The Best Laptops of 2026, According to the Reviews

Update, 28 October 2026. All fifteen scores were re-read on the outlets’ own review pages and none has changed, so no average and no rank moved. The three lists the picks come from were re-read as well: Tom’s Hardware’s (dated 5 October) and PCMag’s (1 October) have not been updated since our 7 October check, and CNET’s, updated 9 October, names the same thirteen picks, still without the Dell XPS 14. Googlebooks have started to get full reviews, but none is a pick on any of the three lists, so none qualifies here.

Update, 7 October 2026. All fifteen scores were re-read on the outlets’ own pages and none has changed, so no average moved. Five things this page said had. CNET’s best-laptops guide, updated 2 October, no longer lists the Dell XPS 14, so it is a pick at two of the three lists rather than all three. We had said the MacBook Air M5 was the top pick overall at two outlets; it is Tom’s Hardware’s, while CNET and PCMag put HP laptops first and list the Air as their best MacBook. We had said the Windows picks lose points on battery life or fan noise, where the XPS 14’s reviewers name price, ports and the keyboard, and PCMag calls its battery life class-leading; and that every reviewer flags the Neo as the least powerful machine here, where Tom’s Hardware’s and PCMag’s cons are its unlit keyboard and ports. Googlebooks, which this page said would arrive in October, are on sale and still unscored here. Corrected throughout.

The top-rated laptops this year, ranked by average review score, are the MacBook Neo at 9.0 out of 10, the MacBook Air M5 at 8.9, the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 14 at 8.8 and the Dell XPS 14 at 8.3. This laptop ranking is an average of published scores from named outlets, not our own testing, and the MacBook Neo is first because all four outlets that reviewed it gave it 4.5 out of 5. The ThinkPad is the only Windows laptop that Tom’s Hardware, CNET and PCMag all list as a pick.

The ranking, at a glance

Laptop	Best for	Outlet average	Outlets	Spread	Runs
MacBook Neo	A budget	9.0 / 10	4	0.0	macOS
MacBook Air M5	Most things, for years	8.9 / 10	5	1.5	macOS
ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 14	Typing and work	8.8 / 10	3	0.5	Windows
Dell XPS 14 (2026)	A thin Windows laptop	8.3 / 10	3	1.0	Windows

Each average is the outlets’ published scores converted to ten and averaged; the spread is the gap between the highest and lowest of them. The top three sit within two tenths of a point of each other, so the ranking matters less than which row describes you. If two of the Macs are your shortlist, how Apple’s MacBook models differ lays out what each step up adds on Apple’s own spec sheets.

What this list is, and is not

We have not opened any of these machines. Everything here is other people’s testing, converted to a common scale and averaged, with every contributing score linked so you can check the arithmetic or disagree with it.

The four earned their place by appearing as picks at Tom’s Hardware, CNET and PCMag at the same time in August. Re-read on 28 October, three still do. The XPS 14 remains Tom’s Hardware’s best Windows laptop and PCMag’s best ultraportable, but CNET’s Dell pick is the budget XPS 13 (2026), which CNET describes as Dell’s answer to the MacBook Neo. Where the XPS 13 and XPS 14 sit among Dell’s other laptop names is in which Dell laptop is which, and the ThinkPad’s place among Lenovo’s six families in Lenovo’s laptop names, sorted.

Requiring three lists at once filters out machines only one outlet rates highly. It also leaves out the first pick at two of the three: CNET’s best overall laptop is the HP OmniBook Ultra 14 and PCMag’s best Windows laptop for most people is the HP OmniBook 5 14, and neither is a pick at all three, so neither is scored here. Where those two sit among HP’s OmniBook tiers is set out in which HP laptop is which. CNET’s list also names an Acer Aspire 16 AI; where Aspire sits beside Swift, Nitro and Predator is in Acer’s laptop names, explained. Three more ranges are sorted the same way: MSI’s gaming and business lines, Framework’s four repairable laptops and Razer’s three Blade sizes.

Where the reviewers disagree

Agreement is not the same as enthusiasm. The MacBook Neo’s flat 9.0 comes from four outlets that all landed on 4.5 out of 5, not from anyone giving it full marks. The MacBook Air’s 8.9 hides a genuine argument — PCMag gave it 4 out of 5 while TechRadar gave it 4.75. PCMag’s reasons are specific: battery life a little down on the M4 model, no change to the outside, and still no OLED option.

