The Top 40 Best Laptops in Australia (Updated August 2026 Group Test)

The High Performance Laptops Best Laptop Group Test is unique in Australia as it’s based upon reviews that take over 100 hours to produce and which actually cite Australian laptop variants (SKUs) and prices that are live in August 2026 – rather than overseas models with different specs and price tags.

Our exhaustive laptop review testing methodology was updated for 2026 but continues to use a comprehensive scoring system that mathematically compares every new laptop with everything that’s come before it. However, because price, availability and relative performance change all the time, so does the value proposition and rank. As such, we try to regularly update our Best Laptops Group Test to produce the definitive Australian laptop buying guide.

In August 2026, the global memory crisis has have turned the laptop market on its head. Some laptops (new and old) have rocketed in price while others have become rare as hen’s teeth. The local vendors have given-up even telling us about most new releases as nobody knows when they’ll land on these shores but this has also led to an interesting situation: instead of new models being replaced on the shelves (for new stock) every few months, older models have become available again. Plus, because we use the same benchmarks to test new and old models alike, we can still compare real-world, current-day performance versus value propositions to produce a definitive ranking.

Australia’s Best Laptop in August 2026

Perfect portable PCs possess an excellent combination of general-computing power, 3D and gaming performance, useful features, plus intuitive and comfortable ergonomics. They are built well enough to survive being carried around, they shouldn’t be be too heavy, they should have a small power brick and their battery should last for days. Ideally they’ll look great in every setting and not cost too much either. Naturally, all high performance laptops come with at multiple compromises in these regards, but these are the best overall laptops in Australia in 2026 according to our exhaustive calculations.

1. Lenovo Yoga 7i 2-in-1 – =

Price: $1,899 | Lenovo’s 14-inch convertible tablet is back and remains on sale in January

Lenovo’s Gen 10 Yogas are great laptops and have highly configurable specs. Remarkably, it’s still available at the same price despite the market around it melting down. The Yoga 7i 2-in-1 is basically the same Intel-powered laptop as the Yoga 7i Slim below, but it can also convert into a touchscreen tablet. Our review model a similar, excellent, 14-inch screen and is available with a host of accessories.

There’s even an AMD version of it, the Yoga 7 2-in-1, which we reviewed over at TweakTown but it’s not as heavily discounted. That has a processor with slightly more grunt but 11-hours-less battery life than this Lunar Lake-powered device (which lasted 27 hours 19 minutes in our battery test). At this price, in this market, it’s still an absolute steal, so get in quick.

4. Apple MacBook Air M3 (15-inch) – ↑2

Price: $1,622 | Apple’s laptops are looking more and more attractive.

It took us a while, but we finally figured out how to directly compare Apples with Intels (and SnapDragons) in a meaningful way. While software compatibility can’t touch WIntel laptops, they arguably don’t need to. The harmonious combination of software, hardware and drivers, with some of the best ergonomics in the business, mean that the MacBook Air is perfect for undemanding users who just want a good ultraportable. The 30-hour battery life also helps.

With Windows doing its best to alienate users nowadays, many people are willing to give Apple a go and there are certainly plenty of benefits. These include a large library of high-quality in-house and third-party applications that cover most computing use cases and the game compatibility on Steam is high – especially when it comes to classics like Portal. There’s also integration with an ecosystem that extends to some of the world’s most popular phones and Apple Pay.

In August, the 15-inch M3 MacBook Air has become available again and with its M4 and M5 siblings only offering incremental performance boosts, you can save a lot of money with this M3.

3. Acer Predator Helios Neo 16 Re-Entry

Price: $1,699 | A gaming laptop this cheap is worth revisiting

Acer’s Predator Neo gaming laptops have impressed us when we saw them in the past but the 16-inch, 2024 version had a few issues. On the one hand, it looks very smart compared to some of its predecessors, the Nvidia 4070 GPU is capable and there’s even an improved, i9-14900HX processor which is more than we saw on our review unit.

However, look away if you want portability: it’s got a 1.2KG power supply and the battery lasted an appalling, 2 hours and 48 minutes. Nonetheless, it collapsed in price after we first reviewed it and this saw it win a Best Budget Gaming Laptop Award. While we couldn’t find our review spec, an Nvidia 4060-based gaming laptop at this price nowadays is super-rare.

