You want a laptop that can reliably get you through a full day of work, but the best laptops for battery life we've tested have lasted literal days in our tests. That's because elite laptops have made huge strides in battery life in recent years, making them ideal for working remotely and studying on the go. As of mid-2026, our current battery life champ is a Windows laptop that ran for a record-setting 40 hours per charge. To put that in perspective, it lasts almost twice as long as the longest-lasting MacBook we've tested.

Overview

These are the tech, tools, and products — from laptops to e-readers, from earbuds to robovacs, and more — that Mashable ranks best in class.

Table of Contents

It's frustrating to sit down at your laptop for an afternoon of work, only to realize that it's hovering at two percent battery. Oh, and you forgot your charger at home. Perfect.

That's why battery life is one of the most important factors shoppers consider when searching for the best laptops, according to a 2025 CNET survey. (FYI: Mashable and CNET are both owned by the same parent company, Ziff Davis.) That makes total sense. While not everyone needs a marathon runner — PC gamers and creative professionals will probably prioritize performance — a laptop that constantly leaves you stranded without juice is an inconvenience. It's not truly portable, which is basically the whole point of buying a laptop instead of a desktop PC. This is why Mashable tests every laptop we review for battery life using a standardized video rundown exercise.

Modern laptops should provide an all-day charge

The battery lives of laptops have improved dramatically as of late — Windows laptops, in particular. In 2024, only one PC we tested lasted over 20 hours. In the last two years, three models have surpassed the 30-hour mark, two have lasted over 24 hours, and 10 more have lasted at least 20 hours. Our median battery life for 2024-model-year PCs was 12.5 hours; for this year's models, it's at 18.5 — a 48 percent increase. This boost was fueled by Qualcomm's Snapdragon X series chips and Intel's Panther Lake chips.

In the MacBook realm, Apple's switch to custom M-series silicon in 2020 was a game-changer. With a rated battery life of up to 18 hours, the original M1 MacBook Air had 50 percent more stamina than its Intel-powered predecessor. Subsequent M2, M3, M4, and M5 Pro and Air models we've tested have lasted for up to 21 hours per charge. And the new budget MacBook Neo, while short-lived for a modern MacBook, outlasts the average cheap PC or Chromebook with roughly 15 hours of battery life.

These massive battery life bumps aren't the result of laptop batteries getting bigger. They've happened because laptop chips are getting smaller and more efficient, according to another CNET analysis. Tinier processors don't need as much juice to work.

Qualcomm's Snapdragon X series chips and Apple's M-series chips are further aided by the fact that they're both based on ARM instruction set architecture, or ISA. Put simply, ISA determines how a laptop's chip talks to its software. ARM ISA is less complicated than the traditional x86 ISA used in Intel and AMD chips, so ARM-based laptops tend to be more power-efficient. (The only catch is that you might run into compatibility issues with some specialty software and PC games.)

Which laptop has the highest battery life in 2026?

The best battery life laptop we've ever tested is the HP OmniBook 3 16, which held out for 40 hours and 14 minutes in our video rundown test. No other laptop we've tested has surpassed the 35-hour mark, though one comes close.

The Good & The Bad

• Ridiculously good battery life (lasts over 40 hours) — longest of any laptop we've ever tested
• Pretty thin for a 16-inch laptop
• Large, surprisingly colorful display
• Above-average speakers

• Snappy, comfortable keyboard

• Very boring design with a plastic keyboard deck

• Display is a little dim
• Competitors offer better performance
• A bit expensive for what it is (but easy to find on sale)
• Some compatibility issues with ARM-based chips

Who it's for

Boasting an extraordinarily long battery life, the HP OmniBook 3 16 is a superb choice for on-the-go workers who regularly travel or commute — especially when it's on sale. Its large, vibrant screen makes it great for streaming movies and juggling multiple documents at once. (Everyday productivity tasks, not intensive creative workloads, are its forte.)

Why we picked this

This 16-inch PC is the longest-lasting laptop ever reviewed in the history of Mashable dot com. In our video rundown test, it died after 40 hours and 14 minutes. In other words, just one charge gives it well over a day and a half of use. That's just incredible.

