2025 has already proven to be a pivotal year for laptops. Within just six months, we’ve observed the growth of Microsoft’s AI PC initiative, the introduction of Nvidia’s GeForce RTX 50 series graphics cards, and the release of the most budget-friendly Apple MacBook in years, not to mention the chaos in the supply chain caused by tariffs this spring.
This year has also marked a significant milestone for Mashable’s laptop team. In April, we unveiled a new testing methodology featuring stricter criteria for assessing computers’ performance, battery longevity, design/build quality, and overall value, along with an additional rubric that harmonizes scoring across different writers. This represents the first substantial update to our laptop testing approach since we began reviewing them over a decade ago, and we feel it has enhanced our coverage to be more thorough and definitive than ever.
Since adopting this revised methodology, only three laptops from the numerous we’ve tested have achieved a score of 4.5/5 or higher, qualifying them for a Mashable Choice Award, our most esteemed recognition for the products we evaluate across the site. I’ve listed these below in no specific order, accompanied by one honorable mention.
A quick housekeeping note before we continue: Our team just concluded testing some of these models at the time of writing, so if you don’t see all of them in our laptop buying guides, rest assured that we will include them soon. I’ve indicated the superlative each laptop has received in its description — consider this a sneak preview of some of our latest recommendations.
1. The Asus Zenbook A14
The Asus Zenbook A14 was under considerable scrutiny. Back in January, we awarded the 14-inch Copilot+ PC our “Best of CES 2025” accolade in the laptop category due to its long-promised battery life and sleek, ultraportable design, featuring a stunning OLED display. Notably, its chassis is constructed from an innovative magnesium aluminum alloy known as “Ceraluminum,” which is durable, scratch-resistant, and recyclable. It looked impressive in a showcase, but its real-world performance was still unknown. At that time, it had a starting price of just $899.99.
Now that I’ve rigorously tested it, I’m pleased to announce that the Zenbook A14 fulfills most of our elevated expectations. It’s exceptionally thin and lightweight, and that Ceraluminum is remarkable; its matte finish evokes a pottery-like texture, which I find appealing. (Many modern PCs attempt to mimic silvery MacBooks.) Moreover, it lasted nearly 22 hours in our video playback battery life test. While this doesn’t quite align with Asus’ claimed battery life of 32 hours, it’s still impressive.
The Zenbook A14 is now the longest-lasting sub-$1,000 laptop we’ve reviewed and the most powerful one as well. The Zabrinskie Beige base model equipped with a Snapdragon X Plus processor, 16GB of RAM, and 512GB of storage achieved a multi-core score of 11,256 in Primate Labs’ Geekbench 6 CPU evaluation. (That’s our benchmark for measuring laptops’ processing capabilities.) It’s nearly on par with an M3 MacBook Pro we reviewed in 2023, which scored 11,998. Admittedly, the Zenbook A14 isn’t flawless — its speakers rank among the worst I’ve encountered — but overall, I consider it a solid value. This is even after a price increase of $100 to $999.99 in March due to President Donald Trump’s tariffs.
The Zenbook A14 is also offered in Iceland gray, featuring a less powerful Snapdragon X processor but with more RAM and storage (32GB and 1TB, respectively). It is the lighter of the two models by about 0.3 pounds and retails for $1,199.99 after tariffs. Personally, I believe the more affordable version with enhanced specifications presents a better deal. It has become our new favorite budget Windows laptop.
2. The Lenovo Yoga 9i 2-in-1 Aura Edition
The most recent iteration of the premium Lenovo Yoga 9i 2-in-1 sports an “Aura Edition” designation, highlighting its support for several exclusive AI capabilities. One feature, termed “Shield Mode,” alerts you if someone is peering at your screen from behind. Another, called “Wellness Mode,” evaluates your posture and notifies you when you’re hunched over at your desk like a shrimp. While these features are impressive, the primary strengths of this 14-inch convertible lie in its build quality and battery endurance.
In particular, Mashable contributor Sarah Chaney was enamored with its “super vibrant” 2.8K OLED touchscreen and its island-style keyboard, which she compared to the clicky mechanical type. Regarding battery performance, the Lenovo Yoga 9i Aura Edition lasted an astonishing 23 hours and 34 minutes before running out of power. This makes it the longest-lasting laptop we’ve ever tested.