We found a collection of unique gift ideas that go beyond the flowers and chocolates that typically rule the day.

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The right-to-repair movement has logged some serious wins over the past several years, with states like California, New York, and Minnesota having recently passed laws that make it easier for consumers to repair their own devices. But being able to obtain parts and manuals is only part of the process — you also need the tools. Luckily, iFixit’s Pro Tech Toolkit is on sale at Amazon, Best Buy, and iFixit for $59.96 ($15 off), matching the lowest price we’ve seen on the versatile tool set.

Chances are you know iFixit for its in-depth teardowns of various gadgets and gizmos, including iPhone 15 Pro Max, headsets like the Apple Vision Pro, and the confounding mess that is the Humane AI Pin (sorry not sorry). That said, the company also makes some truly excellent screwdriver sets that come with a lifetime warranty and all kinds of exotic bits for opening up modern tech, which is precisely why they’ve become a tried-and-true staple among Verge staffers who like to tinker with small electronics.

The heart of the Pro Tech Toolkit is its 64-bit driver kit, though, you also get spudgers, tweezers, several case-opening picks, a SIM removal tool, and a magnetic case that doubles as a sorting tray. The kit itself includes an extremely well-curated selection of bits, too, including pentalobe bits for opening devices like iPhones, tri-wing bits for cracking into consoles like the Nintendo Switch, and even Torx bits for working with vintage Apple computers and some PCs. It also comes with basic Phillips and flatheads, so you can tune up your bike or tackle whatever small household chores you’ve been putting off.

More deals to shop this weekend

• If you’ve been on the fence about foldables, the OnePlus Open is available from Amazon and OnePlus for $1399.99 ($300 off), which is a new low for the premium flagship. The price tag is still steep when compared to the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Google Pixel Fold — especially since it lacks full water resistance and wireless charging — but it’s a handsome phone with great multitasking support, respectable specs, and four years of OS upgrades. Plus, it almost feels like a normal phone when you close it, which isn’t necessarily the case with some of its beefier rivals. Read our review.
• There’s no reason to settle for your average, run-of-mill charger when Sharge’s Macintosh-inspired Retro 67 is on sale at Amazon for $44.99 ($5 off) with an on-page coupon. The three-port USB-C PD and PPS charger is a great option for tablets and smaller laptops given it can put out up to 67W via a single port, and it comes with a handy dot-matrix display that shows your total power output at any given moment. It’s no wonder my colleague Sean Hollister recently took to The Verge to highlight the little charging gizmo.
• Last week, we launched our 2024 graduation gift guide, which pulls together a selection of Verge-approved ideas for graduates of all ages. Not everything in there is a deal per se, though you can pick up the Cotopaxi Allpa 35L Travel Pack at Backcountry for $160 ($40 off) at checkout if you have a free Backcountry Expedition Perks membership. It’s a great carry-on backpack made of 1680-denier ballistic nylon, one that’s loaded with organizational pockets for stowing clothes, cables, and whatever tech you travel with.

Google is preparing to hold its annual Google I/O developer conference next week, and naturally, it will be all about AI. The company has made no secret of that. Since last year’s I/O, it has debuted Gemini, its new, more powerful model meant to compete with OpenAI’s ChatGPT, and has been deep in testing new features for Search, Google Maps, and Android. Expect to hear a lot about that stuff this year.

When Google I/O will happen and where you can watch

Google I/O kicks off on Tuesday, May 14th at 10AM PT / 1PM ET with a keynote talk. You can catch that on Google’s site or its YouTube channel, via the livestream link that’s also embedded at the top of this page. (There’s also a version with an American Sign Language interpreter.) Set a good amount of time aside for that; I/O tends to go on for a couple of hours.

AI at I/O

Google has been clear: I/O this year will be all about AI. Gemini has been out in the world — not without some controversy — for a few months now, as has the company’s smaller Gemma model. A lot of the keynote will probably cover how Google is fusing Search and generative AI. The company has been testing new search features like AI conversation practice for English language learners, as well as image generation for shopping and virtual try-on.

Google will probably also focus on ways it plans to turn your smartphone into more of an AI gadget. That means more generative AI features for Google’s apps. It’s been working on AI features that help with dining and shopping or finding EV chargers in Google Maps, for instance. Google is also testing a feature that uses AI to call a business and wait on hold for you until there’s actually a human being available to talk to.

The Pixel as an AI gadget

I/O could also see the debut of a new, more personal version of its digital assistant, rumored to be called “Pixie.” The Gemini-powered assistant is expected to integrate multimodal features like the ability to take pictures of objects to learn how to use them or get directions to a place to buy them.

That kind of thing could be bad news for devices like the Rabbit R1 and the Human Ai Pin, which each recently launched and struggled to justify their existence. At the moment, the only advantage they maybe sort of have is that it’s kind of hard (though not impossible) to pull off using a smartphone as an AI wearable.

Image: OnLeaks / 91Mobiles

Will there be Hardware at I/O?

It seems unlikely that Google will focus much on new hardware this year, given that the Pixel 8A is already available for preorder and you can now buy a relaunched, cheaper Pixel Tablet, unchanged apart from the fact that the magnetic speaker dock is now a separate purchase. The company could still tease new products like the Pixel 9 — which, in typical Google fashion, is already leaking all over the place — and the Pixel Tablet 2, of course.

The search giant could also talk about its follow-up to the Pixel Fold, which is rumored to get a mouthful of a rebrand to the Pixel 9 Pro Fold.

Even as modern horror games become unnervingly immersive, there’s still a place for the particular mood of old-school survival horror. Through a combo of grimy visuals, cryptic puzzles, slow pacing, and clunky controls, PlayStation-era games like Resident Evil and Silent Hill were able to create a distinct kind of tension and terror. Crow Country is what would happen if that kind of game never went out of style. It has the look and feel of the classics but with just the right amount of modern flourish. It’s a perfect bite of classic horror.

Crow Country comes from indie studio SFB Games — led by brothers Tom and Adam Vian — which has so far managed to create quite the eclectic library of releases. There was the playful Switch launch title Snipperclips, the point-and-click murder mystery Tangle Tower, and now a dark survival horror game. Crow Country doesn’t just evoke the ’90s — it’s set during the period as well. The entire game takes place in an abandoned Atlanta amusement park in 1990, as a woman named Mara sets out in search of the park’s elusive owner who mysteriously disappeared. Of course, the place is teeming with monsters and mystery.

