The best laptops of CES 2025: Innovations that make an impact 🚀
The annual Consumer Electronics Show is always a mega event that launches dozens of laptops, but CES 2025 was particularly noteworthy. Nvidia, AMD, Intel, and Qualcomm all made major hardware announcements, and that meant each laptop maker had a ton of refreshed and upgraded laptops to show off. 💻✨
The show wasn't just about the hardware, though. At CES 2025, Lenovo unveiled the world's first rollable OLED laptop, a serious competitor to Asus' new MacBook Air, and a flagship gaming laptop that seems a little obsessed with Skyrim. 🎮🚀
Just as we did with our summary of the best monitors at the fair, here you have We bring you the best laptops from CES 2025. 👌
Acer Aspire Vero 16
Acer
Acer found an unusual way to make headlines at CES 2025: It made a laptop out of oyster shells. Well, partially, at least. The Aspire Vero uses up to 70% of “PCR and bio-based materials” in its chassis. Basically, it’s made from recyclables and other materials. 🦪♻️
It's a bit odd, then, that the Aspire Vero 16 is among the laptops entry-level laptops at the event. The chassis isn't fancy, but the PCR materials give the laptop a unique look and feel. It's not flashy, but it stands out. 🌍✨
Beyond the materials, the Aspire Vero 16 is a simple and versatile machine. It has Intel processors Core Ultra 200H, up to 32GB of memory, and up to 1TB of storage. It's affordable, too, starting at $799.99. Expect to see it in stores in Q2 2025. 🛒💰
Samsung Galaxy Book5 Pro 16 inch
Samsung
Samsung presented its latest Galaxy Flagship Book, the Galaxy Book5 Pro, at CES 2025. It carries a processor Intel Core Ultra Series 2 with an NPU capable of up to 47 TOPS. The RAM starts at 16GB and goes up to 32GB, while storage ranges from 256GB to 1TB. Long battery life is expected, as Samsung promises up to 25 hours (for the 16-inch model). 🔋⏳
As with previous Galaxy Book laptops, the screen is a standout. The Galaxy Book5 Pro has a 120Hz 3K touchscreen. It's perhaps not as unique as before, as many competitors are adopting OLED, but it looks great. Connectivity is also solid, with a couple of Thunderbolt 4 ports, HDMI, and even a MicroSD card slot. 🔌🖥️
Pricing will be announced soon, but the wait won't be long as Samsung says the laptop will ship in February. 📦✨
Lenovo ThinkBook Plus 6 Rollable
Matt Smith/Foundry
The Lenovo ThinkBook Plus 6 Rollable is the first laptop (or tablet, or smartphone) to feature a rollable OLED display. The screen measures 14 inches when retracted, but with the push of a button, a motorized roller in the hinge expands the screen vertically up to 16.7 inches diagonally (a 50% increase over the %!). 🌈📏
Although the roll-up function is innovative, the laptop feels refreshingly normal. An unsuspecting observer might not notice anything different until the screen unfolds. The Rollable is just as powerful as other 14-inch business laptops, too, since it features processors Intel Core Ultra 7 Series 2 and can have up to 32GB of RAM and 1TB of SSD storage. 💼⚡
There's just one detail: the price. Lenovo says the Rollable will be available for $1,499 in June 2025. 💸🗓️
Lenovo Legion Pro 7i
Matt Smith/Foundry
The new one Lenovo flagship gaming laptop, the Legion Pro 7i, received an extensive refresh with a new design for CES 2025. The highlight, I think, is the new RGB-LED lighting that adorns the Legion logo and air vents. The Flashy lighting is nothing new in gaming laptops, but the Legion Pro 7i's RGB-LED lights are bright, vibrant, and well-integrated into the chassis. They look amazing! 💡🔥
Aside from the lighting, the Legion Pro 7i follows Lenovo's typical strategy in the gaming space: offering good value for money. The laptop features Intel Core Ultra 9 processors 275H and up to Nvidia RTX 5090 graphics. Lenovo also boasts the refrigeration system Coldfront Hyper, which promises to support a total system TDP of 250 watts. 💪❄️
The Lenovo Legion Pro 7i will be priced at $2,399 in March 2025. 🗓️💵
Asus Zenbook A14
Matt Smith/Foundry
He Asus Zenbook A14 is the first laptop from the company that uses its signature ceramic-aluminum finish, which combines a ceramic exterior with an aluminum interior, on the entire chassis of the laptop (rather than just on the display lid). It's also made from a magnesium-aluminum alloy, a material common and light. 💎⚙️
The result is a thin, portable laptop with a look and feel unlike anything else on the market. Picking up the machine, it reminded me of a premium notebook or a slim hardcover book. The Zenbook A14 weighs about 2.1 pounds and measures about six-tenths of an inch thick. 📚🧳
Inside, the laptop uses a Qualcomm Snapdragon X or X Elite processor, depending on the model, and is equipped with up to 32GB of RAM and up to 1TB of SSD storage. Asus claims the 70-watt battery can deliver up to 32 hours of battery life (although, I'm not sure if that's true). sure, that's the best case scenario). 🔋⏰
The Zenbook A14 is my overall pick of the event. It's attractive, portable, and perhaps best of all, affordable, with a starting price of $1,899. However, the entry-level model won't start shipping until March. A higher-end model will sell through Best Buy for $1,099 starting January 13. 🛍️💖
