# The best laptops to buy right now

> A decade of testing reveals which laptops deliver real value across every budget and use case.
- Title: The best laptops to buy right now · WIRED | Shortify
- Summary: A decade of testing reveals which laptops deliver real value across every budget and use case. After testing hundreds of laptops over more than a decade, a…
- Keywords: laptop reviews, macbook air, dell xps 13, hp omnibook, lenovo ideapad, budget laptops, gaming laptops, windows laptops, chromebooks, laptop buying guide, best, laptops
- Source: WIRED — https://wired.com/story/best-laptops
- Author: Luke Larsen
- Published: 2026-03-23T11:30:00+00:00
- Read time: 4 min
- Topics: laptop reviews, macbook air, dell xps 13, hp omnibook, lenovo ideapad, budget laptops, gaming laptops, windows laptops, chromebooks, laptop buying guide
## A decade of laptop testing
The reviewer has tested more than thirty laptops per year for over a decade, identifying which models deliver real value and which to avoid despite attractive marketing or discounts.
## MacBook Air remains the top pick
The MacBook Air with M five chip costs one thousand two hundred ninety-nine dollars after a two hundred dollar price increase from one thousand ninety-nine dollars, but remains the best overall laptop for most people.

> Everything from the trackpad to the speakers is of the highest quality, and it delivers all the performance and battery life the average person needs.
## M five GPU matches Pro performance
The MacBook Air's M five chip includes a GPU that matches the M three Pro MacBook Pro, handling gaming and video editing despite not being designed for those tasks.
## Dell XPS thirteen offers value
The Dell XPS thirteen costs eight hundred dollars for the eight gigabyte model and one thousand dollars for the sixteen gigabyte version, delivering excellent build quality and a sharp one hundred twenty hertz display.
## HP OmniBook Ultra fourteen shines
The HP OmniBook Ultra fourteen features a Snapdragon X two Elite processor, thirty two gigabytes of RAM, and a two thousand eight hundred eighty by one thousand eight hundred OLED display with near-perfect colors and astounding HDR performance.
## Lenovo IdeaPad Slim five x alternative
The Lenovo IdeaPad Slim five x costs one thousand dollars on sale at Amazon with a two thousand five hundred sixty by one thousand six hundred OLED display and one hundred sixty five hertz refresh rate, offering more ports than the MacBook Air.
## HP OmniBook five best budget pick
The HP OmniBook five with Snapdragon X processor, sixteen gigabytes of RAM, and fourteen inch OLED screen frequently sells for under seven hundred dollars, offering the best affordable laptop available.
## MacBook Neo entry-level option
The MacBook Neo costs six hundred ninety-nine dollars after a price increase from five hundred ninety-nine dollars, offering the best screen at this price point with premium build quality and keyboard.
## Acer Chromebook Plus Spin five fourteen
The Acer Chromebook Plus Spin five hundred fourteen uses MediaTek Kompanio Ultra processor, features a two in one design with touchscreen and three hundred sixty degree hinge, and drops to five hundred forty-nine dollars from retail price of seven hundred forty-nine dollars.
## MacBook Pro M five Max for creators
The sixteen inch M five Max MacBook Pro costs four thousand three hundred ninety-nine dollars and combines immense power with surprising portability and fantastic battery life for content creators and engineers.
## Dell XPS fourteen Windows alternative
The Dell XPS fourteen costs two thousand two hundred fifty dollars with Core Ultra seven or two thousand seven hundred fifty dollars with Core Ultra X seven, ditching discrete GPU for Intel's new X seven chip with Intel Arc graphics.
## Lenovo LOQ fifteen gaming choice
The Lenovo LOQ fifteen costs one thousand three hundred dollars at Walmart with RTX five thousand sixty graphics and bright colorful screen, remaining the best gaming laptop for the money despite price increases.
## Razer Blade premium gaming laptops
The Razer Blade fourteen and Razer Blade sixteen are portable, minimalist, and extremely well-made gaming laptops that work equally well for school or work without the bulk of traditional gaming laptops.
## Framework Laptop thirteen Pro repairability
The Framework Laptop thirteen Pro costs one thousand five hundred ninety-nine dollars and features nearly every internal component easily swappable by the user, including the CPU, with aluminum chassis and brighter display.
## Laptops to avoid in twenty twenty-six
The Dell fourteen S is too expensive right now, the Lenovo LOQ fifteen Essential uses a twenty twenty-three CPU and costs too much, and the Acer Swift sixteen AI has an oversized trackpad that is very difficult to use.
## Average laptop spending is seven hundred fifty dollars
The average amount people spend on laptops is around seven hundred fifty dollars, landing in the midrange between budget machines under seven hundred dollars and premium devices over one thousand dollars.
## Sixteen gigabytes RAM now standard
Sixteen gigabytes of RAM has become the new standard even in affordable laptops, with upgrading to thirty two gigabytes recommended for gamers and video editors who never want to worry about running out of memory.
## Snapdragon X two challenges Intel
Qualcomm's Snapdragon X two chips were announced in late twenty twenty-five and will launch in devices in twenty twenty-six, seriously challenging Intel with ARM architecture offering some of the best battery life on Windows machines.
## Testing methodology ensures recommendations
The reviewer and WIRED contributor Chris Null, who has tested laptops for twenty five years, evaluate each device through hands-on use, display testing with Spyder colorimeter, and more than twenty synthetic benchmarks before assigning ratings.
## Key takeaway

After testing hundreds of laptops over more than a decade, a reviewer recommends specific models across budget tiers, from the MacBook Air at one thousand two hundred ninety-nine dollars to gaming laptops like the Lenovo LOQ fifteen at one thousand three hundred dollars.