Its ultra-efficient Snapdragon X chip is an entry-level processor from early 2026. It isn't the peppiest chip on the market, unsurprisingly, but it's pretty good for what it is. Our testing found that it performs on par with the upper mid-range Intel Core Ultra 7 258V chip from last year and the newer entry-level Intel Core Ultra 5 325 chip. It's not for video editing or AAA gaming, but it's more than fine for the average person's daily laptop activities — sending emails, surfing the web, that kind of thing.

The OmniBook 3 16 is relatively slim for a laptop of its size and sports a colorful 1200p display. I found its keyboard to be quite comfortable and thought its speakers sounded better than most Windows laptops' speakers. Its has a plastic keyboard deck, but the rest of it is aluminum.

Details

The Good & The Bad

• Fantastic battery life (lasts over 34 hours)
• Impeccable build quality
• Simple yet elegant design
• Glorious keyboard, plus an above-average webcam and mic

• Optional OLED display is very pretty (and only $50 more)

• OLED screen is a bit dim and overly glossy

• Competitors offer better performance
• Celestial Blue colorway is a fingerprint magnet

Who it's for

The Dell 14S is my top pick for shoppers who want a Windows laptop with elite battery life and build quality. I highly recommend it for college students in particular.

Why we picked this

The new 14S is the second-longest-lasting laptop we've ever tried, surviving for 34 hours and 29 minutes on one charge. That's especially stellar considering it runs on a Intel chip, which historically haven't been battery life freaks-of-nature.

The 14S' mid-range Intel Core Ultra 7 355 chip isn't a super-strong performer, though it's anywhere from 10 to 25 percent faster than the OmniBook 3 16, depending on the usage scenario. You can probably get away with some light video editing on occasion. More crucially, its chip's x86 ISA means you don't have to worry about possible compatibility issues with certain software. (This is a big reason why I like it for the college crew, in particular — some top universities tell their students to avoid ARM-based laptops because they can't run some essential coursework software natively.)

While the 14S doesn't last as long as the OmniBook 3 16, it has a much more premium vibe. I actually think it feels just as well-made as Dell's premium XPS 14 laptop, which starts at $2,000 with a lesser chip (and has way fewer ports). It features a simple yet stylish aluminum chassis with a great keyboard, a decent webcam, and an optional OLED display that only costs $50 extra. It's about the exact same size and weight as Apple's 14-inch M5 MacBook Pro.

Details

The Good & The Bad

• Longest battery life of any MacBook we've tested (lasts over 21 hours)
• Incredibly fast in basically any scenario
• Beautiful mini-LED 120Hz display with optional nano-texture finish
• Awesome keyboard, speakers, and webcam
• Great mix of ports
• Premium haptic trackpad

• Optimized for running AI models locally

• Expensive, especially after a $300 price hike (thanks, RAMageddon)

• Space black colorway clings to fingerprints

Who it's for

Apple's M5 MacBook Air is a polished powerhouse geared toward mobile artists, content creators, and other creative professionals who like working away from their desks.

Why we picked this

MacBooks don't last as long as some Windows laptops these days, but you can get at least two full workdays out of most models in Apple's current lineup. The base MacBook Pro currently leads the pack with 21 hours and 17 minutes of battery life; it's the longest-lasting MacBook we've ever tested.

That number looks better in the context of its brawniness. The M5 MacBook Pro offers unrivaled single-core performance in basic productivity tasks, and beats 90 percent of the other laptops in our testing database in the most taxing multi-score scenarios. It's more powerful than some gaming laptops we've tried in recent years (which almost never hit the 10-hour mark). It's an awesome blend of stamina and performance.

It's also beauteous. The M5 MacBook Pro has an ultra-sharp mini-LED display with a 120Hz refresh rate and a maximum brightness of 1,600 nits for HDR content. (That's a lot of nits.) You can give it a nano-texture finish for $150 extra. It has a fully aluminum chassis, a haptic touchpad, an excellent 12MP webcam, and industry-leading speakers. Additionally, it's crammed with ports: There are three Thunderbolt 4/USB-C ports, an HDMI port, and a great-for-creatives SDXC card slot along its sides.

