Mashable Selects Mashable's Best: E-readers, robovacs, laptops, earbuds, smart home and more In My Bag Look Up Creator Playbook Say More AI at School Safety Net Versus Trending Now Back to School Good Connection: Uplifting stories for a digital age All Series I've used a MacBook for 15 years, but I'd gladly swap it for any of these alternatives MacBooks are incredible laptops, but they're not for everyone. Here are nine rivals to consider. Haley Henschel is a Chicago-based Senior Shopping Reporter at Mashable who reviews and finds deals on popular tech, from laptops to gaming consoles and VPNs. She has years of experience covering shopping holidays and can tell you what's actually worth buying on Black Friday and Amazon Prime Day. Her work has also explored the driving forces behind digital trends within the shopping sphere, from dupes to 12-foot skeletons . All products featured here are independently selected by our editors and writers. If you buy something through links on our site, Mashable may earn an affiliate commission. MacBooks are some of the best laptops on the market, bar none. What's more, the Air, Neo, and Pro all remain decent values for what they are, even after some price hikes this summer. Still, not everyone wants a MacBook. Maybe you like having lots of customization options; Apple doesn't make laptops with 2-in-1 designs, OLED displays, or touchscreens ( yet). Maybe you prefer Windows or ChromeOS over macOS, or the software you rely on forces your hand.

When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. The Lofree Flow 2 combines excellent build quality and a comfortable typing experience with some questionable design choices. The Lofree Flow 2 boasts brilliant build quality and a stylish design. When I tested the predecessor to this keyboard, the Lofree Flow, it received high marks despite a couple of minor complaints. Now Lofree is back with the Flow 2, a keyboard that prioritizes build quality and a comfortable typing experience.

When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. I've loved Razer's weird keyboard for 20 years. Razer: Give me a wireless Tartarus. I don't need half a keyboard when I'm not gaming, so why do you want it to live on my desk full time? After two semesters of watching my college roommate play PC games on his laptop while I devoured and on the Wii U, I was ready to jump into PC gaming.

Apple lovers have long enjoyed seamless connectivity between their iPhones and Macs. Apple's hardware synergy means you can launch iPhone apps right from the macOS desktop, respond to texts without picking up your iPhone, and even copy text on one platform and paste it on the other. That kind of seamless connectivity does not natively exist for Android phone owners at the operating system level. Google's trying to change that with Googlebooks, a new class of laptop. First teased in May, the company finally shared more details about the new OS at a media-only event in New York City last week.

When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. The Asus ProArt KD300 is stylish and high-quality, but it's unclear why it's being marketed to creative professionals. Unclear what the'professional' angle is I've no idea what makes the ProArt a keyboard specifically for professionals, and the extra-compact layout won't be to everyone's taste. But it's backed by a smart and user-friendly system, and the quality is undeniable. It's hard to find good mechanical keyboards that aren't marketed as "gaming keyboards," but this one from Asus is just that.

When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. Logitech's MX Mechanical is a premium wireless keyboard, but it has a thing or two to learn from smaller specialist manufacturers. The MX Mechanical fails to live up to my high expectations, based on Logitech's superb flat keyboards. The features are there, but the physical construction means it rattles and makes a lot of noise. Logitech makes one of the best slim, laptop-style keyboards I've ever used.

Mashable's Best: E-readers, robovacs, laptops, earbuds, smart home and more In My Bag Look Up Say More Trending Now Mashable Selects Creator Playbook Back to School Good Connection: Uplifting stories for a digital age Switch Off Mashable Voices Safety Net All Series The best laptops of 2026: Out of the 90+ models we've tried, these are our 8 favorites The global memory crisis is making it harder to find good laptops at a price you can afford. Haley Henschel is a Chicago-based Senior Shopping Reporter at Mashable who reviews and finds deals on popular tech, from laptops to gaming consoles and VPNs. She has years of experience covering shopping holidays and can tell you what's actually worth buying on Black Friday and Amazon Prime Day. Her work has also explored the driving forces behind digital trends within the shopping sphere, from dupes to 12-foot skeletons . All products featured here are independently selected by our editors and writers. If you buy something through links on our site, Mashable may earn an affiliate commission. The best laptops are fast enough for their primary use cases, well-made, and priced fairly for their specs. Ideally, they also have enough battery power to last a full workday (but often much longer). Whether your preferred daily driver is a sleek Apple MacBook, a versatile Windows laptop, or a simple Chromebook, a reliable PC is a solid investment that feels worth it for years to come.

Creator Playbook Look Up Back to School Mashable's Best: E-readers, robovacs, laptops, earbuds, smart home and more Mashable Selects Say More Trending Now Good Connection: Uplifting stories for a digital age Switch Off Mashable Voices Safety Net Versus All Series See how the Asus Zenbook A14, Dell XPS 13, and other top-rated models compare. Haley Henschel is a Chicago-based Senior Shopping Reporter at Mashable who reviews and finds deals on popular tech, from laptops to gaming consoles and VPNs. She has years of experience covering shopping holidays and can tell you what's actually worth buying on Black Friday and Amazon Prime Day. Her work has also explored the driving forces behind digital trends within the shopping sphere, from dupes to 12-foot skeletons . All products featured here are independently selected by our editors and writers. If you buy something through links on our site, Mashable may earn an affiliate commission. Windows laptops run an impressive gamut from slick ultraportables to beastly gaming stations and approachable modular systems. Moreover, some newer models trounce MacBooks on battery life -- a feat made possible by the latest Intel and Qualcomm Snapdragon processors. Shopping for the best Windows laptops is no cakewalk these days. New AI data centers are hogging memory components, fueling a global RAM shortage that's led to steep PC price hikes . So, after testing nearly 50 Windows laptops (and counting) in the past two years, including models from top brands like Acer, Asus, Dell, HP, and Lenovo, we've identified the top laptops for every use case.

Mashable Selects Mashable's Best: E-readers, robovacs, laptops, earbuds, smart home and more Say More Look Up Trending Now Good Connection: Uplifting stories for a digital age Creator Playbook Switch Off Mashable Voices Safety Net Versus Gift Ideas For Everyone On Your List All Series We did a ton of testing and research to find six models that deserve an A+. Haley Henschel is a Chicago-based Senior Shopping Reporter at Mashable who reviews and finds deals on popular tech, from laptops to gaming consoles and VPNs. She has years of experience covering shopping holidays and can tell you what's actually worth buying on Black Friday and Amazon Prime Day. Her work has also explored the driving forces behind digital trends within the shopping sphere, from dupes to 12-foot skeletons . All products featured here are independently selected by our editors and writers. If you buy something through links on our site, Mashable may earn an affiliate commission. Starting college comes with a lot of tough choices: which dorm to live in, which major to pursue, whether to use artificial intelligence, when to pull an all-nighter, and how many parties to attend on the weekend. But you don't need to agonize over finding the right laptop for school. There's more to consider than just what supplies to buy this year (though we'll help with that too.)

When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. Acer's new gaming handheld has a tiny laptop hiding inside Acer's DualPlay Mini concept handheld can flip its controls up to reveal a hidden keyboard, turning it into a tiny 8-inch Intel Arc laptop. Who's going to spend $1,500 to $2,000 on a handheld gaming PC when we both need and want a laptop too? Apparently, Acer has been pondering this thought. In addition to a new conventional Steam Deck-style handheld, the company is showing off its DualPlay Mini concept--a handheld that can transform into a tiny laptop.