The best battery-life laptops of 2026: There's a clear winner

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What's the best laptop for battery life? It's a question I encounter often when doling out laptop recommendations, and understandably so: Battery life is one of the most crucial factors to consider when choosing a new computer. A machine that dies after only a few hours unplugged has limited portability, and it puts you at risk of data loss in the case of sudden shutdowns.

When testing the best laptops, Mashable reporters always perform a battery-rundown test. Some people might be shocked to learn that the best battery-life laptop I've reviewed isn't an Apple MacBook. (They're renowned for their all-day stamina.) But if you're familiar with the Qualcomm processors powering the newer Windows laptops, then my top pick should come as less of a surprise.

Which laptop lasts the longest?

Out of all the models I've tested as Mashable's resident laptop expert, the 2025 HP OmniBook 5 14 with the Snapdragon X Plus chip is the clear battery life champ. It lasted an incredible 32 hours and 31 minutes before dying. To put it lightly, that's stupid good. None of the other models we've tested has lasted longer than 25 hours in our standard battery-life benchmark, a video rundown test.

That makes the OmniBook 5 14 an extreme outlier, and in the best-possible way. It's the clearest example so far of the overachieving abilities of the Snapdragon X series chips, Qualcomm's last-gen ARM-based processors for thin and light laptops. In our testing, x86-based Intel and AMD chips with comparable multitasking performance typically die hours before them.

I expect newer Qualcomm-powered laptops that launch in the coming months to have similarly stellar battery lives, but they'll probably — hopefully — have more competition.

Let's crunch some numbers

To find the laptops with the best battery life, we had to do a lot of testing.

In 2024 and 2025, we tested seven Windows laptops with Snapdragon X series chips, six with comparable Intel V-class Lunar Lake processors, and six with AMD's equivalent Ryzen AI 300 series chips. (All of them were ultraportables for consumers, not business users.) The Snapdragon models had a median battery life of 19 hours and 55 minutes, lasting no fewer than 16 hours. The Intel ones had a 14-hour, 16-minute median and a 10-hour minimum. Lastly, the AMD models had a 12-hour, 19-minute median and a baseline of about seven hours.

This not only means that Snapdragon computers are the best Windows laptops for battery life, but they're also the only ones that can keep pace with MacBooks. Apple's 2024 and 2025 models with M3, M4, M4 Pro, and M5 chips had a 19-hour, 56-minute average and a 16-hour, 32-minute minimum. I'll add one asterisk here, which is that the latest MacBooks are much faster than the Snapdragon-fueled Windows laptops you can currently buy. Their overall power efficiency is unmatched.

Here's a closer look at our top 10 longest-lasting consumer laptops from recent years. Note what kinds of chips they have:

1. HP OmniBook 5 14 (Snapdragon X Plus) — 32 hours and 31 minutes

2. Lenovo Yoga 9i 2-in-1 Aura Edition (Intel Core Ultra 7 258V) — 23 hours and 34 minutes

3. Microsoft Surface Laptop 7, 13.8-inch (Snapdragon X Elite) — 22 hours and 50 minutes

4. Asus Zenbook A14 (Snapdragon X Plus) — 21 hours and 47 minutes

5. Apple MacBook Pro, 14-inch (M5) — 21 hours and 17 minutes

6. Dell 14 Plus 2-in-1 (AMD Ryzen AI 7 350) — 20 hours and 52 minutes

7. Apple MacBook Pro, 16-inch (M4 Pro) — 20 hours and 51 minutes

8. Apple MacBook Air, 15-inch (M4) — 19 hours and 56 minutes

9. Lenovo Yoga Slim 7x (Snapdragon X Elite) — 19 hours and 55 minutes

10. Apple MacBook Air, 15-inch (M3) — 19 hours and 4 minutes

It's still too early to tell if x86-based Windows laptops will be able to play catch-up in 2026, but I'm optimistic that we'll see more models eclipsing the 24-hour mark. Intel has rated its new Core Ultra Series 3 ("Panther Lake") chips at up to 27 hours of battery life, while AMD is claiming that its new Ryzen AI 400 series processors have "multi-day battery life."