Details

The Good & The Bad

• Longest battery life of any Chromebook we've tested (lasts over 18 hours)
• Excellent performance for a Chromebook; runs cool and quiet
• Premium-looking design
• Pretty touchscreen display has a 120Hz refresh rate

• Supports two exclusive AI features

• Expensive for what it is, especially after a $50 price hike (thanks, RAMageddon)

• Overkill for most Chromebook users' needs
• Doesn't come with a stylus

Who it's for

Get the Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 514 if you're a casual user who wants a budget laptop with the best battery life (and a versatile 2-in-1 design).

Why we picked this

This isn't just the longest-lasting Chromebook we've ever tried. (It hit 18 hours and 11 minutes; most models only last about 11.5.) It's also one of the fastest Chromebooks you can buy. Its MediaTek Kompanio Ultra 910 chip comes with 12GB of RAM and is well-suited for basic work in the Google ecosystem or even cloud gaming — I played Fortnite on it. Also worth noting: That chip brings support for two exclusive AI tools on top of Google's usual Chromebook Plus feature roster. They're a "smart grouping" project management tool and an on-device image editor for the Gallery app.

The "Spin" in its name refers to the fact that its display can spin around to be in tent mode or flush against the underside of its keyboard, turning it into a tablet. Its touchscreen display is responsive and has a premium 120Hz refresh rate. (That's another big plus for gamers.) Its overall build quality is pretty great for a Chromebook: Everything except its keyboard deck is made from silvery aluminum, its hinge is strong, and there's zero give to the middle of its lid.

Details

The Good & The Bad

• Longest battery life of any gaming laptop we've tested (lasts 11.5 hours)
• Gorgeous 2.5K OLED display with 240Hz refresh rate
• Has plenty of raw power to run AAA games
• Super sleek, subtle design; slim and light for what it is
• Comfortable keyboard with four-zone RGB lighting

• Comes with tons of storage as tested

• Expensive, especially after a $700 price hike (thanks, RAMageddon)

• Competitors offer even better performance
• Mechanical touchpad is glitchy and rattles in one corner (use a mouse)
• Lid is a fingerprint magnet
• Mediocre webcam, speakers, and mic

Who it's for

This year's MSI Stealth 16 AI+ is the leading option for PC gamers who are willing to trade a little performance for a lot of mobility, relatively speaking.

Why we picked this

Gaming laptops tend to have dire battery lives because they're so powerful and flashy. This 16-inch MSI model is an outlier with 11 hours and 38 minutes of stamina per charge — more than double our database's median for the category. The 2024 and 2025 versions of the Stealth 16 AI+ also lasted at least 10 hours, so that number isn't shocking, but it's still a feat: This is officially the longest-lasting gaming laptop in Mashable testing history.

For the record, the new Stealth 16 AI+ doesn't skimp on power or flash too much. While it isn't as fast as other competitors with similar specs — I tested a high-end configuration with the Intel Core Ultra 9 386H and RTX 5080 graphics — it's still more than capable of handling chunky AAA titles. It was able to run Cyberpunk 2077 at 93.04 fps at 1080p without any AI upscaling. (The game recommends a 60fps minimum.) When you do crank on some upscaling, it achieves stupid-high frame rates that are suitable for competitive gaming.

The Stealth 16 AI+ is the thinnest Stealth model to date, and the lightest gaming laptop we've ever tried. It's a little thicker than a 16-inch MacBook Pro but weighs 0.3 pounds less. It kind of looks a little MacBook-y, too: It has a sleek, minimalist look with rounded edges and all-aluminum craftsmanship. Its display features a gorgeous 2.5K OLED panel with a silken 240Hz refresh rate, and its snappy keyboard has four-zone RGB backlighting.

Details

The Good & The Bad

• Exceptional battery life (lasts over 32 hours)
• Pretty OLED display
• Sleek and lightweight design
• Runs cool and quiet

• Snappy, comfortable keyboard

• Trackpad makes a rattling sound when you tap it

• Basic port selection
• Display is a little dim
• Some compatibility issues with Arm-based chips

Who it's for

The HP OmniBook 5 14 fits the bill for professionals who are constantly on the move. Its target user wants a long-lasting, hyper-portable Windows laptop for general productivity, and they don't use a ton of peripherals.

