The best laptops to buy in 2018

Image result for laptop — The new Microsoft Surface Laptop

Picking the best laptop is no easy task and finding the balance between power and a fair price can make for a daunting search for even experienced buyers.

How to buy a laptop

Before you get down to the details it helps to know what you are looking for. Do you need your device for the home or on the move? Will you only use it for email and web browsing? Will you want to stream videos or play video games?For something cheap and portable a smaller Chromebook or laptop with low weight and a screen of around 11 inches would work, such as the Acer Chromebook R11. See our list of the best Chromebooks for a full breakdown.

Do I want a Windows laptop, MacBook or Chromebook?

Current devices broadly run on three different operating systems that run on the three main varieties of laptop:

Windows 10

Some of the most common devices run Microsoft's Windows operating system. They are able to perform wide-ranging tasks and have the greatest variety in models, brands and pricing. Microsoft recently released Windows 10 S, which is designed to compete with ChromeOS, limiting some apps and downloads. Windows laptops have also been considered more vulnerable to viruses.

MacOS

The MacBook Pro, MacBook and MacBook Air are all Apple laptops running on macOS. They are generally seen as powerful, smooth and reliable. They are best for high performance software and connectivity to other Apple products, but are expensive.

Chrome OS

Google’s ChromeOS used on Chromebooks is largely limited to online use, essentially operating like a web browser. Rather than installing programs users access them through Google's Chrome web store. They have limited storage capacity, but are fast and inexpensive.

How much should I pay?

Ordinary Windows laptops come in at between £500 and £750 for a decent model with Intel i5 processor and at least 4GB of RAM. For closer to £1,000 you would get the latest processors, such as Kaby Lake i5 or i7 models.

For under £500 you are looking at budget laptops and Chromebooks. These are best suited for surfing the web, rather than running too many complicated programs.

Other key things to consider

Screen size: A smaller screen means a smaller laptop, increasing its portability. Larger screen can be better if you want a more accessible screen or want to open lots of tabs.
Weight: If you plan to lug your laptop to classes or work, you may want something that weighs 1.5kg or less. If it is going to sit on your desk most of the day you can always go for a bulkier model, which may be cheaper than a sleek ultrabook.
Battery life: If you're going to be using your laptop at your desk for most of the time, battery life will be less of an issue, but if you work on the go or in a coffee shop, you don't want to get caught without power at a crucial moment. Some dedicated gaming laptops may only last four hours when under strain, while ultraportables can manage 12 hours or better.

The best laptops under £500

Lenovo Ideapad 320s

£399

Screen: 14 inches

Weight: 1.7kg

Battery life: 7 hours

For a simple Windows-running performer, the new Lenovo 320s will meet your needs with an Intel Pentium processor and 4GB of RAM, plus a 128GB SSD for storage. Power-wise it should be enough for most basic tasks, and it has a reasonable 7 hour battery life.

The Lenovo 320s is fairly connection-friendly too, with two USB ports, USB-C and an SD card slot. It's now very cheap at under £400, for a little more you can add Intel i3 or i5 processors.

Acer Chromebook R11

£294

Screen: 11.6 inches

Weight: 1.25 kg

Battery life: 9 hours

At the budget end of the market, the Acer ChromeBook R11 comes in at under £300 and looks good with a crisp white finish and aluminium top panel. It has an 11-inch touchscreen that can be quickly flipped for use in tablet mode and comes with the Chrome OS operating system.

The R11's resolution is a little low at 1366 x 768 pixels, but it will look fine on the smaller screen. A solid battery life of around 9 hours with its slimmer size and portability make this ideal for use on-the-go.

Lenovo Yoga Book

£449

Screen: 10.1 inch

Weight: 0.689 kg

Battery life: 15 hours

A stunning laptop/tablet hybrid launched last year, the Lenovo Yoga Book features an innovative keyboard and touchpad that stand out from the latest generation of devices. The Yoga Book features no physical keyboard, instead presenting a virtual one which only switches on when you start using it. As well as a touchscreen, the Yoga Book pushes itself as a device you can really write on, clipping a notepad over the virtual keyboard sees notes and drawings transmitted onto the main screen.

While it's an exciting offering the keyboard is considered tricky to get used to, but the overall product is light, portable, and certainly something different. It has now come down below £500 with Windows 10 from John Lewis.

Under £1,000

Microsoft Surface Laptop

£959

Screen: 13.5 inch

Weight: 1.25 kg

Battery life: up to 14.5 hours

Microsoft's new Surface Laptop is an attempt to "reset the category". There's no doubt it is an excellent device, with long battery life, a slim build and a unique Alcantara fabric keyboard, that feels almost warm to touch. It's also without doubt the most beautiful Windows device this year.

