Black Friday always brings a deluge of laptop deals, but figuring out which notebooks are actually worth your money can be messy. To help you avoid wasting hundreds on a hunk of junk, we’ve scoured the web and sorted out the best Black Friday laptop deals we could find below. Our findings include noteworthy deals on top MacBooks, gaming laptops, Chromebooks, Windows ultrabooks, budget models and more, so if you’re looking to make a laptop refresh, there should be something to suit your needs.

Apple MacBook Air (13-inch, M2)

The 13.6-inch Apple MacBook Air is down to $929 at B&H for an entry-level configuration with 8GB of RAM, a 256GB SSD and Apple’s M2 chip. That’s $30 more than the lowest price we’ve seen but still $170 less than buying from Apple directly. If you need more RAM and storage space, a model with 16GB of memory and a 512GB SSD is $200 off at $1,299. The M2 MacBook Air is the top pick in our guide to the best laptops, and this 13-inch model earned a score of 96 in our review last year. It’s worth noting that a refresh with Apple’s new M3 chip is reportedly planned for the first half of 2024, and the SSD in the entry-level config is technically slower than the storage in higher-capacity models. But if you need a new notebook right away, the M2 Air still ticks all the requisite design and performance boxes for everyday use.

Apple MacBook Air (15-inch, M2)

The 15.3-inch MacBook Air is $250 off in various configurations at Amazon, B&H, Best Buy and others. A model with 8GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD is available for $1,249, for instance, while another config with twice the memory is $1,449. We gave the 15-inch Air a review score of 96 this past June. It carries a similarly crisp display, comfortable keyboard, long-lasting battery and speedy M2 chip as the smaller Air, but it adds a more powerful speaker system alongside its roomier display. Its base config also comes with a 10-core GPU by default, whereas the 13-inch Air starts with an 8-core GPU. This is another one we expect to see updated with an M3 chip in 2024, though. These discounts have been around for much of the past month, but we haven’t seen the notebook go for less very often.

Apple MacBook Pro (14-inch, M3 Pro)

Apple only released its latest MacBook Pros last month, but the new notebooks are already discounted for Black Friday. The 14.2-inch MacBook Pro, for one, is down to $1,799 at Amazon and B&H for a model with an M3 Pro chip, 18GB of RAM and 512GB of SSD storage. That’s $200 off Apple’s list price. A 1TB model is $150 off at $2,249, while a variant with the more powerful M3 Max chip is $200 off at $2,999.

As the name suggests, the MacBook Pro is really meant for coders, multimedia editors and other professional types who’re willing to trade some portability for additional horsepower and a brighter and faster Liquid Retina XDR display. If you fall into that bracket, though, the new Pros are suitably fast, efficient and elegantly designed. We gave the 14-inch Pro a score of 90 in our review earlier this month.

The new entry-level MacBook Pro with a 14-inch display and a base M3 chip is also on sale for $1,449. That’s a $150 discount, but we advise most people to steer clear of this model. It sits in something of a no man’s land between the MacBook Air and the higher-end MacBook Pros: It has the excellent display of the latter, but few people need that, and it’s limited to 8GB of memory, which is hardly enough for “pro”-level tasks. Most are better off saving some cash and grabbing an Air with 16GB of RAM.

Apple MacBook Pro (16-inch)

The 16.2-inch MacBook Pro is discounted as well. A model with an M3 Pro chip, 18GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD is down to $2,229 at Amazon, B&H and Best Buy. That’s $200 off. A variant with 36GB of RAM is $2,649 (or $250 off), while another with an M3 Max chip and a 1TB SSD is $3,299 (or $200 off). The 16-inch Pro is virtually identical to the 14-inch model; it’s just a bit larger and heavier, and its battery lasts a touch longer.

Apple MacBook Air (13-inch, M1)

The older 13-inch MacBook Air that was released in 2020 and uses Apple’s M1 chip is also on sale, with an entry-level config available for $750. We’ve seen this deal a handful of times over the last few months, but it matches the lowest price we’ve seen. It’s really worth stepping up to the M2 Air if you can: It’ll get you a more modern design, a faster chip, a sharper webcam and improved speakers. The 8GB of RAM and 256GB SSD in this config is only suitable for casual use, and this model will almost certainly be discontinued when we get the inevitable M3 refresh. But if you’re on a stricter budget and really want a MacBook, the M1 Air is still well-built, long-lasting and fast enough for the essentials. We currently highlight it in our guide to the best budget laptops.

Dell XPS 13 (9315)

Dell’s XPS 13 is down to $799 for a configuration with a Core i7-1250U processor, 16GB of RAM, a 512GB SSD and a 13.4-inch, 1,920 x 1,200 resolution display. That’s $300 off Dell’s list price and only a little bit higher than the lowest price we’ve seen. The XPS 13 is the top pick in our guide to the best Windows laptops thanks to its svelte design, dependable keyboard and trackpad, lengthy battery life and solid display. You’re not getting the latest processor here, but this model is still performant enough for everyday work. The main issue here is port selection: There’s only two Thunderbolt 4 ports and no dedicated headphone jack. Still, if you can tolerate using a dongle every now and then, this is a good price for a high-quality ultrabook.

Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5i Chromebook Plus

The Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5i Chromebook Plus is down to $379 at Best Buy, which is $120 off its list price. This is the latest iteration of the top pick in our Chromebook buying guide. Its 14-inch, 1,920 x 1,200 IPS touchscreen is good for the money, and it's plenty fast for the web browsing and light work you'd do with Chrome OS. Both its keyboard and trackpad are comfortable, plus it comes with a decent 1080p webcam. This model comes with an Intel Core i3-1315U processor, 8GB of RAM, 128GB of eMMC storage, one USB-A port, two USB-C 3.2 ports and a microSD card slot. The chassis isn't especially light at 3.6 pounds, and we found the battery to last roughly seven hours in testing, which is just OK. But for less than $400, this is a strong value.

HP Pavilion Aero 13

The HP Pavilion Aero 13 is down to $550 for a model with an AMD Ryzen 5 7535U processor, 16GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD. This notebook goes on sale fairly often, but this is the lowest price we’ve seen for this config. The Pavilion Aero 13 is the top Windows pick in our budget laptop buying guide. It’s impressively light (2.2 pounds) and slim (0.67 inches) for the money, while its 13.3-inch, 1,920 x 1,200 IPS display is sufficiently bright and colorful. It comes with a solid backlit keyboard and the essential ports as well. It’s still a budget laptop, so it doesn’t have the sturdiest chassis, and it’s saddled with a 720p webcam. You’ll also have to navigate some bloatware. But if you want a cheaper notebook that doesn’t totally sacrifice aesthetics, it’s a decent option.

ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14

The ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 is available for $1,200 at Best Buy for a configuration with a Ryzen 9 7940HS processor, 16GB of RAM, a 512GB SSD and a GeForce RTX 4060 GPU. That matches the lowest price we’ve seen and takes $400 off ASUS’ list price. This model also has a 14-inch 1440p display with a 165Hz refresh rate. The ROG Zephyrus G14 is the top overall recommendation in our guide to the best gaming laptops. It’s a compact notebook that’s plenty capable for triple-A gaming but doesn’t totally sacrifice the “laptop” part of the phrase “gaming laptop.” It’s relatively light and portable at 3.6 pounds, and its keyboard and trackpad both work well. Its 720p webcam could stand to be sharper, though.

MSI Stealth 14 Studio

The MSI Stealth 14 Studio is another gaming laptop we like, and right now Best Buy has it for $1,100. This model includes a Core i7-13620H chip, 16GB of RAM, a 1TB SSD, an RTX 4060 GPU and a 14-inch 1,920 x 1,200 display with a 165Hz refresh rate. We gave the Stealth 14 Studio a score of 87 in our review this past June; like the ROG Zephyrus G14, it’s light for a gaming laptop (3.75 pounds) and offers capable performance for everyday gaming. This config is a lower-end model than the one we reviewed — it has a slightly slower CPU and its display isn’t as sharp or fast — but the gist is the same. Its biggest flaws are its middling 720p webcam and the fact that it can run hot under load. It’s still a gaming laptop, so battery life isn’t amazing either.

Whether you should get this config over the ROG Zephyrus G14 deal above comes down to if you can sacrifice a higher-res display for more storage space. The G14 has more ports as well, though the Stealth 14 Studio includes a Thunderbolt 4 port, which may be important if you ever plan on connecting an external GPU.

