1. MacBook Air M3
Specifications
CPU: Apple M3GPU: Apple M3 GPURAM: 16 GB Storage: 1TB SSD Display: 13-inch, 1664pSize: 12 x 8.5 x 0.4 inches Weight: 2.7 pounds
Reasons to buy:
Great battery life
Outstanding performance
Vibrant Liquid Retina display
Comfortable keyboard
Faster SSD speed
Reasons to avoid:
Limited Ports
Limited
Display not as bright as competitors
Update 3/5/2025: New 13- and 15-inch MacBook Air M4 models launch on March 12 and our reviews of the two will follow shortly. The major upgrades to the new models are the M4 chip, a new web cam, and a $100 price cut. If you do manage to grab an amazing deal ($799 or less) on the MacBook Air M3 it is still a great buy, but wait for our reviews of the new models.
At a weight of 2.7 pounds, Apple's smallest laptop features the M3 chip, which is more powerful and faster than its predecessor. That is why it is my suggestion as the best laptop for the average individual.
The 13.6-inch display of the MacBook Air is one of the brightest laptops available, and True Tone creates excellent color accuracy but lags behind a number of the OLED rivals in terms of color vibrancy. Apple is rumoured to switch to OLED in the future but not in the present.
Like the M2 Air, the MacBook Air M3 is one of the thinnest laptops with a mere 0.4 inches of depth. However, unlike most ultraportable laptops, it is powerful enough to support a heavy workload thanks to the M3 chip. Whether it was our review process or normal use, the Air M3 was more than adequately equipped to support anything.
From the tests, the MacBook Air M3 scored 12,087 on Geekbench 6.2, well above the average of the segment. Our Handbrake video encode test took 7 minutes and 54 seconds to encode a 4K video to 1080p. That beats the average but consider that part of its Intel Core Ultra-fueled competition is outpacing the MacBook in this regard. Apple also fixed the slightly slower SSD read/write speed of the Air M2, increasing it to 3,030.7/3,058.8MBps with the M3 compared to 2,800.1/2,210.6MBps with the M2.
All that performance capability isn't harmful to its battery life, however. If finding an outlet is a nuisance to you during your day, don't sweat it. The Air M3 endured over 15 hours of lab battery life testing.
If that isn't enough, you also have a 1080p webcam with Apple's latest tricks of the trade helping the hardware to achieve even more. So what are the downsides? If you have a lot of peripherals, the Thunderbolt/USB-C combo could be tricky, but you do have MagSafe 3 to leave the two ports free for charging.
At a launch price of $1,099, the 13-inch MacBook Air M3 isn't cheap, but it's a good deal, and Apple made it an even better deal on October 30, 2024, by adding 16GB of base RAM, a $200 upgrade that we recommended most people buy. If you're on a budget, the 13-inch MacBook Air M2 is still available with a fresh launch price of $999, and I'd expect it to drop to $899 or below quite often, so look to the best MacBook deals before you purchase. Need more screen real estate? Look no further than the 15-inch MacBook Air M3. It copies all the best of its smaller sibling but with a larger 15.3-inch screen. Apple enthusiasts with more demanding requirements may be enticed by the new 14-inch MacBook Pro M4 and 16-inch MacBook Pro M4 Pro, but do not fret, the Air remains the best for most.
2. Acer Swift Go 14
Specifications
CPU: Intel Core Ultra 7 155HGPU: Intel integrated Arc GPURAM: 16GBStorage: 1TB SSD Display: 14-inch, 1920 x 1200Size: 12.32 x 8.6 x 0.68Weight: 2.9 pounds
Reasons to purchase
Intel Core Ultra Processor/ARC Graphics Unit
NPU improves performance
Stylish, robust, entirely aluminum
Excellent Webcam
Longer Battery Life
Reasons to avoid
Poor speaker performance Base display would look more vibrant
Acer's Swift Go 14
is the easy pick for the best budget laptop. At $749, the Go 14 isn't the cheapest laptop out there, but its value is hard to beat. We reviewed the more expensive $999 version, but you'll typically find it for less than $700 today. The big concession is trading an Intel Core Ultra 7 155H for a Core Ultra 5 125H, so if you do productivity, web surfing, and other general computing, it won't make much of a difference if you catch a good deal on the Ultra 5 125H model.
Build quality is the same on either price with the Go 14 tipping the scales at a light 2.9 pounds. The metallic all-aluminum chassis gives off a slight sheen that seems and feels way more expensive than the price. Lifting it open, the black chiclet-style backlit keyboard looks and feels wonderful. Acer gives you a lot of ports on this portable laptop with two Thunderbolt 4 ports, two USB Type-A ports, an HDMI port, a microSD card slot, a 3.5mm audio jack, and a Kensington lock slot.
The screen is below average for color at 79.1 percent of the DCI-P3 color gamut (average is 85.2 percent), but it beats the category average in brightness with 374 nits of luminance (average is 354). Again, with the cost in mind, these are decent results. You might also look to the 2.8K screen configuration if a more precise image is important to you.
Performance with our review model was everything we've come to expect with the new Intel Core Ultra. Our Geekbench 6.2 overall performance test produced a score of 12,434, beating out more expensive models like the MacBook Air M3 (12,087). It also torched the competition to a crisp with our Handbrake video encode test of 5 minutes and 18 seconds, a full four minutes short of the category average of 9:07, outpacing the MacBook Air M3 (7:54). What are the negatives? Battery life is not bad, at 9 hours and 50 minutes in our tests, but it trails behind the best of the breed such as the MacBook Air M3 (15:21) or the Asus Zenbook 14 OLED (15:52).
3. HP Spectre x360 14 2024
Specifications
CPU: Intel Core Ultra 7 155HGPU: Intel Arc Graphics RAM: 32GBStorage: 2TB SSD Display: 14-inch, 2880 x 1880, OLED Size : 12.4 x 8.7 x 0.7 inches Weight: 3.2 pounds
Reasons to Buy
Beautiful 2.8K OLED display
Stellar 2-in-1 performance
Over 11 hours of battery life
Bouncy keyboard
4K webcams
Reasons to avoid:
Display benchmarks could be enhanced
Limited ports
HP Spectre x360 14 2024
The Intel Core Ultra version of the HP Spectre x360 14 takes everything we've loved about this line of laptops in recent times to the next level. Beyond the functional 2-in-1 design, you have a gorgeous 2.8K screen with an OLED touchscreen to utilize for designing or viewing material.
The 3.2-pound laptop is light for a 14-inch 2-in-1, but thanks to that Intel power-sipping processor, it still aced our test of battery life with over 11 hours of run-time on a single charge! That's one of the best marks ever with a 2-in-1. Despite its frugal use of the battery, the Intel Core Ultra and Arc GPU surprised our tester with superior Geek bench and 3D Mark performance than heavier clamshells. Why isn't it perfect, though? The screen is vibrant and colorful, but we've gotten better performance out of the competition. The rest of the package, though, makes it impossible to argue with the HP Spectre x360 14 as the best 2-in-1 available, and that's why the notebook earned 4.5 stars and our highly coveted Editor’s Choice distinction.
Tags
Laptops & Computers