Ranking: Best laptops for editing photos and videos

After a long reign, Apple has been knocked off the top spot—by a more business-oriented Lenovo ThinkPad, of all things: the T1g G8, with the almost identical P1 16 G8 trailing very closely behind. This is hardly surprising, given its relatively new tandem OLED technology, fast LPCAMM2 RAM, Thunderbolt 5, Wi-Fi 7 and speedy Core Ultra 9 285H processor.

Of course, this compact and lightweight workstation cannot keep up with its much larger rivals, especially with its RTX 5070 limited to a TGP of just 75 watts, but it offers a great deal for those who need a highly portable workstation.

Unfortunately, the bright, matte OLED display can look somewhat grainy up close, though battery life is quite good. All DeltaE values are within target ranges thanks to factory calibration. If you can do without touch and pen input, you can also order the ThinkPad with a higher-resolution 4K+ IPS display that offers full DCI-P3 color space coverage. The laptop also supports two M.2-2280 SSDs (one using PCIe 5.0) and up to 64 GB of RAM.

The Lenovo ThinkPad T1g Gen 8 is particularly appealing with its tandem OLED option, combining strong specifications with a well-rounded design for work.

The Lenovo ThinkPad T1g Gen 8 currently costs around €4,060 in a similar configuration. The P1 16 Gen 8 can also be configured with a less expensive 4K IPS display for as little as €2,900 directly from the manufacturer.

Visually, the new MacBook Pro 16 with M5 Pro remains unchanged from the 2023 model. The technical improvements are limited to Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6 (via Apple's N1 chip) and the new M5 Pro SoC, which delivers around 20 percent faster multi-core performance than its predecessor. GPU performance is 30 to 50 percent higher, depending on the application.

The Mini-LED display has an extremely low black level, resulting in very high contrast ratios similar to those of OLED panels. Subjective image quality is nearly perfect.

Drawbacks include constant PWM flickering and slow pixel response times, which may bother sensitive users. Otherwise, the panel covers almost 100 percent of the DCI-P3 color space and offers highly accurate colors, making it a good choice for photo and video editing. Another clear drawback is the high cost of RAM and SSD upgrades; neither component can be upgraded by the user after purchase.

With the M5 Pro, 24 GB of RAM and a 1 TB SSD, the Apple MacBook Pro 16 currently costs around €2,899.

Apple's MacBook Pro 14 (2025), featuring an M5 chip with 10 CPU cores, looks identical to its predecessors. The Mini-LED display also remains unchanged, delivering around 1,000 cd/m² in SDR mode. A matte display option is still available with only a very slight loss in image quality, making outdoor use considerably easier.

Single-core performance has increased by another 14 percent over the M4, reaching a level no other CPU can currently match. GPU performance, meanwhile, has improved by around 30 percent over the M4 GPU. Battery life has also increased by 2 hours to 17 hours, while noise and heat levels under GPU load have decreased. Thunderbolt 5 and a higher-resolution webcam are still included, but this model still lacks Wi-Fi 7.

The built-in Mini-LED panel not only offers a high resolution, strong contrast and a fast 120 Hz refresh rate, but also delivers high color accuracy out of the box.

We already criticized the slow response times, constant PWM flickering and lack of maintenance options, along with the expensive upgrades, in our review of the first MacBook Pro with Apple Silicon.

The Apple MacBook Pro 14 M5 with 16 GB of RAM and a 512 GB SSD currently costs €1,431. Upgrading to 1 TB of storage costs an additional €210.

The new XMG Neo 16 from Schenker gets a major upgrade to its processors, display and GPUs. Both the AMD and Intel models deliver outstanding performance, courtesy of either the Ryzen 9 9955HX3D or the Core Ultra 9 275HX, paired with up to an Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090.

With a 300 Hz refresh rate, the 16-inch Mini-LED panel is extremely fast, while its brightness is also outstanding at over 850 cd/m² in SDR mode. It fully covers the DCI-P3 color space, but the panel should definitely be recalibrated. At least local dimming can be disabled for color-critical work. The power adapter cable may be annoyingly short, and the AMD model lacks USB 4.0. The keyboard is comfortable, and PCIe 5.0 and up to 128 GB of RAM are supported. The chassis is sturdy, and the SD card reader is fast.

The XMG Neo 16's Mini-LED display impresses with very high contrast and brightness, but its factory calibration is poor—at least local dimming can be disabled.

The base price of the XMG Neo 16 is €2,372 (AMD) or €2,412 (Intel) if you install your own RAM and SSD to save money—the Mini-LED panel costs an extra €175, and the RTX 5080 adds another €545.

The ROG Strix Scar 16 also features a Mini-LED panel, an Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090. In SDR mode, the 240 Hz QHD+ display reaches over 770 cd/m². The P3 and sRGB profiles are factory-calibrated, and local dimming can be disabled.