Drawbacks include the fact this laptop is built to run on Windows 10 S, Microsoft's new operating system that limits access to some apps. It should mean the laptop runs better in the long run, but this has yet to be tested. The entry level model also comes with just 4GB of RAM, quite low for this price point.

Despite this the Microsoft Surface Laptop was one of the best models we tested in 2017.

Google Pixelbook

£899, Google

Screen size: 12.3 inch

Weight: 1.1kg

Battery life: 10 hours

Google has launched its new Pixelbook laptop for the most advanced Chromebook ever. This laptop comes with a dedicated Google Assistant key, which allows you to access Google's voice activated virtual aide. It is also hugely powerful for a laptop running on Chrome OS, with seventh generation Intel i5 and i7 processors inside.

It's one of the first laptops to work with both Android and Chrome apps, meaning you can use apps like Snapchat and Instagram on your laptop. You can also buy the Pixelbook Pen, a stylus which works with the laptop's touchscreen. We also enjoyed features like its brilliant keyboard and trackpad and found the device portable and light, although the screen size may put off some people.

It's also been cut to £899 for the start of the year, making this a more attractive price offering.

Lenovo IdeaPad 720s

£849

Screen: 14 inch

Weight: 1.6 kg

Battery life: up to 14 hours

A rival to the MacBook Air, the Lenovo IdeaPad 720s has been noted for its similarity in design to Apple’s cheapest model, matching its aluminium bodywork . But it comes as a cheaper alternative, for £849 from most retailers and includes extra functions such as a fingerprint sensor.

It's packed with 8GB of RAM and a USB-C and two USB 3.0 ports, with an HD screen and 7th generation Intel i5 processors. Storage includes a 256GB SSD. With a display that can rotate to 180 degrees it is also flexible, plus it has a battery life that lasts up to 14 hours.

Dell Inspiron 15 7000 Gaming

£899, Dell

Screen: 15.6 inches

Weight: 2.65kg

Battery life: up to 10 hours

Dell has freshly updated its 7000 Gaming series of laptops, adding new functions and a heavyweight design. The entry level model comes in at under £1,000, featuring an Nvidia GTX 1050 series graphics card, enough for most modern games, and it comes with 8GB of RAM and 1TB of RAM.

The cheapest model comes in at under £1,000, which is a steal for a gaming ready device. The design includes Ethernet, SD, HDMI, three regular USB ports and a USB-C port.

Money no object

MacBook Pro

£1,149

Screen: 13.3 inches

Weight: 1.37kg

Battery life: 10 hours

Coming four years after Apple’s last high-end laptop, the latest MacBook Pro is thinner, more powerful and features innovations not seen on other laptops, such as its Touch Bar and a Touch ID fingerprint scanner.

And the new edition has done away with some staple features, dropping support for standard USB sticks and SD cards, meaning you may have to buy new dongles or wires for its USB-C ports. Following a 2017 refresh to its range, models with the Touch Bar and fingerprint scanner will set you back £1,749, while the price of the standard 13-inch model has dropped to £1,149.

The new MacBook Pro remains the top performing device for Apple lovers, with a beautiful screen, exquisite butterfly keyboard and easy-to-use trackpad.

Dell XPS 13

£1,199

Screen: 13.3 inches

Weight: 1.29kg

Battery life: 13 hours

The highly rated Dell XPS 13 is considered the lead challenger to the MacBook Pro. The XPS 13 features a virtually borderless 13.3 inch Infinity Edge display, which is available with touch.

Dell also claims the laptop offers up to 22 hours of battery life, although in practice this is more like 12 to 13 hours when streaming video. It also is one of the first laptops to feature 8th generation Intel processors for an even more power.

This version comes with eighth generation Intel i5 processors, a 256GB SSD and a touchscreen will set you back £1,199. The main drawback is an awkwardly placed webcam, sitting to the bottom left of the screen.

Microsoft Surface Book 2

£1,999

Screen: 13.5 inches

Weight: 1.6kg

Battery life: 17 hours

The new Microsoft Surface Book 2 is the most powerful laptop Microsoft has ever made. This model comes with a 256GB SSD, eighth generation Kaby Lake processors and a discrete Nvidia GTX 1050 graphics processor. It has a two-in-one design, with a screen that clips on and off, plus a luxurious trackpad and keyboard.

It also has a mammoth battery life of close to 17 hours, not to mention a 3000 x 2000 pixel screen for eye-popping clarity. Our review praised it as "immensely powerful, versatile and has a luxurious look and feel". It does, however also come with a massive price tag, and this version will set you back £1,999, far more even than a MacBook Pro.

Verdict

In the last 12 months there have been several excellent new Windows laptops, throwing the gauntlet down to Apple's Macbook Pro range among the high-end range. In particular, we loved using the Microsoft Surface Laptop, which at £959 still offers an excellent Windows experience and is probably the best new laptop from the last year.

Search This Blog

Gadget Guruji