The best laptops for 2025: Tested for performance, battery life,...

The 9 best laptops we've tested (June 2025)

Overview

Choosing the best laptop is a largely subjective decision that comes down to your primary use cases, your preferred operating system, and your budget. In other words, there's no such thing as a universally best laptop.

This is an annoying fact of life for both laptop shoppers and those of us doling out "best laptop" recommendations, since we can't make custom judgment calls for everyone in need of a new machine. (I would love to, but I've got a thing after this.) However, I can confidently point you in the right direction of some standouts that I and other members of the Mashable team have vetted and approved.

Best laptops to buy 2025

As of June 2025, we think the new 15-inch Apple MacBook Air (M4) is the best MacBook for most people. It's a sleek-as-ever notebook featuring impressive performance, open-lid support for two external displays, a great 12MP Center Stage camera, and an extremely reasonable starting price of $1,199 (making it $100 cheaper than its M3 predecessor). What's more, Amazon can't stop putting it on sale. We saw it dip under $1,000 for the first time on June 3.

The best Windows laptop we've tested is the 13.8-inch Microsoft Surface Laptop 7, a sophisticated and snappy Copilot+ PC boasting an unrivaled battery life of nearly 23 hours. Note that Microsoft makes an Intel version that may appeal to users wary of Windows on ARM for app compatibility reasons, but it's a business-oriented model with a significant markup.

Read on for Mashable's in-depth guide to the best laptops of 2025. FYI: We've listed the pricing and specs of our testing units, which may not apply to each laptop's base model

the 15-inch m4 apple macbook air on a desk against a blue speckled wall

The Good & The Bad

Very competitively priced
M4 chip is incredibly powerful
Super quiet
Supports two external displays with its lid open
Nice new 12MP Center Stage camera
Same premium design as always
Also available in 13-inch size

Can get hot under heavy workloads
New Sky Blue finish is a little too subtle
Still stuck at 60Hz refresh rate

Our review

Read Mashable's full review of the 15-inch Apple MacBook Air (M4).

Who it's for

Apple didn't reinvent the wheel in its latest 15-inch MacBook Air, but a blazing-fast processor, a few fresh features, and a new lower price make it one of the best current-generation laptop deals — if not the best. It's a fantastic pick for students, professionals, and anyone else in need of a polished, relatively portable laptop, especially those ready to give up an Intel or M1-era MacBook. (It officially feels like a big-enough jump to justify an upgrade.) MacBook Pros are nice, but they're overkill for non-specialty users, realistically.

Why we picked this

Same tried-and-true formula, new fixings. Let's start under its hood: Apple has refreshed its 2025 MacBook Air with an M4 processor, which notched a Geekbench 6 multi-core performance score of 14,992 in our testing. It's 24 percent faster than the M3 version and one of the speediest laptops in our testing database (after the high-octane M4 MacBook Pros and two Windows gaming laptops); Mashable Senior Editor Stan Schroeder called it "almost overkill" in his review. All that power means it does get a little hot when you work it hard, but does stay whisper-quiet, at least.

Less exciting but still notable are the MacBook Air's new open-lid support of two 6K external displays and upgraded 12MP camera, which now has Apple's auto-framing Center Stage and top-down Desk View feature. It also comes in a new sky blue finish, which I've seen aptly described as "like looking at a gray MacBook and someone shouting 'blue' from a hundred yards away"... which is to say, it's subtle. Schroeder requested "real colors" from Apple the next time it revisits the MacBook Air. (A smoother 120Hz display would also be nice if we're making a wish list — we've wanted a refresh rate bump for the Air since the M2 era.)

The real game-changer here is the M4 MacBook Air's price. Our review unit with 1TB of storage costs $1,599, but the base model with 256GB of storage is only $1,099. You might recall that the 15-inch M3 MacBook Air started at $1,299. "Apple doesn't do this often, so enjoy it while you can," Schroeder wrote. It's a genuinely shocking move for any laptop manufacturer at a time when price hikes are way more common, and it's one of the big reasons why the MacBook Air has reclaimed its Mashable Choice Award-winner status.

Note that the M4 MacBook Air also comes in an even cheaper 13-inch size with a slightly lower resolution and two fewer speakers (four instead of six, sans force-cancelling woofers).

