Some good Laptops to consider
Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Aura Edition (Copilot+ PC) for $1,300: The first Intel-based Copilot+ PC (7/10, WIRED Review) we tested won in every category, boasting outstanding AI and graphics performance and the best battery life we’ve ever seen on Intel hardware. With its unusual 15.3-inch screen, it hits its high points without breaking through, although the fan is noisy and the system may survive more than you’d like.
Acer Chromebook Plus 515 for $399: This is a 15-inch Chromebook Plus model (8/10, WIRED Recommends) with the same internals as the Lenovo we recommend above. Battery life for this one is a solid 8.5 hours of full-screen video playback time. Acer offers an HDMI 1.4 output jack instead of Lenovo’s MicroSD card slot, making this a better choice if you regularly need to give presentations or use the HDMI port. There’s also the smaller Chromebook Plus 514 ($380) which is equally good.
Samsung Galaxy Book4 Ultra for $3,000: There’s a lot to like here (7/10, WIRED Review), but that’s the price. Wow. You get what you pay for, at least, with the new Intel Core Ultra 9 185H processor, the current top processor in Intel’s Core Ultra CPU lineup, and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 graphics card. The 16-inch AMOLED 2,880 x 1,800 pixels touchscreen is great for performance it’s performance also blows everything we’ve tested out of the water. But that’s the price.
Acer Swift Go 14 for $834: This one is very similar to the Asus Zenbook 14 OLED, our top budget laptop. We found the Asus to be slightly faster and have better build quality, but the Swift Go still offers outstanding performance, especially considering the price (7/10, WIRED Review). It also has an impressive 15 hours of battery life. The negatives are the speakers, which are not good, and the whole body feels a little plastic. But this is the least expensive Intel Core Ultra laptop we’ve tested for a few dollars, so if the budget is tight, the Swift Go should be considered.
Lenovo Yoga Slim 7x Copilot+ PC for $1,200: Lenovo’s svelte Slim 7x (7/10, WIRED Review) isn’t exciting, but it offers the best price-to-performance ratio of the many Copilot+ PCs we’ve tested. Battery life and performance are outstanding, although the fan tends to run too fast.
Microsoft Surface Laptop (7th Edition, 2024) for $1,600: Looking for a Windows laptop from the horse’s mouth? Shop for the Top 7th Edition Laptop (7/10, UPDATED). Performance is as strong as battery life, and you get a smooth 120-Hz display. Very expensive for what you get. Read our guide to the Best Laptops to find out more.
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