Laptops under test. Notebooks, ultrabooks, convertibles and tablets with (detachable) keyboards regularly undergo our tests. © Stiftung Warentest/Ralph Kaiser
Strong battery, good screen, fast processor – many criteria decide when buying a notebook, ultrabook or convertible. Our laptop test will show you the way.
Are you looking for a powerful computer with lots of ports for your home? Or do you travel a lot and need a compact, mobile computer with a long battery life? The Stiftung Warentest laptop test provides all the information you need to make a purchase decision. Among the 133 computers in the database you’ll find a great selection of good laptops – including some particularly cheap bargains.
Our database offers powerful computers of different designs: powerful notebookscompact Ultrabooks as well as flexible Convertibles (with folding keyboard) and Detachable (with removable keyboard). At the end of May, these are Apple Apple MacBook Air 13″ M3 and this Macbook Air 15″ M3 added.
Why the Laptop Test Is Worth It for You
Test results
There are 133 devices in the Stiftung Warentest database, including 30 currently available Notebooks, ultrabooks, convertibles and tablets with keyboards. Models from all major vendors are included, including MacBooks from Apple and various devices from Asus, Dell, HP, Lenovo, Microsoft, and Samsung. The cheapest laptops in the test cost less than 700 euros, the most expensive more than 2,000 euros.
Buying advice
Found a favorite and want to know if the details are correct? Whether battery life, available connections or weight: you will find numerous product characteristics in our tables.
The best notebook for you
Filter your personal test winner using various search criteria such as quality rating, screen size, device type and price.
Magazine article in PDF
After activation, in addition to test results, you will also have access to laptop test reports from the test magazine.
Test results for 133 laptops
unlock
In the laptop test: notebooks, ultrabooks, convertibles, tablets with keyboard
Stiftung Warentest continuously checks the device types common among laptops. Everyone has their individual strengths. The overview:
- Notebooks. The devices are suitable for those who primarily work from home and prefer a large screen. The devices usually offer screen diagonals of around 40 centimeters or more. Notebooks tend to have relatively generous features, but are therefore somewhat bulkier than other types of computers.
- Ultrabooks. They are the right choice for anyone who wants a powerful computer that they can regularly use anywhere. Intel has protected the word Ultrabook as a trademark for certain computers with its chips. Today it is also used colloquially as a collective term for compact, lightweight laptops with smaller screen diagonals than notebooks (usually around 34 or 35 centimeters).
- Convertibles. These are particularly flexible laptops that at first glance look like ultrabooks, but can be converted into tablets thanks to a touchscreen – usually by folding the keyboard.
- Tablets with keyboards. Also called detachable, they’re suitable for people who primarily work on a touchscreen but occasionally want a physical keyboard for typing. In tablet mode, the devices are more practical and lighter than convertibles because the keyboard can be completely removed.
Tablets with (detachable) keyboards being tested
Tip: You can even before activation all the models we tested filter according to your desires. For example, by vendor, device type, screen size or price. If you are looking for classic tablets without a keyboard, you will find them in our Pill Test.
Laptop comparison: what you should pay attention to when buying
Have you identified the type of device that best suits you? Then the following criteria will help you make your purchase decision so that you can find your personal test winner.
- Price. Are you looking for a good computer that costs comparatively little? In our test there are some recommended devices for less than 800 euros that impress with a good overall score.
- Battery. Devices with a strong battery last at least a working day. Our database contains several recommended computers with very good batteries. If you’re smart, don’t just look at battery life, but also make sure charging times are as short as possible.
- Screen. What size should the screen be: 13, 15 or 17 inches? In addition to size, resolution and brightness also play an important role. If you occasionally want to use your computer as a tablet, you will also need a Touch screen respect.
- Graphics performance. Many laptops do not have a separate graphics processor. If you regularly use design programs, edit videos, or play graphically complex games, it’s best to choose a device with a separate graphics unit.
- Connections. have computers many different connections: The most modern and versatile is USB-C – external hard drives, but often also monitors or power supplies, can be connected here. USB-A is practical for older devices like flash drives, webcams or connect a mouse. HDMI serves as a video connection, for example, for external displays. A LAN jack for network cables is useful if Wi-Fi fails. In our table we show the existing connections for each device.
- Weight. Anyone who travels a lot will be happy with particularly compact and lightweight devices. Notable: Some devices in our database can less than a kilo to stay.
Tips: For those who have a very small home office screen, an external screen from us is ideal Monitoring Test at the. If your own computer’s internal connections are not sufficient, you can use Docking station modernization.
A look inside the lab: This is how we test laptops
Stiftung Warentest tests laptops in all market-relevant price segments: from less than 700 euros to more than 2,000 euros. All devices must be the same Test Program so that they can be compared with each other. We test, among other things, computational and graphics performance, the screen, battery and handling. You can see in the video what this is like in practice and what is important when buying.