Details

the microsoft surface laptop 7 against a beige background

The Good & The Bad

Amazing, virtually unrivaled performance
Industry-leading battery life
Elegant, well-made design
Fun AI features

Some users might have app compatibility issues

Our review

Read Mashable's full review of the 13.8-inch Microsoft Surface Laptop 7.

Who it's for

The Mashable Choice Award-winning Microsoft Surface Laptop 7th Edition is an exceptional all-rounder — the ideal blend of performance, power efficiency, build quality, innovation, and overall value. We recommend it for nearly any Windows user who's due for an upgrade; the only reason you should pass on it is if your go-to apps aren't compatible with Windows on ARM. (An Intel-powered business edition is available, but it'll cost you: The base model is $300 more expensive than the starter Snapdragon version.)

Why we picked this

Microsoft's Qualcomm-powered flagship laptop stunts on almost every other Windows PC we've gotten our hands on in recent years. Our 13.8-inch Snapdragon X Elite testing unit went nearly 23 hours per charge, making it the longest-lasting laptop we've ever tried. It also nabbed one of the highest Geekbench scores in our database when in "Best Performance" mode, zooming past every other Windows machine besides the $2,299 Acer Predator Helios 16 and the $4,485 Lenovo Legion 9i. (The M4 MacBooks also have it beat.) If all that feels like overkill, or its $1,999.99 price tag gives you sticker shock, know that it starts at $1,199.99 with lesser specs.

Design-wise, the Surface Laptop 7 has a modern aluminum chassis that comes in four colorways and doesn't cling to fingerprints. Its bright display can hit a refresh rate of up to 120Hz, and its snappy keyboard is paired with a haptic touchpad. You can take your pick from two sizes, too: 13.8- or 15-inch, the latter of which includes a microSD card reader.

As a Copilot+ PC, the Surface Laptop 7 has a Neural Processing Unit (NPU) to support a suite of AI features, including Cocreator, a generative art tool in Microsoft Paint, Live Captions, and Windows Studio Effects that can blur backgrounds and improve lighting on video calls. (There's also the sketchy history-saving Recall feature, which you'll have to personally enable. Maybe don't.) You shouldn't buy this laptop for these tools alone, but former Mashable Tech Editor Kim Gedeon found them to be "attention-stealing" fun when she tried them.

The Surface Laptop 7's Snapdragon CPU is both a blessing and a curse: As an ARM chip, as opposed to an x86 chip from Intel, it's not going to be compatible with certain apps and programs. This might be a problem for students, as some Reddit users have pointed out. (Google Drive support was finally added in December 2024, FWIW.) But if it's a non-issue for you, personally, move this machine to the top of your list.

Details

the Lenovo Yoga 7i 14 (Gen 9) on a conference table

The Good & The Bad

Cool, peppy performance
Great keyboard
Good port selection
Decent battery life

Hinges should be stronger
Muted and dim display
Finicky trackpad
Doesn't include a stylus

Our review

Read Mashable's full review of the Lenovo Yoga 7i 14 (Gen 9).

Who it's for

Prioritizing everyday power over premium design details to come in under $1,000, the Lenovo Yoga 7i 14 (Gen 9) is a practical pick for students and other budget-minded buyers — and in this economy, a happy medium for those who can't swing both a laptop and a tablet.

Why we picked this

The Yoga 7i 14 is a pared-down version of our favorite 2-in-1 laptop (Lenovo's Yoga 9i 14) that still hits most of the right marks for a little over half the price. In our testing, the base configuration with an Intel Core Ultra 5 125U processor was able to handle a few dozen tabs without breaking a sweat — it runs cool and quiet — and it lasted well over a full eight-hour workday in our battery life benchmark. Its roomy keyboard has adjustable backlighting, and it comes with an ample selection of ports... which happen to be sequestered to one side of its base, but still. And while its speakers aren't anything special, they do sound "better than average," wrote Mashable contributor and reviewer Sarah Chaney. (That's saying something, honestly: I've tried $1,900 laptops that sound like garbage.)