Both Windows picks average below both Macs, the ThinkPad by a tenth of a point and the XPS 14 by six to seven tenths. The XPS 14’s two 4-out-of-5 scores are not about stamina: PCMag counts its battery life as class-leading and Tom’s Hardware measured the LCD version at 20 hours 41 minutes. Their marks against it are pricey configurations and USB-C-only ports at PCMag, and a low-travel keyboard and the price at Tom’s Hardware.

Noise is one difference you can read off the reviews. PCMag lists the Air’s quiet, fanless performance as a strength, while Tom’s Hardware notes the XPS 14’s fans took time to ramp up to its chip’s peak. If a fan is the thing that annoys you, what makes a laptop fan loud is worth reading before you choose. Whether you can run what you need on macOS is a question about your software, and no score answers it.

Which one to pick

• If you want the most agreed-about machine, the MacBook Neo has the highest average and no dissent, as long as you can live with what Tom’s Hardware and PCMag mark it down for: an unlit keyboard and few ports.
• If you need one machine for most things over several years, the MacBook Air M5 is Tom’s Hardware’s best laptop overall and the best MacBook for most people at CNET and PCMag. Read PCMag’s review as well as the glowing ones — it is the dissenting voice and it is specific about why.
• If Windows is not negotiable, the ThinkPad X1 Carbon is the one all three lists agree on, as a work or business machine at each, and Tom’s Hardware calls its keyboard class-leading. The XPS 14 is the thinner-and-lighter alternative two of the three lists still name.

Black Friday and new models

Black Friday is 27 November 2026. A discount does not change a review score, but a sale can bring configurations and model years no reviewer tested, so match the name, year and chip to the review before you buy. If a sale tempts you upmarket, spend on the parts you can’t change later.

Some budget Windows laptops ship in S mode, which installs apps from the Microsoft Store only; leaving S mode is free, and Microsoft says it is one-way.

Googlebooks went on sale after these reviews ran: on 7 October Google’s US store listed three priced models with Buy buttons. Full reviews began to appear in October, The Guardian’s on 20 October among them, but on 28 October no Googlebook was a pick on Tom’s Hardware’s, CNET’s or PCMag’s list, so none qualifies here yet. The three priced models differ in screen and ports rather than speed, on Google’s own specifications.

We will revisit this page when new reviews land, and the date at the top will change with it. If we ever buy and test these ourselves, this page becomes a scored list at the same address — the ranking it earns in the meantime stays where it is.

Questions people ask

What is the best laptop this year?

Going by the reviews, the MacBook Neo has the highest average of the four laptops here: 9.0 out of 10, from PCMag, Tom’s Hardware, Tom’s Guide and TechRadar, each at 4.5 out of 5. The MacBook Air M5 is a tenth behind at 8.9 from five outlets. We have not tested either; these are the outlets’ scores.

What are the best new laptops?

The four new laptops here, the MacBook Neo, MacBook Air M5, ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 14 and Dell XPS 14 (2026), were picks at Tom’s Hardware, CNET and PCMag together in August. On 28 October three still are; CNET no longer lists the XPS 14. Googlebooks are newer, but none is a pick on those three lists.

What are the highest rated laptops right now?

Of the four here, the MacBook Neo: four outlets scored it and all four gave 4.5 out of 5, an average of 9.0 with no spread. The MacBook Air M5 is close at 8.9, but its five scores run from PCMag’s 4 out of 5 to TechRadar’s 4.75. All fifteen scores were re-read on 28 October.

What is the best Windows laptop?

On review scores, the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 14, at 8.8 out of 10 from three outlets, and it is the only Windows laptop all of Tom’s Hardware, CNET and PCMag list as a pick. Tom’s Hardware names the Dell XPS 14 its best Windows laptop; it averages 8.3.

How is this laptop ranking made?

By the average of published review scores. Each outlet’s score is converted to a ten-point scale and averaged, with at least three outlets per laptop, and every contributing score is linked on the page. We have not tested these machines and give no score of our own.

Should I wait for Black Friday to buy a laptop?

We do not predict prices. Black Friday is 27 November 2026. A discount does not change a review score, but a sale can bring configurations no reviewer tested, so check that the model name, year and chip match the review before you buy.

Is a Googlebook one of the best laptops?

Not on this list yet. Google’s US store sells Googlebooks and full reviews began to appear in October, but on 28 October no Googlebook was a pick on Tom’s Hardware’s, CNET’s or PCMag’s list, and a pick here has to be on all three, with scores from at least three outlets.