The best laptops of 2025: Compare the M4 MacBook Air, Microsoft Surface Laptop 7, and more
Written on 11/22/2025
We tested dozens of laptops to find the best for every budget. That includes the M4 Apple MacBook Air and Microsoft Surface Laptop 7.
As of November 2025, I think the 15-inch Apple MacBook Air (M4) is the best MacBook for most people. It's a sleek-as-ever notebook featuring impressive performance, open-lid support for two external displays, a great 12MP Center Stage camera, and an extremely reasonable starting price of $1,199 (making it $100 cheaper than its M3 predecessor).
The best Windows laptop we've tested is the 13.8-inch Microsoft Surface Laptop 7, a sophisticated and snappy Copilot+ PC boasting a stellar battery life of nearly 23 hours. Note that Microsoft makes an Intel version that may appeal to users wary of Windows on ARM for app compatibility reasons, but it's a business-oriented model with a significant markup.
