The best laptops in 2025

The best laptops in 2025 could see a shakeup in the coming months when the new chips from Intel, AMD, Qualcomm, and Nvidia that were announced in early January at CES 2025 arrive in new laptops. Some are starting to ship already, while others, like Nvidia Geforce RTX 50 series gaming laptops, aren't expected until March.

If you need the best laptop of 2025 right now, the 13-inch MacBook Air M3 remains the best choice for most people. For an affordable price, this laptop delivers enough computing power for most users, and it has a durable build and a long-lasting battery. Prefer Windows? The Asus ZenBook 14 OLED checks the same boxes at a similar price, while the Acer Swift Go 14 is an even more affordable option. If you have more specialized needs, like a gaming laptop, business laptop, or 2-in-1 laptop, don't worry; I've got recommendations for you, too.

Over the last year, I saw a massive leap forward in two critical categories: performance and battery life, so even if you're upgrading after just a few years, you can expect a dramatic boost from any of the laptops in this guide. As the managing editor of Laptop Mag, I oversee our expert testing and reviews of over one hundred laptops annually. These days, the market is more complex than ever before, but I can help make your search easy.

Our two-pronged review strategy gives a complete picture of each laptop. The Laptop Mag testing team runs a series of rigorous tests on every laptop: Geekbench (synthetic CPU test), Handbrake (video encoding CPU test), 3DMark (graphics tests), display tests (brightness, color gamut), battery tests (custom battery rundown), and more. Laptops are then turned over to our reviewers to use in real-world situations. Dozens of hours go into every review produced for Laptop Mag.

1. MacBook Air M3

Thin, light, powerful, and long-lasting. What more could you want?

Specifications

CPU: Apple M3GPU: Apple M3 GPURAM: 16 GBStorage: 1TB SSDDisplay: 13-inch, 1664pSize: 12 x 8.5 x 0.4 inchesWeight: 2.7 pounds

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Reasons to buy

+Outstanding battery life

+Strong performance

+Bright Liquid Retina display

+Comfortable keyboard

+Improved SSD speeds

Reasons to avoid

-Limited ports

-Display not as colorful as competitors

Weighing a mere 2.7 pounds, Apple’s smallest laptop features the M3 chip, which delivers a power and efficiency boost over its predecessor. This makes it my pick as the best laptop for most people.

The MacBook Air's 13.6-inch display is one of the brightest laptops around, and True Tone ensures excellent color accuracy, but its vibrancy falls short of some of the OLED competition. Rumors of Apple moving to OLED in the future abound, but not yet.

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Like the M2 Air, the MacBook Air M3 is one of the thinnest laptops at only 0.4 inches. However, unlike many ultraportable laptops, it can keep up with an impressive workload thanks to the M3 chip. Whether it was our benchmarks or real-world usage, the Air M3 was up for any task.

Looking at the benchmarks, the MacBook Air M3 scored 12,087 on Geekbench 6.2, well above the category average. Our Handbrake video transcoding test took 7 minutes and 54 seconds to transcode a 4K video to 1080p. Again, this beats the average, but it's worth noting that some of its Intel Core Ultra-powered competition is passing the MacBook here. Apple also addressed the slightly slower SSD read/write performance of the Air M2, jumping from 2,800.1/2,210.6MBps on the M2 to 3,030.7/3,058.8MBps with the M3.

All that performance prowess doesn't hurt its battery life, either. If finding an outlet can be a challenge during your day, never fear. The Air M3 powered through over 15 hours of battery life testing in our lab.

If that’s not enough, you also get a 1080p webcam with Apple's latest software tricks helping to boost the hardware to higher heights. So what are the downsides? If you have a lot of peripherals, the pair of Thunderbolt/USB-C ports may be challenging, but at least you have MagSafe 3 to keep both ports free while charging.

Starting at $1,099, the 13-inch MacBook Air M3 isn't cheap but remains a solid value, and Apple made it an even better value on October 30, 2024, by bumping up the base RAM to 16GB, previously a $200 upgrade that we recommended most people buy.

If you want to save money, the 13-inch MacBook Air M2 sticks around at a new $999 starting price, and I expect to see it regularly discounted to $899 or less, so look at the best MacBook deals before picking one up.

Need more screen real estate? Look no further than the 15-inch MacBook Air M3. It mirrors all of the strengths of its smaller sibling but with a larger 15.3-inch display. The new MacBook Pro 14-inch M4 and MacBook Pro 16-inch M4 Pro may sway Apple fans with more high-performance needs, but rest assured the Air remains the right choice for most people.

2. Acer Swift Go 14

A budget laptop has no right being this good.

Specifications

CPU: Intel Core Ultra 7 155HGPU: Intel integrated Arc GPURAM: 16GBStorage: 1TB SSDDisplay: 14-inch, 1920 x 1200Size: 12.32 x 8.6 x 0.68Weight: 2.9 pounds

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Reasons to buy

+Intel Core Ultra CPU/ARC GPU

+NPU improves performance

+Stylish, sturdy, all-aluminum build

+Excellent Webcam

+Improved Battery life

Reasons to avoid

-Weak speaker performance

-Base display could be more colorful

Acer's Swift Go 14 is the easy choice for the best budget laptop. Starting at $749, the Go 14 isn't the cheapest laptop, but its value is incredible. We reviewed the slightly upgraded $999 configuration, but you will often find it for less than $700 today. The main trade-off is moving from an Intel Core Ultra 7 155H to a Core Ultra 5 125H, so if you stick to productivity work, browsing, and other general computing, it will be a negligible difference if you find a great deal on the Ultra 5 125H model.