The first thing you’ll notice is just how much this looks like a 32-bit game. The attention to detail is immaculate, from the blocky characters to the fuzzy textures to the crunchy, distorted sounds. Even the menus are period-appropriate. This extends to how the game plays and how it’s structured. Initially, Mara only has access to a small section of the park, but slowly, you’ll open up more by collecting obscure items, specific-colored keys, and solving very strange puzzles. The park itself is both scary and comical, like if the original Resident Evil mansion was crossed with Five Nights at Freddy’s.

You move around like, well, a tank: movement is slow, you have to stop to shoot zombie-like enemies, and the aiming is intentionally frustrating to amp up the tension. Similarly, you have to deal with limited resources, with relatively scant ammo and medicine to keep you going. All of this infuses even small encounters with danger. You do not want to waste bullets. It helps that the monster designs are truly unsettling, with fast-running toddlers, spindly-legged monstrosities, and shifting blobs with faces.

What’s most remarkable about Crow Country, though, is how it builds on those old-school sensibilities with some very welcome quality-of-life tweaks. Perhaps the biggest: the camera is actually 3D, so you can move it around to get a better look at your surroundings. But there’s also a more modern control option for better shooting, a limited hint system for when you miss one of those small clues, a very helpful map, and safe rooms that actually feel safe, so you can catch your breath and plan your next move. There’s even a mode that removes enemies entirely if you just want to explore.

The impressive thing is that these updates don’t take away from that classic tension. They simply remove some (but not all) of the frustration inherent in ’90s-era survival horror, creating perhaps the most accessible example of the genre while maintaining the look, feel, and personality. Crow Country does all of this while telling an excellent mystery that dramatically builds in scope over five hours or so of playtime. It doesn’t quite surpass its inspirations, but it’ll remind you why you loved them so much in the first place.

Crow Country is available now on the PS5, Steam, and Xbox Series X / S.

The past few months have made one thing crystal clear: phones remain undefeated.

The AI gadgets that were supposed to save us from our phones have arrived woefully underbaked — whatever illusions we might have held that the Humane AI pin or the Rabbit R1 were going to offer any kind of salve for the constant rug burn of dealing with our personal tech is gone. Hot Gadget Spring is over and developer season is upon us, starting with Google I/O this coming Tuesday.

It also happens to be a pivotal time for Android. I/O comes on the heels of a major re-org that put the Android team together with Google’s hardware team for the first time. The directive is clear: to run full speed ahead and put more AI in more things. Not preferring Google’s own products was a foundational principle of Android, though that model started shifting years ago as hardware and software teams collaborated more closely. Now, the wall is gone and the AI era is here. And if the past 12 months have been any indication, it’s going to be a little messy.

Photo by Allison Johnson / The Verge

So far, despite Samsung and Google’s best efforts, AI on smartphones has really only amounted to a handful of party tricks. You can turn a picture of a lamp into a different lamp, summarize meeting notes with varying degrees of success, and circle something on your screen to search for it. Handy, sure, but far from a cohesive vision of our AI future. But Android has the key to one important door that could bring more of these features together: Gemini.

Gemini launched as an AI-fueled alternative to the standard Google Assistant a little over three months ago, and it didn’t feel quite ready yet. On day one, it couldn’t access your calendar or set a reminder — not super helpful. Google has added those functions since then, but it still doesn’t support third-party media apps like Spotify. Google Assistant has supported Spotify for most of the last decade.

But the more I come back to Gemini, the more I can see how it’s going to change how I use my phone. It can memorize a dinner recipe and talk me through the steps as I’m cooking. It can understand when I’m asking the wrong question and give me the answer to the one I’m looking for instead (figs are the fruit that have dead wasp parts in them; not dates, as I learned). It can tell me which Paw Patrol toy I’m holding, for Pete’s sake.

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

Again, though — party tricks. Gemini’s real utility will arrive when it can integrate more easily across the Android ecosystem; when it’s built into your earbuds, your watch, and into the very operating system itself.

Android’s success in the AI era rides on those integrations. ChatGPT can’t read your emails or your calendars as readily as Gemini; it doesn’t have easy access to a history of every place you’ve visited in the past decade. Those are real advantages, and Google needs every advantage right now. We’ve seen plenty of signals that Apple plans to unveil a much smarter Siri at WWDC this year. Microsoft and OpenAI aren’t sitting still either. Google needs to lean into its advantages to deliver AI that’s more than a party trick — even if it’s a little un-Android-like.

Its limitations made it fall short in daily life but ended up being a plus while trying to disconnect from the world.

On my last day of vacation, I sat on a pristine beach, sipping on a piña colada while staring at a turquoise Caribbean Sea. In four days, I’d charged my Apple Watch Ultra 2 three times, and I was down to about 30 percent. On the other wrist, I had the more modest $249.99 Garmin Lily 2 Sport. It was at about 15 percent, but I hadn’t charged it once. Actually, I’d left the cable hundreds of miles away at home. While pondering this, the Ultra 2 started buzzing. My phone may have been buried under towels and sunscreen bottles at the bottom of a beach bag, but Peloton was having a bad earnings day. The way that watch is set up, there was no way it would let me forget. The Lily 2 also buzzed every now and then. The difference was reading notifications on it was too bothersome and, therefore, easily ignored.

That tiny slice in time sums up everything that makes the Lily 2 great — and perhaps not so great.

My 10 days with the Lily 2 were split into two dramatically different weeks. The first was a chaotic hell spent zipping here and there to get 10,000 things done before vacation. The second, I did my very best to be an untroubled beach potato. That first week, I found the Lily 2 to be cute and comfortable but lacking for my particular needs. On vacation, its limitations meant it was exactly the kind of wearable I needed.

I wasn’t surprised by that. The Lily 2 is not meant to be a mini wrist computer that can occasionally sub in for your phone. It’s meant to look chic, tell you the time, and hey, here’s some basic notifications and fitness tracking. That’s ideal for casual users — the kind of folks who loved fitness bands and Fitbits before Google started mucking around with the formula.

