The Best Laptops You Can Buy in 2026

The MacBook Pro models received a significant internal update this year with the M5 Pro and M5 Max chips. If your work involves heavy AI or multithreaded workloads, you’ll benefit from the new Fusion Architecture, which combines two dies into a single SoC for better efficiency.

For professionals running large language models locally or editing 8K video, the specs are very practical. The M5 Max configuration gives you an 18-core CPU, up to a 40-core GPU, and supports up to 128GB of unified memory.

Apple also upgraded the storage speeds, reaching up to 14.5GB/s, which noticeably reduces the time it takes you to load complex datasets or scrub through high-resolution video timelines. Importantly, your base model now starts at 1TB of storage for the M5 Pro and 2TB for the M5 Max, which is a welcome adjustment for the price.

Beyond the processors, your day-to-day experience is improved by the new N1 wireless chip supporting Wi-Fi 7, up to 24 hours of battery life, and the inclusion of three Thunderbolt 5 ports. Starting at $2,499 for the 14-inch Pro and scaling up to $4,099 or more for the 16-inch Max, it remains an expensive investment, but it provides a very reliable, high-performance experience if you need it.

If you don’t need the heavy processing power of the MacBook Pro, the new 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Air models are likely your most sensible choice. The biggest news here isn’t necessarily the M5 chip, but the fact that you finally get 512GB as the starting storage capacity, officially retiring the 256GB base models.

You’ll find the same fanless, slim aluminum chassis we’ve seen in recent years. Inside, the M5 chip features a 10-core CPU and up to a 10-core GPU, with dedicated Neural Accelerators in each GPU core. This translates to faster on-device processing for your everyday AI tasks, like video enhancement or image processing in apps like Affinity.

You still get two Thunderbolt 4 ports, a MagSafe charging port, and a battery that reliably lasts you up to 18 hours for general web browsing and video streaming.

Priced at $1,299 for the 13-inch and $1,499 for the 15-inch, the M5 MacBook Air is a straightforward, well-rounded laptop that handles your daily multitasking, writing, and schoolwork without any fuss.

Dell officially returned to the classic XPS naming convention this year, and if you appreciate build quality, the new XPS 14 (DA14260) is a very well-built machine. It weighs just 1.36kg (about 3 lbs) and features a clean, CNC-milled aluminum body with Gorilla Glass 3 accents.

It is powered by Intel’s Core Ultra Series 3 processors, scaling up to the 16-core Ultra X9 388H. Dell relies entirely on Intel Arc integrated graphics for this model, which Intel says is up to 50% faster than the previous generation. While it won’t replace a dedicated gaming laptop for you, it is more than capable of handling your light creative work and casual 1080p gaming.

In terms of display, you can choose a 2.8K Tandem OLED touchscreen that offers excellent contrast, 100% DCI-P3 color coverage, and Dolby Vision support.

Paired with a 70Wh battery that Dell claims can manage over 20 hours of local video playback, the XPS 14, starting at $2,049, is a premium, highly portable option if you prioritize build quality and screen fidelity in a Windows machine.

If you travel frequently and want to leave your charger at home, the HP OmniBook Ultra 14 is designed primarily for you. Available with either Intel Core Ultra (up to Ultra X9 388H) or Qualcomm Snapdragon X2 processors (up to Snapdragon X2 Elite), this 14-inch laptop prioritizes efficiency.

HP estimates you can get up to 20 hours of general usage from its 70Wh battery, and it comes with a compact 65W GaN charger that can top your battery up to 50% in about 45 minutes.

The screen gives you a 14-inch 3K OLED edge-to-edge display with a 120Hz variable refresh rate, providing smooth scrolling and vibrant colors. HP has also included a good selection of ports, featuring three Thunderbolt 4 connections and a 5MP IR camera with hardware-level temporal noise reduction for clearer video calls.

Starting at $1,799, the OmniBook Ultra 14 is a very practical, premium work laptop with excellent battery endurance and a comfortable, responsive haptic touchpad.

The Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i Gen 11 is a creator-focused laptop. It combines Intel Core Ultra processors with Nvidia GeForce RTX 5050, RTX 5060, or RTX 5070 Laptop GPUs.

The 16-inch display comes in 2.8K OLED and 3.2K Tandem OLED versions. The top display reaches up to 1,600 nits of peak brightness and supports 100% coverage of the DCI-P3 and Adobe RGB color spaces. That makes the laptop suitable for photography, video editing, design, and other color-sensitive work.

The Yoga Pro 9i includes two Thunderbolt 4 ports, two USB-A ports, HDMI 2.1, and an SD card reader. It also has a 92.5Wh battery and a six-speaker system with Dolby Atmos support.

The laptop weighs about 1.9kg before you add the charger. That weight is reasonable for a 16-inch creator laptop, but you will notice it if you travel every day.

Prices start at roughly $2,669 and can exceed $4,500 with the fastest processor, an RTX 5070 GPU, more memory, and the premium Tandem OLED display.

The Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (GU606) continues the trend of putting powerful gaming hardware into a chassis that won’t look out of place if you take it to the office. At roughly 14.9mm thick and 4.3 lbs, it’s surprisingly portable for a 16-inch gaming laptop.

Despite its thin profile, you can configure it with up to an Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 Laptop GPU and an Intel Core Ultra 9 386H processor. To manage the heat, the laptop uses a vapor chamber and a three-fan cooling system. The display is a 16-inch 2.5K ROG Nebula HDR OLED panel with a 240Hz refresh rate, providing you with deep blacks and very smooth motion for fast-paced games.

With a starting price of $3,699 for the RTX 5070 Ti model, scaling up to nearly $5,000 for the RTX 5090 version, it is undeniably expensive. But if you want top-tier gaming performance without the bulk of a traditional gaming laptop, the Zephyrus G16 strikes a very good balance for you.

The MSI Raider 16 Max HX is the most powerful and least portable laptop in this group. It targets users who want desktop-level gaming and workstation performance.

The system can include Intel’s Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus processor and an RTX 5090 Laptop GPU with 24GB of GDDR7 memory. It supports up to 128GB of RAM and includes one PCIe Gen 5 SSD slot and one PCIe Gen 4 slot.

The 16-inch QHD+ OLED display runs at 240Hz and supports DisplayHDR True Black 1000. MSI uses three fans, six heat pipes, and a high-power cooling system to manage the hardware.

The Raider also has two Thunderbolt 4 ports, three USB-A ports, HDMI 2.1, an SD Express card reader, 2.5Gb Ethernet, and Wi-Fi 7. Prices start at around $2,299 for an RTX 5070 Ti model and rise to approximately $3,299 for an RTX 5090 configuration.

The tradeoff is size, noise, and battery life. You will need the large power adapter for demanding games and professional workloads.

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