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Windows is the most widely used operating system, so it isn't surprising that tons of Windows laptops are on the market. You can findultraportables for general productivity, 2-in-1 convertibles, tablet PCs, gaming laptops, as well aspowerful workstations that can replace your desktop PC. There are also many brands, with each company releasing new laptops yearly, making the buying decision even harder. We've compiled a list of ourtop picks to help guide you, and hopefully, you can find something that suits your needs. To reduce complexity, this article only contains productivity laptops;wehave a separate articlefor the best gaming laptops.
We've tested over 120 laptops, and below, you'll find our recommendations for the best laptops with Windows you can get. You can also check out our picks for the best lightweight laptops, the best 15-16-inch laptops, and the best budget and cheap gaming laptops.
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Best Windows Laptop
HP Spectre x360 14 (2024) 6
Current Deal: The HP Spectre x360 14 (2024) has dropped in price by $500 at BestBuy.com.
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Build Quality
9.5
Brightness
7.8
Typing Quality
8.0
Touchpad
8.8
Webcam & Microphone
9.1
Battery Life (Web Browsing)
11.0 hrsSee all our test results
The best Windows laptop we've tested overall is the HP Spectre x360 14 (2024), a premium2-in-1 laptop.This laptop is a great choice for most people as it'slightweight, remarkablywell-built, and offers good performance forlight productivity tasks like text processing, spreadsheets, web browsing, and video playback.It's configured withIntel's new Core Ultra CPUs andfeaturesasharp 2.8k OLED display, a spacious keyboard, and an easy-to-use haptic touchpad. The display supports pen inputusing Microsoft Pen Protocol technology, although not every model includes a stylus. You geta decent port selection with one USB-A Port andtwo USB-Cs that supportThunderbolt 4, power delivery, and more. Thebattery lasts around eleven hours for light use, soyou can make it through the day on a single charge.Unfortunately, this laptop uses soldered RAM, soget enough for your needs upfront.
Another option to consider is the Framework Laptop 13 (2023), a modular laptop designed to be easily repairable and upgradeable. You can buy every component in this 13-inch ultraportablefrom Framework, and they even provide manuals to guide you through the replacement process. It has a bright 3:2 display, a good 1080p webcam, and a modular port system that lets you swap out the ports to adapt to any situation. The keyboard feels tactile but requires a fair amount of force to actuate the keys, causing fatigue, and the touchpad isn'tas responsive as the HP's. Also, depending on where you live, it may be hard to get this laptop because it's only available on Framework's website.
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Best Mid-Range Windows Laptop
Lenovo Yoga 7i 16 (2023) 11
School
8.1
Gaming
5.9
Multimedia
8.0
Workstation
7.8
Business
8.0
Build Quality
8.5
Brightness
7.8
Typing Quality
8.0
Touchpad
7.9
Webcam & Microphone
7.5
Battery Life (Web Browsing)
12.4 hrsSee all our test results
If you want a more modest mid-range model, check out the Lenovo Yoga 7i 16 (2023). Its large display gives you plenty of room for split-screen multitasking, and this model supports pen input. You can choose between an FHD+ or QHD+ panel; we recommend the latter, as it's sharper and brighter. The display's glossy finish doesn't handle reflections well, so you may have some visibility issues in well-lit settings. Build quality is excellent, and while it isn't as portable as the HP Spectre x360 14 (2024) above, it's still relatively easy to carry around, thanks to its thin and light design. A stylus is included in the box; our only complaint is that the plastic pen holder feels rather janky, as it plugs into the USB-A port and can potentially break the port if you aren't careful.
This laptop is available with Intel 13th Gen U- and P-series CPUs, which are plenty fast for general productivity tasks like web browsing, text processing, presentations, and spreadsheets. There's Wi-Fi 6E wireless connectivity, a fingerprint sensor and IR camera for biometrics, and tons of ports, including two Thunderbolt 4s and an HDMI. Its 1080p webcam isn't bad; the image has a fair amount of fine details but an unnatural tint, and the microphone picks up some background noise.You can get this laptop directly fromLenovoif you have trouble finding it elsewhere.