4. Apple MacBook Air M4 (13-inch) – ↓1

Price $2,099 | This super-popular Apple laptop is a great alternative for Windows haters

The MacBook Air M4 is a very smart ultraportable laptop that comes with some great Apple software built-in and plenty of top-quality, third-party applications that run natively on Mac OS.

While many Windows users will have sneered at it in the past, Microsoft’s determination to transform Windows into malware will mean people are justifiably turning their heads towards this premium alternative. There’s still plenty it can’t do (like play many games or easily install more-obscure third party apps), but there’s much to like about this 1.24KG ultraportable, including its Retina screen and integration with the Apple-iPhone ecosystem.

It remains near the top of our rankings because the price has actually dropped in these turbulent times.

5. HP OmniBook X Flip 14 – ↑3

Price: $1,898 | A high-quality ultraportable convertible tablet with almost 30 hours of battery life

HP has been impressing us with its ultraportables lately. The (very) new, Intel Core Ultra (Series 2) based OmniBook X Flip 14 only landed in July (note, there are similar SKUs but they have SnapDragon and AMD processors – so pick the right one). It’s an ultraportable convertible with a touchscreen and it’s generally a joy to use. It’s a little heavier than other 14-inch rivals, but it makes up for this with an incredible 28-and-a-half-hour battery life! In January, it’s sale price isn’t quite as strong, but it’s still a very good buy.

Our only gripe is the slightly stiff keyboard. Also, be sure to check-out its premium sibling, the HP OmniBook Ultra Flip 14 which offers uncompromising design for more money. It’s another model that’s barely changed in price and is subsequently a bargain.

6. Asus ExpertBook Ultra – New Entry

Price: $5,785 | Asus’ new flagship is a Panther Lake Business Laptop that’s just collapsed in price

Asus is adamant that it won’t cut corners while the market is on fire (the bad kind) and it’s looking to break into the lucrative business laptop market with this uncompromising ultraportable. It’s incredibly tough, it’s got (mostly) phenomenal ergonomics, it weighs just 1.09KG and it’s got a 24-hour battery life.

On top of that, the Panther Lake processor has enough punch for its integrated GPU to play games. It’s a brilliant all-rounder and it just dropped in price by over $2,000! It’s not cheap, but it does everything you’d want a laptop to do.

7. Acer Swift Go Ai – =

Price $1,048 | A Snapdragon-powered Windows ultraportable AiPC

I’ve been wary about recommending Snapdragon-based laptops. While they have impressive, 20+ hour battery lives and were the first to support Microsoft’s CoPilot+ Ai features, they came in at a hefty premium when they should have been securing some market share, from Intel, Apple and AMD rivals, by costing less.

When Intel’s Lunar Lake laptops appeared shortly afterwards, they had similar AI chops, similar battery lives, cost the same and had none of the software-compatibility issues that Snapdragon brought with it. Fortunately, both issues are now being addressed. (Note: If you want a model with an Intel chip, various, older versions of the impressive Acer Swift Go 16 are still available.)

8. Acer Swift Edge 16 – ↑6

Price: $1,497 | One of the best laptops we’ve ever used and it’s collapsed in price

We just straight-up love the Acer Swift Edge 16 and we still occasionally use it as a daily driver. But, it’s been so hard to find for so many months that it actually dropped out of this list. However, it’s now back on these shores and has been updated with a new AMD Ryzen 7 8840U CPU.

That’s not the best part. While the processor makes it fast for an ultraportable, the fast, 120Hz, UHD, OLED, HDR screen is one of the very best we’ve ever seen. It also weighs only 1.25KG despite being 16-inches. It’s a magnificent ultraportable and it’s somehow still amazingly cheap.

9. MSI Crosshair 16 HX AI – ↓4

Price: $4,099 | A high-quality, mid-range model whose price hasn’t exploded as much as rivals

The latest generation of gaming laptops (featuring Nvidia’s 50-Series GPUs and Intel Arrow Lake CPUs) have taken their sorry time to land on these shores. Fortunately, MSI’s latest Crosshair, from its upper-mid-range tier, was one of the first. While it doesn’t feature all of the bleeding-edge overclocking and cooling technologies that adorn its super-premium rivals, it doesn’t have any significant weak points and it costs almost half the price.