Dell G15 5530 Gaming Laptop

A version of Dell’s G15 5530 Gaming Laptop with a Ryzen 7 7840HS processor, 16GB of RAM, a 512GB SSD, an RTX 4060 GPU and a 15.6-inch, 1080p, 165Hz display is down to $900 at Amazon. That’s a 22 percent discount and the lowest price we’ve tracked. Another model with a more powerful Core i7-13650HX chip and 1TB of RAM is available for $1,160, which is about $190 below its average street price. This is the most recent version of the “best budget” pick in our gaming laptops buying guide. It’s big, heavy (6.2 pounds) and not especially premium feeling, but it’s strong enough to play many games at high-ish settings, and its memory and storage are user-upgradeable.

Alienware m18

The 18-inch Alienware m18 is down to $2,390 at Amazon for a model with a Ryzen 9 7845HX processor, 32GB of RAM, a 1TB SSD and a 480Hz display with a 1,920 x 1,200 resolution. Nobody would call this affordable, but it’s still 20 percent off Dell’s list price and the lowest price we’ve seen outside of special offers. The m18 is another pick from our gaming laptops guide: It’s too huge to be truly portable and weighs nearly nine pounds, but the giant screen is nice for taking in games, it’s sturdily built and it can consistently run demanding titles at high frame rates. It’s also upgradeable, plus it has a wide array of ports. You’ll want to keep it near a charger, though, and it’s far from the quietest notebook we’ve used.

Razer Blade 15

The Razer Blade 15 is down to $2,100 at B&H and Newegg for a config with a Core i7-13800H, 16GB of RAM, a 1TB SSD, an RTX 4060 GPU and a 15.6-inch IPS display with a 1440p resolution and a 240Hz refresh rate. That’s $400 off and the lowest price we’ve seen for this 2023 model. The Blade 15 is the high-end pick in our gaming laptop buying guide. This model is powerful enough to play most modern games at high settings in 1080p or 1440p, but the main reason to buy any Blade is its design, which is slimmer and generally more premium than most gaming notebooks. Just don’t expect it to last super long on a charge or stay especially cool under load. We gave the 2022 version of the Blade 15 a review score of 86 last year.

Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio 2

The Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio 2 is down to $2,093 at Amazon and B&H for a configuration with a Core i7-13700H, 16GB of RAM, 512GB of SSD storage and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4050 GPU. That’s $300 below the notebook’s average going rate and the lowest price we’ve seen since the device arrived a few weeks ago. Other models with different RAM, storage and GPU options are also discounted.

We gave the Surface Laptop Studio 2 a score of 85 in our review. The big hook is its hinged touch display, which lets the bottom of the screen pivot and tilt over the keyboard like an easel for digital artists. We found the 14.4-inch, 2,400 x 1,600 resolution panel to look great more generally, while its battery life, build quality and overall performance all impressed as well. It’s slightly bulkier than competing models, and it’s still expensive even at this price, but this deal makes it a little more approachable for those who like the hinged design and want a laptop for media editing.

Microsoft Surface Pro 9

A configuration of Microsoft's Surface Pro 9 with a Core i5-1235U processor, 16GB of RAM, a 256GB SSD and Microsoft's Surface Pro Keyboard is down to $1,000 at Best Buy. That's $540 off Microsoft's list price. If you don't need the keyboard, a variant with a stronger Intel Core i7-1255U chip is down to a low of $1,100 at Amazon, Microsoft, B&H and other retailers. That's an all-time low and roughly $200 off the config's usual street price. Another Core i7 model with 512GB of storage is on sale for $300 more.

The Surface Pro 9 tops our guide to the best 2-in-1 tablets. While its 12th-gen chip is about to be two generations old, this is still the device to get if you want the functionality of a laptop in the slim design of a tablet. We're past the point of the year when Microsoft would normally announce a refresh, but the current model should still be useful if you're coming from an older Surface in desperate need of an upgrade.

Your Black Friday Shopping Guide: See all of Yahoo’s Black Friday coverage, here. Follow Engadget for Black Friday tech deals. Learn about Black Friday trends on In The Know. Hear from Autoblog’s experts on the best Black Friday deals for your car, garage, and home, and find Black Friday sales to shop on AOL, handpicked just for you.

Folks who are still sticking with Windows 10 (or who can’t install Windows 11 on their machine) may now be able to check out one of the most buzzed about features in years on their machine. Just a few days after Microsoft confirmed it would bring Copilot to Windows 10, users with eligible devices can install a Release Preview build that includes access to the generative AI-powered assistant.

You’ll need to be enrolled in the Windows Insider tester program to install the preview build and potentially try out Copilot on Windows 10 Home or Pro. There’s no guarantee you’ll get access to the chatbot immediately either. Microsoft says “It may take time for your device to be confirmed as eligible for Copilot on Windows so it may not show up right away.” To get swift access to Copilot when it's confirmed your machine is eligible, Microsoft suggests turning on the ”Get the latest updates as soon as they’re available” by going to Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update.

To run Copilot, your system will need at least 4GB of RAM and a display adapter that supports a resolution of at least 720p. Microsoft notes that the preview of the chatbot is only available in select markets (i.e. North America, and some areas of Asia and South America) for now, so you may be locked out on a geographical basis.

Microsoft

There are some other quirks that may preclude you from checking out Copilot on Windows 10. It won’t work if you position your taskbar on the left or right of your display. You’ll need to have the taskbar in a horizontal orientation. Copilot isn’t fully compatible with multi-monitor setups either. You’ll only see the icon on your primary display. In addition, Copilot won’t be available on Windows 10 Pro machines that are managed by an organization for the time being.

To fire up Copilot when it’s available on your device, click the icon that appears on the right side of the taskbar. Through the chatbot, you can ask questions, manage Windows features and interact with documents. As The Verge notes, Copilot works slightly differently on Windows 10, if only because some Windows 11 features aren’t available. Several key apps in the newer OS have their own generative AI-based features baked in.

It's not exactly a major mystery as to why Microsoft is bringing Copilot to Windows 10. According to some estimates, Windows 10 still powers some 69 percent of Windows-based desktops, compared with the 26 percent or so that run Windows 11. That means hundreds of millions of PCs are still running Windows 10. If Microsoft can say Copilot is available on more than a billion computers (compared with the 400 million that are estimated to be running Windows 11), that could be more appealing to the company's investors.

Microsoft is offering a steep, and relatively rare, discount on the Surface Pro 9 hybrid tablet as part of a larger Black Friday sales event. The savings fluctuate depending on which model you purchase, but you could save $800 on the absolute top-of-the-line model with 32GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD, bringing the price down to $1,800 from $2,600. This is a record-low deal for this particular SKU.

The discounted models offer 8GB to 32GB of RAM and 256GB to 1TB of solid-state storage. You have your choice between the 12th Gen Intel i5, the 12th Gen Intel i7, Microsoft’s proprietary Arm-based SQ2 chip or even the latest SQ3 chip. With this in mind, discounts range from $50 all the way to the aforementioned $800. Unfortunately, these deals don't ship with a keyboard or a stylus. 

There has been some confusion between the Arm-based models and the Intel models. Simply put, the Intel models are for power users and the Arm-based models are more for general use. Yes, even though the SQ chips are newer, the Intel chips are faster. In our review of last year’s Surface Pro 9 SQ3, we called it a compromised machine compared to its Intel-based siblings.

With that said, the Surface line is well-regarded for a number of reasons. The 13-inch screen is gorgeous, the form factor is on-point and Microsoft makes it easy to source replacement parts, unlike certain rivals.

These deals are also available on Amazon, if that’s your preferred retail experience. You can grab an Intel i7 version with 16GB of RAM and 256GB of solid-state storage for $1,100, a savings of $500. You can also grab the aforementioned flagship tablet for $1,800, the same price as ordering directly from Microsoft. The company's wider Black Friday deal also offers discounts on the Laptop 5 and Laptop Studio 2, among others. 

Your Black Friday Shopping Guide: See all of Yahoo’s Black Friday coverage, here. Follow Engadget for Black Friday tech deals. Learn about Black Friday trends on In The Know. Hear from Autoblog’s experts on the best Black Friday deals for your car, garage, and home, and find Black Friday sales to shop on AOL, handpicked just for you.

On the surface, Apple’s new iMac is easy to evaluate. It’s almost identical to the 2021 iMac, with its lovely 24-inch screen and multicolor exterior. In fact, the only difference between the new iMac and the old one is a new chip, the M3 processor. 

As such, everything that we liked about the iMac in 2021 holds true here. It's an extremely well-designed machine, the screen looks lovely, and But the issues we had with it — particularly the specs of the lower-end model — are harder to ignore.

