The best laptops of the year: A fight between Apple, Asus, and MSI

Here at Mashable, we're always looking for the best laptops, and we score every laptop we review on the basis of performance, battery life, design/build quality, and value. This year, the latter criterion has become more important than ever. The laptop world is facing an unprecedented challenge in 2026: a global RAM shortage known as "RAMageddon." The shortage has caused most PC makers to raise the prices of their laptops by anywhere from $50 to $680, putting a damper on many otherwise exciting releases. Devices that could have been smart buys or splurge-worthy investments no longer feel worth it. If you were planning on retiring an older laptop soon, you might have to hold onto it until eventual clearance sales make an upgrade feasible — or take advantage of Prime Day laptop deals. But it's not all doom and gloom. Out of the nearly 20 laptops we've tested so far this year, including two MacBooks and 17 Windows PCs, four models have emerged as RAMageddon resisters, so to speak. They stand out as the best laptops of 2026 (so far) because of their especially strong value propositions: Not only are they great devices, but they're great devices that are priced fairly for all they offer