We couldn’t find a model with the Lunar Lake processor (meaning battery life won’t be as good) but the Nvidia RTX 5070 graphics are still there and the older Intel Core i9-14900HX CPU is a more powerful CPU. It has good connectivity and a fast, 240Hz, 16-inch screen. It might not have the latest-and-greatest everything inside, but few would grumble. Did we mention that it looks awesome too?

10. HP Omen 16 – Re-Entry

Price: 2,779 | Another long-lost gaming laptop that’s sitting at a bargain price

The Omen 16 didn’t blow us away when we first reviewed it. It’s certainly a high-quality gaming laptop, but it was expensive at launch and slightly underpowered.

Now, however, it’s plummeted in price and is downright cheap for a 5070-sporting gaming laptop. Get in quick as this deal won’t be around for long.

11. MSI Raider A18 HX A9W – =

Price: $8,899 | This 18-inch gaming beast is the fastest laptop we’ve ever tested

It’s not for everyone, but if you’re wanting to replace your Desktop PC with an ultimate desktop-replacement laptop, the AMD-powered 2025 MSI Raider A18 HX needs to be at the top of your list. Forget about portability – you can move this occasionally or lock it in a (large) drawer for safe keeping – this gaming laptop redefined performance by scoring top marks in every single test we threw at it. It’s got great features and ergonomics too.

Our model had the top-tier spec with an Nvidia RTX 5090 GPU, hence the eye-watering price, but you can get cheaper models with lesser silicon, too. The sale price might be over, but that doesn’t stop it being a highly desirable laptop in August 2026.

12. Apple MacBook Air M5 – New Entry

Price: $2,499 | Practically the reference design for all ultraportable laptops but it’s not the best choice

The latest, M5-version of the MacBook Air is exactly what you’d expect. We haven’t published our review of the 15-inch version (yet) but we can attest that it’s more powerful than before and can run games like Cyberpunk 2077. Its ergonomics are brilliant except for the sluggish, screen which can get blurry when things are moving quickly. Our only real gripes are that it’s not the lightest at 1.5KG and the battery life doesn’t quite match rivals from Intel and Qualcomm. It’s still a great buy, but is it $900 better than an M3 Air? Not for many people.

13. Gigabyte Aorus Master 16 Gen 2 AM6J – New Entry

Price: $6,499 | An incredibly powerful gaming laptop that’s hugely discounted

Gigabyte set-out to make the fastest, most-uncompromising gaming laptop and, in many ways, it succeeded with the 16-inch Aorus Master 16 Gen 2. Our review will appear on TweakTown imminently but for now, know that this AMD Ryzen 9955HX3D-powered monster has an Nvidia RTX 5090 that flies through everything.

Sure, it gets hot and loud and its battery life is sub-6-hours, but this is an old-school beast of a machine with modern innards. It launched at an eye-watering $9,999 but in August, it’s on sale for just $6,499. A veritable steal!

14. MSI Katana 15 HX B14W – =

Price: $2,699 | MSI’s popular budget buy has evolved into the mid range

The super popular MSI Katana range has long been a favourite of Budget Gaming Laptop buyers. Our review unit just about stretches into that category when on sale but, at the time of going to press, it’s not… so it’s lower than it probably should be.

There are still many cheaper SKUs of the Katana (some of which are older) but our review unit sported a matte, 15.6-inch, 2,560 x 1,440 resolution screen with a 165Hz refresh rate. It’s powered by Intel’s older Core i9 14900HX processor but it features Nvidia RTX 5070 graphics. That spec and the new, improved build quality push it into mid-range territory where, at this price, it’s a good buy.

15. Lenovo Legion Pro 7i (Gen 10) – ↑5

Price: $3,999 | One of the most popular gaming laptops – ever – is back on form

It was (very) late to arrive in Australia, but when it landed, it won all of our top laptop accolades. It looks awesome (as usual) although you might want to carry a cloth around as it’s a bit of a fingerprint magnet.

