Given how thin and light this device is, it delivers a combination of power and portability that you’ll be hard-pressed to find in many other machines out there. In our testing, it was able to handle intense office workloads with little to no heat or slowdown. The M2 processor inside isn’t as fast or powerful as the M1 Pro or M1 Max you get in the larger (and more expensive) MacBook Pro models, but it’s still mighty fast.
The Air has lost the wedge-shape design that was its calling card for years but retains many of the other excellent features of years past, including MagSafe charging, Touch ID, and the scissor-switch keyboard, and adds a new 1080p webcam and two new color options. A model with 512GB of storage, which is what we recommend for most people and will let you keep using the laptop for longer, costs $1,399. The base model, which includes 8GB of memory, 256GB of storage, an 8-core CPU, and an 8-core GPU, starts at $1,199.
The latest MacBook Air, powered by Apple’s M2 processor, is the best laptop for most people. The Apple MacBook Air is the best laptop of 2022.
Check out the full list of best laptop picks below or our roundup of the best gaming laptops, if you’re looking for a powerful machine that doesn’t sacrifice portability. Our other picks for the best laptops, Chromebooks, and 2-in-1s include the Asus ROG Zephyrus G15, the MacBook Pro 16, and the HP Spectre x360 14. It should be easy to carry around from place to place, and it should be able to last all day without needing to be plugged in. It should be powerful enough for most anything short of intensive video editing and advanced gaming. Its display should be easy on the eyes, bright, and sharp enough that you aren’t distracted by jagged edges and visible pixels. The top laptop should have a fantastic keyboard and trackpad - after all, those are the two biggest reasons you’d choose a laptop over a smartphone or tablet. It’s getting harder to buy a bad laptop, but what separates the best laptops from good laptops is how they balance power, efficiency, portability, and comfort. It’s a great pick for productivity, browsing, and even light gaming.
While it’s certainly not perfect, there are no major flaws. It’s a device that does just about everything right. Our current pick for the best laptop of 2022 is the MacBook Air. Here, we’ve got the rest of the best laptops, Windows 10 business notebooks, gaming laptops, Chromebooks, laptops for school, and 2-in-1 convertibles. The best laptop of 2022 can come with a variety of brands, prices, and features.