First, the good news. The M3 chip inside the new iMac (paired with 24GB of RAM and 1TB of storage in the model I tested) provides more than enough power for my daily workflow. Of course, as a journalist my needs are moderate. I don’t edit 4K movies or run intense music-creation software, and most things I do can be accomplished in a browser. But a ton of Safari tabs coupled with my usual apps like Messages, Photos, Slack, Bear, Apple Music and Trello never slowed it down. More power-hungry apps like Lightroom or Photomater never stuttered either, as I edited and exported RAW photos. I’m particularly glad that the M3 iMac supports up to 24GB of RAM this time around, up from 16GB on the M1 model.

The M3 iMac is also capable of running modern games, at least those that are available for it. In a tale as old as time, game options on the Mac lag far behind what you’ll find on Windows, but the situation is improving. Titles like Baldur’s Gate 3 and Lies of P are the kinds of games you usually wouldn’t expect to see on a Mac. That’s part of an overall trend this year, with other big blockbuster games like the Resident Evil 4 remake, Resident Evil Village and Death Stranding either available now or coming soon.

Photo by Nathan Ingraham / Engadget

Both Baldur’s Gate 3 and Lies of P ran well on the iMac. They weren’t running at the highest resolution, but they were still totally playable. And other games from the Mac App Store like NBA 2K24 Arcade Edition and Skate City from Apple Arcade worked without a hiccup — but given those games have to run across a huge variety of lower-powered devices, good performance is basically a given. While no one is going out there buying a Mac with cutting-edge gaming in mind, I am still glad that there are more options than there were a few years ago.

Benchmarks show the M3 is a modest improvement over the M2, which is not a big surprise. The M3 is also almost identical in single-core performance to the M3 Max, which we tested on the new 16-inch MacBook Pro. Of course, that computer blows past the iMac in multi-core performance. But given the iMac’s intended purpose as a family computer, the M3 should be more than enough for most people. Apple Silicon is so performant that people who bought the M1 iMac two and a half years ago likely won’t have much reason to upgrade.

What hasn't changed

Photo by Nathan Ingraham / Engadget

As for literally everything else: if you’ve seen a 24-inch iMac before, you’ve seen this one. Mine came in a lovely shade of blue — dark and metallic on the back and a more pastel shade on the front. There are six other colors available, all the same as what Apple offered before, and they all make me wish Apple used these bold shades on more of its products. (Seriously, this year’s iPhone 15 colors are terrible.) The display has a 4.5k resolution, splitting the difference between the old Intel-based 21.5- and 27-inch models. I generally find that to be enough, though I do miss the expansive canvas you got on a 27-inch iMac. I’m not alone, but Apple has made it clear that that computer isn’t coming back. If you want a bigger screen, you’re better off checking out a Mac mini or Mac Studio and pairing it with the monitor of your choice.

Despite occasionally wishing it was larger, this panel remains great, with 500 nits of brightness, Apple’s TrueTone technology for adjusting color temperature to your environment and support for the Wide P3 color gamut. It’s not the most advanced display ever since it uses a time-tested LED panel but, once again, the people that Apple is targeting with this computer won’t mind.

The iMac is still extraordinarily thin at 11.5mm and weighs less than 10 pounds. I actually wouldn’t mind if it was just a little heavier. It’s easy to accidentally move the whole computer when I adjust the tilt of the display. And feline owners beware: my cats liked to jump on the desk and nuzzle the iMac, sliding it across my desk. But its minimal weight also makes it easy to move around the house. 

It mostly sat on my desk, but I also brought it down to the bedroom to watch a movie when I was feeling under the weather. My colleague Devindra Hardawar (who reviewed the M1 model in 2021) also sang the iMac’s praises as a computer you can drop in your kitchen, which is not something I could do with my relatively limited counter space. But the point is that this remains the most portable iMac ever, and that opens up some interesting uses.

Apple has done a good job of putting surprisingly solid speakers into its laptops, and it’s also worked out an impressive speaker system to go in the svelte iMac. It has six speakers total with two force-canceling woofers, and this results in clear and relatively loud audio. I prefer using dedicated speakers as I’m a bit of a music nerd, but for casual listening or watching YouTube, this system is far better than you’d expect from such a thin device. The speakers also support Dolby Atmos Spatial Audio for Apple Music, movies and shows via the Apple TV app. Those effects aren’t the most obvious on this system; songs sound different, though not necessarily better, but I’ve found that to be the case no matter what device you’re using to play Spatial Audio.

Photo by Nathan Ingraham / Engadget

As before, the iMac comes with a color-matched keyboard and mouse (and/or trackpad, your choice), a subtle but really nice touch. Mechanical keyboard enthusiasts will scoff, but I continue to find the Magic Keyboard extremely comfortable to type on for extended periods of time, and I love that you can get Touch ID built in now. The Magic Mouse and Magic Trackpad are the same ones Apple has been selling for years, and they’re very reliable (though plenty of people are not fans of the mouse’s shape). 

However, Apple really missed a good opportunity to redesign these accessories to use USB-C for charging. Instead, they use the same old Lightning connector that has been on iPhones and other devices for years now. With Lightning’s days clearly numbered, this would have been a perfect time to move to USB-C. At least the included Lightning cable is also color-matched.

Base specs are a big downside

Photo by Nathan Ingraham / Engadget

Most of the things Apple didn’t change with the new iMac don’t bother me — the design and screen all make sense, even if some people wish things were a little different. What doesn’t make sense are the corners Apple is cutting to offer the iMac at a starting price of $1,299. That configuration comes with a paltry 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, which was stingy two and a half years ago and now is completely unacceptable. I can’t in good conscience recommend anyone spend more than $1,000 on a computer with only 8GB of RAM in 2023.

There are other cuts to the entry model that aren’t quite as egregious but are still disappointing. Apple doesn’t include the power adaptor with a gigabit ethernet port, the Magic Keyboard doesn’t have Touch ID, the GPU has eight cores (compared to 10 in the $1,499 model), it only has two Thunderbolt / USB 4 ports (the more expensive iMac also has two more USB-C ports) and it only comes in four colors rather than seven. The base iMac might exist mostly as a more affordable model for education, but there’s no reason to handicap yourself with only 8GB of RAM if you’re buying this computer for yourself or your family.

That means you’re spending at least $1,499 to get a computer with 16GB of RAM and all the aforementioned compromises. That’s the same price as the middle-tier iMac, which includes the gigabit ethernet adapter, Touch ID and so on — but it also only comes with 8GB of RAM. Stepping that computer up to 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage, the minimum specs I’d consider for a desktop, comes to a whopping $1,899.

This isn’t a new problem. The company’s entry models often feel artificially limited to push you toward a more expensive option. Just look at the $1,099 MacBook Air, which is also hamstrung by 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, but it feels slightly more forgivable on a laptop. With the iMac, you don’t get improved portability in exchange for poorer specs. In fact, in many ways (except the screen), the iMac is a more limited and more expensive computer than the MacBook Air.

Fortunately, Apple also sells the Mac mini. You can pick up that tiny desktop with an M2 chip, 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage for $999, add a nice 4K monitor and you’re good to go for less than $1,500. Of course you lose the niceties of an all-in-one, which aren’t insignificant — I’ve really enjoyed the complete lack of cord clutter on my desk while using the iMac.

Photo by Nathan Ingraham / Engadget

Wrap-up

Thanks to Apple Silicon, Apple’s desktop computer lineup is in stronger shape than it’s been in years. For a while, the iMac had to be both a simple all-in-one for those with basic needs as well as a more powerful, pro-focused machine (remember the iMac Pro?). But now, the Mac mini and Mac Studio are compelling options for people who want better performance, leaving the iMac to serve a smaller audience. And it does it well — the screen is great, the M3 is powerful, and the whole thing is shockingly compact. If you want the simplest and easiest Mac experience, the iMac is still the way to go. Just make sure you bump up the RAM.

Chances are your new laptop has fewer ports than you’d like. For years, companies have been prioritizing thinness and lightness to the detriment of connectivity options. Docking stations give you back some of that versatility — and then some — by combining monitor, Ethernet, USB and other ports into one package. Unlike simple USB hubs, docking stations tend to have more slots and usually incorporate a DC power supply, making them bigger and far less portable than small hubs. But that also means they can be the connective matrix of sorts that powers your home office setup. Ultimately, which dock works best for you depends on what you need to connect, but it’s safe to say the vast sea of choices out there can be overwhelming. We tested out 12 options from brands we trust to see which are worth your money.

What to look for in a docking station

First and foremost, consider what you need to plug in. This will likely be the deciding factor when you go to actually buy a docking station. Do you need three screens for an expanded work view? A quick way to upload photos from an SD card? Are you looking to plug in a webcam, mic and streaming light, while simultaneously taking advantage of faster Ethernet connections? Once you’ve settled on the type of ports you need, you may also want to consider the generation of those ports as well; even ports with the same shape can have different capabilities. Here’s a brief overview of the connectivity different docking stations offer.