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Best Budget Windows Laptop
ASUS Vivobook 16 M1605 (2023) 18
School
7.4
Gaming
6.0
Multimedia
6.4
Workstation
7.6
Business
7.5
Build Quality
7.5
Brightness
6.4
Typing Quality
8.0
Touchpad
8.1
Webcam & Microphone
7.0
Battery Life (Web Browsing)
8.3 hrsSee all our test results
The best budget Windows laptop we've tested is the ASUS Vivobook 16 M1605 (2023). This16-inch model is a reliable everyday laptop that's portable despite its larger screen, relatively sturdy, and easy to service. Its AMD Ryzen CPUs are adequate forgeneral productivity tasks liketext processing, spreadsheets, presentations, and web browsing.It also has a decent port selection that supports power delivery and fast charging over USB-C, but not video output or Thunderbolt 4. Battery life isgood enough to get through an eight-hour day with light use, but anything more intensive (including video playback) will require you to plug it in to charge.
Although its display is large, the IPS panel looks slightly washed out and isn't bright enough to combat glare in well-lit settings. Also, the speakers sound boxy and unnatural, so this laptop doesn't provide you with the best multimedia experience.
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Best Cheap Windows Laptop
Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3i 15 (2023) 11
School
7.3
Gaming
5.9
Multimedia
6.9
Workstation
7.3
Business
7.5
Build Quality
7.5
Brightness
6.8
Typing Quality
7.5
Touchpad
7.2
Webcam & Microphone
7.9
Battery Life (Web Browsing)
6.6 hrsSee all our test results
Our cheap pickis the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3i 15 (2023), a15-inch Windows ultraportable. It's available with various Intel 13th Gen CPUs, from a Core i3 to i7, and up to 16GB of RAM and 1TB of storage. The Intel CPUs can easilyhandle light productivity tasks like text processing, web browsing, and video playback. The cheaper configurations come with a low-quality TN panel for the display, so you'll have to spend a bit more if youupgrade to an IPS display.The keyboard feels comfortable to type on, and the touchpad is small but responsive. The webcam is surprisingly good, allowing you to look and sound clear on video calls.
Port selection is good; you get two USB-As, a USB-C, an HDMI, and an SD card reader. The USB-C supports video output and charging but not Thunderbolt 4, which is unfortunate but expected for a budget-friendly model. A fingerprint sensor is present for quick logins. The biggest downside is its battery life, whichlasts less than seven hours of light use. Compared to the Acer Swift 3 14 (2020) above, this model gives you slightly more processing power anda better keyboard and webcam, but the display isn't quite as good,andthe battery life is significantly shorter. You can get this laptop onLenovo's website.
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Best Windows Workstation
Dell XPS 16 (2024) 7
School
7.9
Gaming
7.6
Multimedia
8.6
Workstation
8.8
Business
8.0
Build Quality
9.5
Brightness
7.5
Typing Quality
7.5
Touchpad
7.4
Webcam & Microphone
8.7
Battery Life (Web Browsing)
9.5 hrsSee all our test results
The best Windows workstation laptop we've tested is the Dell XPS 16 (2024).Thispremium model has a sleek, modern designwith edge-to-edge keys, an invisible touchpad, a capacitive function row, and impossibly thin bezels. It's available with Intel Meteor Lake CPUs paired with integrated graphics or an NVIDIA discrete GPU, up to an RTX 4070, giving you enough processing power to tackleintensive workloads like programming, video editing, and 3D modeling. RAM and storage max out at 64GB and 4TB, respectively. Unlike older XPS models, the RAM is no longer user-replaceable, so get enough for your needs upfront.As for the display, you can choose between a 120Hz FHD+ IPS or a 90Hz 4k+ OLED panel. We highly recommend the latter, as an FHD+ resolution isinadequate for a 16-inch screen, but know that it'll cost more.
