15.1-inch display and a general-use laptop that's thin and light enough to carry around more than occasionally -- then its price begins to look like a great value.

Why we like it

It provides great performance for the price, and the 2.5K OLED display is outstanding. The Legion 5i Gen 10's OLED wins the Triple Crown for displays: a high resolution for crisp text and images, a speedy refresh rate for smooth movement and a high peak brightness that allows colors to pop. It's one of the best laptop displays I've ever seen.

Who it's best for

It's a great pick for gamers, but it's more than just a gaming laptop. Creators engaged in color-accurate work will love the bright, high-res OLED display and the laptop's portability relative to other gaming laptops.

Who shouldn't buy it

If you need a portable laptop with good battery life, then most gaming laptops, including this one, are the wrong choice.

Weighing less than 3.5 pounds and offering amazing battery life, the Acer Aspire 16 AI is a 16-inch laptop that's easy to take with you.

Why we like it

The Aspire 16 AI offers an optimal balance of screen size and system weight, making it a unique laptop: the rare 16-inch ultraportable. Plus, its battery life is fantastic, which lets you lighten your load further by leaving the power cord at home. If you are looking for an affordable and portable productivity machine, the Aspire 16 AI checks a lot of boxes.

Who it's best for

Budget laptop shoppers who are unwilling to choose between screen size and a light weight. The 16-inch Aspire 16 AI doesn't weigh much more than the average 14-inch laptop, giving you extra screen real estate without sacrificing much in portability.

Who shouldn't buy it

Students and others constantly on the go will be better served with a smaller, 14-inch laptop that's more compact and even lighter than the Aspire 16 AI.

For Apple's latest MacBook Air, the bigger news than moving from Apple's M3 silicon to M4 chips is the drop in price.

Why we like it

Starting at $999, the MacBook M4 Air is $100 cheaper than the entry point for the previous M3 models. In addition to a slight bump in performance over the previous generation, the M4 Air adds a Center Stage webcam, better support for external displays and a new ice blue color option.

Who it's best for

The M4 chip refresh adds up to a good, if minor, update to an already fantastic lightweight laptop that's now more affordable for students and those on tight budgets. With its mix of strong overall performance, long battery life and a trim design, it's no wonder it's a popular laptop for students.

Who shouldn't get it

Anyone who is buying a MacBook Air for toting around the house instead across campus will enjoy the roomier display of the 15-inch Air. Also, graphics pros who need the power of a Pro will need to spend more for a 14- or 16-inch MacBook Pro.

The ProArt P16 boasts a big, beautiful 16-inch 4K OLED alongside enough graphics horsepower to deliver the performance in Adobe and CapCut that creators crave inside a reasonably slender, lightweight chassis.

Why we like it

The ProArt P16 series is built around a powerful AMD Strix Point processor, the Ryzen AI 9 HX 370. Our P16 test system also features an RTX 5070 GPU from Nvidia's latest series along with an ample 32GB of RAM and a roomy 2TB SSD, a welcome inclusion for video editors and gamers who tend to require capacious storage. The port selection is fairly standard, but includes an SD card slot, which creators will appreciate.

Who it's best for

Creators and media editors. The ProArt P16 is an extremely capable workday companion that can also double as a suitable gaming machine for anything short of 4K.

Who shouldn't get it

Gamers looking to squeeze out the highest frame rates possible from an RTX 5070 laptop.

Built around an Arm-based Qualcomm Snapdragon X processor, the Zenbook A14 is the lightest Copilot Plus PC we've tested and the second-longest running. It weighs less than 2.2 pounds and offers a battery life of more than 24 hours.

Why we like it

Its Ceraluminum shell allows the Zenbook A14 to be incredibly light yet rigid, and its 14-inch OLED display is excellent. It also serves up ample RAM and storage for the price.

Who it's best for

Students and anyone who is on the road with regularity for their job. If portability is paramount, then the lightweight, long-running Zenbook A14 is the pick.

Who shouldn't get it

If you are concerned about Windows-on-Arm compatibility issues, then you should skip the Zenbook A14 and find an Intel- or AMD-based laptop.

This recent release from Acer's budget Aspire line is based on an Intel Lunar Lake CPU. Its Intel Core Ultra 5 226V features a neural processing unit (NPU) capable of 40 trillion operations per second (TOPS) for local AI processing, which happens to be the minimum requirement for Microsoft's Copilot Plus PC platform. The Aspire 14 AI is on sale for $619 at Amazon and only $500 at Costco, making it easily the cheapest Copilot Plus PC I've reviewed.

