The 4 Best Laptops For Video Editing - Black Friday 2024

The best laptop for editing videos we've tested is the Apple MacBook Pro 14 (M3, 2023). This exceptionally well-built model delivers an outstanding user experience and can handle even the most demanding video editing projects. Its Mini LED display looks sharp, bright, and color-accurate, sporting full coverage of the DCI P3 color space. You get a spacious keyboard, an easy-to-use haptic touchpad, and a wide port selection for peripherals and external displays. We recommend a model with an M3 Pro or Max SoC (the M3 Pro model starts at $1,999 USD). The base M3 chip can get the job done, but it'll quickly hit its limits. Unfortunately, the RAM and storage aren't user-replaceable. If you want more screen space and don't mind a bulkier device, get the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (M3, 2023). It has better-sounding speakers but costs more.

Note: Apple has released new MacBook Pros with its M4 chips. These new models have more processing power, a brighter display (advertised 1000 cd/m² in SDR), Thunderbolt 5 support on the M4 Pro/Max models, and a higher-resolution webcam. There's also a new nano-texture display option that further cuts down glare. We've purchased a 14-inch and a 16-inch model and will begin testing them soon.

For Windows users, we recommend the Lenovo ThinkPad P1 Gen 7 (2024), a 16-inch premium model. It's available with Intel Meteor Lake CPUs, up to a Core Ultra 9 185H, paired with an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 or 4070 discrete GPU. RAM and storage max out at 64GB and 8TB, respectively, and unlike the MacBook Pro, these components are user-replaceable. There are a few display options, though only the top-end 4k+OLED panel has full DCI P3 coverage. You get tons of ports, including two Thunderbolt 4s, an HDMI 2.1, and an SD Express 7.0 card reader. Its main downside is that it gets noticeably hotter and louder than the MacBook Pro.

Our best mid-range pick is the HP OMEN Transcend 14 (2024), a gaming/content creator laptop. This model is available with an Intel Core Ultra 7 or Core Ultra 9 CPU and up to an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 discrete GPU, all capable hardware for video editing. It sports an excellent 2.8K OLED display with full sRGB and DCI P3 coverage, making it suitable for producing SDR and HDR content. While the display's brightness is fine for most indoor settings, it doesn't get nearly as bright as the Apple MacBook Pro 14 (M3, 2023) in HDR. Also, its glossy finish doesn't handle reflections all that well. You get plenty of ports to connect peripherals and external displays, including two USB-As, two USB-Cs (one Thunderbolt 4), and an HDMI 2.1. Battery life is another area where it falls short, lasting only around six hours of light use. The laptop gets a little toasty under load, though not to the point of causing discomfort.

Another worthy mention is the ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 (2024). It's very similar to the HP OMEN Transcend 14, as it also sports a 120Hz OLED display with full DCI P3 coverage and is available with NVIDIA 40-series GPUs, up to an RTX 4070. The main difference is that it's an AMD Ryzen system. The Ryzen CPUs perform well, but some programs, like Adobe Premiere, work better on Intel/NVIDIA systems, so the choice really comes down to which apps you use. Also, this laptop gets hotter and louder under load.

The best budget laptop for video editing we've tested is the ASUS TUF Gaming A16 Advantage Edition (2023). When configured with a Ryzen 7 7735HS or Ryzen 9 7940HS CPU and paired with an AMD Radeon RX 6700S or Radeon RX 7700S, it has plenty of processing power for intensive video editing tasks. RAM and storage max out at 32GB and 1TB, respectively—you can upgrade or add more later, as both are user-replaceable. As for the display, you can choose between an FHD+ or a QHD+ panel. We recommend the latter, as its increased sharpness will allow you to see finer details more clearly. It also has a higher peak brightness to combat glare and full DCI P3 coverage, whereas the FHD+ display only has 100% sRGB.

This laptop feels very well built for the price. It isn't overly bulky for a 16-inch device, but it's a 16-inch device nonetheless, so you'll need a fairly big bag to carry it. Port selection is great; you get two USB-As, two USB-Cs, an Ethernet, and a true HDMI 2.1 port. Unfortunately, there's no Thunderbolt 4 or USB4 support. Also, this laptop gets hot and loud under load, and there are no biometrics, like a fingerprint sensor or facial recognition camera.

The Apple MacBook Air 15 (2024) is a great option if you prefer an ultraportable for the occasional video editing. Its Retina display has full coverage of the DCI P3 color space, and it's superbly calibrated out of the box, so you can get to work immediately with no further calibration. Sporting a base M3 SoC, this laptop can handle video editing. However, it'll struggle in intensive projects with multiple high-resolution streams, so if your work is highly complex, you're better off getting a MacBook Pro with a more powerful M3 Pro/Max SoC. Also, remember that this is a fanless system, which is both good and bad, as you won't have to worry about fan noise, but there'll be some thermal throttling. Port selection is another weak point; it only has two USB-C ports, and while there's support for two external displays, this is only possible with the lid closed.

Apple has recently discontinued the 8GB model and made 16GB the baseline spec, so many retailers are selling the remaining 8GB model at a much lower price. This may be tempting if you're on a strict budget but know that the performance will suffer with only 8GB of memory. If you want to save money, you can probably find a good deal on the older, albeit discontinued, M2 Apple MacBook Air 15 (2023) through a marketplace, third-party seller, or Apple's refurbished section. The M3 version only offers marginally better performance, faster Wi-Fi 6E connectivity, and support for two external monitors.