Other features include a very comfortable keyboard, Thunderbolt 5, two RAM slots and two M.2-2280 slots. PCIe 5.0, however, has not made it into the Scar 16. The design is appealing, but unlike its larger sibling, it does without AniME Matrix.

The current Asus ROG Strix Scar 16 offers not only plenty of power, but also a brilliant Mini-LED display, extensive upgrade options and plenty of ports.

Drawbacks include ports located exclusively on the sides, high power consumption, loud fans under load and the lack of PCIe 5.0. Currently priced at €4,999, the Asus ROG Strix Scar 16 is available in a top-spec configuration with a 2 TB SSD and 64 GB of RAM.

An RTX 5080 and Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus deliver outstanding performance in the Alienware 16 Area-51. They are complemented by an exceptionally well-calibrated 400-nit OLED display with QHD+ resolution and 100% DCI-P3 coverage, though its matte finish makes it look slightly grainy. The two PCIe 5.0 slots are also welcome, while the installed SSD delivers a steady 14 GB/s. The SD card reader is fast, too, and the 360 W power adapter is relatively slim.

Less appealing is the battery life of around 3 hours, which is short even for a powerful gaming laptop. At 3.3 kg, it is also extremely heavy for a 16-inch laptop.

The Alienware 16 Area-51 combines strong performance with a well-calibrated OLED display, but its slightly grainy screen, short battery life and high weight detract from its appeal.

The Alienware 16 Area-51 can be configured directly from Dell, starting at €3,991.

Asus's 18-inch flagship ROG Strix Scar 18 impresses not only with its extremely fast components, the Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX and Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090, but also with its Mini-LED display, which offers a brightness of 750 cd/m², QHD+ resolution and a 240 Hz refresh rate. Accurate P3 and sRGB profiles are available out of the box. Local dimming can also be disabled for more accurate photo editing, and sRGB content can be converted to the P3 color space in HDR mode.

You also get a comfortable keyboard, Thunderbolt 5, two SO-DIMM slots and two M.2-2280 slots for memory and storage upgrades. PCIe 5.0 is not supported; the laptop instead uses a RAID 0 storage array. The design is also likely to appeal to many prospective buyers, particularly the AniME Vision display on the lid.

The Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 offers excellent performance and a high-quality display for creative work. Expandability and connectivity are good too, although all ports are located on the sides.

Drawbacks include high power consumption, loud fans in the higher-performance modes, mediocre battery life and a plastic base unit that picks up dirt very easily. The Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 is currently available for around €5,100 in the configuration described above, including 2 TB of SSD storage and 64 GB of RAM.

An RTX 5070 Ti with a 140 W TGP, a very bright 300 Hz mini-LED display, excellent serviceability, PCIe 5.0, a 16-core AMD Ryzen 9 processor and a very comfortable keyboard—all this is offered by the XMG Apex 16 Max.

What it lacks, however, is Thunderbolt or USB4, as well as Wi-Fi 7. Other drawbacks include loud fans under sustained combined load, short battery life and inaccurate factory P3 profiles. Two SSDs and two RAM modules can be installed, and a full-size SD card reader is also included.

The XMG Apex 16 Max is a powerhouse on paper, but falls short on the details—a compromise some may accept given the low price.

One advantage of the XMG Apex 16 is its low starting price of around €2,099.

The MSI Raider 16 Max HX is an interesting 16-inch gaming laptop that combines one of the fastest CPUs, the 24-core Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus, with an RTX 5090, along with a 240 Hz QHD+ OLED panel with Display HDR1000. RAM and SSDs can also be easily upgraded via an access panel.

Unfortunately, G-Sync and Advanced Optimus are not supported, and the display is highly reflective. It covers 87.5 percent of the Display P3 color space. Thunderbolt 4, Wi-Fi 7 and a fast SD card reader are also included.

MSI's Raider 16 Max HX offers plenty of ports and easy upgrades, combining them with tremendous performance and a very good display with minor shortcomings.

The MSI Raider 16 Max HX in this configuration is currently available in Germany for €4,349.

Alongside the Lenovo ThinkPad T1g, the ThinkPad T16g G3 has now also made it onto our list of the best laptops. This is a heavyweight machine, in contrast to the slimmer, more portable T1g. The two share the same accurate and very bright tandem OLED display, including its slightly grainy image quality.

The installed Core Ultra 9 275HX processor, however, is significantly more powerful, although its performance drops noticeably under sustained load. The TGP of the RTX 5080 GPU is also considerably higher at 105 W, compared with 75 W in the T1g. Still, that is not particularly high for such a thick, heavy laptop. At least its weight has been reduced by almost half a kilogram compared with its predecessor.

The Lenovo ThinkPad T16g G3 is a powerful workstation, but it does not reach its full performance potential and gets very loud under load.

The Lenovo ThinkPad T16g Gen 3 is currently available in the configuration described above for €4,582.