The best new laptops of 2025 for creatives – tried and tested

We've tested dozens of laptops this year and not all have been created equal for all creatives. Here, I've chosen our top three picks based on our rigorous benchmarking and hands-on experience specifically carried out with creatives in mind.

I've chosen machines with different strengths, but these laptops are all brand new so there aren't any specifically 'budget' picks here. If you want raw power, high productivity and excellent specs then these are for you – and this is the season to bag a decent deal with Black Friday coming up. So keep reading for our top tested laptops of the year (for a wider selection, see our best laptops for graphic design guide).

We love this laptop for its huge amount of power – our review calls it a beast for a reason (we tried the 16-inch version). According to our expert reviewer it's the most amount of laptop you can buy right now, and it does have a price tag to match – but if you're more concerned about performance than power then this delivers. It is designed for gamers, but if you're a creative who needs a huge whack of power then it will be perfect for you (video editors, 3D artists, I'm looking at you).

The only place we felt it was a let down is the build. It is sturdy, metal and really nicely constructed – but it's heavy and the battery isn't amazing, as expected for such a power hungry monster. So if you're looking for portability then you'll be better off looking at a souped up version of the MacBook Pro below, or simply a smaller screen size. Alternatively, if you want more screen you can go for its 18-inch sibling.

See our full Acer Predator Helios 16 AI review for specific benchmarks and further testing.

Apple’s M5 chip really lives up to its reputation as the fastest yet. In our tests, it tops Geekbench’s single-core charts. The GPU’s 10,000-point leap over the M4 is impressive, balancing gaming and creative performance beautifully.

In Photoshop, it’s unmatched, though Premiere Pro still favors Windows machines with bigger GPUs. We've also noticed the new neural accelerators make a real difference in AI tasks, improving both speed and efficiency. Battery life is excellent too. Apple’s 24-hour claim feels ambitious, but in low-power mode we can worked for hours without losing much charge.

The design is unchanged since last year, but that's no bad thing – though the Thunderbolt downgrade from 5 to 4 was a surprise. It's still fast but not top-level. It's reasonably priced, but creatives needing serious power will need to upgrade to the Max chip.

See our MacBook Pro M5 full review for more.

This laptop is revolutionary. Our thorough testing did show that isn't the most powerful of the year, but if you want a whole new productivity flow and two glorious screens, then this could transform your creative life. Not only have we tested it, but one of our laptop experts has spent months with the machine and wrote this glowing summary of his story – showing exactly how his workflow improved and adjusted to the ability to use two screens like a double tablet screen whilst holding onto the benefits of a laptop. It comes with a very decent stylus.

If your creative work is on the light to medium side this is perfect – and digital artists should take note of this laptop. The design is beautiful, it's made out of aluminium and it's light as a feather.

Read our full ASUS Zenbook Duo 2025 review.

If none of these are quite right, see our best laptops for 3D modelling guide – and the deals below: