Best laptop 2022: 15 best laptops you can buy

The best laptop of 2022 can have many brands, prices and features. Find the rest of the best laptops, Windows 10 business laptops, gaming laptops, Chromebooks, school laptops and 2-in-1 convertibles here.

Our current pick for the best laptop of 2022 is the MacBook Air. It is a device that does almost everything right. While it’s certainly not perfect, it doesn’t have any major flaws. It’s a great choice for productivity, navigation, and even light gaming.

It’s getting harder and harder to buy a poor laptop, but what sets the best laptops apart from the good ones is a balance of power, efficiency, portability, and comfort. The best laptop should have a great keyboard and trackpad – after all, these are the two main reasons for choosing a laptop over a smartphone or tablet. The screen should be pleasing to the eye, bright and sharp enough not to disturb the jagged edges and visible pixels. It should be powerful enough for most things other than intensive video editing and advanced gaming. It should be easy to move from place to place and last all day without having to be plugged in.

Our other picks for the best laptops, Chromebooks, and 2-in-1s include Asus ROG Zephyrus G15, MacBook Pro 16, and HP Specter x360 14. Check out our full list of the best laptops below or our roundup of the best. gaming laptop while you are looking for a powerful machine that doesn’t compromise portability.

Apple MacBook Air (M2)

The best laptop of 2022

Apple’s latest M2 processor MacBook Air is the best laptop for most people.

The base model, which includes 8GB of memory, 256GB of storage, an 8-core CPU and an 8-core GPU, starts at $ 1,199. The model with 512GB of storage, which we recommend to most people and which allows you to use the laptop longer, costs $ 1,399.

The Air has lost the wedge-shaped design that was its business card for years, but retains many other great features from years past, including MagSafe charging, Touch ID and a scissor keyboard, and adds a new webcam. 1080p and two new ones. color options.

The M2 processor inside isn’t as fast or powerful as the M1 Pro or M1 Max you find in the larger (and more expensive) MacBook Pro models, but it’s still blazingly fast. In our tests, it was able to handle intensive office workloads without heat or lag. Being thin and light, this unit offers a combination of power and portability that you will hardly find in many other machines.

The M2 Air didn’t give us the same battery life as the 16-inch MacBook M1 Pro in our latest tests, but we still expect most people to use it continuously for a full day.

Apple continues to sell the MacBook Air M1 released in 2020. If the MacBook Air M2 is out of your price range, we suggest you consider the M1 model below.

MacBook Pro (14-inch and 16-inch)

The best Macbook for creators

The 16-inch MacBook Pro is the most powerful laptop Apple has ever made. If you’re willing to pay the price (and it’s a high price), you’ll almost certainly be happy with what this machine can do.

In our benchmarks, which tested various creative tasks including encoding, playback, and export time, the MacBook Pro 16 outperformed any laptop we’ve ever used – the only other machines that come close in some of our benchmarks are the high-end desktop. Battery life is also a record. The 16-inch configuration with the M1 Pro processor lasted 16 hours during my tests, making it the longest laptop we’ve ever tested. (The installation of the M1 Max doesn’t take much time, but it still got us through a workday.)

Elsewhere, we have virtually nothing to complain about with the latest MacBook Pro. It has a stunning screen that can hit 1,000 nits when playing HDR content. It combines this with some of the best speakers we’ve ever heard from a laptop. And those Pro models can display multiple external screens, while Air is limited to one.

If you’re looking for a machine that can handle a heavy workload while still being an excellent multimedia device when you’re short on time, the MacBook Pro 16 is the best device for you.

MacBook Air (M1)

The best budget laptop

If you’re interested in a lightweight MacBook, but the Air is out of your price range, you’re probably better off with the 2020 M1 MacBook Air, which Apple continues to sell. The base model, which includes 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, starts at $ 999.

The older Air has a 13.3-inch 2560 x 1600 display, Touch ID, a 720p webcam, a fingerprint scanner, and a scissor keyboard.

While the M1 isn’t as fast as the M2, it’s still fast. In our tests, it handled intensive photo and video editing workloads better than almost all the thin and light Intel-based laptops we’ve tested this year. It was also able to run Shadow of the Tomb Raider at a near-playable frame rate, which is a nice achievement for the integrated graphics.

Battery life is also not as good as that of the M2, but it comes very close. We have 8-10 hours of continuous work.

HP Specter x360 14

The best Windows laptop

It’s hard to find a single complaint about the Specter x360 14. It’s a stunning machine with a solid build and premium appearance.

But the Specter x360 14 isn’t just beautiful to look at – it’s also a joy to use as a daily commute. The latest 11th Gen Intel processors and an integrated Iris Xe graphics card deliver agile performance without the lags or freezes we’ve seen. And we have an average battery life of 10 hours on the device, one of the best results we’ve ever seen.

Outside, the Specter has a large 3: 2 display and if FHD resolution isn’t to your liking, there are OLED and 1000 nit options. There is also a packaged stylus that magnetically attaches to the side of the Specter – useful if you’re using the device as a tablet. Almost every other aspect of this laptop, from the comfortable keyboard and smooth touchpad to the bass-rich audio and convenient port selection, rivals or surpasses the best convertibles on the market.

Such a great feature package doesn’t come cheap, and many customers find everything they need in a cheaper product. All in all, it’s the best Windows laptop you can buy.

Asus ROG Zephyrus G15

The best gaming laptop

But you won’t compromise your performance for this portability. The G15 is powered by the best mobile chips from AMD and Nvidia and combines them with a fast 165Hz QHD display. During our tests, the system was able to handle even the heaviest AAA titles in QHD resolution.

Almost everything else about the G15 is great – the audio sounds great, the keyboard and touchpad are the best on the market, the port selection has almost everything you need, and the battery lasts over eight and a half hours with one single charge. single charge. If you are looking for a powerful gaming machine that also works well as a daily driver, the Zephyrus G15 should be at the top of your list.

Asus Zenbook Pro Duo 14

Best dual screen laptop

Finally, there is a laptop with two screens that we can really recommend that you buy. In the past, the dual-screen form factor was a gimmick, difficult to see and difficult to use. But in the Zenbook Duo 14, Asus rotated the screen significantly higher than before, making it a higher resolution and giving it an anti-glare engraving that made it really useful.

With Asus’ ScreenXpert software, Zenbook Pro Duo users essentially have a small, crisp secondary OLED display with a keyboard. This second screen can also be transformed into a giant touchpad (which is handy because the touchpad that comes with the device is quite small). The device is also equipped with powerful Intel and Nvidia chips and a large 16:10 main display. the front keyboard is not for everyone, this innovative device is the best choice for buyers who want multiple screens together.