The main thing with the Lily 2 is you have to accept that it’s going to look nice on your wrist but be a little finicky to actually use. The original Lily’s display didn’t register swipes or taps that well. It’s improved a smidge with the Lily 2, but just a smidge. Reading notifications, navigating through menus, and just doing most things on the watch itself I found to be nowhere near as convenient as a more full-fledged touchscreen smartwatch. This extra friction is a big reason why the Lily 2 just didn’t fit my needs in daily life.

As a fitness tracker, the Lily 2 is middling. The main additions this time around are better sleep tracking and a few more activity types, like HIIT, indoor rowing and walking, and meditation. There are also new dance fitness profiles with various subgenres, like Zumba, afrobeat, jazz, line dancing, etc. That said, the Lily 2 isn’t great for monitoring your data mid-workout. Again, fiddly swipes and a small screen add too much friction for that.

I also wouldn’t recommend trying to train for a marathon with the Lily 2. Since it uses your phone’s GPS, my results with outdoor runs were a mixed bag. One four-mile run was recorded as 4.01 miles. Great! Another two-mile run was logged as 2.4 miles. Less great. It’s a tracker best suited to an active life, but not one where the details really matter. Case in point, it was great for tracking my general activity splashing around and floating in the ocean — but it’s not really the tracker I’d reach for if I were trying to track laps in the pool.

At 35mm, it’s a skosh bigger than the original Lily but much smaller than just about every other smartwatch on the market. It’s lighter than most at 24.4g, too. That makes this a supremely comfortable lil watch. Most days, I forgot I was wearing it.

While I’m no fashionista, I didn’t feel like my lilac review unit was hard to slot into my daily wardrobe. But if playful colors aren’t your thing, the Classic version is $30-50 more and has a more elegant feel, a more muted color palette, and nylon / leather straps. (It also adds contactless payments.)

As a woman with a small wrist, the 35mm size is a plus. But while I personally don’t think the Lily 2 has to be a women’s watch, it is undeniably dainty. If you want something with a more neutral vibe or a slightly bigger size, Garmin has the Vivomove Trend or Vivomove Sport. Withings’ ScanWatch 2 or ScanWatch Light are also compelling options.

Ultimately, the Lily 2 is great for folks who want to be more active while trying to cut down on notifications. It’s also a great alternative if you miss the old Misfits, Jawbones, or Fitbit Alta HR. Deep down, I wish that were me, but the reality is I have too much gadget FOMO and care way too much about my running data. That said, the next time I go on vacation — or feel the urge to disconnect — I think I’ll reach for the Lily 2 and try to leave the rest of my life at home.

Want a look at Dell’s new notebook lineup that’s apparently powered by Qualcomm’s upcoming Snapdragon X Elite processors? Courtesy of Windows Report, these leaked images come ahead of Microsoft’s May 20th event where new Surfaces (and other laptops) are expected to sport the same chips.

They unsurprisingly look like laptops — albeit with overall slimmer profiles.

The most interesting model is Dell’s new XPS 13 9345, which seems to be a sleeker rebirth of the XPS 13 Plus from 2022. It’s got the same touchy touch-bar on the top row and comes with only two USB-C ports for I/O.

There’s also a leaked new Inspiron 14 7441 Plus that’s reportedly equipped with a 16-core Snapdragon X Elite and has 16GB of base RAM. Inspirons are considered Dell’s everyman PC that isn’t as sleek as the XPS lineup, although this one looks like it has thinned, and seems to come with two USB-C ports, one USB-A, and a microSD card slot.

Dell had revealed a new XPS lineup in January which introduced keyboards that bear Microsoft’s new Copilot key on the bottom row — and it looks like these leaked ones have them, too. Dell, HP, and Lenovo have all partnered with Microsoft to release notebooks supporting Windows 11 AI features. And these leaked Dell laptops apparently have Microsoft’s upcoming “AI Explorer” features out of the box.

They’re among the first Snapdragon X laptops we’ve seen leak out — the other is this Lenovo Yoga Slim 7 that leaker WalkingCat unearthed,

A Samsung Galaxy Book 4 Edge is expected as well, and Asus seems to have a Qualcomm laptop coming too.

Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X series are due to appear in laptops this summer, and it’s the chipmaker’s big bet to challenge Apple Silicon, Intel, and AMD on performance.

From midsized and midrange stars to big, beefy monsters, these are the best technically portable gaming rigs you can get.

The early gaming laptops were largely desktop replacements: clunky chassis, multiple power bricks, and RGB lighting galore. But the top contenders now are different. Manufacturers are finally putting powerful specs into thin gaming machines: sleeker, more portable, and more professional builds. They have excellent, fast refreshing screens that are necessary for a great gaming experience. These laptops aren’t just great for gaming but for everyday work as well.

The best gaming laptop is the 2024 Asus ROG Zephyrus G14. It can handle the most demanding games on the market today, it’s portable, and it also makes a great daily driver. Other good options are the Razer Blade 16 and the Lenovo Legion 5 Pro.

One more thing to keep in mind is the power you can expect. Not all chips with the same name are created equal — the RTX 4070 in one laptop may not deliver the same frame rates as the RTX 4070 in another laptop due to its wattage (as well as other factors like the processor and cooling). Nvidia now requires companies to disclose clock speeds and graphics power on each model’s product page, but plenty of manufacturers haven’t done that yet.

Out of the many gaming laptops we test each year, here are the ones that make the list. If you’re looking for a more multipurpose device, check out our best laptop page. If you’re an Android gamer, we’ve also got a list of the best Chromebooks you can buy.

The best gaming laptop

CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 8945 HS / GPU: Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060, RTX 4070 / RAM: 16GB, 32GB / Storage: 1TB / Display: 14-inch OLED, 2880 x 1800, 120Hz, 400 nits / Dimensions: 12.24 x 8.66 x 0.63 inches / Weight: 3.31 pounds

There is no better-balanced gaming laptop than the Asus ROG Zephyrus G14. It’s our new favorite for all the same reasons we loved the 2023 model: it’s a thin and lightweight 14-inch gaming laptop with reasonable compromises to power and price. It’s powerful enough to reach 60 frames per second on ultra graphics at its native resolution (with or without DLSS) in most games, but not so powerful that its chassis traps too much heat. Its max battery life is also reasonable — about 6.5 hours with a 73 Whr battery.

