The best laptops of 2020 are a bit of a moving target, because of hearty sales brought on by the forced isolation of the pandemic. Some of our favorite models have come and gone quickly. That said, the biggest story of the year continues to be the pitched battle between AMD and Intel: Ryzen 4000’s cores vs. Core’s clock speeds.
Most recently, Intel launched its Tiger Lake CPUs for thin-and-light laptops, promising yet again that thanks to flexible clock speeds, and its potent new Iris Xe discrete graphics, it would hammer Ryzen 4000. Or so Intel says. The normally diplomatic company even went so far as to say Ryzen 4000 stinks on battery. Maybe Intel is sore that AMD’s laptop share is increasing.
Check out the latest news and reviews, along with our top picks below. Looking for a good holiday buy? Check out our roundup of the best laptop PC deals this season.
Best laptops cheat sheet: Our top picks
Latest laptop news and reviews
The laptop innovations keep coming. Here are the latest news and reviews:
Because of all the new laptop CPUs coming soon, including (so rumored) Ryzen 5000, it’s a time to think hard before buying a gaming laptop. If you want the most advanced hardware, you should wait. But if you like deals, you should be able to find some good prices on capable older models.
Good news for Windows on Arm: Microsoft’s long-awaited 64-bit X86 emulator is out in beta, the last step before widespread deployment. Bad news for Windows on Arm: Even with the emulator, Windows on Arm is no match for Apple’s own M1 Arm-based chip, which just debuted in a new slate of Macs and MacBooks. We want Qualcomm to offer some real competition to Intel and AMD, but it’s not there yet.
Jared Newman / IDG
The Acer Swift 5 squeezes discrete graphics into its thin-and-light shell, giving it surprising gaming prowess.
Speaking of MacBooks, the new Acer Swift 5 (currently $1,300 on Amazon) may seem pricey, but it’s fast enough to play Fortnite using its discrete graphics. It weighs only 2.3 pounds and gets stellar battery life. It also has a touchscreen and a bunch of useful ports, most of which you’ll not find on Apple’s MacBook Air. Read our full review.
Packed with features sure to make productivity mavens happy, the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 7 delivers both performance and value in a slim and trim shell, even if its battery life isn’t quite what we’d hoped. It’s affordable too, less than $800 currently. Read our full review.
Best thin-and-light laptop
Dell’s XPS 13 7390 proves you can have both performance and light weight in the same laptop. With its 6-core Intel Core i7-10710U CPU, this thin, light machine (available via Dell.com) actually outpaces bigger workhorse models.
Granted, the XPS 13 7390 and its Comet Lake-U CPU are getting a bit old in the tooth. The newer XPS 13 9310 2-in-1, with Intel’s 11th-gen Core CPU, suggests that the clamshell XPS 13 with the same chip will likely blow the XPS 13 7390 out of the water. But we’ve thought long and hard about which XPS 13 is best for you, and the truth is, a lot of people could get good bang for buck on the discounted XPS 13 7390 instead of paying top dollar for the shiniest new thing.
Best laptop under $500
If this particular model of the Acer Aspire 5 looks familiar, it’s probably because it’s been sitting atop Amazon’s laptop bestseller list for months. It’s easy to understand why. This AMD Ryzen 3-powered Aspire 5 packs some enticing features for the price, including a Full-HD 15.6-inch display, a slim-and-trim chassis, and solid performance on everyday computing tasks.
That said, a Windows 10 laptop this inexpensive has its compromises. In this case, we’re talking a scant 4GB of RAM and a cramped 128GB solid-state drive, while battery life falls significantly short compared to similar Aspire 5 models that don’t cost much more. Read our full review.
[Currently $410 on Amazon, but prices fluctuate frequently.]
Best 14-inch/15-inch workhorse
The Dell XPS 15 9500, an overdue refresh to the company’s high-end workhorse, arrives just in time for it to be truly considered the “MacBook Pro killer” it’s always aspired to be. Dell gave it a top-to-bottom redesign, including a 16:10 aspect ratio, 15.6-inch panel running 4K+ with HDR400 and Dolby Vision support—and the slenderest of bezels. The result is a stunning all-screen look that is likely to set the style for other laptop makers to emulate. Read our full review.
Runner-up
The Lenovo Yoga C940 15 is a workhorse laptop with a few bonus features: a touchscreen that flips around into tablet mode, a built-in stylus for writing or sketching, and—thank heavens—a full-sized USB-A port to complement its two USB-C connections. It even fits in a number pad without cramping its excellent keyboard. While screen backlighting is a bit uneven and audio quality could be better, it’s a solid choice for those who want a luxurious workhorse PC. Read our full review.
[$1,700 at time of review on Bestbuy.com. Other configurations available on Lenovo.com.
Best convertible laptop
Dell’s XPS 13 2-in-1 9310 is mostly an evolutionary update to the XPS 13 7390 2-in-1 we reviewed last year, but with one key change. Thanks to Intel’s 11th gen Core i7-1165G7 chip, gaming is actually conceivable on this sub-three-pound laptop.
Most other things didn’t change, and we have our beefs about the design. But that game-ready performance boost alone makes the XPS 13 2-in-1 special. Read our full review.
[$1,714 as tested; available on Dell.com]
Best budget convertible laptop
The Lenovo Yoga C740-15IML (currently $790 on Lenovo.com) is one of the most impressive 2-in-1 laptops we’ve seen in its price range. Weighing in at just three pounds and jammed with nifty features, the slim, sturdily built, Yoga C740 packs in plenty of productivity pep, and it can last the whole day without its AC adapter. A bright, Dolby Vision-enabled display plus Dolby Atmos sound provide plenty of eye and ear candy. A physical camera shutter (which, unfortunately, is a little tough to slide open and closed) and a fingerprint reader help to bolster security.
In a world where high-end laptops no one can afford get all the attention, and budget laptops can be a bucket of compromises, it’s nice to see a mid-priced laptop that has so much going for it. The Lenovo Yoga C740 easily earns our Editor’s Choice award and our top pick for budget convertibles.
[$900 MSRP; $790 as reviewed]
Best 2-in-1 / tablet / hybrid laptopMentioned in this article
This category originally started out as the best “Surface” category because, well, for a time, there was nothing like Microsoft’s 2-in-1 / tablet / hybrid device. Competitors picked up the pace, and the Lenovo Miix 520reigned for over a year. No longer.
The Surface Pro 7 represents Microsoft’s return to form, both with an up-to-date 10th-gen “Ice Lake” processor inside, but also a tweaked, modernized design that recognizes that USB-C is the wave of the future. Some legacy ports have disappeared (adios, MiniDisplayPort) but otherwise Microsoft’s tablet retains its traditional light weight and form factor. Sadly, a pen and Signature Type Cover are still extra. Read our full review for more details.
[$1,499 SRP as reviewed, excluding keyboard and pen; currently $1,199 on Microsoft.comRemove non-product link]
Keep reading for our top picks in gaming laptops and more.
News Article Courtesy Of Gordon Mah Ung,
Melissa Riofrio »