Shopping for a laptop can be challenging. Tons of models are released yearly from over a dozen major manufacturers; even the best laptop brands sometimes produce an inferior product. We’re also often bombarded with complaints of poor quality control, inadequate after-sale customer support, and other issues associated with a particular manufacturer. While no company is perfect, quite a few, like Apple, ASUS, Dell, and Microsoft, stand out.
We’ve bought and tested over 90 laptops, including models from over a dozen brands, and below are our recommendations for the best brands for laptops. The order in which these laptops appear in the article doesn’t represent any ranking; they’re listed alphabetically. For more options, check out our recommendations for the best laptops, the best business laptops, and the best gaming laptops
best laptop brands -ACER
Acer is a Taiwanese company founded in 1976 as Multitech and was renamed Acer in 1987. Although it was known for making affordable, budget laptops for a long time, it now has one of the widest selections of models, with multiple laptop lineups like Aspire, Swift, Nitro, Predator, Concept, and more. Acer is one of the biggest Chromebook manufacturers, producing popular models like the Acer Chromebook Spin 713 (2020). It’s also among the first to produce gaming Chromebooks like the Acer Chromebook 516 GE (2022).
Our pick for the best Acer laptop is the Acer Chromebook Spin 714 (2022), a 2-in-1 convertible Chromebook. It has a bright, sharp 14-inch screen, a spacious keyboard, and an outstanding 1080p webcam. It supports pen input and comes with a stylus that you can dock into the side of the laptop for transport. Performance is excellent, and battery life is amazing at over 13 hours of light use. The biggest drawback is availability.
best laptop brands-APPLE
Apple is one of the most recognizable electronics companies in the world. Apple products have become synonymous with exceptional build quality, and the company is well-known for its amazing customer support and service. Since 2020, Apple has been producing its own ARM-based processors, making MacBooks among the most powerful and power-efficient laptops on the market. Another advantage of MacBooks is their integration with other products in Apple’s ecosystem, allowing for features like Continuity Camera, Airdrop, Handoff, etc. Gaming isn’t really a thing on MacBooks. However, Apple is actively working on making it more viable, as it has just announced a new translation tool that’ll make it easier for developers to create a macOS version of their games.
The best Apple laptop we’ve tested is the Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2023). This premium mobile workstation has nearly everything you’d want on a laptop: a sturdy build, a thin and light design, plenty of processing horsepower, and long battery life. It has a sharp Mini LED display, a comfortable keyboard, an easy-to-use haptic touchpad, and tons of ports, including three USB-C/Thunderbolt 4 ports, an HDMI, and a full-size SD card reader. If you want a larger screen and don’t mind paying more, the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2023) is essentially the same device but with better-sounding speakers and longer battery life.
best laptop brands-ASUS
ASUS, also known as ASUSTek, was founded in 1989 by four members who had previously worked at Acer. It’s currently one of the largest laptop manufacturers in the world. It’s also one of the best gaming laptop brands and frequently sponsors esports events and players. ASUS makes a wide range of laptops, including ultraportables, mobile workstations, gaming laptops, and Chromebooks. Like Lenovo, ASUS often experiments with new form factors and features, like dual-screen laptops, touchpads with an integrated Numpad, a customizable dial (like the ASUS ProArt Studiobook Pro 16 OLED (2021), and 2-in-1 gaming tablets like the ASUS ROG Flow Z13.
The best ASUS laptop we’ve tested is the ASUS Zenbook 14 Flip OLED (2023), a 2-in-1 ultraportable with a gorgeous OLED display. It’s available with Intel 13th Gen P-series CPUs, which are fast enough to handle general productivity tasks and more demanding workloads like photo editing and programming. It has a great keyboard, a large touchpad, and numerous ports, including two Thunderbolt 4s and an HDMI. You get Wi-Fi 6E wireless connectivity and a facial recognition IR camera for quick logins.
