Laptop Picks for Everyone on Your Holiday List

Is there an MBA student on your holiday shopping list? If so, you'll want to consider the gold standard in business laptops: Lenovo’s latest ThinkPad X1 Carbon. This corporate-chic machine has a flawless design, a world-class keyboard, and excellent battery life. It's even available with 5G connectivity, for those students who might be cramming for midterms outdoors. Just be aware that this is an expensive gift: Basic models start at under $1,500, but reasonably well-equipped configurations ring up north of $2,000.

Apple released no new consumer-class MacBooks this year, so 2020's MacBook Air is still the best choice for most Mac fans on your holiday list. But if you've got the cash to spare, the new 14-inch MacBook Pro is an excellent splurge if your recipient needs a bit more processing power than the M1-equipped Air can provide. Starting at $1,999, it's not cheap, but its full-size HDMI port, SD-card slot, and option for an M1 Max processor are sure to please any photographer or videographer on your gift list.

The Dell XPS 13 is a winning combination of cutting-edge performance and sleek styling, so it makes an excellent gift for the truly generous. This ultraportable machine has a trim-to-the-max chassis, a beautiful screen, and a cutting-edge Intel “Tiger Lake” processor, affirming its status as today's top high-end Windows notebook. Who wouldn't want to unwrap all that?

Lenovo's IdeaPad 1 14 proves that your lucky recipient can have a decent, even enjoyable, Windows experience on a laptop that won't cost you more than $400. Sure, you can expect a few caveats, given the price. (Make sure your giftee can abide the lack of USB-C ports, for one.) But the IdeaPad is an excellent alternative to a Chromebook for gift-givers on a moderate budget who want to wrap up a solid, basic laptop.

A good laptop for college students needs to be at least three things: affordable, portable, and durable. MSI's Modern 14 meets all criteria, with a $449.99 price as reviewed, a light and well-built aluminum chassis, long battery life, and plenty of ports. The 128GB SSD is a bit tight, and the Core i3 processor won’t break any new performance ground among budget notebooks, but we found it peppy enough for everyday work. Between the surprising build quality and well-rounded feature set, it’s hard to do better for this low price; you'll find a variety of Modern 14 models at prices a bit above or below that of our test unit.

If someone you’re shopping for is seeking a big, sharp display, look no further than the Dell XPS 17 (9710). Dell brought back the big-screen version of its beloved XPS line a few years ago, and it’s been a hit ever since, with its roomy 17-inch screen, premium design, and high power ceiling. You don’t need to get the 4K touch display or Nvidia GeForce RTX graphics of the configuration we tested, but it sure makes for a nice laptop. At the base price, the large, nearly bezel-free screen and elegant design are alluring enough. (Still want that razor-sharp screen, but smaller? Check out little brother, Dell XPS 15 OLED (9510).

In the world of gaming laptops, you’ll see entry-level machines at $1,000, high-end laptops at $2,000, and a mainstream sweet spot in between. The 2021 Acer Predator Helios 300 starts at $1,349 for a very reasonable GeForce RTX 3060 build that may make a great, still-affordable gift. We reviewed a slightly pricier configuration, but the base model is the best deal for the gamer in your life. The Helios 300 has a high-refresh-rate screen, some built-in performance-tuning features, good battery life, all the needed ports, and a midrange power level for gaming. This laptop can play all types of titles well, covering the bases for all types of gamers.

If you’re feeling especially generous this holiday, the 2021 Asus ROG Zephyrus S17 would make a great gift for any serious PC-gaming enthusiast. A big high-refresh-rate screen, top-end gaming performance, a unique sleek design, and long battery life come together in this brute of a laptop. The top-end configurations (complete with Core i9 and GeForce RTX 3080 parts) are stellar and have high prices to match, but the S17's lesser models still make for great gaming rigs.

Chromebooks have the rap of being cheap laptops for schoolkids, but the devices also come in upscale, classic-clamshell versions, as well as detachable and rotating convertible models. (They've even made inroads into the enterprise business world.) Our general-purpose Chromebook gift pick is a further innovator: It has a seldom-seen screen size for a Chromebook (a comfortable 14 inches), a tablet-converting design, and better-than-most AMD Ryzen CPU power. It's not your garden-variety $250 Chromebook, but the base version, under $500, will be money well spent and please any on-the-go giftee.

Our Acer Spin pick above is the kind of premium (though still reasonably priced) Chromebook that adults, especially those with older eyes, will want to carry around and look at. This is the model for the grade-schooler on your gift list. Some kids will already have a Chromebook issued by their school, but if not, this model is well-suited to their small hands. Designed to withstand the rigors of daily life in the classroom, at home, and in between, the Chromebook 11 hits a trifecta: rugged, affordable, and right-sized for kids. It won't weigh down a backpack, and stowed in a padded sleeve, it can take the bumps and lumps dealt out by a little human who is going big places.

Tablet lovers can’t do much better than the Microsoft Surface Pro 8, the latest revision to the tried-and-tested Surface 2-in-1 line. Those who use Windows tablets are often very committed to them, so why not go for the best? A high-quality metal build, a redesigned and larger screen with minimal edges, and an optional pen (which can be stored and charged in the keyboard) make this a dream for web browsing from the couch or drawing and sending emails from the kitchen or coffee-shop table. A snappy processor, a sharp 1080p webcam, and USB Type-C ports round out the excellent build. Just remember: Like with past Surface Pro tablets, the keyboard (and pen) are still sold separately.

Looking to give an artistically minded content creator in your life a powerful, unique laptop this holiday season…but not a MacBook? Microsoft’s Surface Laptop Studio is an excellent alternative. Packed with innovative features, it presages a new breed of laptop for creative pros who are pen-input devotees. Your recipient will love the pull-forward screen, which attaches magnetically to the keyboard base in multiple positions, making for a rock-solid platform for digital artwork.

So, if we were to tell you that a certain solidly built, fast 14-inch laptop also had two displays, you’d assume it’s a pricey machine…right? The Asus ZenBook Duo 14 defies those odds, somehow starting at just $999.99 despite sporting all of those attributes. It’s a 3.53-pound ultraportable, not a workstation powerhouse or gaming rig, but it remains plenty capable for everyday tasks. A few design concessions are made, related to the keyboard and touchpad placement, but it’s still road-ready with a long battery life and that super-nice second screen spanning the front of the keyboard deck. The extra panel acts as a great reference point for online research and a mini second monitor to turbocharge anyone's productivity. The laptop as a whole is also a head-turner and a serious conversation piece, making for an even better gift.

Laptop makers have refined their machines by vast leaps in the 21st century, but one area in which they’ve made little progress? Easy upgrades. At the end of their useful lives, most laptops end up in the recycle or waste stream. To put off that time as long as possible, Framework’s unique ultraportable employs a nifty design with multiple modular bays that let you swap in and out different physical-connection ports and storage options. The interior is also more accessible (and better labeled) than that of any other laptop we’ve seen, designed for easy changing out of components such as the memory, the battery, and (if the concept takes off!) even motherboards and processors when the time comes. Plus, putting aside its earth-friendly design, it’s a pretty decent ultraportable in its own right.