Reddit says this is the best laptop — here's what I think as a laptop reviewer

MacBook Air 13-inch M4 shown on tabletop

(Image credit: Tom's Guide)

I recently wrote an article about the gaming laptops Reddit recommends, and found the experience enlightening as a laptop reviewer of 5+ years. To that end, I’ve now searched Reddit for the best laptops its users recommend for everyday work. As with their recommendations for the best gaming laptops, Redditors are very knowledgeable on this subject and generally deliver solid advice.

I mostly referenced this post since it was the first Reddit link that popped up on Google when I searched for “best laptop.” That said, I also checked out a couple of similar posts to get a general idea of what Redditors think. The community has an affinity for Lenovo laptops, particularly ThinkBooks and ThinkPads. The MacBook Air also gets a lot of love, which doesn’t surprise me since it's one of the best MacBooks.

Here are some of the top laptops that Reddit recommends, and what I think of these recommendations as a professional laptop reviewer.

MacBook Air M4

MacBooks come up many times in the post linked above. Specifically, Redditors recommended the 13-inch MacBook Air M4 for its strong performance and long battery life. Surprisingly, no one mentioned its portability, which is one of the main reasons to get Apple’s “Air” laptop. Regardless, I agree with Reddit on this one. The MacBook Air is not only a great laptop to travel with, but as I recently wrote, it also makes for a fine desktop replacement.

Best laptop to buy in 2025 from r/laptops

While folks recommended the MacBook Air, two concerns popped up. The first is the Apple ecosystem. “Some people recommend the MacBook M4 Air, which seems to be a really good machine, although I am slightly concerned by the fact that I don't own any other Apple products,” said user LenkkiNakki.

However, user T1nyRaccoon responded by saying you “don't need other stuff in the Apple ecosystem to have [a MacBook Air], but if you plan on sending stuff to and from your phone or want to send messages from your laptop, an iPhone would be useful.”

In this post, some users discussed their dislike of what they call the “Apple Tax,” or how expensive MacBooks can get when you want to configure them with more RAM or storage. T1nyRaccoon also shares this sentiment, saying that the “downside is [Apple] has abysmal storage/RAM base configurations and costs a ton to upgrade.” They correctly say that it would cost you an extra $200 if you want a MacBook Air with 512GB of storage (entry-level has 256GB).

I won’t argue with these folks about how expensive MacBooks can be. That said, new MacBooks are frequently on sale at Amazon. For instance, you can currently buy a 13-inch MacBook Air M4 with 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage for $999, which is a $200 savings. If I were shopping for a new MacBook, I’d go through Amazon instead of Apple’s online store.

What about Windows laptops?

Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 on table — (Image credit: Future)

As I mentioned in the intro, many Redditors like Lenovo laptops. This also doesn’t surprise me since laptops like ThinkBooks are pretty ubiquitous for office workers. ThinkPads, which is another line of business-focused Lenovo laptops, also came up in conversations. Generally, ThinkBooks are popular for those who work at home or who operate a small business, while ThinkPads are better for those who frequently travel for work.

Though ThinkPads and ThinkBooks received a lot of praise, some users said to stay away from Lenovo laptops. “Lenovo [equals] poor quality, cheap parts, shady, misleading models,” said user s1gnt. They also said that ThinkPads are not “iconic device(s)” and are “pure hype and dated.” Ouch! A user named Opti_span said they used a Lenovo laptop for three years and that it “basically fell apart.” They didn’t specify which Lenovo laptop, however.

The one Lenovo laptop people recommended was the ThinkPad X1 Carbon. We reviewed the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 13 Aura Edition and awarded it 3.5 out of 5 stars. Though not a terrible machine, we feel that its underwhelming performance doesn’t justify its high $1,870 starting price.

Another Windows laptop that Reddit recommends is the latest model of the Asus ROG Zephyrus G14. While this is a gaming laptop, it doesn’t look like one, which makes it great if you’re working in an office. Of all the Windows laptops I saw in the Reddit threads I read, this is the machine I would recommend.

I called last year’s Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 the MacBook of gaming laptops thanks to its elegant design and killer performance. That laptop is currently on sale for $1,439 at Best Buy, and is a solid choice even if it doesn’t have the latest GPU. If you want the latest model, there’s a configuration with an RTX 5070 that’s on sale at Best Buy for $1,799, which is $350 off.

Bottom line

I’m once again impressed by Reddit’s laptop choices. The 13-inch MacBook Air M4 might seem like an obvious one, but there’s a reason it’s at the top of our best MacBook and best laptops buying guides. The Asus ROG Zephyrus G14/16 is another fantastic option for folks who want a Windows laptop with enough power for work and play. If you’re in the market for a new notebook, check those out!

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Tony is a computing writer at Tom’s Guide covering laptops, tablets, Windows, and iOS. During his off-hours, Tony enjoys reading comic books, playing video games, reading speculative fiction novels, and spending too much time on X/Twitter. His non-nerdy pursuits involve attending Hard Rock/Heavy Metal concerts and going to NYC bars with friends and colleagues. His work has appeared in publications such as Laptop Mag, PC Mag, and various independent gaming sites.

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