Dave Gershgorn/NYT Wirecutter
Apple MacBook Air (13-Inch, M4, 2025, 16 GB RAM, 256 GB SSD) — Top Pick
Amazon deal price: $750; street price: $820
Costco deal price: $750 (Costco membership required); street price: $820
Best Buy deal price: $750; street price: $820
What we like: Our top pick for the best MacBook. Sleek design and an upgraded 12-megapixel webcam. Fast enough for most people, even those who want to code or edit 4K video footage. Has a bright, high-resolution display, a comfortable keyboard and trackpad. Comes with two Thunderbolt 4 USB-C ports, a headphone jack, and a MagSafe port.
Other things to know: Can power two external displays. Comes with our recommended specs of 16 GB RAM and 256 GB SSD. We recommend using an external drive or cloud storage rather than spending more for extra internal storage.
Read more: The Best MacBooks
Acer Chromebook Plus 514 Laptop (CB514-6HT-368E) — Top Pick
Costco deal price: $265 (Costco membership required, price includes $15 shipping); street price: $365
What we like: Our top pick for the best Chromebook. Reliable performance, spacious and tall touchscreen, and long battery life (12 hours in our testing). Thin and light enough to take on the go. Doesn’t cut any major corners to sell for a reasonable price. Fast enough for most people’s everyday tasks.
Other things to know: Lacks a 360-degree hinge, and its webcam and speakers are mediocre. Comes with our recommended specs: Intel Core 3 N355 processor, 14-inch screen, 8 GB memory, 512 GB SSD. Costco membership required. Price includes $15 shipping.
Read more: The Best Chromebook
Apple MacBook Air (15-Inch, M4, 2025, 16 GB RAM, 256 GB SSD) — Budget Pick
Amazon deal price: $950; street price: $1,050
What we like: Our budget pick for video and photo editing needs, and the bigger sibling to our overall MacBook top pick, with a larger screen, larger touchpad, and better speakers. With the latest M4 processor, it also keeps cooler and performs better than the 13-inch version during long, intensive tasks like exporting large videos. Sports an upgraded 12-megapixel webcam.
Other things to know: Has the same two USB-C Thunderbolt 4 ports, MagSafe port, and headphone jack as its smaller sibling. Street price has dropped significantly since release. Comes with our recommended specs of 256 GB SSD and 16 GB of memory.
Read more: The Best Laptops for Video and Photo Editing
Apple MacBook Pro Laptop (14-inch, M5, 16 GB RAM, 512 GB SSD) — Upgrade Pick
Amazon deal price: $1,400 (deal on silver); street price: $1,570
What we like: Our upgrade MacBook pick. A little better than our top pick in every way. Faster for intensive tasks such as media editing and coding. The screen is sharp and color-accurate. Has better speakers and more ports than a MacBook Air. The M5 processor can comfortably play modern indie games.
Other things to know: About a pound heavier than the MacBook Air and slightly thicker. Don’t expect AAA games to run well. You’ll need to upgrade its memory to use larger AI models. Comes with our recommended specs of 16 GB RAM and 512 GB SSD.
Read more: The Best MacBooks
Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5i Chromebook Plus Laptop (128 GB SSD) — Best For…
Best Buy deal price: $350 (128 GB SSD); street price: $550
What we like: Our pick that’s best for those seeking a 2-in-1 Chromebook. Has a 360-degree hinge and a tall touchscreen, as well as a reliable keyboard and trackpad, surprisingly good speakers, and a long enough battery life. Fast enough for most people’s needs.
Other things to know: Portable size but heavy and cumbersome to use as a tablet. The webcam produces a dim image even with Google’s new Improve Lighting feature enabled. Specs include Intel i3-1315U processor, 8 GB memory, and 128 GB SSD storage. Street price has risen recently.
Read more: The Best Chromebook
Dell 27 Plus S2725QS 4K Monitor — Budget Pick
Amazon deal price: $225; street price: $280
What we like: Our budget 4K monitor pick. Simple, high-resolution monitor without a lot of complications or frills. Sharp image and natural colors. Stand allows lots of monitor position adjustment. Better refresh rate than other budget 4K monitors we tested. Sturdy, sleek, and simple.
Other things to know: 27-inch display. 120 Hz refresh rate. Two HDMI ports, one DisplayPort. No USB-C charging.
Read more: The Best 4K Monitors
Dell UltraSharp U3225QE 4K Monitor — Upgrade Pick
Amazon deal price: $750; street price: $900
What we like: Our 4K monitor upgrade pick. A larger, 32-inch version of our top pick. You can stack three documents side-by-side in view, and text is always sharp. A slew of ports. Can connect to another monitor for a dual-display setup. Automatically adjust temperature and color settings to its surroundings. Sturdy stand.
Other things to know: Pricey, and if you’re using a large monitor for gaming, we recommend checking out OLED options.
Read more: The Best 4K Monitors