Monitor ports

External monitors typically need one of three ports to connect to a PC: HDMI, DisplayPort or USB-C. HDMI connections are more common than DisplayPort and the cables and devices that use them are sometimes more affordable. The most popular version of the DisplayPort interface (v1.4) can handle higher resolutions and refresh rates than the most common HDMI version (2.0). All of the docking stations with HDMI sockets that we recommend here use version 2.0, which can handle 4K resolution at 60Hz or 1080p up to 240Hz. The DisplayPort-enabled docks support either version 1.2, which allows for 4K resolution at 60Hz, or version 1.4, which can handle 8K at 60Hz or 4K at 120Hz.

You can also use your dock’s downstream (non-host) Thunderbolt ports to hook up your monitors. If your external display has a USB-C socket, you can connect directly. If you have an HDMI or DisplayPort-only monitor, you can use an adapter or a conversion cable that has one of each type of connector.

Of course, the number of monitors you can connect and the resolutions/rates they’ll achieve depend on both your computer’s GPU and your monitors — and the more monitors you plug in can bring down those numbers as well. Be sure to also use cables that support the bandwidth you’re hoping for. MacOS users should keep in mind that the MacBook Air with the standard M1 chip supports just one external monitor. M2 MacBooks (the newer Airs and 13-inch Pro) can handle two external monitors, but each monitor needs its own onboard port (i.e., a dock plugged into a single port can’t power two monitors). M2 Pro and M2 Max Macs can run multiple displays from a single port.

USB ports

Most docking stations offer a few USB Type-A ports, which are great for peripherals like wired mice and keyboards, bus-powered ring lights and flash drives. For faster data transfer speeds to your flash drive, go for USB-A sockets labeled 3.1 or 3.2 — or better yet, use a USB-C Thunderbolt port.

Type-C USB ports come in many different flavors. The Thunderbolt 3, 4 and USB4 protocols are newer, more capable specifications that support power delivery of up to 100W, multiple 4K displays and data transfer speeds of up to 40Gbps. Other USB-C ports come in a range of versions, with some supporting video, data and power and some only able to manage data and power. Transfer rates and wattages can vary from port to port, but most docks list the wattage or GB/s on either the dock itself or on the product page. And again, achieving the fastest speeds will depend on factors like the cables you use and the devices you’re transferring data to.

Nearly every dock available today connects to a computer via USB-C, often Thunderbolt, and those host ports are nearly always labeled with a laptop icon. They also allow power delivery to your laptop: available wattage varies, but most docks are rated between 85 and 100 watts. That should be enough to keep most computers powered — and it also means you won’t have to take up an extra laptop connector for charging.

Other ports

None of our currently recommended laptops include an Ethernet jack; a docking station is a great way to get that connection back. We all know objectively that wired internet is faster than Wi-Fi, but it might take running a basic speed comparison test to really get it on a gut level. For reference, on Wi-Fi I get about a 45 megabit-per-second download speed. Over Ethernet, it’s 925 Mbps. If you pay for a high-speed plan, but only ever connect wirelessly, you’re probably leaving a lot of bandwidth on the table. Every docking station I tested includes an Ethernet port, and it could be the connector you end up getting the most use out of.

Just two of our favorite laptops have SD card readers, and if you need a quick way to upload files from cameras or audio recorders, you may want to get a dock with one of those slots. Of the docks we tested, about half had SD readers. For now, most (but not all) laptops still include a 3.5mm audio jack, but if you prefer wired headphones and want a more accessible place to plug them in, many docking stations will provide.

When you’re counting up the ports for your new dock, remember that most companies include the host port (the one that connects to your computer) in the total number. So if you’re looking for a dock with three Thunderbolt connections, be sure to check whether one of them will be used to plug in your laptop.

Photo by Amy Skorheim / Engadget

Design

Most docking stations have either a lay-flat or upright design. Most docks put the more “permanent” connections in back — such as Ethernet, DC power, monitor connections and a few USBs. Up-front USB ports can be used for flash drive transfers, or even plugging in your phone for a charge (just make sure the port can deliver the power you need). USBs in the rear are best for keyboards, mice, webcams and other things you’re likely to always use. Some docks position the host port up front, which might make it easier to plug in your laptop when you return to your desk, but a host port in back may look neater overall.

How we tested

We started out by looking at online reviews, spec sheets from various brands and docking stations that our fellow tech sites have covered. We considered brands we’ve tested before and have liked, and weeded out anything that didn’t have what we consider a modern suite of connections (such as a dock with no downstream USB-C ports). We narrowed it down to 12 contenders and I tested each dock on an M1 MacBook Pro, a Dell XPS 13 Plus and an Acer Chromebook Spin 514. I plugged in and evaluated the quality of the connections for 12 different peripherals including a 4K and an HD monitor, a 4K and an HD webcam, plus USB devices like a mouse, keyboard, streaming light and mic. I plugged in wired earbuds, and transferred data to a USB-C flash drive and an external SSD. I ran basic speed tests on the Ethernet connections as well as the file transfers. I judged how easy the docks were to use as well as the various design factors I described earlier. I made spreadsheets and had enough wires snaking around my work area that my cat stayed off my desk for three weeks (a new record).

Best for MacBook: Satechi Dual Dock Stand

The Satechi Dual Dock Stand is different from all the other docks we tested in two respects: it doesn’t require a power source and it goes beneath your MacBook instead of beside it. You could almost classify it as a hub, but I think the high number of ports earns it docking-station status. It also gets around the single-monitor limitation some Macs present by plugging into two USB-C ports at once. That means if you have a MacBook with a standard M2 chip (the 13-inch MacBook Pro or either size MacBook Air), you’ll be able to plug two external monitors into the back of the dock and enjoy an extended view, instead of just a mirrored third display.

Since the Dual Dock works without power, it’s a lot easier to set up than other docks with transformer boxes and DC cables. I found it made the most sense to just use the MagSafe connector on the laptop, but you can also supply power to the dock using the non-data USB-C port and it will pass 75 watts to your machine.

Both the 4K and HD monitors I tested looked great and worked well in extended mode. There are two USB-Cs for a webcam and mic, plus two USB-As which could be used for a dongle mouse and a streaming light — that’s likely enough ports for conferencing or even a basic video creator setup. The dock is ultimately limited by the fact that none of the USB-C connections are Thunderbolt and there are only two USB-A sockets to work with. But it’s a great choice for extending productivity in a way that tucks beneath a MacBook, neatly moving the cords to the back of the machine and out of the way.

Satechi Dual Dock Stand specs

• Host connection: 2 x USB-C

• Power delivery to host: 75W (USB-C)

• USB-C: 1 x USB 3.0, 1 x 3.1

• USB-A: 2

• Monitor: 2 x HDMI 2.0, 1 x DisplayPort 1.4

• Aux 3.5mm: No

• SD Card: No

Best Thunderbolt 4 dock: Kensington AD2010T4

For those who want the extra speed and connectivity of the latest Thunderbolt interface, I recommend Kensington’s AD2010T4 Thunderbolt 4 Dual 4K Docking Station. Of all the TB4 docking stations tested, the AD2010 is the only one under $300, yet it performed on par with and even offered a better selection of ports than some of the others I tested. It gives you two Thunderbolt 4 connections, one for the host and one for accessories, plus an additional 3.2 USB-C. Dual HDMI 2.0 sockets can handle two external screens with up to 4K resolution (at 60Hz). But if you need three additional monitors or have an 8K screen, you can tap into the Thunderbolt port.

There’s a total of four USB-As, which is enough for a wired mouse or keyboard and a couple other peripherals. It has an SD and a microSD card slot, a 3.5mm audio combo jack and an Ethernet jack. There are even two Kensington lock slots that let you physically secure your dock with a cable.

The device itself has a solid feel and an attractive metal design. My only gripe is with the lay-flat orientation and that nearly half of the ports are on the front edge — I think upright docks that keep most connections around back have an overall neater look on a desk. However, I should point out that Kensington sells mounts for its docks, which could help with aesthetics.

