Early last month, when I was planning this half-year look at the best laptops that have so far been released in 2026, it was easy for me to pick the number one spot: the MacBook Neo.
Launched in March for $599 / £599 / AU$899, it was a shot across the bows of other laptop and Chromebook makers, as Apple showed that you could have a stylish and well-built budget laptop that didn’t have to feel cheap.
Sure, there were compromises, such as the 8GB of memory and slow USB ports, but those were easily forgiven thanks to such an affordable price — especially when so much of the MacBook Neo puts similarly priced budget laptops to shame.
However, at the end of June, Apple announced a Neo price increase, taking it up to $699 / £699 / AU$1,049. While that’s not the biggest price rise in a world that, at the moment, seems to be full of them, it’s enough to make the MacBook Neo less of an easy recommendation. Suddenly, all those compromises are harder to accept.
The MacBook Neo still earns a spot in this list, however, due to the huge influence it’s had on the laptop market. Since its launch, I’ve seen numerous laptop makers, including Acer and Dell, release products directly aimed at challenging the MacBook Neo; offering slim and stylish designs, strong performance and screens, all for around the Neo’s original $599 / £599 / AU$899 price. While Apple has raised the price of the MacBook Neo, many of those new challengers haven’t — yet — done the same, which makes them even better value in comparison.
Now, it’s probably inevitable that those new MacBook Neo rivals will eventually increase in price too (thanks, AI, for gobbling up all the RAM and making price rises an everyday reality for a lot of tech). However, due to the variety of Windows 11 laptops available and where they’re sold compared to MacBooks, if you shop around you should find prices remain relatively competitive.
So, Apple might have just inspired its rivals to make better, and cheaper, alternatives. That might not be great for Apple, but for us consumers, it certainly is. So, as we’re at the halfway point of the year, let’s look at the five best — or most influential — laptops that have been released so far in 2026.
5. HP OmniBook 7 Aero
- Reviewed: February 2026
- Rating: 4.5/5
The HP OmniBook 7 Aero is a brilliant example of how Windows laptops are looking to beat Apple at its own game. The HP OmniBook 7 Aero is a thin, light and stylish laptop, with a capable AMD AI 5 or AI 7 CPU, integrated graphics, and a starting RAM configuration of 16GB, plus a 512GB SSD.
It launched at $949.99 / £649 (around AU$1,420), undercutting the MacBook Air and even (in the UK) the MacBook Neo after the price rise. For such a nicely designed laptop, this price is incredibly good value.
In our review we were impressed with the clear, bright, and vibrant screen and huge 26 hour battery life. Depending on the tasks you use it for, this laptop could go for multiple work or school days on a single charge, which is seriously impressive. It even manages to play games, such as Cyberpunk 2077, and while you certainly wouldn’t want to buy it as a gaming laptop, it shows how far Windows laptops, and the mobile components they use, have come in recent years.
4. Razer Blade 18 (2026)
- Reviewed: June 2026
- Rating: 4.5/5
This year’s Razer Blade 18 is another hit from the gaming laptop pros, which my colleague Christian Guyton, in his review, claimed “annihilates the competition”. It features cutting edge mobile components such as an Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX or Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus, Nvidia RTX 5070 Ti – RTX 5090 laptop GPUs, up to 128GB of RAM and a stunning 18-inch Dual UHD+ 240Hz / FHD+ 440Hz screen, which allows you to switch between resolutions to get even higher refresh rates. All of this is packed into a slim and stylish body that once again proves that gaming laptops don’t need to be big and bulky these days.
Gaming-wise, it’s a beast, hitting up to 160fps when playing Cyberpunk 2077, and 218fps with Shadow of the Tomb Raider. Basically, it’ll handle any modern game you throw at it, and allow you to play at 4K resolution and the highest of settings. Its battery life — often the Achilles’ heel of gaming laptops — is pretty impressive, hitting almost eight and a half hours in our tests.
What’s the catch? Well, there’s the price, starting at a whopping $3,499.99 / £3,299.99 (around AU$4,870), but going up to $6,999.99 (around £5,200 / AU$9,735) for the highest specification. Ouch.
Razer’s devices are premium products, and when you combine that with some of the most powerful components you can get, and the ongoing memory crisis driving up prices, you end up with a brilliant laptop that’s wildly expensive. It’s a brilliant investment if you can afford it, it’s just a shame so few of us can.
3. Apple MacBook Neo
- Reviewed: March 2026
- Rating: 4.5/5
As I mentioned earlier, if I’d written this article before Apple’s price rises, the MacBook Neo would probably be number one in this list. When it launched, it really was a game-changer. It proved that affordable laptops could still feel premium, with exceptional build quality, modern features and solid performance.
Unlike other recent MacBooks, the Neo is powered by the A18 Pro chip (which powered the iPhone 16 Pro), rather than Apple’s more powerful M-series chips. Compared to chips found in budget Windows 11 laptops and Chromebooks, the A18 Pro proved impressive on test, handling regular macOS apps with ease.
