2026 Awards Results

Apple MacBook Air (M5, 2026)

Apple's MacBook Air with M5: a fanless design, 16GB of unified memory and 512GB of storage in the base configuration, and up to 18 hours of battery life, per Apple's product page. It weighs 2.7 pounds.

• M5 · UP TO 18 HOURS
• chip: M5
• battery: up to 18 hours (Apple)
• base_memory: 16GB unified / 512GB

Apple MacBook Neo

Apple's entry MacBook: an A18 Pro chip, a 13-inch Liquid Retina display at 500 nits, up to 16 hours of battery life on a single charge, and two USB-C ports with a headphone jack. A Touch ID model is offered.

• UP TO 16 HOURS (APPLE)
• chip: A18 Pro
• battery: up to 16 hours (Apple)
• display: 13-inch, 500 nits

Dell XPS 13 (2026)

A 120Hz 1600p touchscreen and all-metal body at a Windows ultraportable price. PCMag and WIRED both list the 8GB base memory as the first con, and there is no headphone jack. WIRED rates it 8/10 and recommends the 16GB model.

Sources: PCMag , WIRED

• 8GB RAM CATCH
• price_observed: $699.99 base (PCMag)
• reviewer_score: PCMag 4.0 Excellent / WIRED 8/10
• source: PCMag, WIRED

HP OmniBook 5 14

The battery leader of PCMag’s test group: 34 hours 48 minutes on its video loop, with an OLED panel and a starting price of $879.99. PCMag lists the plastic keyboard deck and ho-hum graphics as the trade-offs.

Sources: PCMag

• 34-HOUR BATTERY, PCMAG EC 4.0
• price_observed: $879.99 starting (PCMag)
• battery_measured: 34h 48m (PCMag)
• source: PCMag

Lenovo Yoga 7i 2-in-1 (14-inch, Intel)

NYT Wirecutter’s top Windows pick: a comfortable keyboard, a 14-inch OLED touchscreen with a 360-degree hinge, and 16.5 hours of tested battery life. Wirecutter’s trade-offs are a weight just over 3 pounds and mediocre speakers.

Sources: NYT Wirecutter

• WIRECUTTER: BEST WINDOWS LAPTOP
• price_observed: $1,030 from Best Buy (Wirecutter)
• specs_listed: Core Ultra 5 322 / 16GB / 512GB
• battery_listed: 16.5h (Wirecutter)

HP OmniBook Ultra 14

WIRED’s review rates it 8/10 and calls it one of the best alternatives to the MacBook Air, with a thin aluminum design, an OLED display and strong speakers. Tom’s Guide measured 13 hours 27 minutes on its web-surfing battery test and gives a starting price of $1,899.

Sources: WIRED , Tom’s Guide

• WIRED: BEST WINDOWS LAPTOP
• price_observed: $1,899 starting (Tom’s Guide)
• battery_measured: 13h 27m (Tom’s Guide)
• reviewer_score: WIRED 8/10

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 14 Aura Edition

The business flagship: PCMag gives it 4.5/5 and its Editors’ Choice award. PCMag credits the Space Frame design with easier repairs and the battery with longer life, and lists the minimal Panther Lake speed gain and small SSDs as its cons.

Sources: PCMag

• PCMAG EDITORS’ CHOICE 4.5
• price_observed: from $2,139 (PCMag)
• battery_measured: 25:08 (PCMag)
• reviewer_score: PCMag 4.5 Outstanding

ASUS ProArt P16

ASUS's ProArt P16 is a creator laptop with up to an AMD Ryzen AI 9 465 processor and up to a GeForce RTX 5090 Laptop GPU, and an ASUS Lumina Pro OLED touchscreen that ASUS describes as Pantone-validated with Delta E < 1 accuracy.

• CREATOR SPEC · LUMINA PRO OLED
• processor: up to Ryzen AI 9 465
• gpu: up to RTX 5090 Laptop GPU
• display: Lumina Pro OLED, Delta E < 1 (ASUS)

ASUS Zenbook A14

ASUS's own page gives the Zenbook A14 a weight of 990 g, an 18-core Snapdragon X2 Elite with an 80 TOPS NPU, and over 33 hours of continuous video playback on a single charge under ASUS's test conditions.

• UNDER 1 KG · COPILOT+ PC
• weight: 990 g (ASUS)
• processor: 18-core Snapdragon X2 Elite, 80 TOPS NPU
• battery: over 33 hours video playback (ASUS)