Kensington AD2010T4 specs

• Host connection: Thunderbolt 4

• Max power delivery to host: 96W (DC)

• USB-C: 1 x TB4, 1 x 3.2

• USB-A: 4

• Monitor: 2 x HDMI 2.0

• Aux 3.5mm: Yes

• SD Card: SD and microSD

Best premium dock: CalDigit TS4

There’s a lot to appreciate about CalDigit’s TS4 docking station: It has a sturdy, upright design with a host connection at the rear and a whopping five downstream USB-C ports, two of which are Thunderbolt 4. Up front, you get an SD and a microSD card slot along with a headphone jack, two USB-C and a USB-A connector. In back, there’s room for four more USB-A devices and two 3.5mm jacks, one for audio in and one for audio out. One area where the dock may feel lacking is in display inputs. It only has one DisplayPort 1.4, but it has plenty of TB4 ports, which you can easily use to outfit a full command center (if you don’t have a USB-C monitor, there are plenty of adapters).

The multi-gig Ethernet jack can handle up to 2.5Gbps, so if you’re paying for a screaming-fast internet plan, this dock can help you take advantage of it. The TS4 can deliver up to 98W of power to your laptop, though like any docking station, the wattage goes down when other items are also drawing power.

The TS4 worked equally well with my MacBook Pro and the Dell XPS13 Plus and was even compatible with a Chromebook. I tested read/write speeds on a Samsung T7 SSD via a Thunderbolt port and got 734 MB/s read and 655 MB/s write speeds on the Mac and 1048/994 on the Dell. Compared to the other docks, that was in the lower-middle range for the Mac and the fastest overall for the PC. On PC, it also handled a 1GB folder transfer to a flash drive faster than any other dock and delivered the fastest connection speeds over the Ethernet. It’s the only unit that let me plug in every single peripheral I had on hand at once. If you’ve got lots of tech you want to use simultaneously (and money isn’t a concern), this is the one to get.

CalDigit TS4

• Host connection: Thunderbolt 4

• Power delivery to host: 98W (DC)

• USB-C: 2 x TB4, 3 x 3.2

• USB-A: 5

• Monitor: 1 x DisplayPort 1.4

• Aux 3.5mm: 1 x audio combo, 1 x audio in, 1 x audio out

• SD Card: SD and microSD

Best for Chromebooks: Kensington SD4780P

The Kensington SD4780P Dual 4K typically requires a DisplayLink driver, but any Chromebook made after 2017 supports the connection from the jump. Finding a docking station that works with ChromeOS is tough; of the 12 units I tested, only four connected at all with the Acer Chromebook Spin 514, and one of those four couldn’t run two monitors. The SD4780P uses a USB-C host connection, through which it offers a maximum power delivery of 100W and was able to run both the 4K and HD screens cleanly.

It allows for a wide range of USB-A peripherals through five such ports, but there’s only a single downstream USB-C, so I wasn’t able to use both a webcam and mic at the same time. That means you’ll need to use your Chromebook’s built-in ports if you want more than one of those types of devices set up. The plastic build makes it look a little cheap and I’m not crazy about the lay-flat design, but the host port is in the back, which will make your setup neater. If all you’re looking for is a way to get a few extra monitors and use your wired USB accessories, this is a good pick for Chromebooks.

Kensington SD4780P specs

• Host connection: USB-C

• Power delivery to host: 100W (DC)

• USB-C: 1 x 3.1

• USB-A: 5

• Monitor: 2 x HDMI 2.0, 2 x DisplayPort 1.2

• Aux 3.5mm: 1 x audio combo

• SD Card: No

Other docking stations we tested

Plugable TBT4-UDZ

When I pulled the Plugable TBT4-UDZ Thunderbolt 4 out of the box, I was convinced it would make the cut: It has a practical upright design, an attractive metal finish, and the host connection is TB4. While there are plenty of USB-A and monitor ports, there’s just one downstream USB-C. A modern dock, particularly one that costs $300, should let you run, say, a USB-C cam and mic at the same time. Otherwise, it’s pretty limiting.

Anker 575 USB-C

At $250 (and more often $235), the Anker 575 USB-C could make for a good budget pick for Windows. It performed well with the Dell XPS 13 Plus, but had trouble with the third screen, the 4K webcam and headphone jack when connected to the MacBook Pro. It’s quite compact, which means it can get wobbly when a bunch of cables are plugged in, but it has a good selection of ports and was able to handle my basic setup well.

Belkin Connect Pro Thunderbolt 4

Belkin’s Connect Pro Thunderbolt 4 Dock is a contender for a Thunderbolt 4 alternative. It has nearly the same ports as the AD2010 (minus the microSD slot) and an attractive rounded design — but it’s $90 more, so I’d only recommend getting it if you find it on sale.

Acer USB Type-C Dock

Acer’s USB Type-C Dock D501 costs $10 more than our Kensington pick for Chromebooks, but it performs similarly and is worth a mention. It has nearly the same ports (including the rather limiting single downstream USB-C) but both the Ethernet and data transfer speeds were faster.

FAQs

Are docking stations worth it?

Docking stations are worth it if you have more accessories to plug in than your laptop permits. Say you have a USB-C camera and mic, plus a USB-A mouse, keyboard and streaming light; very few modern laptops have enough connections to support all of that at once. A docking station can make that setup feasible while also giving you extra ports like an Ethernet connection, and supplying power to your laptop. However, if you just need a few extra USB sockets, you might be better off going with a hub, as those tend to be cheaper.

How much does a laptop dock cost?

Laptop docks range in price from around $150 to $450. Higher priced units tend to have more ports and more powerful connections, such as Thunderbolt 4.

Does a laptop charge on a docking station?

Nearly all docking stations allow you to charge your laptop through the host connection (the cable running from the dock to your computer). That capability, plus the higher number of ports is what separates a docking station from a hub. Docks can pass on between 65W and 100W of power to laptops, and nearly all include a DC adapter.

Are all docking stations compatible with all laptops?

No, not all docking stations are compatible with every laptop. In our tests, the Chromebook had the biggest compatibility issues, the Dell PC had the least, and the MacBook fell somewhere in between. All docks will list which brands and models they work with on the online product page — be sure to also check the generation of your laptop as some docks can’t support certain chips.

Apple's confusing laptop family finally makes sense this year. The long-rumored 15-inch MacBook Air arrived months ago, and the company surprised us by delivering two MacBook Pro revisions in less than 12 months. While I appreciated the speed bump that the M2 Pro models brought, the new M3-equipped MacBook Pro 14- and 16-inch are a clearer sign of where Apple is headed. The company has killed off the long-suffering 13-inch MacBook Pro, which was cursed with a Touch Bar and an aging design. Now, its Pro machines are truly geared towards professionals, while the Air models are meant for everyone else.

Curiously, though, Apple also seems to be dividing those professionals into more distinct subgroups. The cheaper $1,599 14-inch MacBook Pro sports a plain M3 chip, which has an 8-core CPU and 10-core GPU. It’s an entirely new addition to the lineup, and consequently it seems tailor-made for people who want something more than a MacBook Air, but don’t need the power of a $2,000 machine. It's equipped with a mere 8GB of RAM — a limitation you'll likely feel as browser tabs stack up — and it loses a USB-C port on its right side.

If you're actually going to be doing any multimedia work, you can bump up to the $1,999 14-inch M3 Pro model, which features an 11-core CPU and 14-core GPU. You’ll have to shell out $2,399 to get the full power of the M3 Pro with a 12-core CPU and 18-core GPU. And demanding users can jump to the $3,199 M3 Max model, sporting a 14-core CPU and 30-core GPU. Pricing hasn't changed at all for the 16-inch MacBook Pro, which still starts at $2,499 with an M3 Pro chip. Notably, the bigger MacBook Pro can be equipped with a 40-core GPU M3 Max chip for $3,999.

Both MacBook Pro models can also come in a "Space Black" finish, which features a new anodization finish to reduce fingerprints. (Unfortunately, it's not available for the base M3 14-inch MacBook Pro, another slight knock against that machine.) While the color looks more charcoal gray in person, it’s darker than Apple's previous "Space Gray" MacBook Pros. And in my testing, it definitely attracted less fingerprint grease than the pure black "Midnight" MacBook Air (though it certainly wasn't perfect). I'm just hoping Apple can eventually produce a Midnight variant of the MacBook Pro that fares better with fingerprints. And don't worry, the classic silver option is still around.

Photo by Devindra Hardawar/Engadget

Other than that new color, though, not much has changed about the overall design of the 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pros, which were refreshed in 2021. Their refined, all-aluminum design was a big step forward from Apple’s older unibody cases, which stuck around for almost a decade. Both computers feature gorgeous 14- and 16-inch Liquid Retina XDR displays, which offer HDR, refresh rates up to 120Hz with ProMotion, and up to 1,600 nits of peak HDR brightness. (One nifty upgrade: They now offer up to 600 nits of SDR brightness, instead of 500 nits.) And yes, the notch everyone made fun of is still around, and once again it houses a 1080p webcam.

