All posts tagged: laptops

Best Windows laptops 2026, tested by experts: Comparing Dell, Asus, HP, and more

Best Windows laptops 2026, tested by experts: Comparing Dell, Asus, HP, and more

Published by skeptic

{ container.appendChild(contentItem); });”> I highly recommend the Acer Swift X 14 for creatives who need a Windows laptop that can run the most demanding apps. That includes photo and video editors, graphic designers, and animators. { container.appendChild(contentItem); });”> Most professional creatives need a Windows laptop with a dedicated graphics card to handle their intensive workloads. I like the $1,999.99 Acer Swift X 14 with a top-end Intel Core Ultra 9 285H CPU and RTX 5070 graphics because it’s super powerful, fairly priced, equipped with a striking OLED screen, and long-lasting, relatively speaking. You can go with a gaming laptop instead, but most aren’t nearly as compact. This 14-inch desktop replacement is just as fast as an M5 MacBook Pro when it comes to demanding multi-core scenarios (i.e., most creative tasks). In my testing, its RTX 5070 GPU was more than capable of running graphically taxing games like Cyberpunk 2077 at over 100fps at 1080p resolution without the help of any AI upscaling technology, so it’s very well-suited for the likes of Adobe After Effects and …

Mac Mini Availability: Long Waits and Higher Prices

Mac Mini Availability: Long Waits and Higher Prices

Published by skeptic

Three months ago, outgoing Apple CEO Tim Cook admitted that the company had been caught off guard by the sharp increase in demand for the Mac Mini. Cook said it may take “several months” to catch up with demand, fueled by a boom in people using the compact computer for local AI workloads. Now, while the situation has improved slightly, things are far from normal. At its worst, the base configuration of the Mac Mini was completely sold out on Apple’s storefront. This is true at third-party retailers like Amazon or Best Buy. Apple has them back in stock for a while now on Apple.com, but slow shipping times still show how dire the situation is. Longer Waits When buying directly from Apple, the cheapest Mac Mini with only 16 GB of RAM ships in three to four weeks. A MacBook Air from Apple with the same 16 GB of RAM configuration has a delivery window of two to three weeks—same as the MacBook Neo with 8 GB of RAM. RAM is the primary contributing …

The best laptops of 2026: We tested 80+ models to find our favorites

The best laptops of 2026: We tested 80+ models to find our favorites

Published by skeptic

Mashable has been testing laptops for over 10 years. Over the past two years alone, the team and I have researched dozens of models and tried more than 80 of the most promising configurations available. We use a meticulous testing procedure involving real-world stress tests and artificial benchmarks to evaluate our contenders on the basis of performance, battery life, design/build quality, and value. This regularly updated guide serves as our laptop trophy case, highlighting the best-in-class models we’ve tried across different subcategories. For even more recommendations, check out my dedicated guides to the best MacBooks, the best Windows laptops, the best cheap laptops, and the best Chromebooks. A note about laptop prices A recent boom in AI data center construction has caused a global shortage of RAM and SSD storage chips (often referred to as “RAMageddon”). As a result, many consumer tech devices that use these components, including the best laptops, have seen steep price hikes this year. The shortage is expected to worsen and could last into 2028, driving up prices even further and …

I ditched Chrome for a lighter browser and my laptop’s noticeably faster now

I ditched Chrome for a lighter browser and my laptop’s noticeably faster now

Published by skeptic

Most of my work happens inside a browser, so it’s not exactly a surprise that it tops the RAM and CPU charts. But a lot of it also comes down to how efficient the browser itself is — and Chrome is not that. That inefficiency was slowing down all my other apps and my laptop in general. This forced me to look for an alternative. Don’t worry, I didn’t go with Edge, although it’s a solid option, especially for Windows users. I went with Brave instead, and I’m not going back anytime soon. Related If you’re still using Chrome on Android, you’re missing out on a genuinely better browser It’s arguably better than Chrome on all platforms, too. Chrome was too heavy for my laptop It’s just built that way Chrome’s reputation for being a memory hog isn’t unfair. It mainly comes down to how it operates. The browser runs every tab as its own isolated process, which is actually a security feature so that one rogue tab can’t crash everything else. But that also …

Free iPhone deal: T-Mobile is giving away the Apple iPhone 17 for free — how to qualify

Free iPhone deal: T-Mobile is giving away the Apple iPhone 17 for free — how to qualify

Published by skeptic

TL;DR: The iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Pro are available for free right now with T-Mobile. Here’s how to qualify for this limited-time offer. Free when you trade in your eligible phone on an Experience More or Experience Beyond plan.. Free when you switch to T-Mobile and bring your number on an Experience Beyond plan. Samsung has been the center of attention this week, and that’s totally fair. It’s not every week that a major brand drops three new foldables smartphones, two smartwatches, and smart glasses. But can we hold some space for Apple? Apple prices are bumping in the face of RAMageddon, but you can still secure a special offer on iPhones from T-Mobile. This popular mobile carrier has just dropped a fresh batch of free iPhone deals on the latest handsets: Apple iPhone 17 — free when you trade in your eligible phone on an Experience More or Experience Beyond plan. Apple iPhone 17 Pro — free when you switch to T-Mobile and bring your number on an Experience Beyond plan (no trade-in …