It’s packed with features and great ergonomics and it’s one of the most powerful, premium gaming laptops on the market. As with its forbears, its only real weakness is portability. However, it’s worth noting that, in January, only a much-cheaper, upper-mid-range RTX 5070 Ti version is listed for sale. It’s cheaper accordingly, but not nearly as powerful as our review sample. Keep checking here to see if things change.

16. Asus Zenbook S 14 – ↑8

Price: $2,498 | Our first Lunar Lake laptop is still a phenomenal piece of kit

We’d already been impressed by previous Zenbooks, but combining it with the long-awaited Lunar Lake processor from Intel (aka Core Ultra Series 2) elevated this into a new breed of laptop. The Ai chops enable it to fully run all the CoPilot+ features; the new stripped-down processor is more-responsive and has much-better integrated graphics; the battery life surpassed 24 hours; and, to top everything off, it’s fantastic to interact with.

This 14-inch, 1.19KG ultraportable deservedly won our Laptop of the Year Award in 2024 and it’s still one of the very best around. It’s only issue now is that the rivals it led for so long, have caught up in a very competitive market. (Also note that its 16-inch sibling, the Zenbook S 16, can often be found for less money.)

17. MSI Prestige 14 AI Evo C1MG – ↓8

Price: $1,299 | A business-grade ultraportable notebook with 24-hour battery life and an amazing price

We had our doubts about MSI’s larger-than-usual, 14-inch laptop. But, this Core Ultra 5-powered machine is more powerful for tasks like rendering than the newer, Lunar Lake laptops. It’s got a huge, 90Wh battery that ran our PCMark 10 Modern office test for 24 hours flat. Plus, there’s that reflection-free, bright, colourful, matte screen.

Being a business-grade laptops means it’s also been torture-tested to a higher standard than regular consumer laptops, so it should survive a life of being lugged around for work or school etc. It won’t suit everyone – there are lighter and more-powerful, similarly sized alternatives. However, in January, the Prestige can still be found for just $1,299. That’s great value for a top-quality laptop. Get one before it sells out.

18. Asus ROG Strix SCAR 17 – ↑12

Price: $4,749 | Adding AMD makes this superb desktop replacement more powerful and cheaper

The 17-inch Asus ROG Strix SCAR 17 didn’t have had long to wear the regal robes that it won in 2023(!) But it remains a phenomenal buy even in October 2025. It has a boosted Nvidia RTX 4090 graphics chip (that’s actually faster than a stock 5090!) and its AMD Ryzen 9 7945HX CPU is still highly competitive at the spiky end of the high-performance laptop spectrum.

Best of all, it’s collapsed in price. That’s mighty tempting for one of the best desktop replacement gaming laptops on the market – especially when the new generation of rivals is coming-in at a premium.

Note too that we subsequently reviewed the ‘special edition’ Asus ROG Strix SCAR 17 X3D. This is identical but for the update processor which features AMD’s 3D V-Cache technology – making it even faster.

There won’t be many of these left, so you can pick-up a bargain if you want a powerful, desktop-replacement gaming laptop.

19. Acer Predator Helios 18 AI – ↓1

Price: $5,998 | Another monstrous 18-inch gaming laptop that’s heavily discounted

We’ve tested it but haven’t had a chance to post the review yet. Suffice to say, it’s a very powerful, Intel-based, 18-inch gaming laptop with Nvidia RTX 5090 graphics, an impressive Mini LED screen and some great ergonomics (plus some attractive RGB flourishes). It remains over $3,500 off in January!

20. Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Aura Edition (Gen 10) ↓6

Price: $3,129 | This brilliant 14-inch business and productivity laptop is practically perfect

Lenovo’s Yoga (Gen 10) laptops have impressed the pants off us in recent months, but it’s Lenovo’s massive price drops that pushed them to the top of the table in a highly competitive market. The Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Aura Edition has been swapping the top two positions with its 2-in-1 convertible siblings over recent months but the evaporation of its sale price means it finally falls down the list.