I've only tested one next-gen laptop so far, the MSI Prestige 14 Flip AI+, which is a hybrid business laptop with a high-end Core Ultra X7 358H chip. It made a great first impression with more than 24 hours of battery life and awesome multitasking performance, notching a Geekbench 6 multi-core score of 16,257. (It's only seven percent slower than the M5 MacBook Pro.) Previous-gen Windows laptops with Intel's H-class Arrow Lake chips for premium portable workstations were similarly strong performers, but they never lasted more than 14 hours per charge.

For its part, Qualcomm is also running with a "multi-day battery life" line for its upcoming Snapdragon X2 series chips. That's in addition to the significant performance gains it's promising. According to a pair of company press releases, the new X2 Plus and X2 Elite will be 35 and 31 percent faster than their predecessors, respectively, while using up to 43 percent less power.

But the one to watch in particular will be the X2 Elite Extreme chip, Qualcomm's all-new, top-tier processor. (It'll make its first appearance in the Asus Zenbook A16, which is coming soon.) The company claims it offers up to 75 percent faster CPU performance than other laptops using the same amount of power, and it might actually live up to the hype. Early benchmarks suggest its multi-core performance blows past that of Intel's best Panther Lake chip, the Core Ultra X9 388H, as well as the Apple M5 chip.

If the X2 Elite Extreme chip can manage that and last several workdays before dying, it's going to be a game-changer.

What else I like about the HP OmniBook 5 14

Back to the OmniBook 5 14. Beyond its exceptional battery life, I think most users will find that it's an excellent value for the money. The review unit that HP sent me is an HP.com exclusive that costs $1,269.99 and includes 32GB of memory with a terabyte of SSD storage. (It's healthily future-proofed amid our ongoing RAM shortage.) If you can get by with less, other configurations were priced as low as $779.99 at Amazon and Best Buy, which is a really good deal.

The model I tried was decently peppy in multitasking scenarios, earning a multi-core score of 11,265 in our Geekbench 6 CPU benchmark. That puts it in the same range as x86 Windows laptops with Intel Core Ultra 7 256V and AMD Ryzen AI 7 350 processors that cost anywhere form $950 to $1,750. Looking broader, it's only six percent slower than an M3 MacBook Pro and just five percent slower than the Microsoft Surface Laptop 7, our best Windows laptop for most people.

The OmniBook 5 14's Glacier Silver design is boring — if you see one plain gray laptop, you've seen 'em all — but it feels well-made for the most part. It has a durable plastic keyboard case and a matching aluminum exterior that doesn't cling to fingerprints too badly. It sports a pretty 14-inch OLED display with vivid colors and thin side bezels. Its snappy backlit keyboard has a super comfy island-style layout. Its speakers, mic, and 1080p webcam are all adequate.

If you're looking for a portable Windows laptop, this one cuts the mustard. It's lightweight at 2.84 pounds and sleek at 0.5 inches thin. It's just a touch bigger than a 13-inch MacBook Air.

What I don't like about the HP OmniBook 5 14

The OmniBook 5 14's touchpad is easily the worst thing about it. It has a pleasantly smooth, almost papery feel, but it makes an odd rattling sound every time I tap on it. It's almost like there's too much space between the surface of the touchpad and its internal mechanism. (A couple of customer reviews on Amazon and BestBuy.com mention the exact same thing, so I don't think my loaner is faulty.) Use a mouse with this one.

I also wish the OmniBook 5 14 display was a little brighter. It's only rated at 300 nits of brightness, so it's a bit difficult to see its picture in sunnier environments. (I always used it at max brightness, which drains the battery faster.) I'll also note that it has a basic 60Hz refresh rate, but that's a pretty common spec at this price point.

Look for an updated model later this year

At the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) this past January, HP announced an updated version of the OmniBook 5 14 with a Snapdragon X2 Plus processor. The company hasn't confirmed its pricing or availability yet.

For now, various configurations of the current model are available for purchase at Amazon, Best Buy, and on HP's website. If you're looking for an affordable and portable mid-range laptop with a marathoner's stamina, I can vouch for it.