These notebooks left us impressed: Spring 2026 laptop review highlights

91.0%: Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i Aura Edition

The Lenovo Pro 9 16 G11 Aura a. k. a. Yoga Pro 9i 16 impresses as a versatile multimedia powerhouse. Equipped with a Core Ultra 9 CPU, RTX graphics and one of the brightest OLED touchscreens currently available, it offers excellent sound, plenty of ports, and space for two SSDs.

The 2026 model is slightly thinner and lighter than its predecessor, with that model's numeric keypad now replaced with larger speakers. The disadvantages to consider before committing are the clearly audible fans when under load, high weight, and moderate battery life (around 10 hours). Thanks to the powerful graphics, the Yoga Pro 9 is a top recommendation for creative professionals.
The price for the Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i Aura Edition is around 3,000 euros in Germany.

90.7%: Samsung Galaxy Book6 Ultra

Samsung's Galaxy Book6 Ultra made its case beautifully as a very good multimedia notebook. At its heart are an efficient Panther Lake processor, an Nvidia Blackwell GPU (RTX 5070) and an outstanding, color-accurate OLED touchscreen (running at 30 Hz to 120 Hz). Thanks to the power-saving display, the system beats the competition in terms of runtimes (around 16 hours) despite its comparatively small battery capacity. The new casing design, reminiscent of the MacBook Pro line, dispenses with the numeric keypad, but gets excellent speakers instead. Display's PWM and the internal fans, which are clearly audible under load, are the key drawbacks that come to mind.

You will have to dig deep into your pockets for these powerful features, as the tested model with an RTX 5070 laptop GPU currently retails for around 3,600 euros in Germany.

90.2%: Apple MacBook Pro 14 2026 M5 Max

The M5 Max-powered MacBook Pro 14 combines proven benefits such as a high-quality chassis, an excellent mini-LED display, and great speakers with immense performance. Nevertheless, we can not unconditionally recommend it, as explained in our detailed testing. The cooling solution of the smaller 14-inch chassis is overwhelmed with the new M5 Max, resulting in loud fan noise, thermal throttling and inconsistent CPU performance. In addition, the 96-watt power supply is not sufficient at peak load, so that even the battery is sometimes tapped. For buyers who do not need maximum performance, the M5 Pro chip is the more balanced choice for 14 inches, while the M5 Max chip is a better fit for the larger 16-inch model.
The machine currently retails for around 3,600 euros in Germany.

89.0%: Lenovo ThinkPad P16 Gen 3

The ThinkPad P16 G3 is significantly more portable than its predecessor, but the latest changes to the chassis do not make a lot of sense to us nonetheless, as outlined in the detailed review. Our final opinion is: For a performance-oriented notebook, the limited GPU power (up to 105 W here) and the 180-watt stock charger underwhelm quite a bit, and performance suffers as a result. Nevertheless, it remains high. The workhorse's greatest strength is its enormous expandability, as it can be equipped with up to 192 GB of RAM, three fast SSDs and up to an RTX Pro 5000, making it an excellent tool for CAD or local AI applications among other hardware-heavy uses.
The Thinkpad P16 Gen 3 starts at around 3,500 euros in Germany and becomes correspondingly more expensive depending on the components selected.

88.9%: Honor MagicBook Pro 14 2026

According to Notebookcheck's detailed testing, the 14-inch Honor MagicBook Pro 2026 is an all-round successful multimedia notebook. Equipped with a Panther Lake processor, it scores above all with its fast graphics performance. Its slightly thicker casing enables good cooling with reasonable power limits and pleasantly quiet fans. A haptic trackpad, a comfortable keyboard, two SSD slots and a real-world battery life of around 15 hours round off the strong package. The machine's 3K OLED touchscreen (120 Hz, 3:2) impresses with outstanding image quality and extremely accurate color profiles for photo and video editing. RAM is permanently soldered here, though (32 GB), there is no Wi-Fi 7 and no card reader.
The main problem with the 2026 Honor MagicBook Pro 14 is its poor availability. In Germany, there were no sellers at this writing.