I'm not complaining, mind you. This MacBook Pro redesign was a major improvement when it debuted two years ago, and it still looks great today. I wouldn't be surprised if Apple sticks with it for years, just like it did the old unibody design. While some PC-makers are eager to throw in features to make their computers stand out — like the rear LED lights on ASUS's Zephyrus G14 and m16 — there's something casually cool and confident about these MacBook Pros.

You might be wondering why we’re reviewing both the 14-inch and 16-inch models together – to put it simply, they’re practically the same machine with different screen sizes. One isn’t necessarily better than the other, it really depends on your needs. If you’re a video editor working on large project timelines, it makes sense to go for the biggest screen possible, especially since you can cram in that 40-core GPU. And if you need something more compact, the smaller model makes more sense as it weighs just 3.5 pounds, while the 16-inch is a back-aching 4.7 pounds.

Photo by Devindra Hardawar/Engadget

I tested the 14-inch MacBook Pro with an M3 chip and 16GB of RAM, as well as the 16-inch model with an M3 Max and a whopping 128GB of RAM. (Unfortunately, we couldn't get our hands on an M3 Pro model to compare, but we'll update our benchmarks once we do.) To be honest, both computers performed exactly as I expected. The 14-inch M3 MacBook Pro is still a zippy little devil for general productivity work — in my case, that's with dozens of browser tabs, Slack, Evernote, Spotify and Pixelmator Pro all at once. The 16-inch model, on the other hand, was practically begging for more serious workloads. (Perhaps I was just feeling the pressure of using a machine with that much RAM and an 8TB SSD.)

In the Geekbench 6 and Cinebench 2024 benchmarks, both the M3 and M3 Max chips showed slight improvements over the M2 variants and more noticeable leaps ahead of the M1 family. I can't imagine too many folks are eager to upgrade their M2 MacBook Pros, but demanding users may see the need to move beyond the M1 machines at this point. For content creators, time is money after all, so it's worth spending a bit more to plow through projects quickly. And if you're one of the many Mac users still on an Intel system, the M3 hardware makes the push to upgrade even more compelling.

While Apple still isn't trying to court hardcore gamers much, it's at least laying the groundwork for a better gaming experience. Thanks to the upgraded GPU in the M3, for example, Lies of P played far more smoothly on the 14-inch MacBook Pro, compared to the slightly stuttery experience I saw on the 13-inch MacBook Pro with M2. I was able to crank all of the graphics settings to their highest level while playing in 1,920 by 1,200, and the game easily maintained a silky smooth 60fps. The 16-inch MacBook Pro delivered an even better experience thanks to the M3 Max. I was able to crank Lies of P up to 1440p with all of the graphics settings maxed out and still stay at 60fps. The M2 13-inch MacBook Pro, in comparison, hovered between 40 and 60 fps.

What's most impressive, though, is that I saw that performance while on battery power. The dedicated GPUs on PC gaming laptops tend to slow down considerably when they're away from the lifeline of AC power. Apple's expansion into gaming could also open up the MacBook Pro to people who already own PC gaming desktops, but want the refinement of a Mac laptop. I was able to seamlessly dive into my Baldur's Gate 3 campaign (thanks Steam Cloud Saves) across both machines. That's something that would have been unthinkable just a few years ago.

Photo by Devindra Hardawar/Engadget

Both MacBook Pro models still feature Apple's excellent keyboard and trackpad, and they all sport an SD card slot alongside a full-sized HDMI connection and headphone jack. They also have three USB-C Thunderbolt 4 ports — except for the base M3 model, which just has two. Apple also improved on the already excellent battery life of the previous models: The 14-inch MacBook Pro lasted 24 hours and 30 minutes during our benchmark, while the 16-inch model reached 24 hours and 50 minutes. During real-world usage, both computers took almost two days before I had to recharge them. Given how power-hungry Intel's chips have been lately, it's nice to see laptops that can easily survive the 14 and a half-hour flight between New York City and Tokyo.

Another plus? If you were stuck on that flight with either of these laptops, you’d truly appreciate their Liquid Retina XDR displays. While they’re not OLED screens, their MiniLED backlights are wonderfully bright, and they also offer excellent color depth for photographers. Mostly, though, I appreciated their high refresh rates – even doing something simple, like scrolling through a website, looks incredibly smooth. And while the 14.2-inch screen on the smaller MacBook Pro is only a tad larger than the Air’s 13.6-inch display, I found it noticeably more immersive while catching up on Netflix shows. For my purposes, the 14-inch model was also a great balance of screen size and portability – the 16-inch Pro is just so damn large. (But yes, I’d imagine that would be even more useful for video editing.)

It's worth noting that Apple didn't send me the base $1,599 M3 MacBook Pro with just 8GB of RAM. Given what I’ve seen on Activity Monitor, I'm typically using 10GB to 13GB of memory with my typical workflow. And I'm just a lowly tech blogger! I'm sure I could still work decently on an 8GB system, but my overflow memory needs would end up hitting the SSD frequently as swap memory. That'll slow down performance considerably when I actually need to deal with large amounts of data – perhaps while downloading a game, or transferring 4K video footage from my camera – and frequent usage also decreases the life of your SSD.

In many ways, the 14-inch MacBook Pro with 8GB of RAM feels as cynical an option as the old 13-inch machine. It's really just meant for people who want the Pro badge, but may underestimate the downsides of limited memory. And don't forget that you can't upgrade RAM on Apple Silicon — it's all baked right into the M3 chip. On older Intel systems, you could buy a low-specced MacBook Pro and add more memory down the line. That's simply impossible today, and Apple has little reason to change its architecture to become more flexible.

So, as always, we recommend you buy as much RAM as you can up front, even if it means getting a smaller SSD instead. For example, my 14-inch MacBook Pro test system, which had a 1TB SSD along with 16GB of RAM, cost $1,999. But you could save $200 by opting for a 512GB SSD instead. Don’t forget, a computer with 16GB of RAM could last you years, whereas you'll start feeling the burn with 8GB immediately.

Photo by Devindra Hardawar/Engadget

If you want to see how wild Apple’s prices can get, just look at the 16-inch MacBook Pro I received, which clocks in at $7,199 with the full-powered M3 Max (16-core CPU, 40-core GPU) 128GB of RAM and that 8TB SSD. It's not something an average consumer would buy — but it would definitely be useful for Disney to have a pile of them on-hand to help editors and VFX artists pump out the latest Marvel show.

Funny enough, my advice today echoes what I said last year: Don't buy the cheapest model. Beyond that, it's hard to go wrong. The M3 chips are incredibly efficient and powerful. And Apple's MacBook Pro design remains as elegant as ever. Just try to save up for at least 16GB of RAM.

Even among 2-in-1 PCs, Microsoft’s Surface Laptop Studio offers a unique blend of performance and adaptability. But now on the second model, thanks to refreshed specs plus the addition of a USB-A port and a microSD card reader, it feels like Microsoft has given its mobile workstation the finishing touches it needed all along, resulting in what may be the ultimate all-rounder. Unfortunately with a high starting price and costly upgrades for more RAM and a discrete GPU, the Surface Laptop Studio 2 is hard to recommend for everyone.

Design: Funky but functional

Francis Bacon once said “There is no excellent beauty that hath not some strangeness in the proportion,” which is a sentiment that feels applicable to the Surface Laptop Studio 2. It features a minimalist aluminum chassis (instead of the magnesium frame on the previous model) but in a somewhat unconventional configuration. The laptop’s lid is divided into two halves, which allows the screen to pivot 180 degrees or tilt down into an easel. Meanwhile, its base features a two-tiered design that allows the laptop to keep its vents away from the sides of the system while also providing a hidden magnetic charging spot for a Surface Slim Pen 2 (which sadly, is not included).

The two biggest changes to the Studio 2’s design are the addition of the USB-A port and a microSD card slot. When combined with the existing dual USB-C jacks, you get a solid range of connectivity options. It means you can transfer files from a camera directly to the laptop and you’ll rarely (if ever) have to worry about carrying around extra dongles for peripherals. That said, Surface Laptop Studio 2’s slightly thicker chassis (but only by one or two millimeters) and the change to aluminum does mean an extra third of a pound in weight (4.18 pounds with integrated graphics or 4.37 with a discrete GPU).

Display: Vivid from any angle

The Surface Laptop Studio 2’s screen hasn’t changed much from the previous model, but that’s not a bad thing. Its 14.4-inch panel features the same 2,400 x 1,600 resolution, along with a dynamic refresh rate that can switch between 60Hz and 120Hz depending on what you’re looking at. However, brightness is a touch better at around 500 nits, or 650 nits with HDR turned on. And you still get full Windows Inking support with 4,096 levels of pressure sensitivity.

