Best laptops for photo editing 2025: Our top picks for working with images and videos on the move

The best laptops for photo editing should come with plenty of RAM so you can run applications like Photoshop, an expansive and high-quality screen that's color-accurate, as well as plenty of graphics power, depending on how visually intensive your tasks are.

Whether you're hoping to pick up a machine to complement one of the best astrophotography cameras, or you're new to wildlife photography, it helps to have a reliable and speedy machine that you can use to process your images and bring them to life.

The best laptop for editing photos or videos will depend on a few different factors, including how often you plan on using the machine away from your desk. We've reviewed a series of the latest machines and compared their specs to pick out a few highlights that we consider the best on the market right now, for both photo and video editing tasks.

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The quick list

Best laptops for photo editing and video editing we recommend in 2025

Best laptop for photo editing overall

The MacBook Pro 14-inch (M4) is a worthy investment, whether you're new to photography or you have plenty of years under your belt. The combination of an exceptional processor and graphics card might be enough to turn your head, but you'll get utterly drawn into its fantastic 14-inch display — a razor-sharp and extremely bright 3,024 x 1,964-pixel Liquid Retina panel that's a sharp as you'll likely find today.

The MacBook Pro also comes with 16 GB of unified memory (both the GPU and CPU tap into it), which should be plenty for basic and moderate needs. However, you have the option to purchase a 24 GB configuration if you need to work with especially high-resolution images, or need future-proofing peace of mind. We'd always recommend opting for as much RAM (or unified memory in this case) as possible, although you should be wary of your budget.

It's also very functional, featuring useful ports including HDMI and Thunderbolt 4 to keep you connected. This is in addition to an SDXC card slot and a 3.5 mm headphone jack and DisplayPort. It means you won't need to carry around a mini dock while on the move. It's also lighter than its predecessors, which is always a good thing.

The downside with the MacBook Pro is its cost, especially if you spec it out. While we believe it represents value for money, you can certainly find cheaper options that will suit your needs if you don't need the most powerful machine out there with the absolute best display — you can, for example, opt for a machine with a less impressive display if you plan on connecting it to a monitor.

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Most powerful laptop for photo editing

There's no looking past the MacBook Pro 16-inch (M4 Max) if you're seeking out the best and most powerful machine you can buy — with no compromise on anything, including price. Whether you are working with heavy-duty video editing or you want to export media as quickly as possible, this is the most powerful MacBook you can buy, and the most powerful laptop full stop.

Unlike the base processor in the MacBook Pro 14-inch (M4), which has 10 CPU cores and 10 GPU cores, the M4 Max offers 16 CPU cores (split into 12 performance cores and four efficiency cores) alongside a monstrous 40-core GPU. Also fitted into both machines is a 16-core neural engine. Elsewhere, the M4 Max chip offers a gargantuan 546 gigabytes per second memory bandwidth to complement a huge 48 GB unified memory and a health 1 TB SSD. These can be configured up, however, depending on how much gas you want to fill it up with.

The benefits don't stop there. You can also hook up the MacBook Pro 16-inch (M4 Max) to up to three external displays with 6K resolution and one external display with up to 4K resolution over HDMI. Or up to two 6K displays and an 8K display. But the native Liquid Retina XDR display is also exquisite, offering a 3,456 x 2,234 resolution and a vibrancy akin to OLED screens. You'll also get the same fantastic multi-day battery life that you would across the entire MacBook Pro range.

What we will say is that this machine will be far too much for the vast majority of users — and only really necessary for those doing intensive and continuous video editing or highly demanding work with visuals or VFX. In that vein, it's overkill to invest in a MacBook Pro 16-inch (M4 Max) when most use cases don't lend themselves to requiring this much power. This is especially true considering the base M4 processor is excellent and can comfortably beat most Windows CPUs.

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Best Windows laptop for photo editing

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The Microsoft Surface Laptop 7th Edition (15-inch) is one of the best Windows laptops out there right now despite being launched in 2024. In our review, we remarked on how it dazzles in almost every department, from its performance to its screen — and you can now likely grab a great deal on it with the next generation of Microsoft Surface machines around the corner.

If you're looking for good AI capabilities and strong performance out of the box at a relatively affordable price, this machine ticks all those boxes. While it might not be the most powerful, or have the best screen, from all the laptops we've reviewed, it excels in each department and is a great all-rounder that will prove delightful for photo editing. This is thanks to its Qualcomm chip, which offers more power than Intel Core Ultra Series 2 CPUs, as well as a decent graphics card and a battery boosting NPU (lasting 17 hours in our battery tests) — all packaged up in a MacBook-like chassis that feels robust and well put together.