Asus gave the 2024 Zephyrus some quality-of-life touch-ups: the processor is now a current-gen Ryzen 9 8000-series chip; its display has been upgraded from an IPS to a higher-res OLED; you can configure it with 32GB of memory; and every configuration comes with a 1TB SSD. Asus even put lighting back on the lid — not a dot matrix, but a diagonal strip of LEDs.

If you want to save some money, the RTX 4060 Zephyrus G14 is up to $500 cheaper. It has the same great screen and build, though only half the RAM, and its frame rates are only about 10 percent lower than the 4070 Zephyrus at 1080p/ultra. The Razer Blade 14 is a little more powerful with a 240Hz screen, and you can upgrade the RAM — but its battery life barely hits four hours in general use, its IPS display doesn’t support G-Sync or HDR, and it is up to $700 more expensive. The RTX 4070 Zephyrus G14 nails the price-to-everything ratio — there’s nothing sweeter.

The most powerful gaming laptop

CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 7945HX3D / GPU: Nvidia Geforce RTX 4090 / RAM: 32GB / Storage: 1TB / Display: 17-inch IPS QHD, 240Hz display, 3ms, 300 nits, 100 percent DCI-P3 / Dimensions: 15.55 x 11.1 x 1.11 inches / Weight: 6.51 pounds

The ROG Strix Scar 17 X3D is big, it’s loud, it’s garish, and it’s flat-out the fastest gaming laptop we’ve tested. Thanks to its AMD Ryzen 9 79045HX3D processor, it leaves models with the same top-tier RTX 4090 graphics card and Intel’s fastest CPUs in the dust. It can run many of today’s AAA titles at 1440p with triple-digit frame rates.

The Scar 17 X3D has a 17-inch 2560 x 1440 240Hz screen with G-Sync, oodles of ports, a pleasant keyboard, and RGB galore. At over six and a half pounds and 17 inches on the diagonal, it’s your classic high-performance, barely portable gaming laptop.

Its webcam is potato, battery life is exactly as bad as you’d expect from everything we just listed, and it’s expensive, but for now this is the high-water mark for gaming laptops.

For more down-to-earth performance and price, you can also get the ROG Strix Scar 17 with an RTX 4070 for about $1,800 or with an RTX 4080 for about $2,900.

Read our Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 X3D review.

Read our review of the Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 X3D.

The best budget gaming laptop

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5600H, Ryzen 7 5800H, Intel Core i5-13500H, Core i7-13700H, Core i7-12700H / GPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5600H, Ryzen 7 5800H, Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050, RTX 3050 Ti, RTX 4050 / RAM: 8GB, 16GB / Storage: 512GB, 1TB / Display: 15.6-inch IPS, 1920 x 1080, 60Hz / 144Hz, no touch option / Dimensions: 14.09 x 10.04 x 0.93 / Weight: 5.05 pounds

If you’ve got a tighter shopping budget, the HP Victus 15 is worth considering. The model we tested has a 144Hz screen, which is hard to find below the $800 mark. We found the touchpad a bit stiff, but that was our only real issue with the chassis in our testing.

While the Victus 15 doesn’t have the powerful gaming chops to match some of the other devices in this category, it can certainly run a number of games at their maximum settings, particularly lighter titles. If you don’t want to compromise on more modern AAA titles, we recommend going for the RTX 3050 model.

Read our HP Victus 15 review.

A great, affordable 16-inch gaming laptop

CPU: Intel Core i5-13500HX, Core i7-13700HX / GPU: Nvidia Geforce RTX 4050, 4060, 4070 / RAM: 16GB / Storage: 512GB, 1TB / Display: 16-inch, 2560 x 1600 IPS, 165Hz / 240Hz, no touch option / Dimensions: 14.3 x 10.25 x 1.05 inches / Weight: 5.51 pounds

The Legion 5i Pro is a fast, well-built gaming laptop from Lenovo. For well under $2,000, you can get exceptional performance from Nvidia 40-series GPUs and Intel’s 13th Gen processors in an attractive 16-inch chassis. It delivered respectable results on every game we tried, even at its native 2560 x 1600 resolution. And with the 240Hz display, you’ll be able to fully take advantage of the Legion 5i Pro’s power.

Performance aside, the highlight of the Legion 5 Pro is its 16:10 screen. A screen this tall is hard to find on the gaming laptop market these days, and it allows you more room for multitasking if you want to use the Legion 5 Pro as a daily driver. The keyboard is also a delight to use, with four-zone programmable backlighting.

The Legion’s main downside is its battery life. We only got about five hours of continuous use in our testing. While that’s not the worst we’ve ever gotten from a gaming laptop, it’s nowhere near what you’ll see from Asus’ Zephyrus G14. However, it does charge very, very fast with the included 300W power brick. Overall, though, the G14 will be a better option for folks who often work on the go. But the Legion is still a solid choice — and we have to give Lenovo props for the 16:10 screen.

Read our Lenovo Legion 5i Pro review.

A sleek 16-inch gaming laptop

CPU: Intel Core i9-13980HX, Core i9-13950HX / GPU: Nvidia Geforce RTX 4060, RTX 4070, RTX 4080, RTX 4090 / RAM: 16GB, 32GB / Storage: 1TB, 2TB / Display: 16-inch Mini-LED, Dual UHD / FHD+, 120Hz / 240Hz / Dimensions: 13.98 x 9.61 x 0.87 inches / Weight: 5.4 pounds

If you want your games to look as gorgeous as they possibly can, the Razer Blade 16 is worth considering. The Blade comes with an optional Mini LED screen that can swap between native UDH Plus / 120Hz and FHD Plus / 240Hz modes with one click.

Inside, the Blade is equipped with top-end chips from Nvidia and Intel and can run most of today’s demanding games at their highest settings with all the effects you want. If the dual-mode display isn’t a priority for you, you can go for more affordable (but still pricey) models. The Blade 16 does run hot, as is traditional with the Razer Blade laptops, especially with an RTX 4090. Stepping down to the RTX 4080 saves about $700 bucks, doesn’t lose you much performance, and might save your fingers.

