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These are some of the best-looking laptops you can buy today
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When it comes to laptops, one size rarely fits all. Some people need power, others need portability. Some people need something tough, others can only have something cheap. There are general tips to follow, but it always depends on you.
One thing we can all agree on, though, is that it’s nice to have a notebook you can look at fondly. So for those who value aesthetics, we’ve rounded up a few laptops from across the market that you can feel comfortable showing off. They’re neither the cheapest nor the strongest devices around, but if you’re willing to pay for style and build quality, they should all be on your shortlist.
People either love or hate the new Apple MacBook, but it’s hard for anyone to say it’s not stunning. It is, in essence, an evolution of the MacBook Air, its 12-inch aluminum frame both lighter (at just over 2 pounds) and thinner (at 13.1mm) than even the 11-inch version of that device. It’s one of the most wholly portable laptops ever made.
The hangup is that it might be too slender for its own good. The whole thing has just one port — albeit a futureproof USB-C one — and its keyboard is shallow enough to feel closer to tapping on an iPad than using a traditional computer. (As someone who types thousands of words per day, I’m not a big fan.) Throw in a decidedly midrange Core M chip and you have a notebook that’s really relying on its design to justify its cost.
That said, that design is gorgeous, and if you don’t need to push things too hard, it’s easy to see this ending up as your favorite laptop. A crisp display and excellent trackpad help. Again, it’s either love or hate. If you’re on the fence, though, know that Apple has a press event coming on March 21, so you can wait a week before pulling the trigger.
Apple MacBook, $999.99, available at Best Buy.
Apple MacBook, $1,289, available at Amazon.
All things considered, the Dell XPS 13 is the best Ultrabook on the market. It’s not as compact as the MacBook above, but it still keeps a super light footprint without sacrificing too much in the way of being a highly productive, mainstream computer.
It weighs less than 3 pounds, and its near-borderless display effectively puts an 13-inch laptop in an 11-inch body. Despite that supreme portability, it still packs a comfortable keyboard, lengthy battery life, and a truly superb display.
It’s also fairly affordable, starting at $799, though you’ll get stronger internals and a higher-res, touch-enabled display with pricier configurations. Still, the model on sale below — with a 1080p panel and Skylake Core i5 chip — is a solid deal, provided you can live with 128GB of storage.
Dell XPS 13, starts at $799, available at Microsoft.
The Asus Zenbook UX305 gets a spot here for providing good looks on a (relative) budget. It’s superbly slim, light, and aluminum, generally giving off a MacBook Air-esque feel for $100-200 less. It’s not as competent as the XPS 13 — the keyboard isn't backlit, the display is a little less accurate, the speakers are bad — but taken as a whole it feels like it should cost more than it does.
How well it performs depends on what model you get, though — the UX305LA linked below has a 5th-gen Core i5 chip, which isn’t quite as fluid as its Skylake-equipped successor, but also costs $50 less. Then there’s the UX305CA, which drops even further but uses a (6th-gen) Core M chip. But again, if you don’t need to game, open a ton of tabs at once, or edit HD media, it could be just fine. Either way, you’ll have what’s likely the most sharply designed laptop you can buy for less than $800.
Asus Zenbook UX305LA (5th-gen Core i5), $759.99, available at Amazon.
If it’s a 2-in-1 hybrid you’re after, look to the HP Spectre x360. It’s thicker and heavier than anything above, and I’d say the XPS 13 surpasses it in most of the essentials, but it’s close enough across the board to be worth it if you want that touchscreen or (massive) tablet-like functionality. Reviews from CNET, LaptopMag, The Wirecutter, TechRadar, and various others have agreed.
It’s still pretty svelte as far as hybrids go, its aluminum finish is sufficiently "premium," and HP’s done well to keep its geared hinge feeling relatively natural. It’s also a decent bargain: The model below has a 1080p display, 6th-gen Core i5, 8GB of RAM, and 256GB SSD for $800. If you’re onboard, keep in mind that a version with a (presumably more vibrant) OLED screen is coming soon, while a pricier 15-inch model went on sale last month.
HP Spectre x360 (Core i5, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD), $799.99, available at Best Buy.
HP Spectre x360 (15-inch), $1,149.99, available at Best Buy.
Gaming laptops are known to be a bit garish, to put it politely. Razer’s Blade series has set out to change that for the past few years, and its Blade Stealth only furthers the cause. It’s not gorgeous, but relative to the market it’s going after, it’s much less bulky and much more understated. It borders on mature, even.
All that, and it still gets you great performance for the money — its base $999 configuration includes a 6th-gen Core i7 chip, 8GB of RAM, a future-ready USB-C with Thunderbolt 3 port (a la the XPS 13), and a sharp 2560x1440 display. (Albeit with 128GB of storage.) Its battery isn’t the best, but generally speaking, it’s fast.
You can go stronger from there, but it’s worth noting that the Stealth isn’t exactly a gaming laptop on its own. For that, it’s really designed to work with the Razer Core, an external graphics enclosure that makes the Ultrabook powerful enough to run modern games as if it was a full desktop rig. Razer announced just this week that the Core costs $500 — $400 if you buy it with a new Blade laptop — so it’s not cheap, but it should add a level of flexibility to a laptop that’s already unusual among its peers. In the good way.
Razer Blade Stealth, starts at $999.99, available at Razer.
The Google Chromebook Pixel is the Chromebook in its final form. Its smooth aluminum chassis feels luxurious and meticulously crafted. Its keyboard and trackpad work well. It’s full-featured, with USB-C ports and a quick-charging battery. Its touchscreen display, while proportioned at a taller 3:2 ratio, is sharp and bright. And it’s fast, with a (5th-gen) Core i5 or i7 chip and up to a whopping 16GB of RAM. It feels every bit like a $1,000+ laptop.
Which makes the fact that it runs Chrome OS all the more cruel. Google’s desktop OS is fast, light, and capable of doing more than you might think, but it’s still, at its core, an extended web browser. Asking people to spend four figures on a laptop that can’t run Photoshop — even if it’d be strong enough to do so with any other OS — is a bit of a hard sell.
It’s best, then, to look at the Chromebook Pixel as a niche device. If you’ve got money to burn and can live with Chrome OS’s limitations, it’ll be a joy to use. (Letterboxing in videos aside.) If you’re a developer or Linux diehard and want to mess around, you can do that. And if you just appreciate a laptop that’s well-built, it’ll have you covered.
Google Chromebook Pixel, $1,299, available at Google.
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