The new, 14-inch Gen 10 Yoga 7i has an Intel Lunar Lake processor and boasts a brilliant OLED screen. It’s an excellent ultraportable with almost 22 hours battery life and is very well built for a consumer laptop. It will even manage some basic gaming. Keep checking here to see if the sale price returns later this month. Also note that if you like this laptop you can also get a creator/gaming version – the Yoga Pro – which is available here.

21. Pioneer DreamBook Power X56 RTX 5090 – ↓3

Price: $7,158 | Our first, next-gen Gaming Laptop is highly configurable

Pioneer was, once again, first to send us a next-gen gaming laptop. It features an Intel Arrow Lake Core Ultra 9 275HX processor and Nvidia’s top-tier, RTX GeForce RTX 5090 graphics. There’s also a fast, 16-inch, 240Hz screen, very good speakers, an impressive keyboard and plenty of RGB goodness.

It’s certainly not cheap but, none of its super-premium, big-brand rivals are either. It initially won our Best Gaming Laptop Award and, like its predecessor, stands its ground impressively while no longer alone in the market. It’s dropped because Pioneer is more of a distributor (and systems integrator) and so isn’t one for sales.

22. MSI Titan 18 HX AI – ↑1

Price: $10,899 | MSI’s flagship laptop is undoubtedly awesome, but it’s not issue free

MSI has been in an awkward position with its premium gaming laptops – making its Raider and Titan fight each other, at the head of pack, to each other’s detriment. The Titan has a few more bells and whistles than the Raider and can be further-upgraded to an unholy degree, but the fact remains that the cheaper AMD-powered Raider is faster (at stock) and looks nearly identical nowadays.

Still, if you want more room for additional NVMe drives and you want to push the enhanced cooling-tech further, this extraordinarily expensive, massive, 18-inch gaming laptop (which can also be used for mobile LLM workloads) is potentially unsurpassed for power.

23. Asus ROG Strix SCAR 18 (H835L | 2025) – ↓1

Price: $8,999 | An epic 18-inch desktop replacement that has it all

If you want a big, brash, powerful, premium gaming PC that can even be lugged around, this is a great choice. It might not actually fit on your lap, but that’s not what these laptops are for. You could even lock one securely in a (big) drawer, which you can’t do with most desktop PCs.

The latest SCAR has an excellent 18-inch screen, is supremely powerful, is packed with all of the latest features and it looks even more phenomenal thanks to a dot-matrix display joining all the existing RGB flourishes. It’s crazy expensive, but it’s also crazy good and powerful enough to power Ai workloads for professionals, too. Hopefully, it will hit the sales soon and become more competitive (Spoiler: it didn’t.)

24. Acer TravelMate P6 14 AI – ↓3

Price: $3,242 | Another underrated, feather-light, business-class, 14-inch ultraportable from Acer

I’m not convinced that many Australian laptop bulk-buyers consider Acer laptops for their workers, but they should as the TravelMate P6 14 AI is yet another highly desirable ultraportable from the company. It’s a business-class laptop and so has been torture tested to bits. It has a Lunar Lake processor, reflection-free, matte screen, it only weighs 978g and it has a 20-hour battery life. What’s not to love?

Business buyers and MSPs will get discounted pricing to make it less expensive. But, we used it as our daily driver for weeks and were very sad to give it up. If you need a barely-there laptop to lug around everywhere you go, you won’t do much better, if you can afford it.

25. HP OmniBook Ultra Flip 14 – ↑8

Price: $2,299 | A fantastic, Lunar Lake-based consumer tablet convertible

HP’s 14-inch top-end consumer convertible is highly portable thanks to its 1.32KG chassis and 19+ hour battery life. The touchscreen folds back to turn it into a tablet (the optional stylus isn’t supplied, though). It’s got some great Ai features, including an onboard version of ChatGPT and a brilliant, on-screen, configurable ring light for excellent web-conferencing. It’s another great option in the world of Lunar Lake ultraportables but, when it’s not on sale, it costs a fair bit more than most of them. Fortunately, it’s finally plummeted in price, so get this premium ultraportable while you can.