Read our Razer Blade 16 review.

The best big-screen gaming laptop

CPU: Intel Core i9-13980HX, Core i9-13950HX / GPU: Nvidia Geforce RTX 4060, RTX 4070, RTX 4080, RTX 4090 / RAM: 16GB, 32GB, 64GB / Storage: 1TB, 2TB / Display: 18-inch, 2560 x 1600, 240Hz / Dimensions: 15.74 x 10.84 x 0.86 inches / Weight: 6.8 pounds

The Blade 18 delivers some of the best gaming performance you can find in a laptop — but that’s not even its superpower. What makes Razer’s flagship so impressive is its massive 18-inch screen that delivers a fully immersive gaming experience. And at 0.86 inches, it’s impressively thin for such a powerful device — thin enough to carry in a briefcase or backpack.

This year’s model comes with a QHD Plus 240Hz display. It also has a customizable per-key RGB keyboard, which adds a touch of color without being too intense for the office. It runs cooler than the Blade 16, not that that’s saying much. The Blade 18 certainly isn’t cheap, but it’s the laptop to buy if you want a really big screen in a relatively slim frame.

Read our Razer Blade 18 review.

The best convertible gaming laptop

CPU: Intel Core i9-13900H / GPU: Nvidia Geforce RTX 4060 / RAM: 16GB / Storage: 1TB SSD / Display: 13.4-inch IPS, 2560 x 1600, 165Hz, touch option / Dimensions: 11.89 x 8.11 x 0.51 inches / Weight: 2.6 pounds

If you’re looking for a super-portable gaming laptop that doubles as a tablet, the Flow Z13 is one of your only options. The model we tested is the Acronym Edition, which has a funky and unique design done in collaboration with the apparel brand Acronym. You don’t have to buy this particular model (and the plain one will certainly be more affordable, so that’s what’s linked here), but it’s covered in logos and typography, with a multicolored keyboard that looks like it belongs at a fashion show. We recommend going for the non-Acronym model if you’re looking for the best value.

Design aside, the Flow Z13 has the chops to run all kinds of demanding titles at its native QHD resolution. What’s more, it’s compatible with Asus’ XG Mobile external GPU. That means you can plug the Z13 in for heavy-duty performance while you’re at your desk at home. That setup should give you a better gaming experience than you can expect from most gaming laptops on their own.

Read our Asus ROG Flow Z13 review.

Update, May 10th, 2024: Updated best gaming laptop from the 2023 Rog Zephyrus G14 to the 2024 Rog Zephyrus G14.

The best laptops for you, from ultraportables to gaming machines, MacBooks to Chromebooks.

We test a wide variety of laptops each year here at The Verge, and many of them are very good. But you can’t buy them all. So I’ve done the very difficult (very difficult, trust me) task of selecting some of the best laptops you can get. Whether you’re looking for a Chromebook, a gaming laptop, a 2-in-1 convertible, an ultralight notebook, or something that’s a little bit of each, I’ve got multiple options for you here. These aren’t necessarily the best laptops of all time, but they are, in my opinion, the best laptops you can buy right now.

Our current pick for the best laptop is the MacBook Air M3. It’s a device that does just about everything right. While it’s certainly not perfect, there are no major flaws. It’s a great pick for productivity, browsing, and even light gaming.

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. A great 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. Its display should be easy on the eyes, bright, and sharp enough that you aren't distracted by jagged edges and visible pixels. It should be powerful enough for most anything short of intensive video editing and advanced gaming. 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.

Our other picks for the best laptops, Chromebooks, and 2-in-1s include the MacBook Pro 16 and the HP Spectre x360 14. 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.

The best laptop

CPU: M3 (8-core) / GPU: M3 (8- or 10-core) / RAM: 8GB, 16GB, 24GB / Storage: 256GB, 512GB, 1TB, 2TB / Display: 13.6-inch or 15.3-inch Liquid Retina display, 2560 x 1664 or 2880 x 1864 , 60Hz, no touch option / Dimensions: 11.97 x 8.46 x 0.44 inches or 0.45 x 13.40 x 9.35 inches / Weight: 2.7 pounds or 3.3 pounds

The Apple MacBook Air M3 is the best laptop for most people — Mac users, of course, but also the platform-agnostic or anyone who wants a no-fuss, straightforward machine that doesn’t bombard them with advertisements or bloatware. It’s a productivity laptop that can do a bit of everything, and it now comes in a 15-inch version for those who like their laptops a little larger. It’s hard to find another laptop that offers this kind of combination of performance and battery life in a thin and light chassis.

Despite losing its way around the mid-2010s, Apple has a long history of sending quality MacBooks to market, and the Air M3 is no different. A smooth, almost ethereal trackpad, check. Chiclet-style keyboard that makes typing feel like a dance, check. Fast Wi-Fi adapter, color-rich display, 1080p webcam, and MagSafe charging, check. The Air M3 wasn’t made for heavy gaming, video editing, or 3D modeling or for those who want more than two USB-C ports, but for nearly everyone else, it’s a great option.

Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge

It’s absolutely worth spending an extra $100 to get the Air M3 over the MacBook Air M2, which Apple still sells. It’s about 16 to 18 percent faster than Apple’s M2 chip, and the storage on the 256GB configurations is up to twice as fast. The new Airs also support two external displays with the lid closed, which is another improvement from the previous generation. The speakers on 15-inch Air M3 are vastly superior, especially on the low end. You can actually hear the bass, whereas on the 13-inch, it’s nearly nonexistent. If you opt for the midnight colorway in either model, keep a microfiber cloth handy. The amount of fingerprints it collects turns the chassis into a CSI’s playground.

We recommend upgrading the MacBook Air M3 to at least 16GB of memory. It will improve the laptop’s ability to multitask now and will give you a few extra years of service down the line. (Important since you’d have to buy a whole new laptop to upgrade the memory.) 256GB of storage is easier to get away with, given the plethora of cloud and external storage options available, so if you can only upgrade one thing, make it the memory. You get an automatic GPU bump when you do, anyway.

