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The 4 Best Laptops For Photo Editing of 2024

Updated Oct 24, 2024 at 04:00 pm
Best Laptops For Photo Editing

Whether you're an amateur photographer who likes to snap candid photos or a professional hired for big events, there are some key considerations when shopping for a photo editing laptop. First and foremost is the display. If you don't plan on using an external monitor, you'll need a display that can produce all the colors in the color space in which you work, whether it's sRGB or Adobe RGB. A laptop with a large, high-resolution screen is preferable, as it'll allow you to easily see the fine details in your pictures. You don't necessarily need a discreet graphics card, but some programs leverage the GPU to provide a smoother experience when manipulating images or running AI-powered denoising functions. Still, the CPU does the bulk of the processing. You'll also want to consider whether you need Thunderbolt 4 or USB4 support for fast file transfers and if you'll need to prioritize portability and battery life for working on the go.

We've bought and tested over 135 laptops. Below, you'll find our recommendations for the best laptops for photo editing you can buy. You can also see our recommendations for the best laptops, the best business laptops, and the best laptops for graphic design.


  1. Best Laptop For Photo Editing

    The best laptop we've tested for photo editing is the Apple MacBook Pro 14 (M3, 2023). This premium workstation provides an amazing user experience. Its Mini LED display is sharp and superbly calibrated out of the box, so you can get right to work without further calibration. It's also bright enough to combat glare in well-lit settings. The only downside is that it doesn't have full coverage of the Adobe RGB color space, as it can't reproduce the highly saturated greens. Regarding hardware, there's more than enough processing power to handle complex photo editing tasks. Depending on your budget and needs, you can configure it with a base M3, M3 Pro, or M3 Max SoC. Apple's M3 chips are even more power-efficient than their M2 predecessors, resulting in an even longer battery life of 14 to 15 hours of light use.

    On the Windows side, we recommend the ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 (2024). Also a 14-inch model, this compact gaming laptop is well suited for photo editing. Not only does it have plenty of processing power to provide a smooth experience, but it also sports a gorgeous OLED display with near-full Adobe RGB coverage, making it suitable for those in print photography. Plus, it can double as your gaming rig, as there are far more games for Windows than macOS. The overall user experience is great, though there are a few things that aren't quite as good as the MacBook Pro, like its relatively short eight-hour battery life and non-haptic touchpad. Another downside that might be a dealbreaker is that its OLED display flickers at 120Hz, which may bother some people.

    See our review

  2. Best Upper Mid-Range Laptop For Photo Editing

    If you don't need a discrete GPU for your workflow, get the HP Spectre x360 14 (2024) instead. Like the ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 (2024) above, this premium 2-in-1 convertible has a beautiful OLED display with near-full Adobe RGB coverage. The display supports pen input if you prefer working with a stylus; depending on your region, the pen may not come in the box. You can get it with the same Intel Meteor Lake CPUs (up to a Core Ultra 7) and up to 32GB of RAM and 2TB of storage. It has an excellent haptic touchpad, an outstanding 4k webcam, and a decent port selection with two Thunderbolt 4 ports. One thing to know: the OLED display flickers, so it may cause eye strain if you're sensitive to display flicker. The base model starts at $1450 USD (MSRP), though you can often find it on sale on HP's website, which is also the place to get this laptop if you have trouble finding it elsewhere.

    For Mac users, we recommend the Apple MacBook Air 15 (2024). This premium ultraportable sports a large, bright 15-inch display that lets you work more comfortably, and its 2.8k resolution looks incredibly sharp. However, it's an IPS panel, so the contrast ratio is worse than the picks above, and it doesn't have full Adobe RGB coverage (it's missing highly saturated greens). Still, it offers a fantastic user experience; it has a sturdy build, all-day battery life, and a fast M3 SoC that can easily handle photo editing tasks. Its battery life lasts almost 13 hours of light use—better than either HP laptop. Plus, this is a fanless device, so you don't have to worry about loud fan noise distracting you from your work. Its port selection is its biggest weakness, as it only has two USB-C ports. The M3 model supports two external displays, which is an improvement over its M2 predecessor, but it can only do so with the lid closed.

    See our review

  3. Best Mid-Range Laptop For Photo Editing

    Our mid-range pick is the HP Pavilion Aero 13 (2024), a 13-inch ultraportable. One significant trade-off at this price point is the display. While the FHD+ and QHD+ IPS displays get quite bright and offer full sRGB coverage, they fall short in Adobe RGB coverage; their color accuracy is also mediocre out of the box. There's plenty to love about this laptop, though. It's configurable with AMD's Zen 4 Ryzen CPUs that can handle moderately demanding workloads. You also get a 1440p webcam with facial recognition support for quick logins and a wide port selection with four USBs and a true HDMI 2.1 port.