26. Dynabook Portégé Z40L-N – ↓11

Price: $2,989 | The Best Business Laptop AND the Best Portable Laptop

We’ve always had a soft spot for Dynabooks – they were arguably the original ultraportables back when Toshiba first launched them in the 90s. Now owned by Sharp, the brand is mainly targeting the business market but that doesn’t mean individual buyers can’t benefit from this highly desirable, work-oriented, 14-inch notebook.

It has a matte screen with no reflections and it even uses, old-school proper mouse buttons. It’s a great business class ultraportable but the fact it weighs just 1.09KG and ran our battery tests for over 24 hours means it’s also our Best Portable Laptop!

27. Asus Zenbook A14 – ↑13

Price: $1,799 | Yet another Zenbook. And it’s SnapDragon based. Why is it here?

I initially really did not want to recommend this laptop as it’s got a SnapDragon processor that severely limits software compatibility (something that will change in the coming months). However, we decided to make our Best Portable Laptop group test all about portability (instead of value) to make it more interesting and this went and came first last July! Its plastic chassis isn’t as tough as its metal-made siblings, but it’s still sturdy and robust.

Importantly, it’s got a 20+hour battery life and a lightweight phone-style charger (that you can also use with USB-C phones). But, best of all, it only weighs 980g! Personally, I think many people would be better-off getting a sibling which weighs a few hundred grams more, but there’s no denying that Snapdragon laptops are selling and so, forget my prejudices, it deserves to remain on this list. (Note: If you like these laptops, also be sure to check out the 15-inch Asus Vivobook S 15.)

28. Acer Nitro V 16 ↑15

Price $1,698 | Acer’s popular, budget-gaming, Nitro brand returns to form

Acer has overhauled its popular, wallet-friendly Nitro laptop brand and come up with a winner in the Nitro V. That said, you should still check out the 2023 Acer Nitro 5 older siblings in case there’s a good deal to be had.

Many people will be better-off spending the extra, as the AMD processor is considerably more powerful and you get more RAM. The battery life still ain’t great, though. Nonetheless, the Nvidia RTX 4060 graphics mean that it’s got it where it counts and the build quality belies its budget designation. It used to be such good value that it was our Number 1 Best Laptop for a time. There aren’t many left, but the price has dropped for those that remain in January.

29. Asus ExpertBook P5 – ↑4

Price: $2,499 | A premium, Lunar Lake-based, business-grade laptop with great features

We’re not supposed to have favourites, but Asus’ Lunar Lake business laptop is fantastic. The ergonomics are great, the 14-inch, matte screen is excellent, the speakers are excellent, it only weighs 1.27KG and it’s got a battery life of almost 20 hours. It’s been fully torture tested for living life on the road and Asus will even compensate you $500 if it breaks. Add CoPilot+ functionality and some amazing web-conferencing features, and you’ve one of the best work notebooks going.

30. MSI Stealth A16 AI+ – ↑1

Price: $5,999 | A Unicorn Laptop that does is all

We reviewed the MSI Stealth A16 AI+ over at TweakTown but we still put it through our full suite of High Performance Laptops tests. This beauty is a powerful ultraportable gaming laptop that’s been tailored for designers and Creators. In reality, anyone who wants a laptop will want it, thanks to its high-powered Nvidia graphics, high-powered AMD processor and superb, 240Hz, colour-accurate, HDR, 1,100-nit OLED screen. Oh, and the speakers are awesome too.

This stacked, 16-inch beast is just 20mm thick, weighs just 2.1KG and has a fourteen-and-a-half hour battery life. Naturally, you must pay for such cutting-edge tech. Hopefully, it will be back on sale soon.

31. HP EliteBook X Flip G1i – ↓4

Price: $4,182 | A premium, Lunar Lake-based, business-grade laptop with great features

We like a blue, business-class ultraportable laptops and HP’s 14-inch Elitebook X Flip G1i is one of the best. It’s also a convertible tablet, which isn’t common for business machines, so it’s a good alternative to have in the arsenal of business buyers and MSPs.

It’s powered by a Lunar Lake processor, weighs 1.49KG, is only 15mm thick and has a best-ever battery life score of 29 hours 11 minutes! The price is high but it’s high quality and should being abused by mobile workers.