Read our review of the Apple MacBook Air M3.

The best Chromebook

CPU: Intel Core i5-1335U / GPU: Intel Iris Xe / RAM: 8GB / Storage: 256GB NVMe SSD / Display: 14-inch IPS, 1920 x 1200, multitouch / Dimensions: 12.31 x 8.82 x 0.71 inches / Weight: 3.1 pounds

The Chromebook Spin 714 is a great 14-inch 2-in-1 convertible Chromebook with a 1920 x 1200 screen, blazing fast processors, and a good keyboard. It was a pretty good deal at $700-ish when it launched, but these days you can regularly find it for under $500 with a 13th-gen i5 processor, 8GB of RAM, and a 256GB NVMe SSD. That’s a screaming deal while it lasts.

The Spin 714 has more going for it. It has two Thunderbolt 4 ports, a 1080p camera, Wi-Fi 6E, even a stylus tucked away in there. It’s also been updated with Chromebook Plus certification, which means it’ll get 10 years of software updates.

Read our Acer Chromebook Spin 714 review.

The best convertible Windows laptop

CPU: Intel Core i5-1335U, i7-1355U / GPU: Intel Iris Xe / RAM: 16GB, 32GB / Storage: 512GB, 1TB, 2TB / Display: 13.5-inch IPS, 60Hz, 1920 x 1280 / OLED, 3000 x 2000, touch option / Dimensions: 11.75 x 8.67 x 0.67 inches / Weight: 3.01 pounds

The HP Spectre x360 13.5 is a drop-dead gorgeous machine with a sturdy build and a premium look and feel. It can be configured with a 3:2 OLED screen that’s vivid, crisp, and bright and has an adaptive refresh rate up to 120Hz. You also get a comfortable keyboard, clear and bass-heavy audio, and a practical port selection. (There are even ports on the corners.) HP ships it with a number of webcam features via its GlamCam package, which you can use to “glam” your video calling experience if that is of interest.

Performance (on the unit we received) was quite speedy and was cool and quiet throughout much of our day-to-day testing. If you’re looking for a sleek and beautiful device, you should look no further than HP’s Spectre line.

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

You can get the Spectre x360 13.5 for under $1,000 with a Core i5 processor, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD, and a 400-nit 1080p IPS touchscreen; the configuration we tested has a 3000 x 2000-pixel OLED screen, Core i7 processor, 16GB of memory, and 1TB of storage for around $1,500.

This machine comes with a couple major caveats, however. First, the battery life on the OLED model we tested is not great. We averaged between four and five hours of continuous use. That’s not necessarily unexpected given the screen’s high resolution and refresh rate, but it will still make the Spectre an impractical buy for some people. Previous models with IPS screens lasted longer in our tests, so if battery life is a higher priority, configure accordingly.

Read our HP Spectre x360 14 review.

The best laptop for high-end gaming

CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 7945HX3D / GPU: Nvidia Geforce RTX 4090 / RAM: 32GB / Storage: 1TB / Display: 17-inch IPS QHD, 240Hz display, 3ms, 300 nits, 100 percent DCI-P3 / Dimensions: 15.55 x 11.1 x 1.11 inches / Weight: 6.51 pounds

The ROG Strix Scar 17 X3D is big. It’s loud, it’s garish, and it’s flat-out the fastest gaming laptop we’ve tested. Thanks to its AMD Ryzen 9 79045HX3D processor, it leaves models with the same top-tier RTX 4090 graphics card and Intel’s fastest CPUs in the dust. It can run many of today’s AAA titles at 1440p with triple-digit frame rates.

The Scar 17 X3D has a 17-inch 2560 x 1440 240Hz screen with G-Sync, oodles of ports, a pleasant keyboard, and RGB galore. At over six and a half pounds and 17 inches on the diagonal, it’s your classic high-performance, barely portable gaming laptop.

Its webcam is potato, battery life is exactly as bad as you’d expect from everything we just listed, and it’s expensive, but for now this is the high-water mark for gaming laptops.

For more down-to-earth performance and price, you can also get the ROG Strix Scar 17 with an RTX 4070 for about $1,800 or with an RTX 4080 for about $2,900.

Read our Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 X3D review.

The best MacBook for photo and video editing

CPU: M3 Pro, M3 Max / GPU: M3 Pro, M3 Max / RAM: 18GB - 36GB (M3 Pro), 36GB - 128 GB (M3 Max) / Storage: 512GB, 1TB, 2TB, 4TB, 8TB / Display: 14.2 / 16.2-inch Liquid Retina XDR, 3024 x 1964 / 3456 x 2234, adaptive refresh up to 120Hz, no touch option / Dimensions: 12.31 x 8.71 x 0.61 / 14.01 x 9.77 x 0.66 inches / Weight: 3.5 / 4.7 pounds (M3 Pro), 3.6 / 4.8 pounds (M3 Max)

If you need more power for intensive creative work — like 3D rendering and working with ultra-high-resolution photos and video — the MacBook Pro is your huckleberry. Both the 14- and 16-inch models are available with powerful M3 Pro or M3 Max processors. There’s also a 14-inch Pro with a plain-old M3 processor, but it’s kinda weirdly positioned and most people shouldn’t get it.

Processors (and the new space black color option) aside, the MacBook Pro has remained largely unchanged since 2021. It has a bright, beautiful, color-accurate, high-definition screen with HDR and adaptive refresh rate up to 120Hz; amazing speakers, a comfortable keyboard and trackpad; and a good port loadout: three Thunderbolt 4 / USB-C 4 ports, plus HDMI and an SD card slot. The 14-inch MacBook Pro is a few hundred dollars cheaper than the 16-inch, but aside from the very lowest processor options, most configurations are available in either size, so pick whichever works for you.

In our benchmarks, which test a variety of creative tasks including encoding, playback, and export time, the MacBook Pro 16 did better than any laptop we’ve ever used — the only other machines that have come close to matching this thing in some of our benchmarks are high-end desktop PCs. The battery life is also record-shattering. The top-of-the-line 16-inch M3 Max model lasted around 18 hours in our most recent testing, with no battery-saving features enabled.