As for the user experience, it depends on your taste and willingness to adapt.The keyboard'sedge-to-edge keys can cause more typos (due to the lack of space between the keys), and because the touchpad is invisible, you can sometimes be right at the edge where the tracking is inconsistent. The capacitive function row is also controversial and might not be to everyone's liking (Apple got rid of the Touch Bar for a reason). Battery life is good at around nine to 10 hours of light use on a model with a Core Ultra 9 processor and RTX 4060—you'll get even more on models with integrated graphics only. You get Wi-Fi 7 wireless connectivity, a fingerprint sensor, a facial recognition camera for quick logins, and an okay port selection with three USB-C Thunderbolt 4s and a MicroSD card reader.
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Best 2-In-1 Windows Tablet
Microsoft Surface Pro 8 (2021) 3
School
7.7
Gaming
6.8
Multimedia
7.9
Workstation
7.2
Business
7.4
Build Quality
8.5
Brightness
8.3
Typing Quality
8.0
Touchpad
7.6
Webcam & Microphone
8.7
Battery Life (Web Browsing)
7.3 hrsSee all our test results
If you like a tablet with a detachable keyboard form factor, the Microsoft Surface Pro 8 (2021) is the one to get. It has a nice 3:2 display with a 120Hz refresh rate to provide better responsiveness, especially for pen input. It's compatible with Microsoft's Surface Pen or any third-party Microsoft Pen Protocol styluses. However, you must buy the stylus separately; the same goes for the keyboard. To Microsoft's credit, it's a pretty good keyboard with tactile keys and backlighting. Its 1080p webcam is among the best on the market, and like most Surface devices, there's a facial recognition IR camera. The battery lasts around seven to eight hours of light use, which is pretty respectable for such a thintablet PC.
Note: Microsoft hasannounced a newSurface Pro 11th Edition (in pre-order at the time of writing), so it might be worth waiting to make any purchasing decision. Thisdevice runs on Qualcomm's Snapdragon X ARM-based SoC, promisinglonger battery life and better performance than laptops with an Intel or AMD CPU. Microsoft has also announced a new Prism translation layer tool, similar to Apple's Rosetta 2, to improve compatibility and performance in x86 applications. However, it's hard to say how well it works at this time.Other new features include an OLED display option, Wi-Fi 7, and a type cover keyboard you can use even when detached from the device. We've purchased thisSurface Pro and will test it once it arrives, so stay tuned.In the meantime, you can see more details here.
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Recent Updates
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Jun 11, 2024: Replaced the HP OMEN Transcend 14 (2024) with the Dell XPS 16 (2024) as the workstation pick because the Dell supports up to 64GB of RAM.
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May 16, 2024: Did a major revamp of this article due to changing availability. Replaced the LG gram 14 (2023) with the HP Spectre x360 14 (2024), as the LG is difficult to find. Removed the 'Upper Mid-Range' category. Added a new 'Best Workstation Laptop' category with the HP Omen Transcend 14 (2024) as the pick. Replaced the Acer Swift 3 14 (2020) with the ASUS Vivobook 16 M1605 (2023), as it's a better value overall. Removed the ASUS ZenBook OLED 14 (2024) as a Notable Mention.
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Apr 17, 2024: Verified that all picks are valid and available. Added the HP Spectre x360 14 (2024) as a Notable Mention.
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Mar 19, 2024: Added the ASUS Zenbook 14 OLED (2024) as a Notable Mention. Minor text edits for clarity.
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Feb 22, 2024: Minor text changes to add the Framework Laptop 13 (2023) as an alternative to the LG gram 14 (2023).
All Reviews
Our recommendations above are what we think are currently the best Windows laptopsyou can get. In addition to the test results, we factor in the price (a cheaper laptopwins over a pricier one if the difference isn't worth it), feedback from our visitors, and availability (no laptops that are difficult to find or almost out of stock everywhere).
If you prefer to make your own decision, here’s a list of all of our Windows laptop reviews, sorted by price from low to high. Keep in mind that most laptops are available in various configurations, and the table only shows the results of the model we tested, so it’s best to see the full review for information about other variants.