While the screen isn't an OLED display, it's still sharp and bright with popping colors and a smooth 120 Hz refresh rate. That means scrolling and video playback is incredibly smooth, while you also get tonnes more vertical space thanks to its 3:2 aspect ratio. That way, you can work with your media files without so much on-screen navigation.

Read our full Microsoft Surface Laptop 7th Edition (15-inch) review.

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Most portable laptop for photo editing

There is a reason why the MacBook Air line is one of our favorites — you know you're getting an extremely reliable set of components in a beautifully sleek and robust chassis, with a sharp and vibrant display to cap it off. We wrote in our MacBook Air 13-inch (M2) review that the device is the perfect blend of portability and power — and the M4 edition is no different, especially if you need something for no-frills photo editing. The best part is you can usually grab the latest base MacBook Air for around $1,000 — which represents incredible value.

There are, of course, cheaper laptops available, but you may find that these lack dedicated graphics cards or include underpowered CPUs — which undermines the reason for purchasing a laptop for photo editing. The MacBook Air, by contrast, is fitted with the same base specs and hardware as the MacBook Pro but comes in a slightly different package. It lacks many of the ports you get, and is slightly smaller — but this also adds the benefit of making the device easier to carry around with you while you're working on the move.

We also recommend this machine for its sharp and vibrant Liquid Retina display. It's a fantastic screen overall — enough to rival plenty of high-end Windows devices — but it does lack that brightness you get with the MacBook Pro.

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Best 2-in-1 device for photo editing

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We highly recommend the HP OmniBook Ultra Flip 14 if you're looking for a versatile and lightweight machine that packs a punch.

While the Intel Core Ultra (Series 2) processor is an upgrade on the first generation — especially in terms of power efficiency — it won't blow you away in terms of pure performance. Instead, what will draw you to this machine is much better graphics capabilities than the likes of its predecessor, the fantastic Spectre x360 14 (2024), as well as an OLED display that impressed us.

This is the crowning achievement of the HP OmniBook Ultar Flip 14 — with its 2.8K screen boasting near-unrivalled levels of color accuracy in a laptop display, making it more than suitable for accurate photo and video editing. Thanks to its silky smooth 120 Hz refresh rate, it's an absolute delight to use. This, combined with its battery life, makes it a wonderful option for working with graphics on the move.

We'd caution, however, on relying on the machine for connectivity. You're only going to benefit from three USB-C ports, so you'll need to carry a dongle if you want to expand this to other useful options like HDMI, USB-A or even an SD card input.

But that's a compromise you'll have to make for how thin this machine is. It's also plenty light, making it a real MacBook Air alternative, given how smooth and reliable it is to use for most kinds of graphics-based tasks.

Read our full HP OmniBook Ultra Flip 14 review.

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Best OLED laptop for photo editing

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Lenovo's latest ThinkPad machine is a "prosumer" device aimed at bringing the best of its enterprise-focused laptops — namely the excellent build quality and reliability — in a more accessible and dazzling package. To that effect, it succeeds, with a delightful machine that has one of the best screens we've tested.

The 2.8K OLED HDR screen is incredibly bright and boasts very strong color accuracy levels — far higher than average in a laptop and only comparable to the HP OmniBook Ultra Flip 14 in machines we've tested. This is above the threshold you need to deem a panel "professional grade" — so it's more than a capable machine for photo editing and light video editing.

The one major drawback with this laptop, however, is its performance levels. You really do want more from a machine with the latest hardware; its Intel Core Ultra (Series 2) chip underperforms compared with other machines fitted with the same specs. It's double disappointing considering you have 32 GB RAM to play with. What's also a bit of a black mark is the battery, which lasted 11 hours and 51 minutes — this isn't terrible, but so many rival machines hit close to 20 hours, and these things are ultimately relative.

While there are plenty of selling points, including the highly robust and lightweight frame this machine takes, and the interesting purple-tinted gray coating of its chassis, not to mention one of the best screens out there, this all comes at a cost. We'd still recommend it as it's delightful to use day-to-day — but you should bear its weaknesses in mind.

Read our full Lenovo ThinkPad X9 14 Aura Edition review.

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Best value laptop for photo editing

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Apple's MacBook Air 13-inch (M2) is three years old now — while that might sound like a very long time in the world of technology, and laptops specifically, it still has an incredible amount to offer. Using it doesn't feel dated whatsoever and the best part is that you can pick one up for between $600 and $800 depending on the configuration you opt for. For one of the best laptops of the last few years — and one that still does the business — it's a great option for those on a budget.

As we mentioned in our MacBook Air 13-inch (M2) review, there are several build quality and design improvements in this machine against its predecessor. They were so significant, in fact, that Apple has retained them today in the latest MacBook Air. So the key difference is really what's under the hood and the brightness in the Liquid Retina display.