Most people who need more power than a MacBook Air — including pro photographers —will be fine with an M3 Pro model, which starts at $1,999 for the 14-inch with an 11-core CPU, 14-core GPU, 18GB of memory, and a 512GB SSD. The 16-inch starts at $2,499 for a 12-core CPU, 18-core GPU, 18GB of memory, and 512GB SSD. The Pro chip can be configured with up to 36GB of memory and a 4TB SSD, at the usual absurd Apple markups, and it supports up to two external displays.

If you absolutely need more GPU power — or more than two external monitors — you can step up to the M3 Max. The base M3 Max with 14 CPU cores and 30 GPU cores, plus 36GB of RAM and 1TB SSD, starts at $3,199 in the 14-inch and $3,499 in the 16-inch. There’s also an M3 Max with 16 CPU and 40 GPU cores, which starts at $3,699 and $3,999, respectively. The M3 Max models are configurable with up to 128GB of RAM and 8TB of storage and can support up to four external monitors. The vast majority of people don’t have workloads heavy enough to notice a difference between the M3 Pro and M3 Max; if you do, you probably know it.

Read our reviews of the MacBook Pro 16 M3 Max and MacBook Pro 14 M3.

The best 14-inch gaming laptop

CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 8945 HS / GPU: Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060, RTX 4070 / RAM: 16GB, 32GB / Storage: 1TB / Display: 14-inch OLED, 2880 x 1800, 60Hz and 120Hz, 400 nits / Dimensions: 12.24 x 8.66 x 0.63 inches / Weight: 3.31 pounds

The Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 with an RTX 4070 is the most well-balanced 14-inch gaming laptop. It’s powerful enough to reach 60 frames per second on ultra graphics at its native resolution (with or without DLSS) and thin and lightweight enough without trapping too much heat in its chassis. Also, its battery can last up to 6.5 hours on a single charge, which is good for a gaming laptop.

Its display has been upgraded from an IPS to an OLED, it has 1TB of SSD storage and 32GB of memory, and Asus put lighting back on the lid — not a dot matrix, but a strip of LEDs spanning diagonally across.

All that for $2,000 to $2,200 makes it hard to justify getting anything else, though you can save up to $500 if you get the RTX 4060 model. Though it has only half the RAM, it has the same great screen and build, and its frame rates are only about ten percent lower than the 4070 Zephyrus at 1080p/ultra.

If you spend up to $700 more on the Razer Blade 14, you’ll get higher frame rates, a 240Hz screen, and upgradeable RAM — but its battery life barely hits four hours in general use, and its display doesn’t support G-Sync or HDR.

The best dual-screen laptop

CPU: Intel Core Ultra 7 155U / GPU: Intel UHD (integrated) / RAM: 16GB LPDDR5X / Storage: 1TB M.2 NVMe PCIe 4.0 SSD / Display: 13.3-inch (2880 x 1800) 60Hz OLED touchscreen w/ stylus support / Dimensions: 11.78 x 8.03 x 0.63 inches / Weight: 2.95 pounds

A dual-screen laptop is exactly what it sounds like: a laptop with a second screen where the keyboard normally goes.

The Lenovo Yoga Book 9i has a 360-degree hinge, which lets you use it as a regular laptop, a (large) tablet, and more. You can put it in clamshell mode and write or sketch on the bottom screen with a stylus or fold the keyboard folio into a stand to prop it up and take advantage of both screens. That’s how I usually use it at home: propped up and plugged into an external monitor as a three-screen desktop replacement. But when I’m away, I use the included Bluetooth keyboard and mouse. Its touchscreen gestures are super responsive but too responsive for the virtual keyboard and trackpad. It’s easy to mistype and accidentally minimize windows.

The Yoga Book’s only real competitor is Asus’ Zenbook Duo. The Duo’s physical keyboard includes a trackpad and makes it look a lot more like a traditional laptop. Its 14-inch OLED screens are a little bigger and brighter, it has a ton of port options, it’s more powerful, and it’s a little easier to fold up and put away. But it’s also heavier (at 3.64 pounds), its top lid doesn’t fold back far enough to use it as a tablet, and its touchscreen gestures aren’t as responsive.

Read our head-to-head review of the Lenovo Yoga Book 9i and the Asus Zenbook Duo.

The best repairable laptop

CPU: Intel Core i5-1340P / i7-1360P / 17-1370P, AMD Ryzen 7 7840U / GPU: Intel UHD / Iris Xe, Radeon 700M / RAM: 8GB, 16GB, 32GB, 64GB / Storage: 250GB, 500GB, 1TB, 2TB / Display: 13.5 inch IPS, 2256 x 1540, 60Hz, no touch option / Dimensions: 11.68 x 9.01 x 0.62 inches / Weight: 2.87 pounds

If you want a 13-inch laptop that you can configure and assemble yourself, from the ground up, the Framework Laptop 13 is pretty much your only option. The Framework is a modular laptop that users can repair and upgrade over the length of their ownership. Everything from the RAM, to the storage, to even the processor can be upgraded down the line. The company has even come out with upgrades for parts like speakers and hinges that you can install yourself. Not only can you buy it as a prebuilt system, but you can also order it as a DIY kit, allowing you to assemble the entire thing yourself and swap out parts as you please.

Repairability aside, the Framework has a number of laudable features as a laptop itself. The display is bright and high resolution, the speakers are great, and the chassis is quite portable, coming in at under three pounds. The 3:2 aspect ratio provides a lot of room to work and is still a somewhat rare find on today’s market.

That said, I won’t pretend that this is the best 13-inch laptop you can buy. On its own merits, it is an unremarkable system with a somewhat generic look and plasticky build, particularly compared to others in its price category. Nevertheless, the Framework’s standout feature is the unprecedented access it allows its users to replace and repair its parts. We’d love to see more companies make that kind of commitment to sustainable design.

Read our Framework Laptop 13 review.

The best laptop under $400

CPU: Intel Core i3-1215U / GPU: Intel UHD / RAM: 8GB / Storage: 128GB, 256GB UFS / Display: 14-inch IPS, 1920 x 1080, 60Hz, non-touch / Dimensions: 12.9 x 8.4 x 0.74 inches / Weight: 3.17 pounds

The Asus Chromebook Plus CX34 is the least expensive laptop with Google’s new Plus certification. At around $400 for a Core i3 processor, 8GB of RAM, and 128GB of storage, it’s the baseline Chromebook you should consider if you can’t spend any more.

