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Laptops

Find the best laptop for your needs with our buying guide and test results for 32 new and 37 discontinued models.

  • Overview
  • Compare (69)
  • Buying guide
  • How we test

Time to buy a new laptop? Find the best laptop for work, school or personal use with our laptop reviews and buying guide. We've tested standard, fold-back, and detachable laptops from HP, Lenovo, Apple and more.

On this page

  • Buy the best laptop for your needs
  • Best laptops in 2026
  • What you need to know when buying a laptop
  • More about laptops
  • People's Choice
  • More technology
  • The best laptop brands for reliability
  • How we test laptops
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Buy the best laptop for your needs

We've tested a range of laptops to find which ones perform the best.

Our assessment covers:

  • Test performance, including speed, display quality and ease of use

  • Battery life

  • Predicted reliability

  • Brand satisfaction

  • Available user space

and RAM.

See our reviews to help decide whether you want a cheap laptop or the best-performing laptop.

Compare laptops

Best laptops in 2026

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Best premium tablet

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Best Android tablet

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Best Windows tablet computer

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Best cheap tablet

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  • Thousands of expert product/service reviews

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What you need to know when buying a laptop

Finding the perfect laptop for your needs can be a confusing task, especially if you don't know much about them.

Our buying guide helps you learn about the key features to look out for so you can choose one that's right for you:

  • Battery life: Consider how long you need a laptop to last without charging.

  • Storage: Find out the best option for storage.

  • RAM (random access memory): Discover what RAM is and why it's important. Learn how much RAM you need for your laptop, depending on what your usage looks like.

See more features to consider before you purchase a laptop below.

Read laptops buying guide

More about laptops

Check out our articles on laptops.

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3 of the best cheap laptops – and 3 to steer clear of

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Should you buy a laptop or a tablet?

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Bring your own device: how to choose a laptop, Chromebook or tablet for school

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How to speed up an ageing laptop

People's Choice

Pc brands

Our People's Choice awards are granted to brands that consistently rate above average for customer satisfaction and meet out other performance criteria. Become a member and see which brands have earned a People’s Choice award.

Get access to People's Choice

More technology

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Headphone reviews

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Printer reviews

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Smartwatch & fitness tracker reviews

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Mobile phone reviews


The best laptop brands for reliability

We ask thousands of Consumer members about their products to find out which brands are most reliable and satisfying to own. The results are available to members and Digital Pass holders.

Get access

How we test laptops

We test a range of laptops that are available in New Zealand to find the best models for you.

The test involves scoring:

  • Design and ease of use - build, comfort, audio quality and more.

  • Processing speed - measures performance for processing tasks.

  • Display - includes colour accuracy, brightness and reflections.

And more. Read our full guide to testing below for more information.

Learn more about our testing

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