The design remains the same at either price, with the Go 14 coming in at just 2.9 pounds. The metallic all-aluminum chassis gives off a faint sparkle that looks and feels far more premium than its price. Popping it open, the contrasting black chiclet-style backlit keyboard looks and feels excellent. Acer also gives you ports aplenty on this portable laptop with two Thunderbolt 4 ports, two USB Type-A ports, an HDMI port, a microSD card slot, a 3.5mm audio jack, and a Kensington lock slot.

The display lands just below the mainstream average for color at 79.1 percent of the DCI-P3 color gamut (85.2 percent is average), but it beats the category average in brightness at 374 nits (354 is average). Again, factoring in the price, these are strong results. You could also opt for the 2.8K display configuration if you value a sharper image.

Performance with our review model was everything we've come to expect from the latest Intel Core Ultra. Our Geekbench 6.2 overall performance test scored 12,434, overtaking more expensive options like the MacBook Air M3 (12,087). It also scorched the competition for our Handbrake video encoding test at 5 minutes and 18 seconds, almost four full minutes under the category average (9:07), again besting the MacBook Air M3 (7:54).

So what are the drawbacks? The battery life isn't bad, at 9 hours and 50 minutes in our testing, but it is well below top options like the MacBook Air M3 (15:21) or the Asus Zenbook 14 OLED (15:52). If you frequently travel or otherwise have difficulty plugging in, this could impact your decision. The built-in speakers are also less than stellar, so plan on some wireless headphones or earbuds.

However, these are minor concerns for most users, so if you are looking for the best laptop value, look no further than the Acer Swift Go 14.2. Acer Swift Go 14

A budget laptop has no right being this good.

Specifications

CPU: Intel Core Ultra 7 155HGPU: Intel integrated Arc GPURAM: 16GBStorage: 1TB SSDDisplay: 14-inch, 1920 x 1200Size: 12.32 x 8.6 x 0.68Weight: 2.9 pounds

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Reasons to buy

+Intel Core Ultra CPU/ARC GPU

+NPU improves performance

+Stylish, sturdy, all-aluminum build

+Excellent Webcam

+Improved Battery life

Reasons to avoid

-Weak speaker performance

-Base display could be more colorful

Acer's Swift Go 14 is the easy choice for the best budget laptop. Starting at $749, the Go 14 isn't the cheapest laptop, but its value is incredible. We reviewed the slightly upgraded $999 configuration, but you will often find it for less than $700 today. The main trade-off is moving from an Intel Core Ultra 7 155H to a Core Ultra 5 125H, so if you stick to productivity work, browsing, and other general computing, it will be a negligible difference if you find a great deal on the Ultra 5 125H model.

The design remains the same at either price, with the Go 14 coming in at just 2.9 pounds. The metallic all-aluminum chassis gives off a faint sparkle that looks and feels far more premium than its price. Popping it open, the contrasting black chiclet-style backlit keyboard looks and feels excellent. Acer also gives you ports aplenty on this portable laptop with two Thunderbolt 4 ports, two USB Type-A ports, an HDMI port, a microSD card slot, a 3.5mm audio jack, and a Kensington lock slot.

The display lands just below the mainstream average for color at 79.1 percent of the DCI-P3 color gamut (85.2 percent is average), but it beats the category average in brightness at 374 nits (354 is average). Again, factoring in the price, these are strong results. You could also opt for the 2.8K display configuration if you value a sharper image.

Performance with our review model was everything we've come to expect from the latest Intel Core Ultra. Our Geekbench 6.2 overall performance test scored 12,434, overtaking more expensive options like the MacBook Air M3 (12,087). It also scorched the competition for our Handbrake video encoding

3. Asus Zenbook 14 OLED (Q425)

Stop studying this list, you've found the best laptop for students.

Specifications

CPU: Intel Core Ultra 7 155HGPU: Intel Arc GraphicsRAM: 16GB RAMStorage: 1TB SSDDisplay: 14-inch, 1080pSize: 12.3 x 8.7 x 0.6 inchesWeight: 3 pounds

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Reasons to buy

+Almost 16 hours of battery life!

+Snappy performance

+Quality audio

+Smooth, comfortable keyboard

+Secure webcam privacy shutter

Reasons to avoid

-Display could be brighter

-Runs a little hot

Asus has been on a roll with the Zenbook 14 OLED line for a few years, so while it is no longer a surprise, this early 2024 Zenbook takes yet another significant leap forward.

This is in no small part due to the new Intel Core Ultra chipset inside, which puts the Zenbook 14 OLED on par with any productivity and light content creation laptops on the market. It also absolutely blew the roof off our battery life test, with 15 hours and 52 minutes in our test. That's the longest a traditional Windows laptop has lasted in recent memory.

Divining into some of the specifics on performance, it overtook the 13-inch MacBook Air M3 in multi-core Geekbench 6.2 (12,707 vs. 12,087). That wasn't its only win against the much-vaunted MacBook. The Zenbook also beat it in our Handbrake 1.6 test by converting a 4K video to 1080p in 6:36, over a minute faster than the Air M3's 7:54.

The OLED display looks excellent in person, but the benchmarking put it in the middle of the road when it comes to the DCI-P3 color gamut at 79.8 percent, that's below the mainstream average of 85.2 percent and just slightly ahead of the MacBook Air M3 (77.8 percent). It is extremely color accurate with a Delta-E of 0.21, relevant for content creators. Display brightness is a weak point against its competition at 339 nits, which is not a terrible result, but it's something we want to see Asus address for the next model.

The Zenbook weighs 3 pounds, not exactly an ultralight, but not something that will weigh you down too much going from class to class or while commuting. Overall, the Zenbook 14 OLED ticks just about every box we like to see for a student laptop while going above and beyond with its performance and battery life. This laptop should comfortably hold up through four years of college or for a high school student preparing to head to college in the next year or two.