The laptop’s a solid all-around machine for Microsoft users seeking something great for both productivity and everyday play.

While Apple may have the first-party laptop market cornered with the MacBook lineup, Microsoft's Surface laptops have been steadily improving over the past few years, and are now an increasingly appealing option.

As of November 2025, I think the 15-inch Apple MacBook Air (M4) is the best MacBook for most people. It's a sleek-as-ever notebook featuring impressive performance, open-lid support for two external displays, a great 12MP Center Stage camera, and an extremely reasonable starting price of $1,199 (making it $100 cheaper than its M3 predecessor ).

When you buy a new laptop, you want it to work right out of the box. For many, that means being able to use Microsoft Office without having to go through the motions of signing up for a subscription or installing extra software. While Microsoft is ...