The best laptops of 2025: Compare the M4 MacBook Air, Microsoft Surface Laptop 7, and more

Oct 7, 2025 - 01:00

the 15-inch m4 apple macbook air on a desk against a blue speckled wall

UPDATE: Oct. 6, 6:00 p.m. ET We're currently in the process of testing a slew of laptops. For this month's update, I added the Asus Zenbook A14 and the Lenovo Yoga 9i 2-in-1 Aura Edition as new top picks.

Choosing the best laptop for you comes down to your primary use case(s), your design preferences, your operating system of choice, and your budget. But even with those parameters, it can be difficult to pinpoint the leading contenders.

I've been covering laptops for Mashable for over two years and created a meticulous testing procedure that our team uses to review them. After researching dozens of laptops and trying the most promising models with my colleagues, I've settled on some top picks.

Best laptops to buy 2025

As of Oct. 2025, I think the 15-inch Apple MacBook Air (M4) is the best MacBook for most people. It's a sleek-as-ever notebook featuring impressive performance, open-lid support for two external displays, a great 12MP Center Stage camera, and an extremely reasonable starting price of $1,199 (making it $100 cheaper than its M3 predecessor).

The best Windows laptop we've tested is the 13.8-inch Microsoft Surface Laptop 7, a sophisticated and snappy Copilot+ PC boasting a stellar battery life of nearly 23 hours. Note that Microsoft makes an Intel version that may appeal to users wary of Windows on ARM for app compatibility reasons, but it's a business-oriented model with a significant markup.

Prime Day laptop deals are coming

If you're currently shopping for a new laptop — and if you're reading this guide, you almost certainly are — know that your timing is impeccable. Amazon is gearing up to host Prime Big Deal Days, a 48-hour sale that informally kicks off its holiday season deals. It's effectively a fall Prime Day.

The sale will probably prompt some year-round lows on MacBooks, Surface devices, and other laptops on Amazon, but don't limit yourself to its selection. Prime Big Deal Days spurs other tech retailers like Best Buy into running their own competing sales, giving diligent shoppers more opportunities to save. (A few of my top picks are only available at Best Buy, anyway.)

Cross-checking offers between retailers will be your best line of defense against overpaying, but if you don't want to sift through the sea of sales on your own, I'll also be tracking the best Prime Day laptop deals myself.