If you’re shopping for a big-screen laptop with punch, the HP Envy 16 can do it all. However, these are minor issues for an otherwise outstanding Windows 11 laptop. The speakers also could have been better.

Other reasons to buy include a healthy smattering of ports and a bright, vivid 14-inch display.īut it’s not a perfect system, however, as the laptop has an inordinate amount of bloatware. While it didn’t make our longest lasting laptop page, the Swift 5 still offers more than 11 hours of battery life. We were also surprised at how well the notebook’s integrated Intel Iris Xe graphics performed, notching 26 frames per second on the Sid Meier's Civilization VI benchmark. The Swift 5 had its best showing on the Geekbench 5.4 test where it scored an impressive 9,859. And it easily sailed past our category average. Powered by a 12th Gen Intel Core i7 processor with integrated Intel graphics, the Swift 5 held its own against its competitors during our overall performance and file transfer tests. It’s easy on the eyes with our reviewer proclaiming the Mist Green aerospace-grade aluminum system as “the most attractive notebook I’ve seen this year.” But the Swift 5 is about more than good looks. That’s a lot of power for a relatively affordable price –– at least for a MacBook.Īcer consistently delivers laptops that deliver a great combination of performance and value. For instance, the Air M2 crushed the Geekbench 5.4 test as well as the Handbrake video transcoding and BlackMagic Read/Write tests. Even better, it’s more powerful then the competition. Although the M2 chip won’t pull the numbers that its more powerful brethren (M2 Pro and M2 Max), the silicon is still more powerful than its predecessor. Other reasons to buy the MacBook Air M2 include a bright and colorful 13.6-inch display, a comfortable keyboard and over 14 hours of battery life based on our testing. This system handled most of our benchmarks with a breezy aplomb, outperforming most Windows laptops.

This is one of the thinnest laptops around at only 0.4 inches thick, and yet it packs a big punch thanks to Apple’s M2 chip. There’s a lot to love about the MacBook Air M2, starting with its new look. Weighing a mere 2.7 pounds, Apple’s smallest laptop is also the best laptop for most people.

Best budget laptops 2017