Of course, opting not to splurge on a nicer, pricier laptop will always mean settling in some ways. The Yoga 7i's rap sheet includes a sub-par webcam, a dim display, a loud and fussy trackpad, and a somewhat weak hinge — its lid tends to tip back if it's not on a hard surface. As with any cheap laptop, users will have to decide if those shortcomings are worth the sake of savings. For her part, Chaney thought the Yoga 7 14 was "a great deal" at its full sticker price, all things considered, but a "fantastic deal" if you can catch it on sale for even less. In the past few weeks, we've seen it dip down to just $549.99 at Best Buy.

Details

the alienware m16 r2 against a reddish-orange background

The Good & The Bad

Nice performance for the price
Great variety of ports
Satisfying keyboard
MUX switch, Nvidia Advanced Optimus let you swap between GPUs for different tasks
Handsome look with optional RGB lighting

Tinny audio
Lame webcam
Poor battery life
Display could be brighter

Our review

Read Mashable's full review of the Alienware M16 R2.

Who it's for

Dell's latest Alienware m16 R2 is a competent, fairly priced Triple-A machine for those who usually wear headphones while gaming and rarely play on the go. Maybe you need a new every day (non-gaming) laptop, too — know that it's also easily tone-down-able.

Why we picked this

The m16 R2 might best be described as the Clark Kent of gaming laptops. Its 2024 redesign brings a smaller footprint (sans thermal shelf) and a "Stealth Mode" hotkey that ditches its RGB lighting, so it can be as subtle or showy as you'd like. It also includes an MUX switch that lets users switch between its integrated and dedicated GPUs for different tasks. (Nvidia's Advanced Optimus feature can do this automatically, too.) It's basically designed to lead a double life as an everyday workhorse and gaming champ.

Going deeper into the gaming front, our review unit "[output] impressive performance numbers on demanding games" for its mid-range specs, Gedeon said. (It packed an Intel Core Ultra 7 155H CPU and an RTX 4070 GPU.) While its 240Hz display felt a tad bit dim to her, it was otherwise smooth and punchy: "I was impressed with the contrast and vivid colors" while playing CyberPunk 2077 on it, she wrote. Its springy keyboard and responsive touchpad also got her seal of approval.

Some of the bigger bummers about the m16 R2 are its tinny speakers, shoddy webcam, and lousy battery life; it only lasted 51 minutes in our video rundown test. It also weighs in at a hefty 5.75 pounds, so forget about taking it on the go — whether you use it for work or play, it'll shackle you to an outlet. Yet none of these were dealbreakers in the eyes of Gedeon, who ultimately deemed the m16 R2 "the ultimate RTX 4070 beast of a gaming laptop you can get." It's a Mashable Choice Award winner.

Details

the hp chromebook plus 15.6-inch on a wooden surface

The Good & The Bad

Large and colorful anti-glare display
Stylish metallic finish
Runs cool and quiet
Useful 'Plus' software features
Numeric keypad

Easily scratched
Touchpad and keyboard take some getting used to
Unimpressive webcam
Muffled speakers
Poor battery life

Our review

Read Mashable's full review of the HP Chromebook Plus 15.6-inch.

Who it's for

HP's Chromebook Plus 15.6-inch is a low-cost, large-screened laptop for those who work in the Google productivity ecosystem and watch a lot of YouTube in their free time. If you like numpads, all the better.

Why we picked this

This HP Chromebook Plus is helmed by a huge, vibrant display that blew me away when I reviewed it: "The colors are intense, with good contrast and rich blacks, and an anti-reflective panel preserves that quality at most viewing angles," to quote my write-up. I loved using it for movie-watching and light gaming (via Xbox Game Pass). On the clock, it was fast enough to handle my daily workflow, which involves a lot of Gmailing and Google Meeting, though its battery life disappointingly drained before the end of my eight-hour shift. I also found it hard to listen to anything playing on it while naked-eared: Its speakers stink.

As a Chromebook Plus, this puppy comes with some interesting software extras like File Sync, AI-powered webcam settings, and support for some multimedia tools (including Google Magic Eraser and Adobe Express). None of them felt revolutionary in my testing, but they're decent value-adds for such a cheap machine.

As of Oct. 2024, the Chromebook Plus 15.6-inch also now has Google's Help me write and Help me read tools, a Live Translate feature, generative AI wallpaper and video call backgrounds, a Recorder app, and Gemini access within its app shelf. I haven't tested these yet.