Performance: More than enough power, but it’ll cost you

Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget

For the new model, Microsoft streamlined the Surface Laptop Studio 2’s specs by offering a single processor across every config: an Intel Core i7-13700H. From there you can choose a base model with integrated graphics or upgrade to one with either an RTX 4050 or RTX 4060 GPU. The annoying thing is that, to get that 4060, you also have to get 64GB of RAM, which is overkill for most people. That’s unfortunate because that config costs $3,300. An option with only 32GB of RAM and a lower cost would be appreciated.

That said, it’s hard to complain about its actual performance. The Surface Laptop Studio 2 kept pace with similarly specced gaming laptops including the MSI Stealth 14 Studio and Razer Blade 18 across both benchmarks and real-world tests. While it’s not meant to be a dedicated gaming rig, it also hit 62 fps in Cyberpunk 2077 at 1920 x 1200 with high graphics and ray tracing set to ultra (though that is with NVIDIA’s DLSS turned on).

Battery Life: Surprisingly decent

Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget

Even with a discrete GPU, the Surface Laptop Studio 2’s longevity is closer to a standard ultraportable than more short-lived gaming notebooks. On PCMark 10’s OpenOffice battery rundown test, it lasted eight hours and 40 minutes. That’s three hours more than both the MSI Stealth 14 Studio and the Razer Blade 16, which lasted 5:19 and 5:10, respectively. However, more typical ultraportables like ASUS’ Zenbook S 13 fared even better with a time of 10:39.

Wrap-up

The two major knocks against the Surface Laptop Studio 2 are its price and limited configurations that top out with NVIDIA RTX 4060 graphics, which makes it feel more like a great all-rounder than an all-out mobile powerhouse. While there’s no defending its cost, I’m not as bothered by the latter, because there’s a lot of value in a system that offers unmatched adaptability.

Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget

With its innovative design, brilliant display, above-average battery life and improved connectivity, the Surface Laptop Studio 2 can handle a lot of different assignments with ease. It’s a great system for editing photos and videos, and stylus support makes drawing or taking notes a delight. When you factor in the excellent keyboard, Windows Hello IR cameras and one of best touchpads on a Windows laptop today (courtesy of Sensel), you get an incredibly versatile mobile workstation. And if we revisit that classic line from Shakespeare, “A jack of all trades is a master of none, but oftentimes better than a master of one,” which is precisely what we have here with the Surface Laptop Studio 2. I just wish it was a bit cheaper.

It’s perhaps The Addams Family’s favorite time of year, but Apple’s pre-Halloween “Scary Fast” event was neither mysterious nor spooky. Thanks to M3 chip leaks and rumors, all of the company’s announcements were largely expected. And though the showcase inexplicably took place in the evening, it’s hard to imagine Tim Cook ever cutting a ghostly figure.

Anyway, Apple had a bunch of product refreshes to discuss, namely in the new MacBook Pro and iMac lineups. The event anchored around a trio of new chipsets that, unsurprisingly, Apple is touting as its most powerful yet.

M3 chipsets

Apple

Apple unveiled a trio of M3 chips at Scary Fast: the M3, M3 Pro and M3 Max. While they're certainly going to be faster than the previous M2 chipsets, the company not-so-subtly hammered home the notion that they're far more powerful than their M1 equivalents, just in case folks who are using devices with first-generation Apple silicon chips are starting to yearn for an upgrade.

Notably, these are the first three-nanometer chips for PCs. On the GPU side, Apple has factored in hardware-accelerated ray-tracing and mesh shading to offer more realistic lighting and better geometry handling.

The base M3 has an eight-core CPU (four performance cores and a quartet of efficiency cores) and a 10-core GPU, with support for up to 24GB of unified memory. The M3 Pro has six performance and six efficiency cores for a 12-core CPU, along with an 18-core GPU. The mid-range chipset can support up to 36GB of RAM.

As for the M3 Max, that's up to 80 percent faster than the M1 Max, according to Apple. The company's current most powerful chipset features a 16-core GPU (with 12 performance and four efficiency cores), a 40-core GPU and support for a whopping 128GB of RAM, in case you're feeling flush or need a lot of memory.

The chips should be major upgrades for anyone making the switch from an M1-powered device or an Intel-powered Mac. That means better performance for productivity, creativity and even gaming as high-profile titles such as Death Stranding Director's Cut make their way to Apple's ecosystem.

M3 MacBook Pro

Apple

Of course, those fancy chips aren't going to be very useful unless they're plugged into some capable hardware. As such, Apple showed off some upgraded MacBooks of the Pro variety that run on M3 chips.

There are new 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pros for you to get your hands on. The 14-inch variant starts at $1,599 for a model with a base M3 chip. That's the lowest ever price for a new 14-inch MacBook Pro. There wasn't a version with a base M2 chip. Instead, you would have had to shell out $1,999 for an M2 Pro-powered unit if you wanted to go with that form factor. You can now opt for a 14-inch MacBook Pro with an M3 Pro, which will likewise run you $1,999.

On a similar note, the 16-inch MBP starts at $2,499 for a model with an M3 Pro. An M2 Pro-powered model started at $2,499 as well.

Don't expect major hardware changes elsewhere on the latest models. This is by and large a spec bump. One notable tweak, however, means that the laptops' Liquid Retina XDR displays are now able to display SDR content with 20 percent more brightness, up to 600 nits.

Perhaps the best thing about the new MBPs is that Space Black chassis. I'm more tempted than ever to make the switch from Windows to Mac for that colorway alone. The extra power that the M3 chips offer seems like a bonus — though the Space Black option isn't available for the base 14-inch MacBook Pro, unfortunately.

However, not everything about the refreshed MacBook Pros is a Halloween treat. The base 14-inch model has a paltry 8GB of RAM, which maybe doesn't quite align with Apple's promise of significantly better performance in the new MBPs.

Pre-orders for the new MacBook Pro models are now open. Apple will start shipping them on November 7.

M3 iMac

Apple

The new 24-inch iMac is pretty much the same as the last 24-inch iMac, save for a new chipset and a few other tweaks. Apple says the M3-powered system is up to twice as fast as the previous version, which ran on the M1 chipset.

The company claims that Safari and productivity apps like Microsoft Excel will run up to 30 percent faster than on the M1 iMac. There will be support for up to 12 video streams in 4K resolution, three times as many as on the last iMac. Image processing and video-editing apps will be up to twice as fast too, according to Apple.

There are some minor upgrades on the connectivity front too. The M3 iMac supports Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3, which improve on the previous model's Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.0.

The M3 iMac starts at $1,299 for a model with an eight-core GPU and eight-core CPU. Unfortunately, Apple's only offering 8GB of RAM and 256GB of SSD storage with that configuration, so you may want to bump those up a bit. Pre-orders for the M3 iMac are open now and the revamped desktop will arrive next week.

Everything else

Other than the M3 chips, new MacBook Pros and refreshed iMac, Scary Fast was notable for what Apple didn't talk about. First, you had to read between the lines to realize that the company has ditched the 13-inch MacBook Pro. That means we're waving farewell to the much-loved and much-loathed Touch Bar, at least for the time being.

It was widely expected that Apple would update several of its accessories to include USB-C ports as it shifts away from Lightning to a common charger. That wasn't the case at Scary Fast. For the time being, you'll still need a Lightning cable on hand at least for your Magic Keyboard and Magic Mouse.

Although we couldn't really shake the notion that Apple would reveal an M3-powered iPad or two, the company declined to do so on Monday. As such, you'll need to wait a while longer for tablets with its new chips.

Follow all of the news from Apple’s "Scary Fast" October event right here.

During its Scary Fast product event last night, Apple officially debuted its new M3, M3 Pro and M3 Max chips. The company is positioning the M3 chips as major upgrades over its M1 hardware — if you bought an M2 system, you’re probably not itching for a replacement just yet.

The M3’s GPU is the biggest leap forward, delivering new features, like hardware-accelerated ray tracing and mesh shading, enabling more realistic lighting and better geometry handling. If you’re into chip architecture and other fun endeavors, the M3 chips are also notable for being the first PC chips built on a three-nanometer process — both the M1 and M2 families are based on a 5nm process. This means more transistors packed into the same space, which helps with power efficiency, as well as providing better overall performance. The M3 series will feature in the revamped MacBook Pro 14-inch and 16-inch (more on those below), as well as the 24-inch iMac.

