Laptops: A Side-by-Side Look

Published October 7, 2026

These 3 laptops cover several price tiers. Day to day, weight, battery life and the screen matter more than benchmark scores, and on many models the RAM and storage are soldered to the board, so buy the configuration you will still need in three years.

Apple MacBook Air 13-inch (M5, 2026)

Approx. price: $1,099.0

Price may be a bit stale – confirm the current price via the link below before buying.

Specs & pros/cons

Key specs:

  • Apple M5 chip, 10-core CPU / 8-core GPU
  • 13.6-inch Liquid Retina display, 2560x1664 at 224 ppi, 500 nits
  • 16GB unified memory, 512GB SSD
  • Up to 18 hours battery life, 53.8 Wh battery

Pros:

  • Fast M5 performance handles multitasking and 4K video editing without slowdown
  • Class-leading keyboard and trackpad; lightweight 2.7 lb aluminum build
  • Long battery life and bright, color-accurate P3 display

Cons:

  • Only two Thunderbolt 4 ports, both on one side, and no HDMI or SD slot so dongles are needed
  • 60Hz IPS panel with no OLED or high-refresh option at this price
  • $100 price increase over the M4 with only modest upgrades; Sky Blue/Starlight read as near-silver

Check current price (paid link)

Dell XPS 13 (2026)

Approx. price: $699.99

Price may be a bit stale – confirm the current price via the link below before buying.

Specs & pros/cons

Key specs:

  • Intel Core 5 320, 6-core, up to 4.6GHz
  • 13.4-inch 2.5K (2560x1600) touch display, 30-120Hz, 500 nits
  • 8GB LPDDR5X, 512GB SSD
  • Up to 17 hours battery life, 52Whr battery

Pros:

  • All-metal CNC aluminum build with no chassis flex; thinnest and lightest XPS ever at 0.5in and 2.2lbs
  • 120Hz QHD+ touch display with excellent color reproduction and tiny bezels
  • Two Thunderbolt 4 ports (one on each side) support dual 4K displays and 10Gbps data

Cons:

  • Base model has only 8GB RAM which is insufficient for multitasking; 16GB model costs $200 more
  • No headphone jack, no card reader, only two USB-C ports
  • Speakers are mediocre; 1080p webcam is just adequate

Check current price (paid link)

HP OmniBook 5 14 (2026)

Approx. price: $929.99

Price may be a bit stale – confirm the current price via the link below before buying.

Specs & pros/cons

Key specs:

  • Qualcomm Snapdragon X Plus X1P-42-100, 10-core
  • 14-inch 2K (1920x1200) OLED display, 60Hz, 400 nits
  • 16GB LPDDR5X, 1TB SSD
  • Up to 34 hours battery life, 59Whr battery

Pros:

  • Field-leading battery life; CNET measured 28+ hours of video playback on a single charge
  • Vivid OLED display with deep blacks and 100% DCI-P3 color coverage
  • Thin and light aluminum chassis at 2.85lbs with sturdy build quality

Cons:

  • OLED display is not the brightest at 400 nits; may struggle in direct sunlight
  • USB-C ports are slow (10Gbps) compared to Thunderbolt 4 on competing laptops
  • Plastic keyboard deck could use more stiffening; graphics performance is ho-hum

Check current price (paid link)

Prices and specs collected from manufacturer/retailer listings and public reviews; always confirm current price and stock on the linked page before buying.

Laptops