That makes the process of choosing just one incredibly difficult – it’s no wonder our chart has 15 entries, all of which excel in multiple key areas.
You don’t need to spend over £1,000/$1,000 to get a great laptop, but there are some superb devices at this premium price point. The outstanding option here is the five-star LG Gram 17, which more than merits the award of best laptop of the year.
The Gram 17 nails the fundamentals of a great laptop. It has a stunning, high-resolution display with slim bezels, excellent performance from Intel’s latest chips and battery life that rivals any laptop you can buy. There’s also an impressive range of ports, while the trackpad and speakers – key weaknesses of the 2020 model – have been upgraded to become selling points.
What’s arguably even more impressive is that no design compromises have been made to get there. The Gram 17 still has a sleek, premium design that you’d normally associate with much smaller devices. It doesn’t feel bulky at all, and weighs in at just 1.35kg.
It’s worth emphasising how rare any five-star review is on Tech Advisor, especially for a laptop. To get top marks, products must do more than just tick all the boxes. They have to feel special, offering something you won’t find elsewhere. If you don’t mind a slightly spongy keyboard and occasional antivirus pop-ups, the LG Gram 17 certainly delivers.
If you’re interested in picking one up, the LG Gram 17 is available at the following retailers right now:
It doesn’t have the same wow factor as LG’s offering, but still delivers everything you’d expect from a flagship laptop in 2021. We’re talking solid performance, a stunning high-res 90Hz display, great ports and decent battery life. Huawei has also fixed the main pain point of earlier MateBook laptops, moving the 720p webcam back above the display. If you can look beyond a rather underwhelming design, this is a truly excellent laptop.
However, we can’t ignore what Apple has been doing with its laptops. The introduction of Apple’s own M1 chips has reinvigorated the company’s MacBook range, none more so than the new 14in and 16in MacBook Pros. We haven’t reviewed them yet ourselves, but on paper we’re hugely impressed by the balance of ports and power, and our colleagues at Macworld think it’s the new professional’s choice – and they would know.
Check out the rest of the Tech Advisor Awards for 2021.