That new chip will make the new iMac up to twice as fast as its predecessor, but there aren’t too many upgrades elsewhere in the latest Mac. Apple is sticking with a 4.5K Retina display, for instance. There are some handy changes on the connectivity front, now with support for Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3 The new iMac starts at $1,299 and ships on November 7.

— Mat Smith

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Apple kills off the 13-inch MacBook Pro

But it has new 14- and 16-inch models, don’t worry.

Apple

Apple’s updated line of 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pros features a range of new M3 chips and a new Space Black chassis. Was that the spooky part of Apple’s event?

The 14-inch MBP with a base M3 processor will cost $1,599 — the first time the 14-inch laptop has hit that low of a price. The M3 Pro iteration will still cost you $1,999, and prices go up from there for M3 Max options. Meanwhile, a base 16-inch MacBook Pro with an M3 Pro chip will have the same $2,499 starting price as its M2 Pro predecessor. Alas, the 13-inch version is no more. Farewell, Touch Bar. 

Continue reading.

Lenovo Smart Paper review

A solid e-ink tablet spoiled by the cost.

Engadget

In the last few years, we’ve seen Amazon get into e-ink scribes, while startups like ReMarkable have carved out their own niche with capable hardware for a reasonable price. Lenovo, having dabbled with e-ink on devices like the Yoga Book, has joined the fray with a dedicated device, the Smart Paper. While the product hasn’t yet launched in the US, the Smart Paper has launched elsewhere, including the UK. At around $400 (or £500 in the UK), it’s expensive. The hardware is impressive (and useful), but it’s all tainted by a subscription service that demands even more money.

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X won’t pay creators for tweets that get fact checked with community notes

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The latest change comes as researchers, fact-checkers and journalists have raised the alarm about the amount of viral misinformation spreading on X amid the ongoing conflict in Israel and Gaza. Recent analysis from NewsGuard, a nonprofit that tracks the spread of misinformation, found 74 percent of “the most viral posts on X advancing misinformation about the Israel–Hamas war are being pushed by ‘verified’ X accounts.”

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Apple's "Scary Fast" event is in the books, and a new set of Macs have arrived in its wake. The company unveiled three new computers on Monday, including refreshed versions of the 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro and an updated 24-inch iMac. Each device is mostly a spec bump, but all of them run on one of Apple's new 3nm M3 chips, which the company claims will deliver "dramatically increased" CPU and (especially) GPU performance compared to past Apple silicon. We'll have to put the new hardware through its paces to verify just how true that is, but if you're already sold on Apple's latest, here's where you can pre-order the M3 MacBook Pros and iMac.  

Apple MacBook Pro (14-inch)

As noted above, the new 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pros' biggest upgrades come on the inside. Apple is introducing three new M3 chips alongside the notebooks: the standard M3, the M3 Pro and the M3 Max. The 14-inch Pro will be available with all three, with prices starting at $1,599 for the base M3 configuration and rising all the way up to $6,899 for a fully specced-out M3 Max model. The notebook is available to order now at Apple's online store. The company says the M3 and M3 Pro models will begin shipping on November 7, while the M3 Max models will start later in November.

Here's an overview of the configurations available for the new notebook:

• $1,599: M3 chip with 8-core CPU, 10-core GPU, 8GB unified memory (configurable up to 24GB), 512GB SSD (configurable up to 2TB), 2x Thunderbolt / USB 4 ports, 70W USB-C power adapter

• $1,999: M3 Pro chip with 11-core CPU, 14-core GPU, 18GB unified memory (configurable up to 36GB), 512GB SSD (configurable up to 4TB), 3x Thunderbolt 4 ports, 70W USB-C power adapter

• $2,199: M3 Pro chip with 12-core CPU, 18-core GPU, 18GB unified memory (configurable up to 36GB), 512GB SSD (configurable up to 4TB), 3x Thunderbolt 4 ports, 96W USB-C power adapter

• $3,199: M3 Max chip with 14-core CPU, 30-core GPU, 36GB unified memory (configurable up to 96GB), 1TB SSD (configurable up to 8TB), 3x Thunderbolt 4 ports, 96W USB-C power adapter

• $3,699: M3 Max chip with 16-core CPU, 40-core GPU, 48GB unified memory (configurable up to 128GB), 1TB SSD (configurable up to 8TB), 3x Thunderbolt 4 ports, 96W USB-C power adapter

The new 14-inch Pro technically starts at a lower price than its predecessor, though that model started with an M2 Pro chip instead of the base M2. Instead, the M3 config replaces the 13-inch MacBook Pro, which we've long considered an awkward middle child in the Mac lineup. To that point, Apple claims the M3-powered Pro is up to 60 percent faster than the 13-inch M1 model in terms of render performance in Final Cut Pro, with larger gains compared to older Intel-based models. (More broadly, Apple is heavily pushing all of its new devices as worthy upgrades for those hanging onto Intel-powered Macs ahead of the holidays.)

Higher-end configs powered by the M3 Pro and M3 Max chips promise similar performance leaps. For example, Apple says a M3 Pro model is up to 40 percent faster than an equivalent M1 Pro config when it comes to filter and function performance in Photoshop. M3 Max systems, meanwhile, now support up to 128GB of unified memory, which Apple says can help it deliver more than twice the speeds of an M1 Max model with certain pro-level software like Maxon Redshift. In general, Apple is positioning M3 systems toward the likes of students and aspiring editors, M3 Pro systems toward coders and creative types and M3 Max systems toward 3D artists, video editors and those with more extreme workflows.

Almost everything else about the notebook is virtually identical to before, with the main differences being a new "space black" color option for the M3 Pro and M3 Max models — which Apple says is particularly resistant to fingerprints — and a higher peak brightness of 600 nits with SDR content (up from 500 nits on the last model). Other than that, you're still looking at a Liquid Retina XDR display, a six-speaker sound system, a 1080p FaceTime camera and a similar port selection. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, as we liked the previous MacBook Pro's design, but it means owners of that 10-month-old device shouldn't feel any pressing need to upgrade.

Apple MacBook Pro (16-inch)

Just about all of the details above apply to the new 16-inch MacBook Pro as well, only this notebook won't be available with the base M3 chip. Instead, it'll start at $2,499 for a config with an M3 Pro chip and go up to $7,199 for a fully decked-out M3 Max model. That's the same starting price as the previous generation. Alongside its larger display, the 16-inch Pro is still rated for up to 22 hours of battery life. That matches the 14-inch M3 Pro's rating but comes in a few hours higher than the 18-hour estimate of the 14-inch M3 Pro and M3 Max models.

Again, the 16-inch Pro is available to order today directly from Apple. M3 Pro models will start shipping next week, while M3 Max shipments will commence later in November. Below is an overview of the configurations on sale. Note that, unlike the 14-inch model, each 16-inch Pro option includes three Thunderbolt 4 ports and a 140W USB-C adapter.

• $2,499: M3 Pro chip with 12-core CPU, 18-core GPU, 18GB unified memory (configurable up to 36GB), 512GB SSD (configurable up to 4TB)

• $3,499: M3 Max chip with 14-core CPU, 30-core GPU, 36GB unified memory (configurable up to 96GB), 1TB SSD (configurable up to 8TB)

• $3,999: M3 Max chip with 16-core CPU, 40-core GPU, 48GB unified memory (configurable up to 128GB), 1TB SSD (configurable up to 8TB)

Apple iMac (24-inch)

As with previous iterations, the new 24-inch iMac is aimed at a more casual audience than the MacBook Pro. The all-in-one PC is only available with the base M3 chip, but Apple says that still makes it up to twice as fast as the last-gen model, which arrived in 2021 and runs on an M1 chip. The M3 supports up to 24GB of memory as well, up from the previous max of 16GB. 

The rest of the hardware is largely unchanged. There's still a 4.5K Retina display that can reach up to 500 nits of brightness; four USB-C ports, including two Thunderbolt ports; a 1080p front camera and a similar range of color options (green, yellow, orange, pink, purple, blue and silver). Wireless support has jumped to Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3, though.

The 24-inch iMac starts at $1,299 for a config with an eight-core CPU, eight-core GPU, two Thunderbolt / USB 4 ports and Apple Magic Keyboard. It's still saddled with a paltry 8GB of memory and 256GB SSD by default, though you can upgrade those up to 24GB and 1TB, respectively.

Starting at $1,499, you can get a model with a 10-core GPU, two extra non-Thunderbolt USB-C ports, a Gigabit Ethernet port and a Magic Keyboard with a Touch ID reader. That one is configurable with up to 2TB of SSD storage as well. Like the new MacBook Pro, the updated iMac is available to order now and will begin shipping on November 7.

Follow all of the news from Apple’s "Scary Fast" October event right here.