    Its battery life is great at around 10 hours of light use—you can charge the laptop via USB-C, so you won't have to deal with a proprietary charger. Unfortunately, the build quality is a pretty significant step down from our picks above and the biggest compromise for this model's more budget-friendly price. Its aluminum and plastic chassis flexes a fair amount, and the device as a whole feels hollow and cheap. The finish scratches easily from everyday use, which is unfortunate as its design prioritizes portability. Another minor complaint is the touchpad; it's plastic and doesn't track continuous inputs all that well, like when dragging and dropping items across a long distance.

    See our review

  4. Best Budget Laptop For Photo Editing

    Our budget pick is the Acer Swift 3 14 (2022). While this 14-inch model was originally a more expensive offering, it's a couple of years old, so some variants are available at a wallet-friendly price. As a result, you get some features that you normally only see on higher-end models, like a 2.8k OLED display with full coverage of the sRGB and Adobe RGB color spaces. You even get two USB-C ports with Thunderbolt 4 support. However, not every model fits within the budget price point, and those that do come with some important compromises.

    On cheaper variants, you only get 8GB of soldered RAM, and you can't add more; this can quickly become limiting when working with multiple apps simultaneously. 16GB models are available if you need more RAM, but they can be harder to find and cost more. This laptop also comes with the three-generation old Intel Core i5-12500H. It's still a capable CPU that can handle demanding tasks, but unlike Intel's newer offerings, there's no NPU to help with AI-accelerated tasks. Its battery life is also mediocre, lasting just over six hours for light use. You'll need to keep the charger close by for this one if you plan to use it out and about.

    See our review

Notable Mentions

  • Apple MacBook Pro 16 (M3, 2023): The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (M3, 2023) is a great alternative to the Apple MacBook Pro 14 (M3, 2023) if you need more screen space. The trade-off is that it isn't as portable and costs more. See our review
  • Microsoft Surface Laptop 7th Edition 15 (2024):

    The Microsoft Surface Laptop 7th Edition 15 (2024) is a good alternative to the HP Spectre x360 14 (2024). It has a larger, brighter, flicker-free display, and its battery life is significantly better, lasting around 17 hours in light uses. However, it uses an ARM-based Snapdragon chip, so some photo editing apps might not run or perform poorly, so it's best to check for app compatibility first.

    See our review
  • Apple MacBook Air 13 (2022):

    The Apple MacBook Air 13 (2022) is also a good option for Mac users. Since this is an older device, you can often find the base model with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage for around $850 USD. It's basically the same device as the M3 MacBook Air but with a slightly slower M2 SoC. The downside is that, unlike its M3 successor, it can only support one external display.

    See our review
  • Lenovo Yoga 6 13 (2023): The Lenovo Yoga 6 13 (2023) is cheaper than the HP Pavilion Aero 13 (2024). It has a sturdier build and a better touchpad; however, its display doesn't get as bright, and its webcam is significantly worse. It also doesn't perform as well because it uses slower AMD Zen 3-based CPUs, whereas the HP laptop uses newer Zen 4 processors. See our review

Recent Updates

  1. Oct 24, 2024:

    Small text changes to add the ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 (2024) as an alternative to the Apple MacBook Pro 14 (M3, 2023). Added the Microsoft Surface Laptop 7th Edition 15 (2024) and the Apple MacBook Air 13 (2022) as Notable Mentions.

  2. Aug 06, 2024: We've updated the article for clarity and, due to availability, replaced the Lenovo Yoga 7i 16 (2023) with the HP Pavilion Aero 13 (2024) and the Acer Swift 3 14 (2020) with the Acer Swift 3 14 (2022).

  3. May 14, 2024: Replaced the Dell XPS 15 (2023) with the Apple MacBook Pro 14 (M3, 2023) because the Dell is no longer available. Replaced the ASUS Zenbook 14 OLED (2024) with the HP Spectre x360 14 (2024) because the HP has a much longer battery life and provides a better user experience overall. Added the ASUS Zenbook 14 OLED (2024) as a Notable Mention.

  4. Apr 08, 2024: Small text edits for clarity. Added the ASUS Zenbook 14 Flip OLED (2023) and the ASUS TUF Gaming A16 Advantage Edition (2023) as Notable Mentions.

  5. Mar 07, 2024: Replaced the ASUS Zenbook 14 Flip OLED (2023) with the ASUS Zenbook 14 OLED (2023), as the latter has better performance and is easier to find. Replaced the Apple MacBook Air 13 (M1, 2020) with the Lenovo Yoga 7i 16 (2023) because the M1 MacBook Air was discontinued. Removed the Lenovo Slim Pro 7 14 (2023) as a Notable Mention because it's discontinued and hard to find.

All Reviews

Our recommendations above are what we think are currently the best laptops for photography to buy. We factor in the price (a cheaper laptop wins over a pricier one if the difference isn't worth it), feedback from our visitors, and availability (no laptops that are difficult to find or almost out of stock everywhere).

If you prefer to make your own decision, here's the list of all of our laptop reviews, sorted by price from low to high. Most laptops are available in various configurations, and the table only shows the results of the model we tested, so it's best to see the full review for information about other variants.