Ben Madilynn
The best laptop for photo editing makes the entire creative process smooth and seamless – and for the best results, these are the machines our experts recommend.
I head up a team of reviewers who live and breathe hardware – testing out everything from the best photo editing PCs to the best monitors for photo editing. So, we know how important it is to choose a laptop that brings your Photoshop and Lightroom projects to life.
In our tests, the best photo editing laptop is the Apple MacBook Pro 16-inch – for maximum results, opt for the M3 Max chip, although any M-series MacBook will excel at editing images. But it’s not the only option, and I’ve rounded up all the top machines for art and design workflows on macOS and Windows laptops. As part of this review process, my team has benchmarked performance, design and build quality, and compared screen resolution and color coverage across the sRGB and AdobeRGB color spaces.
Quick list
Apple MacBook Pro 16-inch (M3 Max)
Apple’s most powerful MacBook yet, this M3-powered 16-inch laptop is an incredibly powerful laptop that’s ideal for heavy workloads, especially graphically intensive ones.
Apple MacBook Air 13-inch (M3)
Apple’s latest version of the MacBook Air proves that you can improve on perfection. It retains the stunning design of the last model but with a cheaper price and more powerful hardware.
The Dell XPS 14 is the latest entry to the storied XPS lineup, and its mix of powerful performance, excellent style, and good starting price make this the Windows laptop to beat.
Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio 2
A great laptop for creatives that use a stylus every day, but an expensive option for those that can live without a touchscreen.
The Lenovo Yoga 9i Gen 8 excels as the top 2-in-1 photo editing laptop with its vibrant OLED display, superior performance, and lasting battery life.
Packing a striking 16:10 4K OLED display and 13th Gen Intel Core i9, the Gigabyte Aero 16 is specifically designed for creatives. After testing it out with video and photo editing apps, we were delighted with its performance – although it’s hardly noiseless.
Lenovo’s ThinkPad P16 is a truly powerful portable workstation. Build quality is superb, offering robust protection. During our testing, it excelled at complex creative design projects and workflows. The screen also offers 100% DCI-P3 color coverage.
Due to its unique dual-screen design, the Lenovo Yoga Book 9i is an innovative laptop that’s a godsend for teachers who need to work on lesson plans and do research at the same time.
From creativity to gaming, the MSI Creator Z17 offers a lot of versatile options for tasks. The phenomenal build quality and feature-rich 17-inch display adds to an admirable experience.
The best laptop for photo editing: Top picks
The best laptop for photo editing in 2024
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Below you’ll find detailed write-ups for all our top picks for the best laptop for photo editing. We’ve tested each extensively, so you can trust that we’re offering you the best assessment of each device for your specific needs and budget.
Best laptop for photo editing overall
As with previous models, you can choose a variety of configurations to kit out your 16-inch MacBook Pro, including M3 Pro or M3 Max chips, and up to 128GB of unified memory – but you’ll want to make sure you nail your options before you buy, as you can’t upgrade your laptop afterwards. Of course, the better specs you go for, the more money this already-expensive laptop is going to cost.
Performance-wise, this is an impeccable workstation. There wasn’t a task the new 16-inch MacBook Pro couldn’t handle during our testing, even when editing 4K footage with multiple 4K and 8K video files, and it also did an impressive job of running the latest games. The MacBook Pro 16-inch (M3) doesn’t do anything new design-wise, but that’s certainly not a bad thing. Why tinker with such a great design? Sure, Apple could have added a touchscreen, or even resurrect the Touch Bar, but this would just be tweaking for tweaking’s sake.
The MacBook Pro 16-inch (M3) has the potential to rival many of the best gaming laptops based on its amazing performance. Impressively, while the fans did kick in, they never got as loud as most gaming laptops, though the part of the chassis just above the keyboard did get noticeably hot to touch.
Read our full Apple MacBook Pro 16-inch (M3 Max) review.
Best photo editing laptop for those on a budget
The Apple MacBook Air (M3, 2024) stands out as the ultimate value laptop for photo editing, boasting an elegant, modern design that makes it incredibly sleek and lightweight, perfect for on-the-go creativity.
