DREAM MACHINE
Steve Hogarty reviews laptops for everyone’s budget
The best laptop is the one that does everything you need it to and nothing more. Luckily, in 2023 you have the widest ever selection of brands, styles, prices and form factors to choose from, including MacBooks, Chromebooks, and laptops from Dell, Lenovo, Microsoft and HP.
Maybe you’re working from home and you’ve decided you need a fast, reliable and long-lasting laptop for tackling emails, working remotely, and hosting virtual meetings, without outdated hardware slowing you down.
Perhaps your faithful old laptop has gone to the big blue screen in the sky and you’re finally ready to move on to something new. Or you might be a student in search of the perfect two-in-one laptop for work, media and gaming.
Competition between the top brands is so fierce now that you could throw a dart in a Currys store and find a perfectly decent laptop to handle most everyday tasks. But if you’d rather some expert guidance – and don’t want to be banned from your local Currys – we’ve assembled a list of the best laptops in 2023 to help you choose the device that’s right for you.
How we tested
These are laptops we’ve tested thoroughly and can recommend, from MacBooks and Windows models to convertible two-in-one devices. We’ve included budget laptops and high-end machines capable of handling the most demanding applications and playing games on the go.
Most of the laptops featured here can be configured to have more RAM, a bigger hard drive or a faster processor. You can also find a bargain by searching for earlier models of the laptops we’ve picked, though be aware that some of the features we mention might not appear in previous generations.
Dell XPS 15 (2022): £1,429, Dell
This is Dell’s flagship laptop is a showcase of everything the manufacturer can reasonably pack into a single machine without the entire thing melting into a hot puddle of silicone and plastic. The Dell XPS 15 is one of the best Windows laptops you can buy and pairs a minimalist, no-fuss design with top-level functionality and performance.
Our full Dell XPS 15 review is glowing. “If you’re searching for a high-performance and productivity-focused Windows machine with a spectacular OLED display and a better battery life than ever, the new Dell XPS 15 is the best laptop you’ll find.” our reviewer wrote.
The bright, crisp touchscreen is one of the best displays on any laptop, while under the hood, the 12th-generation Intel processor packs more performance than the average desktop computer.
The only downside to this laptop is its low-quality webcam, which may be a dealbreaker for those dependent on Zoom meetings.
Buy now
Razer Blade 15: £2,039.95, Amazon
A blisteringly fast gaming laptop that delivers desktop-grade performance, the Razer blade 15 is the best gaming laptop we’ve tested. Highly configurable, our test model ran the latest 12th generation Core i7 processor with 32GB of memory, Nvidia’s 3080 Ti GPU and a ridiculously fast 360Hz display (£3,899.99, Razer).
The configuration we’ve linked to here is a little more modest and backs away from the bleeding-edge specs, but splits the difference nicely with an 11th gen CPU and the marginally less powerful 3070.
Both configurations will happily run every new PC game with the graphics settings dialled way up and – unlike so many gaming laptops that resemble Fisher Price toys – the Razer blade 15 has a subtle, minimalist design you could take into important business meetings without raising too many eyebrows.
Buy now
Apple MacBook Pro (13in, 2022): £1,225, Amazon
The performance gap between the MacBook air (from £999, Apple) and the smaller MacBook pro has been shrinking lately. But Apple’s premium laptop is still the go-to machine for specialist users and editors who need every last bit of processing power. Powered by the latest version of Apple’s new proprietary M2 chip, the MacBook pro can handle tasks that would have its slimmer cousin wheezing into a brown paper bag. Like the MacBook air, the power button has a built-in fingerprint sensor, the keyboard is comfortable and the trackpad is big and responsive.
The best laptop for productivity and creative tasks – and the only laptop that can reasonably claim to have fashion credibility – the MacBook pro 13in is a masterpiece of design.
Buy now
Huawei MateBook X Pro Laptop (2022): £1,799.99, Amazon
Huawei’s latest Windows 11 flagship is a beautifully engineered laptop with a new soft-metallic finish that feels silky smooth to the touch. The 2022 version of the Matebook X pro has rich and vibrant 3:2 ratio display, running at 90Hz and at 4K resolution, bordered by a vanishingly small bezel. Unlike last year’s model, which positioned the webcam below the screen and made you look awful in meetings, the newest MateBook X pro puts the camera back above the display where it belongs.
There’s only one configuration available and it’s powerful as heck. The 2022 MateBook X pro runs on the 12th generation Intel Core i7 processor with 16GB of memory and a generous 1TB hard drive. That’s about as high-performance as ultra-thin notebooks get without adding a costly dedicated graphic card. The MateBook X pro uses an integrated graphics chip, which is perfectly fine for light gaming and most creative work, but isn’t designed to handle more serious and specialist applications, such as video rendering.