Why we picked this

This 14-inch OmniBook was the first laptop to surpass the 30-hour mark in our battery life benchmark. It lasted 32 hours and 31 minutes, or more than four workdays.

Performance-wise, the OmniBook 5 14 is slightly peppier than our top pick, the OmniBook 3 16. Its last-gen, mid-tier Snapdragon X Plus processor is up to 13 percent faster than its big brother's entry-level Snapdragon X chip, depending on the task. (Its performance is almost identical to that of the Dell 14S' newer Intel Core Ultra 7 355 chip.) You won't be able to push it too hard, but it's apt for just about any everyday laptop task.

The OmniBook 5 14's keyboard is snappy and easy to get used to, and its webcam, speakers, and mic are all above-average. Like the OmniBook 3 16, it has a silver aluminum case and a matching plastic keyboard cover. However, it tacks on an OLED display. It's the most portable option on this list, weighing 2.84 pounds and measuring 0.5 inches thin — only slightly heavier and thicker than a 13-inch MacBook Air.

Details

Frequently Asked Questions

We expect Windows laptops to last at least 16.5 hours; MacBooks to last at least 17.5 hours; Chromebooks to last at least 11.5 hours; and gaming laptops to last at least five hours. We came up with these numbers by calculating the median battery lives for the different kinds of laptops in our testing database, which currently contains models from 2024, 2025, and 2026.

Our testing shows that HP makes the best laptops for battery life. There are only three PCs in our database that can last longer than 30 hours, and two of them are newer HP models. Notably, both of them have Qualcomm Snapdragon X series processors. The HP OmniBook 3 16 with the entry-level Snapdragon X chip lasted 40 hours in our video rundown test, and the HP OmniBook 5 14 with the mid-tier Snapdragon X Plus chip died after roughly 32.5 hours.

Among gaming laptops, an MSI model has been our battery life champ for the past three years. The 2024, 2025, and 2026 versions of the Stealth 16 AI+ have lasted at least 10 hours. Other brands' gaming laptops have all died before hour seven.

Dedicated graphics, bright screens with high refresh rates, WiFi or Bluetooth use, lighting effects (like keyboard backlighting), and intensive CPU workloads will all do a number on a laptop's battery life. This is why gaming laptops tend to be very short on stamina: They're tricked-out machines designed to run demanding software.

Mashable has been writing about laptops for over a decade, and I've personally been covering them since 2023. I also helped develop the rigorous hands-on testing process we currently use to review them. This methodology revolves around four central criteria:

The laptops we review get put to work as our primary computers. This includes trying any unique software or use cases they support. We also subject all of our loaners to a multi-app/tab stress test and Primate Labs' Geekbench benchmark, which measures CPU performance in common tasks. Gaming laptops get put through additional graphical benchmarking.

To gauge a laptop's stamina, we conduct a battery rundown test that involves playing a looped 1080p version of "Tears of Steel," a short open-source Blender movie, at 50 percent brightness and 50 percent volume. Ideally, we hope to get at least 17.5 hours of battery life from MacBooks, 16.5 hours from Windows laptops, 11.5 hours from Chromebooks, and five hours from gaming laptops. (They're notoriously power-hungry.)

As we're using a laptop, we zero in on certain components to evaluate its build quality. These include the display, keyboard, touchpad, webcam, speakers, and ports. We also assess its overall aesthetic and portability.

We determine the ultimate value of a laptop by comparing its performance, design/build quality, and battery life to other laptops with similar pricing, specs, release dates, and use cases. We consider any accessories it comes with, any upgrades from its predecessor(s), and its future-proofing.

Haley Henschel is a Chicago-based Senior Shopping Reporter at Mashable who reviews and finds deals on popular tech, from laptops to gaming consoles and VPNs. She has years of experience covering shopping holidays and can tell you what’s actually worth buying on Black Friday and Amazon Prime Day. Her work has also explored the driving forces behind digital trends within the shopping sphere, from dupes to 12-foot skeletons.