Its enhanced portability is a key feature for anyone in need of a powerful yet easy-to-carry editing tool. With reduced bezels, the MacBook Air offers a larger, brighter, and more vibrant display, providing a captivating visual experience that enhances photo editing tasks without sacrificing the laptop’s slim profile.
Performance-wise, the MacBook Air (M3, 2024) exceeds expectations with fast boot times and seamless application performance, catering to the intensive demands of photo editing software.
What’s more, the MacBook Air impresses with up to 16 hours of battery life on a single charge, enabling uninterrupted photo editing sessions well beyond the typical workday and even during extended travel. This combination of portability, powerful performance, and long-lasting battery life, alongside its captivating display, positions the MacBook Air (M3, 2024) as the best value laptop for photo editing on the market.
Read our full Apple MacBook Air 13-inch (M3) review
You could save on your purchase with our Apple coupon codes.
Best Windows laptop for photo editing
The Dell XPS 14 distinguishes itself as the best Windows laptop for photo editing within the acclaimed XPS lineup, offering unparalleled features starting at $1,499. It is equipped with a state-of-the-art processor and the option for a stunning 3.2K OLED display, all housed within a beautifully crafted chassis that sets a new standard in laptop aesthetics.
While the base model might necessitate upgrades such as the dedicated Nvidia RTX 4050 GPU and OLED display with 100% DCI-P3 coverage, these enhancements, albeit at a higher cost, ensure that the laptop remains cutting-edge for years.
The XPS 14 boasts several design advancements from its predecessors, including superior top-mounted speakers that offer improved audio quality without sacrificing keyboard space. Its slim bezels not only contribute to its sleek design but also house a 1080p webcam, enhancing its functionality for photo editors.
Its robust performance, combined with its striking design and portability, makes it the ideal choice for photo editing professionals seeking a reliable, high-performance, and stylish Windows laptop.
Read our full Dell XPS 14 review
Best Surface laptop for photo editing
For those that can afford this business laptop, the Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio 2’s unique touch capabilities pair nicely with the more powerful Intel 13th Gen and Nvidia 40 series components to ensure there’s no hardware limitations to your creativity.
Battery life is reasonable for a Windows 11 creative workstation, lasting 6 hours and 37 minutes in light work tasks. The updated processors will ensure you have enough power and there’s a couple of smaller perks like a USB Type-A socket and microSD Card reader.
The hero here is its screen. Microsoft is using the same PixelSense Flow display at a 2400 x 1600 pixel resolution that it used on earlier devices. It can fold fully back on itself to offer a great drawing experience and is an impressive piece of technology for anyone hoping to use it to write notes for meetings, or create using a stylus.
If you don’t mind paying a bit extra, opt for the configuration with a Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 GPU. It’s much pricer than the 4050 model, but some of that is due to the added RAM and storage allocation which will help with professional applications.
Read our full Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio 2 review
Our Microsoft discount codes can help you save on your next purchase.
Best 2-in-1 laptop for photo editing
The Lenovo Yoga 9i Gen 8 reigns supreme as the ultimate 2-in-1 laptop for photo editing, showcasing Lenovo’s innovation with its rapid performance and premium features at a value surpassing its well-known competitors. This model captivates with its OLED display (covering 100% of the DCI-P3 color gamut) that presents exceptional picture quality, making it perfect for detailed photo editing tasks.
In performance benchmarks, the Yoga 9i Gen 8 outpaces counterparts like the Samsung Galaxy Book3 Pro 360, especially in creative tasks. It impresses with its efficiency in processing and exporting a significant volume of high-resolution images in Adobe Lightroom, proving its prowess in handling demanding photo editing workflows. Battery life is another highlight, with the device lasting over 10 hours on a single charge during web browsing tests, ensuring prolonged productivity sessions for photo editors.
Although the OLED screen’s brightness might not meet every expectation at around 350 nits, its vibrancy and touch responsiveness are undeniable, providing an intuitive and engaging editing experience. This blend of performance, portability, and precision positions the Lenovo Yoga 9i Gen 8 as the best 2-in-1 laptop for photo editing on the market, offering creative professionals a versatile tool that excels in bringing their artistic visions to life.