If you’re interested in this, you may also want to check out the HP EliteBook Ultra G1q.

32. HP OmniBook 5 – ↓7

Price: $1,499 | A high-quality Snapdragon-powered, relatively cheap ultraportable

HP’s OmniBook 5 is another high-quality, Snapdragon-powered ultraportable laptop that’s available at a low price. The review recently went live on TweakTown, but it’s also been through High Performance Laptops’ exhaustive testing.

33. HP Omen Max 16 – ↓24

Price: $6,997 | HP’s premium gaming laptop is a great performer

HP has many varieties of it Omen gaming laptops but the Omen Max 16 is the rightful flagship. Our 16-inch review model had a powerful Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX processor and top-tier Nvidia RTX 5090 graphics (the latter pushes the price up). However, you can get it with an RTX 5080 GPU for $1,000 less.

The OLED screen is excellent and has a fast, 240Hz refresh rate. The ergonomics and features are top-drawer. Many laptops have ballooned in price in January and this Omen is one of them, hence its tumble down the rankings.

34. Aorus 17 BSG – ↓5

Price: $2,599 | A quality Desktop Replacement gaming laptop that won’t break the bank

While there aren’t as many Aorus laptops as there used to be, Gigabyte is still releasing, high-value, quality models like the Aorus 17. This 17-inch beast is well-made; it has a fast, 240Hz, 2,560 x 1,440 game-friendly screen; it’s powered by an Intel Core Ultra processor; and it has Nvidia 4070 graphics. It’s (understandably) not light at 2.8KG but its battery powered it for over 13 hours in our tests. It’s a good-value gaming machine that’s got it where it counts.

35. LG gram 16 – ↓2

Price: $3,499 | An ultraportable, convertible 16-inch laptop? What?

After years of asking, LG finally sent us a gram laptop and it’s a doozy. Few manufacturers would even think about making a bona fide 16-inch ultraportable but here we are: it weighs just 1.35KG and has a 21+ hour battery life. And it’s only 18mm thick. It even comes with a magnetically attached stylus that charges when it’s affixed to the laptop’s side.

There’s nothing else quite like it in the market and, as such, it could be worth the hefty premium to some buyers.

36. Asus ROG Flow Z13 – ↓5

Price: $4,499 | Asus’ unique gaming tablet boasts some impressive technology

When we first saw the ROG Flow it felt like a bit of a gimmick. However, the latest variant is built around AMD’s impressive ‘Strix Halo’ Ryzen Al Max+ 395 processor which features powerful Radeon 8060S integrated graphics – a variant of which seriously impressed us on HP’s expensive ZBook Ultra workstation, below. It’s powerful enough to run mid-range games on the 13-inch touchscreen.

It weighs 1.64KG with its high-quality, Microsoft-Surface-like, tear-off, RGB keyboard cover and it ran our battery tests for over 12 hours. It’s certainly not for everybody but it’s a unique choice that doesn’t exist elsewhere in the market. The good news is that it’s finally dropped in price which boosts the value proposition.

37. Asus Zenbook Duo UX8406 – =

Price: $3,999 | A highly versatile dual-screen laptop that doesn’t feel like a science experiment

The Asus Zenbook Duo isn’t for everyone but it’s still an excellent laptop with more bells and whistles than anything else I’ve tested. It’s incredibly versatile despite the fact it’s not great for games and there are even more ultraportable alternatives (not least from Asus).

Most importantly, it doesn’t feel like an experimental science project that early incarnations of this type of laptop put us in mind of. As such, it should attract a somewhat larger audience which is good because we’re happy to recommended it to them.

38. Asus Vivobook 14 Flip – ↓15

Price: $2,999 | A high-quality ultraportable convertible with a few foibles

Asus’ Vivobook 14 Flip is a very good 14-inch, OLED, ultraportable, convertible laptop. But, it didn’t blow us away, like almost every other Zenbook and Vivobook has over the past couple of years. The stiff keyboard and sluggish screen aren’t deal-breakers, but they’re foibles that you’ll need to deal with every day.