The M2 chip was an exceptional processor at the time, and can still outperform many that you'll find on the market today. We would, however, recommend opting for a configuration with 16 GB unified memory (rather than the default 8 GB), although this will push the price up. That said, Apple's architecture means 8 GB unified memory in the MacBook Air isn't a like-for-like comparison with 8 GB RAM in a Windows machine, and you can squeeze plenty more from it.

There are some downsides to consider. If you have a little more wiggle room in the budget, the latest MacBook Air 13-inch (M4) is only a couple of hundred dollars more — and you do get plenty more power and substance for your buck. But if you have a hard limit, there's nothing better you can get at this price point.

Read our full MacBook Air 13-inch (M2) review.

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Best big-screen laptop for photo editing

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Gaming machines are incredibly well-equipped for photo editing and video editing — they're engineered for performance and handling graphically intensive workloads (naturally), and the Razer Blade 18 (2025) is one of the biggest and best machines out there. Think of it as the MacBook Pro equivalent of gaming laptops — they're incredibly robust, stylish, efficient and premium.

This is not a machine that will be suitable for most people, however, and will only really be worth you picking if money is no object and you need an effective desktop replacement; this massive laptop is not one you'll use anywhere else. That said, if you can afford it and want an expansive screen in a laptop, look no further. The specs are extraordinary and you can also take advantage of the latest Nvidia graphics cards that are an incredibly hot commodity right now.

This is enough to power not just photo editing but intensive visual creativity like video editing or 3D rendering and VFX. On that note, its stunning QHD+ mini LED display is difficult to beat — especially given its 240 Hz refresh rates. Although this machine doesn't feature an OLED panel, Razer has instead prioritized making the best IPS panel they can. Live Science has not tested this machine, but sister site Games Rader said in its review that the QHD+ display was incredibly immersive.

Its worth also highlighting that the redesigned Razer Blade 18 (2025) has slimmer bezels than last year's model and is actually a little smaller than many might expect. If you're after a machine with an expansive screen, an incredible build and the best hardware money can buy, there's no reason to pick anything else — unless you're set on macOS, that is.

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Best laptop for video editing

We can't deny that the MacBook Pro 16-inch (M3 Max) is the most powerful laptop you can buy for video editing — but is it really worth the massive jump in price? We'd argue the MacBook Pro 16-inch (M4 Pro) is plenty powerful enough for video editing without breaking the bank, and the jump in performance against the base M4 chip is enough to warrant the upgrade.

This machine can handle almost everything you throw at it, and has an absolutely gorgeous screen with a really high resolution. The best part is that you don't need to worry about upgrading this machine, or performance waning over time — it will last you years to come and keep up with demands through the ages. This is especially true given the M2 chip is still a fantastic chip in 2025, and there have been plenty of core architectural improvements in the M4 series of processors.

But that also highlights an important point — a machine like this is only worth the investment if you plan on pushing the hardware to its limits, given previous generations of MacBook Pros are more than capable of handling running multiple Adobe apps and web browser tabs concurrently. But for those who want to engage in regular and intensive video editing, this machine is perfectly suited.

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Our expert consultant

Keumars Afifi-Sabet

Keumars is the technology editor at Live Science. He has written for a variety of publications including Space.com, ITPro, The Week Digital, ComputerActive and TechRadar Pro. He has worked as a technology journalist for more than five years, having previously held the role of features editor with ITPro. His expertise reviewing laptop goes back seven years, and he's gotten hands-on with models of all different shapes, sizes and price points in this time.

Best laptops for photo editing frequently asked questions (FAQs)

How we test laptops

There's plenty to consider when choosing one of the best laptops for photo editing or for video editing and other visual work. From the quality of the CPU to the GPU and the amount of RAM, not to mention the quality of the display, there are plenty of attributes to weigh up.

We test all our laptops to the same standard whether MacBook or Windows, running various benchmarks and tests — as well as getting hands-on with the machine — to determine what it's like using it and how it performs depending on what you might be looking for in a device. We run CPU and GPU benchmarks using Geekbench 6 to test a laptop's performance, while we run CrystalDiskMark to test how well its hard drive or SSD can handle data transfers.

Testing a laptop's display involves using a specialized display calibrator that can detect brightness levels, color accuracy, color volume, any undersaturation or oversaturation in the RGB space, as well as distortions against what we expect. We compare and contrast these results to determine how well the display may be suited to, say, video editing or other uses.

We also test the battery life of all laptops we review in a consistent way to make comparisons viable. We run a looped video in specific conditions with all automatic brightness and contrast settings turned off and we measure how long the laptop lasts before it runs out of battery.

Beyond benchmarking, we use these laptops day-to-day and run informal stress tests like playing several 4K YouTube videos at once, browsing, and using other applications a typical user might open. We also type with the device and get a general feel for what it's like carrying it around with us.