Asus ROG Flow Z13
Asus
The Asus ROG The 2025 Flow Z13, like its predecessors, is a gaming-focused tablet PC that attempts to combine portability with high gaming performance. 🍀🎮
However, this time it comes with the radical new AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 processor, which combines 16 CPU cores Zen 5 and 40 powerful RDNA 3.5 graphics CUs on a single chip, and includes a 50 TOPS NPU for good measure. The unified design of the chip can dynamically share tablet memory (up to 128GB RAM) between processing and graphics tasks as needed. 🧠💻
We weren't able to test the chip on the floor at CES 2025, but its specs are intriguing, and it seems better suited for a Windows tablet device rather than the Nvidia RTX 40 Discrete GPUs found in previous models. 📊🚀
The ROG Flow Z13 starts at $1999.99, but you'll need to spend $2,199.99 to get the Ryzen AI Max+ 395. Expected availability in Q1 2025. 📅💲
Asus Chromebook CX14
Matt Smith/Foundry
CES 2025 seemed like a light year for Chromebooks, as most of the Laptop manufacturers had few or no devices ChromeOS to show off, but the Asus Chromebook CX14 caught my eye. 😮💻
That's largely due to its design. Previous iterations already looked good, and this year, Asus showed off several new colors (Quiet Blue, Misty Grey, and Fabric Blue), each with its own textured finish. These options are a fun touch to an already solid ChromeOS lineup! 🌈🎨
The hardware is less exciting. The Chromebook CX14 will ship with a processor Intel Celeron N4500. RAM starts at 4GB (up to 16GB) and storage starts at 32GB (up to 128GB). Thankfully, though, it comes with a 1080p display and a good array of connectivity including a USB-C port to charge the laptop. ⚡🔌
The Asus Chromebook CX14 starts at $199.99. Availability has not been announced. 🗓️💲
Razer Blade 16
Razer
Razer has arrived at CES 2025 with a new, slimmer Blade 16 that the company boasts is “the thinnest Razer laptop ever designed,” at just 0.59 inches thick. This is achieved thanks to innovations in the refrigeration system steam chamber. 🌬️🔥
Despite its slim profile, the Razer Blade 16 will still pack powerful hardware. It supports AMD Ryzen AI processors up to the Ryzen AI 9 370 HX and can handle Nvidia's powerful new mobile GPU, the GeForce RTX 5090It will also ship with a QHD OLED display that can hit a refresh rate of up to 240Hz. I think that, like previous models, the Blade 16 will be a popular choice among gamers and professionals who want a high performance on a slim machine. 🎮⚙️
Beyond the upgrades, the Razer Blade 16 looks a lot like previous models, which is probably what Razer fans would prefer. Pricing has yet to be announced, with availability expected in Q1 2025. 🕑💰
MSI Stealth A16 AI+
Matt Smith/Foundry
MSI's Stealth line is secretly one of the best options for those who want a powerful laptop for work and play, and the new MSI Stealth A16 AI+ reinforces that. The revised model receives several upgrades, the most important of which is the new hardware Nvidia RTX 50 series, up to the RTX 5090. MSI also equips the laptop with a new QHD OLED display, which is great, given that the previous model had an IPS display (and was the laptop's biggest weakness). 🖥️🔍
True to its name, the Stealth A16 AI+ looks subtle despite its powerful hardware. The laptop measures less than eight-tenths of an inch thick and weighs less than 4.5 pounds. It also lacks the flashy styling found on MSI’s gaming laptops, opting instead for a sleek yet understated look. The laptop even comes equipped with a massive 99-watt-hour battery. MSI didn’t mention battery life, but if the previous model is any indication, it should last between eight and 10 hours on light loads. 🔋⏳
Pricing and availability have not been announced, but expect to hear more in the first quarter of 2025. 🗣️📅
MSI Titan 18 HX Dragon Edition Norse Myth
Matt Smith/Foundry
MSI doesn't shy away from extreme design in laptops, but it made quite a statement at CES 2025 with the Titan 18 HX Dragon Edition Norse Myth. This giant 18-inch beast of a laptop has a beautiful textured display lid that looks like an ode to Skyrim (or, perhaps, to the latest titles of God of War). I can guarantee that it looks even more impressive in person than in the photos, but it is not a concept. This laptop is going to be sold. 🐉💥
Under the new exterior, however, it remains a Titan 18 HX. Which is good, because the Titan 18 HX is an excellent laptop. As expected, this model has hardware upgrades which include up to an Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX processor, Nvidia RTX 5090 graphics, four M.2 SSD slots (one of which is PCIe 5), and an 18-inch 4K Mini-LED display with a refresh rate of up to 120Hz. MSI said RAM goes up to 96GB. 📈💻
Pricing and availability have not been announced, but I expect that, like previous models, it will cost over $5,000. And if you're not really interested in dragons, don't worry. MSI will still offer a new Titan 18 HX with a less luxurious design. 🏰💰