It’s possible to use an iPad as a second screen, and see your iPhone’s messages and answer calls all from the desktop — features we’ve come to expect from more expensive MacBooks. The bright and vibrant screen makes a mockery of other cheap laptops that often feature dim, low resolution screens, to keep down prices.
When it first launched, this budget laptop (from a brand that’s more associated with luxury devices), which undercut and outperformed the competition, was a surefire hit. Apple has commented about how well the Neo sold, and even more importantly, it seemed to light a fire underneath many of its competitors. Not only was the MacBook Neo one of the best laptops of 2026, it was one of the most impactful.
What a difference $100 / £100 makes. While the new price doesn’t completely undermine the MacBook Neo’s value proposition, it makes it harder to recommend to everyone.
It makes some of Apple’s compromises to keep the price down, particularly the rather paltry 8GB of memory, slow USB speeds (it has two USB-C ports, but uses older USB 3.0 and the practically ancient USB 2 technology) and lack of a backlit keyboard, much harder to justify as well.
Worse, those competitors that Apple ‘inspired’ are fighting back. Acer’s Swift Air 14 (2026) will launch at the same original price of the Neo, with a great-looking display, and an Intel Core Series 3 processor. An Acer employee I spoke to at Computex 2026 was particularly pleased to point out that the Swift Air has faster USB-C ports than the Neo, an extra USB-A port and is thinner and lighter as well. The fact that it’s also now cheaper spells trouble for Apple, and it’s why the MacBook Neo has slipped down in my ranking.
2. Samsung Galaxy Book6 Ultra
- Rating: 4.5/5
- Reviewed: February 2026
I’ll be honest: I was torn between putting the Samsung Galaxy Book6 Ultra or the MacBook Air (M5) in this spot. The reason I went for Samsung’s ultrabook in the end is that while the latest MacBook Air is undoubtedly a fantastic device (it sits atop our best laptops list for a reason), it’s also a bit… well… boring. It’s a simple spec update to the M5 chip, with no new design flourishes, but a new, higher price (which has since risen even higher after Apple’s price hikes).
The Samsung Galaxy Book6 Ultra, on the other hand, feels a lot more ambitious. Samsung’s laptops have never particularly impressed me, but with the Galaxy Book series, that’s changed.
As with Samsung’s Galaxy phones and tablets, Galaxy Book laptops are high-end, premium devices, and as the name suggests, the Samsung Galaxy Book6 Ultra is the pinnacle of this. It’s thin, light and powerful (especially if you go for the option with a dedicated Nvidia RTX 5070 GPU), and with a strong battery life of over 15 hours, this is a great choice for anyone seeking a stylish workstation laptop that can handle heavy duty tasks such as 3D modeling.
Its AMOLED screen is also stunning, and easily one of the best displays you can get on a laptop (another category that Apple was once untouchable in).
What I really like about the Galaxy Book6 Ultra is how Samsung has been working on integrating its ecosystem of devices, so its laptops, earbuds, smartphones, and tablets can all work nicely together. It leads to some very Apple-like features, such as the ability to use a Samsung Galaxy Tab tablet as a second screen for the Samsung Galaxy Book6 Ultra, simply by moving the devices close together.
It’s not quite as seamless as Apple’s implementation, mainly because Samsung doesn’t make the software its products run on (Windows and Android), but it’s come a huge way. If you have a few Samsung devices, the Samsung Galaxy Book6 Ultra is particularly great, then, but even if you don’t, this is still a brilliant laptop that’s doing new things, not just resting on its laurels.
1. Dell XPS 16 (2026)
- Rating: 4.5/5
- Reviewed: May 2026
The Dell XPS 16 is a remarkable laptop for many reasons. It’s a beautifully crafted device with a stunning OLED screen, as well as premium — and powerful — components, and it’s a great showcase for how good Windows 11 laptops can be.
It’s also noteworthy for bringing the XPS lineup back with a bang. Last year, Dell made the baffling decision to drop its XPS branding. It was one of the few product names outside of Apple that had mainstream recognition, and had long been associated with Dell’s most premium laptops. Thankfully, Dell realized its mistake and has resurrected the XPS brand for 2026, and the new Dell XPS 16 makes a fantastic statement: XPS is back, and it’s better than ever.
In our review, we gushed over this laptop’s slimline design and high resolution OLED display, whilst also praising its performance. Powered by an Intel Core Ultra X7 358H, which has an Arc B390 integrated GPU, the Dell XPS 16 can handle demanding tasks, and even a spot of gaming. Battery life is also superb, with the Dell XPS 16 (2026) lasting well over 17 hours in our tests.
It’s pricey, but the quality on offer helps justify the investment. Welcome back, XPS. You’ve been missed.
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The best laptops for all budgets
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matthew.hanson@futurenet.com (Matt Hanson)
