2023 was a weird year for laptops. For the most part, companies seemed content with releasing refreshed models of last year’s notebooks. I’m aware that world events of the past three years were a contributing factor (leading to worldwide PC shipments declining by 7.6% in Q3 of 2023), but as a hardware reviewer, it made covering the best laptops somewhat boring. Hardware refreshes are necessary, but they’re also hard to get excited about.
Despite a relatively lackluster year for laptops, there were some highlights. The biggest one is arguably Apple’s launch of MacBook Pros featuring M3 processors — which are among the fastest notebooks we’ve ever tested. We also saw foldable laptops, such as the super expensive HP Spectre Fold, make a case for similar devices. There was also the return of big-ass laptops like the 18-inch Alienware m18 and Razer Blade 18.