It’s so easy to get a bad Chromebook at this price, so it’s a relief that the Chromebook Plus CX34 is so good. Not only does it have respectable internals, but the 1080p screen and 1080p webcam are good for the price, the keyboard is great, and the trackpad is fine, if a bit stiff. Battery life is decent, too, and like all Plus Chromebooks, it comes with 10 years of software updates. You can spend more on a laptop, and you probably should, but don’t buy a Chromebook less powerful than this one.

Read our review of the Asus Chromebook Plus CX34.

Updated May 10th, 2024: Updated best 14-inch gaming laptop from the 2023 Asus Rog Zephyrus G14 to the 2024 Asus Rog Zephyrus G14.

At long last, Apple’s newest iPad Pro and iPad Air are finally, officially real. Preorders opened May 7th, with the former tablet starting at $999 and the latter at $599. Both models come in 11- and 13-inch sizes and are set to arrive in stores on Wednesday, May 15th.

One of the most notable changes in the Pro models is the switch from LCD-based displays to OLED, which could be the killer feature for creatives. But there’s a lot more to like, such as the new M4 chip that is said to offer 50 percent faster CPU performance than the prior model’s M2 chip, plus a new 10-core GPU that supports mesh shading and ray tracing. The new iPad Pro also gets a slight camera shakeup, as it now only features two rear cameras (it ditches the ultra-wide from the previous model, but there’s an improved adaptive flash). There’s also a repositioned front-facing camera that now sits centered along the horizontal edge, which allows for less awkward video calls.

The new iPad Air, meanwhile, now comes in two sizes, both with Apple’s M2 processor. The new models support the Apple Pencil hover feature that was once exclusive to the M2 iPad Pro, and both include Wi-Fi 6E support. Neither size features an OLED screen, but you still get a vibrant Liquid Retina XDR display, and the 13-inch model has improved stereo speakers (in landscape orientation) that supposedly “double the bass” of the 11-inch model. You can read our iPad Pro vs. iPad Air breakdown for more granular details about how they differ.

As for accessories, both tablets support the new Apple Pencil Pro, which builds on the second-gen magnetic version with built-in Find My, a squeeze gesture with haptic feedback, and a gyroscope sensor. The new iPad Pros have a refreshed Magic Keyboard to match, now with a dedicated function row and a bigger trackpad with haptic feedback. (Those going for the iPad Air can use them with the original Magic Keyboards that are still available for older iPad Pro models.)

Where to preorder the new iPad Air

The newest iPad Air will be available in an 11-inch configuration and a second 13-inch configuration that makes it easier for fans of the bigger display size to have it without paying the premiums for an iPad Pro.

Right now, you can preorder the 11-inch iPad Air directly from Apple and at Best Buy, Amazon, and B&H Photo. It starts at $599 for the base model with Wi-Fi and 128GB of storage, though you can also jump to 256GB for $699, 512GB for $899, or 1TB for $1,099. You can get the 11-inch Air with 5G starting at $749 for a 128GB model, $849 for 256GB, $1,049 for 512GB, and $1,249 for 1TB. You can get the unlocked cellular model from Apple, Best Buy, and B&H Photo.

The 13-inch iPad Air is also available for preorder from Apple, Amazon, Best Buy, and B&H Photo and starts at $799 for a 128GB / Wi-Fi model. If you need more storage, you can get it with 256GB for $899, 512GB for $1,099, and 1TB for $1,299. The 5G-equipped model, meanwhile, starts at $949 for 128GB, $1,049 for 256GB, $1,249 for 512GB, and $1,449 for 1TB. You’ll find it at the same crop of retailers: Apple, Amazon, Best Buy, and B&H Photo.

Both sizes are available in blue, purple, starlight, and space gray. Apple and Best Buy are accepting trade-ins of older models that you can apply instantly to your order. Amazon and B&H Photo also let you trade devices in, but you’ll have to wait until the inspection process concludes before receiving credit.

Where to preorder the new iPad Pro

Like the latest Air, the new iPad Pro comes in 11-inch and 13-inch sizes. The 11-inch iPad Pro in its base 256GB / Wi-Fi configuration is available from Apple, Amazon, Best Buy, and B&H Photo starting at $999. You can also get it in 512GB, 1TB, and 2TB configurations for $1,199, $1,599, and $1,999, respectively. The 5G model is available at the same retailers: Apple, Amazon, Best Buy, and B&H Photo. It starts at $1,199 for 256GB, $1,399 for 512GB, $1,799 for 1TB, and $2,199 for 2TB.

The 13-inch iPad Pro is the same device, only bigger. It’s available for preorder via Apple, Amazon, Best Buy, and B&H Photo starting at $1,299 for a 256GB / Wi-Fi model, $1,499 for 512GB, $1,899 for 1TB, and $2,299 for 2TB. If you want to add 5G connectivity, those respective prices are $1,499, $1,699, $2,099, and $2,499 at Apple, Amazon, Best Buy, and B&H Photo.

Both sizes are available in silver or space gray. You can trade in older models for an instant credit at Apple and Best Buy, and you can also trade devices in at Amazon and B&H Photo if you don’t mind waiting for an inspection.

It’s worth noting that the 2024 iPad Pro also comes with the option to add nano-textured glass at checkout, but only if you’re buying a 1TB or 2TB model. For a $100 premium, the upgraded glass is said to reduce screen reflectivity and scatter ambient light without a big impact on overall contrast and image quality, making it easier to do creative work in brighter conditions.

Potential performance upgrades are another reason you might want to consider going for a 1TB or higher iPad Pro. In addition to the usual RAM upgrade (you’ll get 16GB of RAM in a 1TB or 2TB model compared to 8GB in lesser storage configurations), you’ll also get a 10-core M4 chipset, whereas lower storage tiers come with a nine-core version.

Correction, May 8th: An earlier version of this article misstated the camera features on the new iPad Pro. The new model has one fewer rear camera; its rear cameras have not been improved.