Which laptop you should buy right now?
Originally published at Gadget Flow on June 09, 2018.
- How much should I spend on a laptop? That kind of depends on what you need, but the best laptops are mostly $750 and above.
- What laptop specs do I need? Make sure your choice has at least 4GB RAM and a 7th or 8th generation Intel processor.
- What is the best laptop in 2018? We think the 15-inch MacBook Pro is the best laptop right now.
Shopping for laptops can be a pretty bewildering experience. They all look similar, but every big brand seems to offer something different. Throw in your particular computing needs, and you end up with a very complex formula for finding the best option.
But never fear, the Gadget Flow team is here. We’ve done the math, poured over the specs and cut through the BS to bring you the very best laptops that money can buy.
What is the best laptop under $750?
With its portable design, solid-state drive and touchscreen display, the Acer Spin 5 ($730) is a great budget Windows laptop. It comes with an Intel i5 processor and 8GB memory, providing impressive performance.
If you need a bit more graphical grunt — for design or games, for instance — the Acer Aspire A3 ($700) is a good alternative. It’s bulkier, but it has a Nvidia GeForce 940MX graphics card.
Of course, Windows isn’t the only option. The Samsung Chromebook Pro ($600) lets you browse the web at lightning speed and run Android apps on a stunning 2,400 x 1,600 touchscreen display.
What’s the best laptop under $1000?
The competition is fierce among mid-range laptops. Overall, the Lenovo Yoga 720 ($990) wins our vote. This beautiful machine offers premium build quality at an affordable price, with a powerful 8th generation Intel processor under the hood.
The Lenovo’s only real weak point is battery life. If you need better portability, consider the Dell XPS 13 ($999) instead. This thing is super light and thin, with excellent battery life. It’s not as fast as the Lenovo or the similarly priced Acer Swift 3, but the design is excellent.
What about the MacBook Air? We wouldn’t recommend it. It has a much older, slower Intel processor.
What’s the best laptop under $1500
In this price bracket, there’s a bit more room for choosing the laptop model for your particular needs.
Probably the best overall laptop for this money is the 13-inch HP Spectre X360. While the base model is available for under $1000, you can grab an Intel i7 processor, 16GB RAM and a 4K IPS display for under $1300.
You could also get an upgraded Dell XPS 13 in this price bracket, or pick up a nice 13-inch Apple MacBook Pro, minus the Touch Bar. Both laptops offer good performance in a compact package.
That said, if you’re going to buy Apple, you might as well get the best.
Which laptop is the best overall?
Our favorite laptop in 2018 is the 15-inch Apple MacBook Pro ($2,399). It’s a beautiful beast fitted with a Kaby Lake i7 processor, 16GB RAM, Radeon Pro 555 graphics, and a bright 2880 x 1800 display. Somehow, all of this fits inside a brushed aluminum casing that measures just 1.55 cm thick. Even if you prefer running Windows or Linux, this powerhouse is your best option, period.
Have you recently bought a laptop? Leave us your own mini review in the comments!
