The best laptops of the year: A fight between Apple, Asus, and MSI

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Here at Mashable, we're always looking for the best laptops, and we score every laptop we review on the basis of performance, battery life, design/build quality, and value. This year, the latter criterion has become more important than ever.

The laptop world is facing an unprecedented challenge in 2026: a global RAM shortage known as "RAMageddon." The shortage has caused most PC makers to raise the prices of their laptops by anywhere from $50 to $680, putting a damper on many otherwise exciting releases. Devices that could have been smart buys or splurge-worthy investments no longer feel worth it. If you were planning on retiring an older laptop soon, you might have to hold onto it until eventual clearance sales make an upgrade feasible — or take advantage of Prime Day laptop deals.

But it's not all doom and gloom. Out of the nearly 20 laptops we've tested so far this year, including two MacBooks and 17 Windows PCs, four models have emerged as RAMageddon resisters, so to speak. They stand out as the best laptops of 2026 (so far) because of their especially strong value propositions: Not only are they great devices, but they're great devices that are priced fairly for all they offer.

Read on to find out which laptops made the list. I've also thrown in a pair of honorable mentions that deserve recognition for their record-breaking battery lives.

1. Apple MacBook Neo: The budget bombshell

Apple's first budget laptop arrived this March in the form of the $599 MacBook Neo, and it's nothing short of a game-changer. Whereas most cheap Windows laptops and Chromebooks have clunky plastic builds, the Neo has the same premium, all-aluminum design as any other MacBook — complete with a Liquid Retina display, Dolby Atmos speakers, and a snappy Magic Keyboard. It comes in a bunch of fun colors to boot.

The Neo is the first MacBook to run on an iPhone chip (specifically the A18 Pro), and it's a formidable performer for the money. It's faster than most Windows laptops in simple single-core workloads like web browsing, and in our testing, it was able to handle some basic video edits in Final Cut Pro. It doesn't last as long as other MacBooks, but its 15-hour battery life is excellent for its sub-$1,000 price point.

I still consider the MacBook Air to be the best MacBook for most people, but among budget laptops, the Neo is the leading choice. It has almost no competition — for now. PC makers like Dell and Acer announced MacBook Neo alternatives this spring, putting us on the cusp of a new era of cheap but premium-feeling laptops. Exciting! (And blessedly, they're at the least risk of RAM-related price hikes because they only have 8GB of memory.)

2. Apple MacBook Air (M5): The mid-range gold standard

Apple's thin-and-light notebook got a faster M5 chip, newer wireless technology, and more starting storage this spring. While those updates don't make for an especially exciting gen-over-gen refresh, they've made the MacBook Air faster, more future-proofed, and a better value than ever.

I'd love an OLED screen the next time Apple revisits the MacBook Air, but it's not like this thing really needs a design overhaul. What other laptop gets you a haptic touchpad, industry-leading speakers, a 2.5K display, a genuinely good webcam, and a slender fanless design for just over $1,000 (but usually less, since it's almost always on sale)? Let me know when you find out. Until then, this is the laptop I find myself comparing to virtually every other model that comes across my desk.

Sadly, the MacBook Air is at risk of a price increase, so I'd scoop it up sooner rather than later if you've been thinking about buying it.

3. Asus Zenbook A16: The featherweight big-screened speedster

The all-new Asus Zenbook A16 zoomed to the top of our performance rankings when I tested it this spring. Powered by Qualcomm's screaming Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme chip, it's one of the only PCs that can match or beat M5 MacBooks in both single- and multi-core scenarios. I've tried some other Windows laptops that can compete on the multi-core front, but they're all gaming models that cost upwards of $3,000. Meanwhile, the Zenbook A16 goes for $1,699.99. Pshhh.

I certainly wouldn't call it a cheap laptop, but it's very reasonably priced when you consider the rest of its spec sheet. Highlights include an ultra-bright 2.8K OLED touchscreen with a 120Hz refresh rate; a nice mix of ports, including an SD card slot; and a metric boatload of RAM — 48 whole gigabytes. (In this economy!) Moreover, the Zenbook A16 is the lightest 16-inch laptop we've ever tested at just 2.87 pounds. It's barely heavier than a MacBook Neo or a 13-inch MacBook Air, but it still feels rigid and sturdy. It's a lean, mean, ultra-competitive machine.

Asus also updated the 14-inch Zenbook A14 with a Snapdragon X2 Elite chip for 2026, and it's another great buy at $1,349.99. (Go for that one if you're prioritizing portability and battery life: It lasted over 27 hours in our video rundown test.) Both Zenbooks were originally supposed to be even cheaper, so I'm thinking — hoping — they'll be immune to any more price adjustments this year.

4. MSI Prestige 14 Flip AI+: The too-good-to-be-true convertible

The redesigned MSI Prestige 14 Flip AI+ was the very first laptop I tested this year, and it was an immediate "best of 2026" frontrunner. Its Intel Core Ultra Series 3 ("Panther Lake") chip offered MacBook-level multi-core performance. It had an integrated GPU that could run AAA games at low settings with the help of some AI-powered upscaling technology. It lasted 25.5 hours per charge. It had a pretty OLED screen, and its speakers, mic, and keyboard were all adequate. Plus, it came with 32GB of RAM, a terabyte of storage, and a garaged stylus — all for just $1,299.99. (For reference, a 13-inch MacBook Air with 32GB of RAM costs $1,499.)

Alas, nothing gold can stay: Devastatingly, MSI has already discontinued the Prestige 14 Flip AI+. However, you'll soon be able to buy two limited-edition variants with designs inspired by van Gogh paintings. They'll probably be more expensive than the original vanilla model, though MSI hasn't shared any pricing or availability info yet.

Honorable mentions: Some new battery life champs

Two of the laptops we've tested since January have set new records for battery life. One is the HP OmniBook 3 16, which was able to loop a video for 40 hours and 14 minutes before dying. That is, in a word, nuts. It's officially the longest-lasting laptop we've ever tried in our 10-plus years of reviewing them, beating the previous winner (another HP OmniBook) by nearly eight hours.

If you're looking for a gaming laptop with impressive stamina — not something that category is known for! — then the 2026 MSI Stealth 16 AI+ is an overachiever. It lasted 11 hours and 38 minutes on a single charge, surpassing its predecessor, the prior titleholder, by over half an hour. For reference, our current median for gaming PCs is only four measly hours.