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2023 is a great vintage with a lot of “best laptop” to buy in each category. It's hard to ignore Apple, which hit hard by launching computers without Intel, with its own ultra-high-performance chips.
Designed entirely in-house, and perfectly optimized for macOS, these new chips enable the latest Macs to achieve record battery life (up to more than 20 hours) without compromising on performance.
Added to this are micro-LED displays on some models, which are on paper as good as the expensive external Apple Pro Display XDR. The category remains a minority, but with 28.3% more sales year-on-year, Mac sales are currently growing the most on the market.
The company shipped 29 million units last year, and it can be said that Apple is the company that has best taken advantage of the pandemic and the widespread use of teleworking. Fortunately, Apple is not the only company making great offers. Despite its excellent results, the company remains only the 4th largest computer seller behind Lenovo, HP and Dell (but ahead of Acer).
Among the models worth checking out, we can mention the latest LG Gram 17″ which we find quite incredible given its small size, its high-flying performance and its featherweight, the Asus ROG Zephyrus G15, an incredibly powerful and compact gaming laptop, or the HP spectre x260 14 other “best laptop 2023” to buy for all its features.
In this comparison, we have tried to avoid repetition by only offering in each category the model that seems to us to be the best laptop to buy in 2023.
Top 5 which laptop to buy in 2023:
- MacBook Air M2
- Dell XPS 13+
- MacBook Pro 16″ M2 Pro or Max
- MacBook Pro 13″
- LG Gram 17
Even better than the best laptop to buy in 2022
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After the excellent MacBook Air M1 of 2020 updates the MacBook Air range with a new M2 chip and a new design. The format remains the same, but the screen is larger (+0.3″) and inherits a notch like on the most recent MacBook Pros, and new colors are also available. available (Space Gray, Silver, Midnight and Starlight).
The screen is Liguid Retina, which means better contrasts and increased brightness. On the performance side, there is an 18% increase in raw CPU performance between the MacBook Air M1 and the M2 version. They also have a GPU 35% more powerful than the previous generation.
We still find on these models what Apple calls “Unified Memory” that can use both the GPU and the CPU. The bandwidth of this memory jumps by 50% between the two generations. In addition, it is now possible to configure the machine with up to 24 GB of unified memory compared to 16 GB on the previous generation.
On the charging side, Apple is bringing back the secure MacSafe magnetic charging port. It has fast charging, and with a 67W charger, you can easily reach 50% in 30 minutes. The device also physically has more batteries, although Apple simply promises the same autonomy (of the order of 18 hours) as on the previous generation.
The best alternative to MacBook Air M2 on Windows
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If you absolutely must stick with a PC, the Dell XPS 13 Plus is arguably the best laptop of 2023. The ultra-thin, ultra-light device is the ;one of the few laptops to feature an OLED screen for unmatched contrasts, even on Apple computers.
As always, we have an ultra-premium construction, a keyboard that is pleasant to use and a trackpad that is not so bad on a PC . Unlike the MacBook Air, it has an active cooling system (fans) and is therefore not perfectly silent. But the “optimized” mode helps to achieve a balance between noise and performance.
Above the keyboard, Dell has integrated a sort of capacitive Touch Bar. This replaces the function keys (which is regrettable), and is not really interactive (they are permanent buttons). The XPS 13 Plus runs on an Intel EVO processor with powerful options, but there is one thing you should know right away.
We are still on an x86 architecture, but with a construction inspired by ARM processors. However, the formula does not allow us to achieve the same characteristics as the Apple Silicon chips in the latest MacBook – It must be said that from this point of view, Apple develops at the same time the chip, the hardware and software part of its products…
In particular, the battery life may disappoint some users, but Apple has no real competition in this respect, with equal performance, since the launch of the first M1 Macs.
Buy the best laptop for battery life
The “M2 Pro” and “M2 Max” Macs offer exceptional performance and battery life. Depending on the chip chosen, you can benefit from a 12-core CPU, GPU up to 38 cores, 400 GB/s of memory bandwidth and 96 GB of unified memory that acts as both RAM and VRAM (in addition to being used for machine learning). Enough to perform tasks like 3D rendering, color grading, or video editing up to 6x faster than the fastest Intel MacBook Pro.
Apple hasn't just boosted the power of its machines: the 16-inch MacBook Pros also have exceptionally sharp Liquid Retina XDR displays, which offer contrasts close to OLED displays – including a brightness of 1,600 nits and compatibility with the P3 color space.
Small revolution: Apple has also met the expectations of professionals in terms of ports and connectivity – after years of “all USB Type C”. The MacBook Pro 16″ thus have an HDMI port that supports 8K screens, an ultra-practical integrated microSD card port to empty your camera. These computers also see the return of the MagSafe charging port (version 3) that saved so many computers from falling. And there are still three Thunderbolt 4 ports. Beyond that, the design is slightly thicker – but that's actually a good thing since Apple has taken advantage of it to equip it with a significantly more capable battery.
Among the available models, the MacBook Pro 16″ with the M2 Max chip offers the same advantages as the M2 Pro model, but with a more powerful GPU, higher memory bandwidth. The device can be purchased with up to 96 GB of unified memory – and displays a record battery life of 22 hours, the longest ever seen on a computer from the firm.