88.8%: Lenovo ThinkPad T14 Gen 7

The Intel-based ThinkPad T14 G7, specifically, the base SKU of it, tested by us in May, does not feel like a real upgrade compared to its Lunar Lake-powered predecessor. The benefits on offer include upgradable RAM, significantly improved repairability, and optimized speakers. As a cool, quiet office device with long battery life (up to 18 hours in real-world use) and great input devices, it remains a first-class choice. However, performance stagnates, and GPU performance has actually dropped. The base display option disappoints in terms of color gamut coverage. Although higher-end SKUs do away with these weaknesses, they quickly drive up the already high base price even further - which seems like a general problem with notebooks in 2026.
The T14 Gen 7 starts at around 1,600 euros.

88.5%: Asus ZenBook Duo UX8407AA

The ZenBook Duo UX8407 (Notebookcheck review here) is a dual-screen convertible with a detachable keyboard. Thanks to a revised hinge design, the two improved screens move closer together in the latest model, which makes it much more comfortable to use in desktop mode. The device is thicker but lighter. A major highlight is the new Panther Lake processor, which combines the multi-core performance of Arrow Lake with high power efficiency. Graphics performance has seen an impressive 70% increase - however, the fast B390 GPU is only available in the top SKU, costing 2,599 euros. Rounding off the package are the further enhanced software, an outstanding magnetically attached keyboard, and excellent battery life.
Around 2,600 euros must be set aside for this exceptional notebook.

88.1%: Alienware 16 Area-51

As recently tested by us, the 2026 Alienware 16 Area-51 only gets two new features due to the lack of new GeForce GPU generation so far this year, namely the Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus processor and a 1,600p OLED display. The new CPU delivers up to 25 percent more speed than the previous top chip, while consuming just as much more power. The upgrade to the high-contrast 240-Hz OLED panel offers the clearest added value thanks to better HDR and faster response times. However, Alienware has chosen to make these options mandatory, which drives up the price.

Depending on the configuration, the Alienware 16 can cost well over 4,000 euros.

87.6%: Asus ExpertBook Ultra B9406

With the ExpertBook Ultra B9406 (reviewed here), Asus is targeting mobile users. The new Panther Lake processor combines high efficiency, long battery life and a fast NPU with graphics performance as fast as a GeForce RTX 4050, all packed into a lightweight 14-inch chassis. On the Asus model tested, however, CPU performance drops noticeably on battery power. In addition, the haptic clickpad can be overly sensitive at times, and the matte OLED screen appears somewhat grainy compared to glossy displays. Nevertheless, the mobile, high-performance notebook is a very attractive option for business customers.
Its price will not be up to everyone's liking. According to initial listings, the notebook should cost over 4,000 euros.

87.5%: Asus ZenBook A16 UX3607

The Asus Zenbook A16 did great in our review as a 16-inch notebook with a lightweight, high-quality casing (1.2 kg), a good keyboard and a great OLED display. Thanks to the new Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme chip, it clearly outperforms mobile x86 competition from AMD and Intel in terms of processor performance. Even in quiet whisper mode, CPU performance remains at the top of the comparison table. Apple is ahead in terms of single-thread performance with its, but has to admit defeat in multi-core workloads. The only issues of criticism worth highlighting are the limited battery and the lack of SD Express support.
Not the least because of the 48-GB RAM, the notebook is a steal at a price of around 2,000 euros.

87.5%: Asus ZenBook A14 UX3704

The updated Asus ZenBook A14 proved to be a highly portable 14-inch notebook with long battery runtimes in our testing. The new Snapdragon X2 Elite chip raises the CPU performance bar above the Intel and AMD competition, even under the barely audible whisper profile. The iGPU is also highly efficient. The machine's 1200p OLED screen offers very good picture quality, but is limited to 60 Hz. Windows on ARM is now more mature, but you still should check if the apps you use daily are compatible before placing and order.
For around 1,500 euros (including 32 GB of RAM), the A14 offers excellent value for money.