39. Microsoft Surface Laptop 7 – =

Price: $2,199 | Microsoft’s SnapDragon laptop isn’t undesirable but until now it’s been expensive

If you’re determined to buy into Qualcomm’s SnapDragon laptops, with their reduced functionality, then the 15-inch Microsoft Surface Laptop is one of the biggest brands. However, regular readers will have noticed that there have been many better-value buys to be had from rivals.

40. Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 (2024) – ↑2

Price: $4,699 | The 2024 version won our Best Laptop award and is still a great gaming ultraportable

While we lamented the lack of ostentatious styling (compared to its predecessors) this solidly built, 14-inch, ultraportable, gaming laptop is hugely desirable. The CNC-milled, aluminium chassis weighs just 1.49KG and yet it crams in a powerful AMD Ryzen 9 8945HS and Nvidia RTX 4060 graphics. It’s great to interact with and it even has an impressive 12-and-a-half-hour battery life, to boot.

Its forbears could get volcanically hot, but this now runs warm at best. The striking stripe might not match the ostentatious dot-matrix LED lids of yore but it will also fit in an office much more discreetly. It’s a near perfect, all-rounder, unicorn laptop which was a worthy winner of our Best Laptop award when it first hit the market and it’s good now. Still, if you want more size, check out the similar, 16-inch version in our Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 review – it can sometimes be found even cheaper. However, availability of this laptop is drying up and it’s becoming more expensive.

Also Consider

Asus Vivobook Pro 16X

Price: $3,399 | This former Best Creator Laptop is still a brilliant buy

Even though it’s getting on a bit, the 16-inch Asus Vivobook Pro 16X is too good not to have on this list. It’s got a full set-of Creator credentials, including an OLED screen that supports 100 per cent of the difficult DCI-P3 colour space plus Asus’ DialPad shortcut technology for design productivity.

On top of that there’s a hugely powerful processor (Core i9-13980HX) for 2D rendering tasks and an Nvidia RTX 4060 GPU for 3D rendering tasks. Did we mention the 120Hz screen facilitates gaming? Just note that it’s not very portable. On paper, it might be looking a little long in the tooth, but the performance is still competitive and the price has dropped considerably. We’ll be reviewing its successor, soon.

Lenovo Legion Pro 5i (Gen 9)

Price: $3,759 | The latest Legion Pro 5i might be Lenovo’s tier 2 but it can be a bargain

The 16-inch Lenovo Legion Pro 5i might be Lenovo’s second-tier gaming laptop, but, historically, it’s had it where it counts. The new version is a bit of a mixed bag, though. It’s still a sleeper laptop that can play games while fitting into an office but, the superb, Mini-LED screen is now gone and, while the replacement is very good, it’s a noticeable retrograde step.

Still, battery life has been pushed to 8 hours – which is a significant improvement. The keyboard is excellent but the speakers seem to be made mediocre on purpose, which is a shame. Our review sample also wielded a tidy Intel Core i9-14900HX CPU and an Nvidia 4070 GPU. It’s been avoiding sales in recent times but its latest Gen 10 variants can be had for over $1,000 off.

HP ZBook Ultra G1a 14

Price: $4,599 | An extraordinary ultraportable workstation

HP’s new 14-inch ultraportable redefines portable power. It’s a fully certified workstation and so has all of the bells and whistles (including up to 128GB of adjustable RAM) that professionals might need. It only weighs 1.5KG but its new AMD Ryzen AI MAX PRO 390 processor (with new, heavily boosted NPU and GPU) push mobile performance well beyond anything that the market has seen before. It’s unaffordable for most, but this extraordinary feat of engineering should be at the top of the list for workers whose laptop is life.

MSI Modern 14 C13M

Price: $1.099 | It has a few minor issues but it’s a cheap and cheerful, general-purpose laptop

The Modern 14 C13M is the latest incarnation of MSI’s value-focused range and it came in costing the same price as its predecessor. In an era of inflation, that was impressive. As we’ve noted about MSI’s Modern range in the past, the C13M is (once again) a capable, general-purpose, portable computer that doesn’t stray far from the ordinary – beyond the eye-catching colours. Its availability has been up and down, but it’s back and still relatively cheap in January.

Last Updated on August 19, 2026 by Nick Ross