It’s time to leave Intel and AMD laptops behind — this is the Snapdragon one you should buy instead

It’s time to leave Intel and AMD laptops behind — this is the Snapdragon one you should buy instead

Published by skeptic

As a PC enthusiast, I like to own and use a little bit of everything. I have an Arm-based MacBook Pro for work, an Intel-powered Lenovo Yoga Book 9i for its dual-screen form factor, and a trio of AMD-powered handhelds for portable gaming. I use the best tool for the job, regardless of whether it runs macOS or Windows, or is powered by an Arm or x86 processor. I’ve been waiting for the perfect Qualcomm laptop since beginning to test Snapdragon X offerings two years ago, but it eluded me. I wanted a laptop that could decisively beat the latest Intel and AMD chipsets, all while delivering all-day battery life in a thin-and-light chassis. With the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7x, I’ve finally found it. It’s slim, sleek, and powerful — and it’s only $1,600 right now. I think it’s the laptop every Windows 11 productivity user should consider. Related I’ve never used a 16-inch laptop this light — and it has 18 cores A lightweight, slimline, powerful 16-inch Snapdragon unit. Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X2 beats Intel’s …

The 6 best laptops for college students in 2026, tested

The 6 best laptops for college students in 2026, tested

Published by skeptic

Here at Mashable, we’re constantly testing the best laptops based on an exhaustive in-house methodology that combines real-world use with performance benchmarking. In the past two years alone, we’ve tried over 80 different models across a range of price points. To determine which of them fit the bill for college students, specifically, I researched the top 10 public universities‘ hardware recommendations for the upcoming fall 2026 semester. These include processor types, operating system support, RAM and storage minimums, and other spec requirements for different majors. I honed my guidance based on the common threads I noticed. I also gave special preference to laptops that are long-lasting and portable enough to be toted around campus, and those that are competitively priced for the current market. Laptops aren’t cheap right now, but a solid splurge can last you well past graduation. (Take advantage of student discounts whenever possible.) Based on this analysis, I eventually settled on six top picks that make the best laptops for college students. Whether you’re a humanities student, a STEM major, or still …

The Best Tech for Back to School

The Best Tech for Back to School

Published by skeptic

As summer melts away like a fruity Popsicle left on a poolside deck chair, our thoughts turn to the coming school year. Whether they’re prepping for middle school, high school, or college, all students heading back to class will need the right gear. The WIRED Reviews team has spent years extensively testing consumer tech for students—giving it to our own youngsters to abuse, or putting it through the paces ourselves—and we’ve compiled this list of items we consider truly essential. Not all of these products are guaranteed to help you learn better, but they’ll make note-taking, homework, arriving on time, and self-care much easier. See all of our Back to School buying guides, from the Best Backpacks and Best Laptops for Students to our guides on paper planners and using your .edu email address for discounts and deals. The products in this buying guide were tested by members of the WIRED Reviews team: Julian Chokkattu, Christopher Null, Boutayna Chokrane, Henri Robbins, Luke Larsen, Simon Hill, Kat Merck, and Louryn Strampe. The Best Laptop for Students …

The Right Way to Get Rid of Old Laptops, PCs and Printers (and It’s Free)

The Right Way to Get Rid of Old Laptops, PCs and Printers (and It’s Free)

Published by skeptic

Old electronics have a talent for making themselves invisible. The laptop that got replaced two years ago is still in the office, the printer that stopped cooperating is in the garage and the desktop tower is somewhere in a closet behind things you haven’t touched since you moved in. None of it is being used, none of it is going away on its own, and the vague intention to deal with it keeps getting deferred because dealing with it feels complicated. It isn’t. Most major retailers and manufacturers run free take-back programs that handle old tech responsibly, and using them typically requires nothing more than a short drive and a few minutes of prep. Major retailers such as Best Buy and Staples have become drop-off hubs for digital junk. You can walk into a store with a dead PC or a clunky old scanner and hand it over for free, regardless of where you bought it. Some of these places will even give you a discount on new gear or a trade-in credit just for …

Dell 14S Review: Higher Price, Better Quality

Dell 14S Review: Higher Price, Better Quality

Published by skeptic

The Dell 14S has more conventional ports than some of the more premium laptops out there too. There are two USB-A 3.2 Gen 1 ports, one on each side, as well as HDMI 2.1, two Thunderbolt 4 ports, and a headphone jack. Lots of people will appreciate this mix of ports, though I was missing an SD card slot. I also wish Dell had placed one of the Thunderbolt 4 ports on the right side, so that the laptop could charge from both sides. Stiff Competition Photograph: Luke Larsen The higher-end configurations of the Dell 14S don’t make a lot of sense, especially since this laptop bears so much in common with the Dell XPS 14. For $1,469, it comes with an eight-core Intel Core Ultra 7 355 processor, 16 GB of RAM, and 512 GB of storage. Notably, that’s still $170 more than the 13-inch MacBook Air and $30 less than the 15-inch MacBook Air. You can configure the Dell 14S with some of the most exciting silicon in 2026, the Core Ultra X7 …