Why we like it

The Aspire 14 AI a great pick among budget laptops. Its performance and battery life exceed what you can expect for the price and the design is nearly the same as you get with Acer's more expensive Swift models. You're forced to sacrifice display quality to hit such a low price but that's an item that's usually not very high on a budget shopper's priority list. More important is getting a modern CPU that delivers sufficient performance for everyday use that's also efficient to allow for lengthy battery life, plus a bit of future-proofing with its AI capabilities.

Who it's best for

With the lengthy battery life we've come to expect from Copilot Plus PCs and with application and AI performance that's competitive with pricier models, the Aspire 14 AI offers great value for budget shoppers looking for a Copilot Plus PC.

Who shouldn't get it

If you care about the overall look of your next laptop and have the money, you can find more exciting designs. Spending more will also get you a brighter display with better color performance.

The Lenovo Yoga 9i 2-in-1 Aura Edition is greater than the sum of its parts. Based on a common Intel Core Ultra Series 2 processor, its component lineup is not all that unusual. But placed inside a sleek and compact enclosure and outfitted with a beautiful 2.8K OLED display becomes a truly exceptional two-in-one.

Why we like it

This 14-inch ultraportable two-in-one is well-crafted, well-specced and remarkably well-priced. We love the trim and sturdy chassis, beautiful 2.8K OLED display and unique rotating soundbar that produces robust audio output. And the Yoga 9i runs and runs and runs.

Who it's best for

The Yoga 9i is perfectly tailored for remote or office workers or anyone who wants a modern laptop that can also rotate into a tablet. Its record-setting battery life will let you leave the charger at home for days at a time and makes up for the fact that this premium two-in-one lacks a premium haptic touchpad.

Who shouldn’t buy it

Anyone who demands a haptic touchpad in a premium laptop. Students and other budget shoppers can save some money and still get a great package with Lenovo’s mainstream Yoga 7 series.

With its excellent build quality, adequate display, strong performance and lengthy runtime, the Yoga 7 14 Gen 9 provides a ton of value and is a great fit as a versatile machine for home use or students.

Why we like it

It's a great deal at its price of $900 at Best Buy and an even better deal at its regularly discounted price of $800 direct from Lenovo. We like its solid, all-metal chassis and the power and efficiency you get from its AMD Ryzen 7 8000-series CPU.

Who it's best for

Anyone looking for a flexible two-in-one for a great price, including students who might like to take notes in tablet mode. It lacks some of the refinement and extras you get with Lenovo’s flagship Yoga 9i 14, but the midrange Yoga 7 14 is much more affordable. We think it's the better option for most people.

Who shouldn't get it

Laptop buyers who want a lighter two-in-one with a better OLED display and better speakers -- and are willing to spend more to get those extras -- should instead consider the Yoga 9i 14.

The Zephyrus G16 we tested is relatively pricey at $2,700 for an upscale configuration with a 16-inch OLED screen, RTX 4080, 32GB of RAM, a 1TB SSD and an Intel Core Ultra 9 185H.

Why we like it

The ROG G16 configuration my colleague Lori Grunin tested isn't cheap but a good all-around system for both gaming and creative work. She liked the huge, calibrated OLED display and performance from the pairing of the Core Ultra 9 CPU and RTX 4080 graphics. The port selection is also a positive.

Who it's best for

Gamers who want a large screen for a more immersive gaming experience, and creators who will make use of the calibrated OLED display. Solid configurations start at $2,000, so you don't need to spend as much as the model we reviewed. If you have a smaller budget, then peep our picks for best cheap gaming laptop.

Who shouldn't get it

The Zephyrus G16 is a great pick for gamers, but its little sibling -- the G14 -- is a little more highly rated because of its more general-use advantages, like size, weight and lower price.

If you love the sleek look and great portability of a MacBook Air but need a Windows laptop for work, then HP's flagship EliteBook Ultra is a great alternative.

Why we like it

With a spectacular 14-inch, 2.8K OLED display wrapped up in an elegant and compact enclosure, the EliteBook Ultra G1i deserves its Ultra label. It definitely has a premium look and feel that's on par with a MacBook Air in terms of being thin and light yet rigid and sturdy. Its Intel Lunar Lake CPU is a well-rounded performer with great efficiency for good battery life that'll get you through almost any workday on a single charge.

Who it's best for

With its compact chassis and deluxe design, the EliteBook Ultra G1i is well suited for traveling executives or anyone who appreciates a small, lightweight OLED laptop for work.

Who shouldn't get it

Anyone who can't wait for it to go on sale or isn't purchasing at a quantity that qualifies for a volume-pricing discount should take a pass. At its sale price of $1,899 or $1,999, the EliteBook Ultra G1i is an excellent value and a great choice for your next work laptop, but it's harder to recommend at its full price of nearly $3,000.