The 5 Best Laptops For Graphic Design - Fall 2023 Reviews

The best laptop for graphic design we've tested is the Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2023), a newer version of the M1 Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021). This 2023 model has a few internal upgrades, including a faster M2 Pro/max processor, HDMI 2.1, Wi-Fi 6E, and increased memory support of up to 96GB. It still feels incredibly well-built and provides a great user experience with a gorgeous Mini LED display, a comfortable keyboard, and a gigantic touchpad. Like most Apple products, the display's factory calibration is near-perfect, so you can get right to work without worrying about calibrating it.

Apple's M2 Pro/Max SoCs have no problem handling even the most complex graphic designs, and the laptop doesn't get overly hot or loud under load. The only thing that might be a dealbreaker is its lack of full Adobe RGB coverage, so it might not be ideal for those in print graphic design. Go with the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2023) if you want a larger screen. Its 16-inch display gives you more room to work comfortably and looks as sharp as the 14-inch model. You also get better speakers and slightly longer battery life. However, it's more expensive and is less portable. You can see the 16-inch model here.

If you find the MacBook Pro 14 too expensive, the Lenovo Slim Pro 7 14 (2023) is a great alternative that costs significantly less. You can configure it with an AMD Ryzen CPU paired with an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 discrete GPU, which isn't as powerful as the MacBook Pro 14's M2 SOC but still more than adequate for business use. It has a nice keyboard with much more key travel than the MacBook, and its battery lasts nearly 10 hours of light use. However, its display isn't as bright to combat glare, and there's no Thunderbolt 4 support. Also, you can only get this laptop with 16GB of soldered RAM.

If you want something more affordable that still performs well, get the ASUS Zenbook 14 Flip OLED (2023). It's a 14-inch 2-in-1 convertible with a gorgeous 100% Adobe RGB display. You can get it with an Intel 13th Gen Core i5 or i7 P-series CPU and up to 16GB of RAM and 1TB of storage. It has a great keyboard, a responsive touchpad that you can use as a Numpad, and plenty of ports, including two Thunderbolt 4s and an HDMI. It supports pen input and comes with an MPP (Microsoft Pen Protocol) 2.0 stylus, though there isn't a place to store the pen. Battery life is decent; you can get through a typical eight-hour workday, but depending on your workload, you may need to plug it in for a quick charge.

For Mac users, you have two options: the Apple MacBook Air 13 (2022) and its bigger sibling, the newly released Apple MacBook Air 15 (2023). They're essentially the same laptop; you just get a larger 15.3-inch screen and better speakers on the 15-inch model. Both laptops sport a sturdy aluminum chassis, a thin and light design, and a nice display with full DCI P3 coverage. Port selection is limited; you only get two USB-Cs, a MagSafe charging port, and a headphone jack. Also, it can only output a video signal to a single external display, which might be problematic if you use a multi-monitor setup.

Our best mid-range pick is the Acer Swift 3 14 (2022). This 14-inch model is usually more expensive, but since there's a newer model, the Acer Swift 14 (2023), you can get this one at a much lower price, with the base Core i5 model costing $700 USD. Thanks to its compact and lightweight design, it feels sturdily built and is very portable. Its gorgeous 90Hz OLED screen produces deep blacks, gets bright enough to combat glare, and has near-full Adobe RGB coverage. Ports include two USB-As, two USB-C/Thunderbolt 4s, and a full-size HDMI port.

Spec-wise, you can get this laptop with an Intel 12th Gen Core i5 or i7 H-series CPU, up to 16GB of RAM, and up to 1TB of storage. The Intel 12th Gen CPUs perform well and can easily handle graphic design; however, they're power-hungry, so battery life is short at only six to seven hours of light use. Serviceability is decent; the RAM isn't user-replaceable, but the SSD is, and two storage slots are available. You get Wi-Fi 6E wireless connectivity and a fingerprint sensor for quick logins.

If you're doing graphic design as a hobby and want something cheap to get the job done, consider the ASUS VivoBook 15 OLED K513 (2021). You can configure this 15-inch ultraportable with an Intel 11th Gen Core i3, i5, or i7, up to 16GB of memory, and over 1TB of storage. It's available with integrated graphics or a discrete NVIDIA GPU (MX330 and MX350). However, the discrete GPUs are only a minor step up from the integrated graphics, so the performance increase isn't significant.

What makes this laptop stand out is its OLED display. It produces deep, inky blacks and has full Adobe RGB and DCI P3 coverage, so you can fully rely on it for color work. Port selection is decent, although the USB-C port doesn't support video output or charging, and the HDMI port is limited to the 1.4 standard.

If you're a digital artist or often work with a stylus, get the Microsoft Surface Pro 8 (2021), a 13-inch tablet PC. You can detach the keyboard when you need to draw, and the kickstand allows you to tilt the screen to nearly any angle you want. Its 3:2 IPS panel is incredibly sharp, bright enough to combat glare, and has a 120Hz refresh rate to make pen input more responsive. As for the pen, you can use Microsoft's Slim Pen 2 or any Microsoft Pen Protocol styluses. The Slim Pen 2 is more convenient, as there's a slot on the type cover keyboard to charge and store the pen. The downside is that you need to buy the stylus and the keyboard separately, adding to the overall cost of the device. Another downside is that it only has two USB-C/Thunderbolt 4s for peripherals and external displays.

As you may already know, Microsoft has released the Surface Pro 9. It's essentially the same device, mainly an internal upgrade to faster Intel 12th Gen processors. The only design change is the removal of the headphone jack, which means you'll need a USB-C audio adapter if you want to use wired headphones, and unfortunately, there isn't one included in the box.

There's also a Surface Pro 9 with an ARM processor and LTE connectivity, but it doesn't perform as well as the Intel models and lacks Thunderbolt 4 support. Price-wise, the Surface Pro 9 is more expensive, not just because it's a newer model, but because the Surface Pro 8 is discontinued and often on sale, so if you don't need the upgrades, you can save some money with the older model. See the Surface Pro 9 on Amazon here.