Buy now
Apple MacBook Air (M2, 2022): £1,119, Amazon
Apple’s thinnest, lightest MacBook transcended the tech world to become an instantly recognisable design icon, the profile of which many rival laptops have since followed. If you’ve ever held one, you’ll understand why it’s such an alluring device: the MacBook air is an elegant piece of engineering, weighing just 1.24kg and measuring 1.13cm thin.
The 2022 model is powered by Apple’s new M2 processor, an ARM-based chip that unlocks notable performance boosts and better battery efficiency over the older Intel CPU seen in previous generations.
Buy now
Microsoft Surface Laptop 5: £999, Currys
The Surface range showcases Windows 11 at its absolute best, allowing Microsoft to take control of both the hardware and software to create tablets and laptops that feel unified, streamlined and uncompromised. Whereas most other Windows laptops come preloaded with sketchy third-party apps and antivirus bloatware, Microsoft’s Surface laptops are much closer to the Apple-style user experience. Clean, tidy, and simple to use.
This is a fast and thin touchscreen laptop, with even the slowest and cheapest configuration running on a decently powerful Intel Core i5 processor. The laptop is unlocked with facial recognition, the keyboard is a delight to type on for hours, battery life is enormous, and it’s finished in an optional fine faux-suede alcantara material.
Buy now
Lenovo Yoga Slim 7: £749, Amazon
A premium ultrabook without the premium price tag, right now, the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7 is the best laptop you can buy for under £800. For the last few years, Lenovo has been quietly turning out laptops and tablets that offer smart design and decent specs without costing the earth, and this model is the culmination of the Chinese manufacturer’s best work.
This super-thin laptop is powered by an AMD Ryzen processor tuned for laptops, giving you enough grunt to handle CPUintensive tasks like photo and video editing and even some lower-end games. To bring costs down, Lenovo has plumped for a standard HD, 1080p display, but it’s a good quality panel with excellent colour reproduction and contrast.
Buy now
Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio: £1,449, Currys
Microsoft’s range of Surface devices have always been exceptionally good-looking. Whereas most Windows laptops are built by third-party manufacturers and littered with holographic Intel stickers and various bits of corporate branding, the Surface range stands alone as Microsoft’s shining example of what the ideal Windows 11 laptop could look like.
The Surface laptop studio has a clever articulated design that solves a problem that’s plagued the Surface range for years, by placing the laptop’s touchscreen somewhere it can be used comfortably, and all without having to completely detach it from the keyboard. It’s as powerful and capable as a MacBook pro (£1,899, Apple) in everything but battery life, and when coupled with the Microsoft slim pen 2 (£119.99, Microsoft) it can do more than the rival Apple machine. The fluid 120Hz display is also one of the best screens on any Windows laptop you can buy.
Buy now
HP Spectre x360 (14in, 2021): £1,299.99, John Lewis
Full credit to HP for designing a laptop that doesn’t look like yet another MacBook air (£919, Currys.). The HP Spectre x360 is a high-performance machine with a display that can be folded back in on itself to transform into a tablet, albeit a slightly chunky one when compared with two-in-ones that can be fully snapped in half.
Every inch of this device feels premium. The 14in highdefinition display is responsive and vivid. The fingerprint sensor is fast, and the physical cut-off switch for the webcam is a nice addition for the security-conscious.
Under the bonnet you’ve got top-end components. We tested the 2021 model with its do-everything Core i7 processor and generous 16GB of memory, a version that doesn’t tinker too much with the exterior but improves on the specs with an even faster Intel CPU, Intel Evo certification and a wider range of configuration options.
Buy now
Asus ZenBook 13: £604.99, Box
The ZenBook 13 is littered with interesting little design touches that make this coffee shop ultrabook stand out from the crowd. For a start, where other laptops have whittled down their ports to one or two USB-C connections, this one proudly keeps its USB-A port alongside an HDMI out and a MicroSD card slot, all without sacrificing thinness.
When opened, the hinge is designed to lift the keyboard slightly for more ergonomic typing and better airflow. The touchpad can display a number pad or calculator app, while the infrared camera can be used to unlock Windows. An all-day battery life, vibrant edge-to-edge screen and stylish finish round off one of the best 13in laptops you can buy.
Buy now
The verdict
If you’re looking for a high-performance, do-it-all Windows machine that can run rings around most desktop computers, the Dell XPS 15 is your laptop. For gaming, our pick is the Razer Blade 15. It will break the bank, but it’s worth every penny. Consider shopping for older models or the smaller Razer Blade 14 if you can’t stomach the price tag.
Most shoppers won’t need that much power, so we’d recommend the Lenovo yoga slim 7 for those who want a laptop that can handle everyday tasks without leaving a giant hole in your bank account. Apple users have an easier choice, but the latest 2021 model of the MacBook pro 14in is our favourite Apple laptop right now.
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