Read our full Lenovo Yoga 9i Gen 8 review
Best photo editing laptop designed for creatives
The Gigabyte Aero line is specifically designed as a video and photo editing laptop for creatives.
First impressions are great. An aluminum frame with a clean, simple design. An accurate, tactile keyboard. A striking 16:10 4K OLED display that promises plenty of room to play with images. For its size, it’s a surprisingly lightweight laptop for photographers..
Under the hood is no less impressive. You’ll find an RTX 4070 GPU, up to 4TB SSD storage, and up to 64GB RAM. A 13th-gen Intel Core i9 CPU powers the machine – and you’ll need it. Reviewing the device, we found the Aero 16 handled basic documents and web browsing effortlessly and noiselessly. When we moved on to video editing and photo editing, that’s when we noticed this laptop even start to rev its i9.
On the downside, it’s not the most affordable option on the market, even when compared with Apple Macs. The battery lasted 8 hours and 23 minutes in our testing – frankly, we expected more. And the placement of ports to the rear, usually associated with mobile workstations, took some getting used to. Still, performance was good overall, scoring 7158 on the standard PCMark test we ran.
Read our full Gigabyte Aero 16 review
Best mobile workstation for photo editing
The Lenovo ThinkPad P16 is a big, bold mobile workstation – it’s well over twice the weight of a MacBook Air – so It’s not one to be carted around all day. But if you want a powerhouse machine, we found this one ripped right through every test we threw at it.
Outside, the casing is sturdy and feels durable, the full-sized keyboard with numpad feels comfortable to type on. And the 4K OLED display is, we found, bright and clear – even in the middle of the day, we could easily see every area on our screen.
Inside, you’ll find a serious work-horse of an engine. When we tested the photo editing laptop, with the 12th Gen Intel i9 configuration, it showed a strength for more complex creative or design projects and workflows. It’s not the absolute fastest, but it’s close, scoring 7651 in our extended PCMark testing, which is comparable to similar devices.
Overall, the Lenovo ThinkPad P16 is well-built and ready for intense creative tasks, 3D modeling, and the like.
Read our full Lenovo ThinkPad P16 Mobile Workstation review .
Best dual-screen laptop for photo editing
The Lenovo Yoga Book 9i sets the standard as the premier dual-screen laptop for photo editing, boasting OLED displays that offer 100% DCI-P3 color coverage for unmatched visual fidelity. Its dual-screen capability introduces a revolutionary approach to photo editing, enabling extraordinary productivity and multitasking within a compact and sleek design. This unique feature mimics a multi-monitor setup, offering expansive screen real estate that is essential for managing complex photo editing tasks without sacrificing portability.
Tailored for the rigorous demands of photo editing, the Yoga Book 9i allows for a variety of customizable setups, ensuring that each user can find the optimal configuration for their workflow. Powered by an Intel Core i7-1355U processor, it provides robust performance for seamless application operation, effectively balancing power and efficiency to mitigate overheating—a common concern in slimmer laptops.
Remarkably, despite its dual OLED displays, the Yoga Book 9i achieves up to 9.5 hours of battery life, extendable to over 12 hours with a single screen in use. This longevity supports extended photo editing sessions without the need for frequent recharging.
Although priced at a premium, the Lenovo Yoga Book 9i justifies its cost through cutting-edge features such as its dual-screen design, superior portability, and efficient performance, making it an invaluable asset for photo editing professionals seeking the ultimate dual-screen laptop experience.
Read our full Lenovo Yoga Book 9i review
Find great deals on laptops with our Lenovo promo codes.
Best photo editing laptop for build quality
The MSI Creator Z17 is a slight vertical side-step forward for the Taiwanese manufacturer’s creative-leaning line of high-performance laptops; a bigger, beefier 17-inch laptop. Though MSI has a pedigree in the gaming laptop space, the MSI Creator Z17 takes a creatives-first approach.