200% Deposit Bonus up to €3,000 180% First Deposit Bonus up to $20,000The best power-to-battery life ratio of the moment
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Apple has just unveiled the first computer equipped with a new iteration of the M chips: the MacBook Pro 13″ M2. More professional than the MacBook Air, the MacBook Pro 13″ M2 uses the same chassis as the MacBook Pro 13″ with M1 chip. And it is equipped with a Touch Bar, which we thought would forever be filed away in the brand's missed appointments.
The connectivity will not suit everyone: count on an audio/microphone jack combo and two Thunderbolt 4 ports and that's it. But the real interest of the show is the performance of the new M2 chip. The M2 is an 18% more powerful CPU, a 35% faster GPU and a 40% more powerful neural engine.
Apple promises that the device is 1.4 times faster on a Final Cut Pro edit compared to its M1 counterpart – which translates to 6 times higher performance than on the latest MacBook with Intel chip. For encoding, the M2 is 2.9 times faster than the M1 version and 7.9 times faster than the latest Intel Mac.
All this with an autonomy that is still as interstellar. In general use, the MacBook Pro 13″ M2 still lasts 17h11, or about twenty minutes more than its predecessor M1.
Buy the best 17″ laptop
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In the rest of the manufacturers, the best laptop to buy for the size is without a doubt the LG Gram. Especially if you like the 17″ size but not so much the bulk it takes up when it comes to moving it around. LG Grams have always been true feats of design force. With these machines, LG seeks the best possible balance between ultra-refined design, lightness and solid performance.
From this point of view, these machines are simply astounding. The LG Gram 17 weighs only 1.35 kg. To give you a point of comparison, the MacBook Air M1 weighs almost the same at 1.284 kg. It is also MIL-STD-810G certified, which is a set of durability standards developed by the US military attesting to its durability.
For the rest, we have unparalleled performance thanks to its Intel Core i7-1065G7 accompanied by 16 GB of RAM. On the storage side, we have a 1 TB NVMe SSD. You will certainly not have the same autonomy with this machine as a MacBook Pro 16″ of 2021. Nevertheless, this very capable machine will be able to accompany you everywhere, very easily.
Buy the best gaming laptop
© Asus
Having had the chance to test it, the Asus ROG Zephyrus G15 is a truly incredible machine, both in terms of design and the small innovations that make it the best laptop to buy for gamers. Nothing resists it: it is possible to configure it with all the best that Intel, AMD and Nvidia produce.
It has several screen options, including a 165Hz QHD option that delivers incredibly smooth animations. The audio is neat, and the keyboard and trackpad are among the best on the market. To preserve this compact format, Asus has deployed a few tricks.
For example, when you open the screen, the bottom cover of the computer rises to allow a greater volume of air to circulate. Enough to avoid less practical and too imposing cooling solutions like those used on certain Alienware laptops.
Buy the best laptop for professionals
© Lenovo
Lenovo's ThinkPad line has always had a very attractive look that seems to scream to anyone who will listen ’I am a true professional” . The funny thing is that this design is repeated year after year as something that is very much a part of the range.
The most compact model, the ThinkPad X1 Nano does not deviate from tradition. We find this all-red and black look that smells of the futurism of the year 2000. We find the small red button in the middle of the keyboard which turns out to be a surprisingly practical pointer.
Some prefer it to the classic trackpad. In addition to all that, we have all the security features that we can expect from a PC for professionals, biometrics included. And performance… all this in a featherweight. The ThinkPad X1 Nano weighs only 900 grams, even less than the MacBook Air M1 or the LG Gram 17.
Before you know which laptop to buy in 2023, you need to determine what your specific needs are. Finding decent performance in 2022 is generally not a problem. The biggest differentiators are the size, technology, refresh rate and quality of the screen, the weight of the machine, gaming performance and, increasingly, battery life.
In addition to this, with the rise of Macs, it is worth considering whether the Apple or PC/Windows ecosystem is best suited to your needs. PCs are the most compatible with applications, and are also the ideal machines for gamers. But Macs hold their own, with very high-quality professional applications. And unrivaled autonomy.
Apple has set the bar very high in this last area with the new 16-inch MacBook Pro, which lasts up to 22 hours on a single charge. The best alternatives from other manufacturers tend to last around ten hours. In addition to these points, you need to determine whether you prefer to buy a classic laptop or a convertible laptop that can occasionally act as a tablet.
Finally, don't forget that you will have to transport the laptop you are going to buy. This is a very important point when some offer machines weighing less than 1 kg, while delivering astonishing performance – while other manufacturers produce machines that are certainly powerful, but weigh several kilograms.
This is the case for most gaming PCs. In use, it should be noted that these very heavy machines are very unpleasant to transport. They sometimes even require two power supplies to be plugged in at the same time. And the battery life is obviously not there. This type of machine is dedicated to a very specific audience, and clearly not everyone will find what they are looking for.
So, which laptop to buy in this 2023 comparison ? Share your opinion in the comments. We will of course update this content regularly as new models are released.
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