For photo and video editors, this laptop proved a joy to use, and it scored respectably well in our PugetBench Photoshop and Premiere Pro benchmark tests. Photoshop can handle high-resolution photos with multiple layers and export to various file types quickly, and pen performance when trying to colour in spots or use the healing brush was speedy as well.
Despite the upgrade in power, the Creator Z17 doesn’t sound as noisy as its predecessor when it comes to fan cooling. Be mindful that the quieter fans doesn’t help the audio quality of the Dynaudio speakers. Though there’s clarity in the sonic experience, the volume levels are exceptionally low even on the highest volume.
The MSI Creator Z17 is definitely expensive, which is par for the course for such a powerful and versatile laptop, as even its lowest configuration starts out more than most casual users would ever dream of spending on a laptop.
Read our full MSI Creator Z17 review
The best laptop for photo editing: FAQs
Do I need a 4K laptop for photo editing?
You don’t need the best 4K monitor on a photography laptop, but it’s a good idea if it’s within your budget. When it comes to photo editing – or any other visual creative medium – the high the resolution, the better you can see the details in your images and deliver more accurate designs. The cost of 4K displays is falling, too, making them more accessible to photographers at every stage in their career. In our view, the best MacBook Pro laptops have some of the top screens for any content creation, and if you need a second display, there’s always the best monitors for photo editing.
What is the best size screen for a photo editing laptop?
This will most certainly come down to how portable you want your machine to be, as a bigger screen will lead to a more pleasant image editing experience, but you’ll need a larger bag to stash it in. If your needs are more on the lightweight side of the spectrum, you’ll need a smaller screen. Lookout for clever engineers who manage to cram a larger screen in a smaller chassis, for the best of both worlds on that front.
What GPU should the best photo editing laptops have?
As a general rule of thumb, since your creative work generally demands the best graphics card, try to avoid any integrated systems, like the Iris Xe. Although those do help when it comes to battery life, they rarely, if ever, hold a candle to separate GPUs. As with everything in computing, the more you can afford, the beefier your machine will be, and the quicker you’ll be able to get work done.
How to choose the best laptop for photo editing
Choosing the ideal photo editing laptop requires navigating through a maze of technical jargon to identify key features that align with your creative workflow. Whether you’re using Adobe Creative Suite or one of the best Adobe Photoshop alternatives and the best Adobe Lightroom alternatives, the specifications of your laptop should support intensive photo editing software without compromising performance.
Like graphic design laptops (and generally unlike video editing laptops), photo editing laptops need a robust processor, as most photo editing tasks are CPU-intensive. A durable mobile workstation or business laptop can serve well, provided it has a high-quality FHD display with excellent contrast and brightness, along with appropriate color gamut coverage like DCI-P3.
RAM is crucial for handling complex photo editing projects, and while the GPU might not be as critical for photo editing alone, it becomes essential for tasks like 3D modeling and running the best video editing software, which can sometimes find itself in your workflow when you least suspect it.
A color-accurate IPS display with high contrast, brightness, and a wide color gamut is ideal. Fast SSD storage is necessary for quick file access and ample storage space, and a sufficient number of ports ensure you can connect all your devices without needing an additional docking station.
While MacBooks are popular among photographers for their performance and display quality, Windows laptops offer competitive features and better upgradability at similar price points.
How we test the best laptops for photo editing
We’ve tested hardware built for a range of creative industries and professions. This includes the best video editing laptops, best laptops for graphic design, best laptops for writers, and best laptops for music production.
When we test laptops that are good for photo editing, we’re assessing factors such as performance, portability, display type, value for money, and overall design.
Photo editors can often be resource-intensive, especially when working on large, complex projects. So, we test each to see how well they perform when running photo editing software like Adobe Photoshop. Laptops designed for photographers should have no trouble with the industry-standard editing tool.
Creative workflows are unique – so we evaluate each on the individual merits and how well they meet the expectations of their intended users. For example, the Dell XPS 13 will be ideal for users editing images on the go, while the 16-inch MacBook Pro is much-more suited to those who need a creative powerhouse.
See what goes into our tests in How we test laptops and desktops: our reviewing process explained.
