The best laptops for photo editing in 2023

All the best laptops for photo editing share a similar core feature set, but there will be key differences between models, meaning you'll need to choose carefully to get one that's right for you. Many of these options support professional-standard colour gamuts, so even if you can't manually calibrate your display, you can be sure your colours and tones are accurate when working in the best photo editing software like Adobe Photoshop.

We've tested all of the machines on this list so we're sure they can support and run the applications most used for photo editing (see how we test laptops for more). Here, there's a laptop for every photographer and photo editor – including devices with the latest processors and an abundance of RAM, through to quick SSD storage and dedicated graphics cards. 

While we've included some affordable models for those with a tight budget, you might need to check out some of our other lists if you're after something smaller, such as our guide for the best tablets for photo and video editing or the best laptops for students. Once you've made your choice, then you might want to pick up the best photo editing software or best photo apps too.

Quick list

The best laptop for photo editing overall

The MacBook Pro 16-inch (2023) is the best laptop for photo editing if you want a big screen and have the cash to splash on the newest model. You get the powerful M2 chip, lots of RAM and storage to boot. If you’re editing on the go then you’ll love the 22 hour battery life, but if portability is key then you might want to check out our MacBook Pro M2 14-inch review.

Back to the 16-inch model. Its display is beautiful, hitting 1,600 nits of brightness – almost three times the average – and Apple also infused it with mini-LED tech that can achieve deep blacks and bright whites, plus a 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio, which is ideal for photo editing.

The newest Pro retains some beloved ports such as HDMI (so you can plug in a second screen easily) and a memory card slot, alongside newer features such as ProMotion dynamic refresh rates and support for HDR (high dynamic range). The MacBook Pro 16-inch (2023) isn't just one of the best laptops for photo editing -- as our reviewer said, it’s "one of the best – if not the best – laptops in the world right now."

Read our MacBook Pro 16-inch (M2, 2023) review to find out more about why we rate this laptop.

The best Windows laptop for photo editing

The ASUS ProArt Studiobook OLED combines superbly powerful components with a large 16-inch display that is perfectly suited for photo editing, especially since it hits 100% of the DCI-P3 wide colour gamut. You get plenty of space to drill down into your images in minute detail, plus the raw grunt to chug through even the largest files and libraries.

In our review, we were also impressed with its ability to stay cool and quiet during use, although it does ramp up a bit when you put it under pressure. Still, the result is an effective cooling system that can keep everything running as efficiently as possible while you’re working on your images. And it even excels elsewhere, with our reviewer commenting that “It laughs at 4K video, plays games, flies through raw image processing and looks good while doing it.”

The best 2-in-1 laptop for photo editing

If you like to photo edit with a drawing monitor, this could be the ideal choice. Boasting a sharp 3:2 screen with a 120Hz refresh rate and support for your choice of MPP stylus, and an ergonomic design that's specifically great for drawing – giving you far more potential angles for the screen than a simple L-shaped laptop – this is an excellent choice for digital artists or pen-based photo editors.

"The first highlight for me was its battery life," said our reviewer, who used the 2-in-1 laptop all day, every day when testing it. And the power was pretty great too – though you can choose the power you want if you want to pay for extra for it.

With quad-core Intel Core i5 or i7 processors, and either Intel Xe graphics or an Nvidia RTX 3050 Ti, there's plenty of power here – though it does mean the build is a little bulky. And if it's the power you want, you can get it for less from other laptops – but you'd have to give up the drawing abilities that make this a great pick for artists in the first place. See our Surface Laptop Studio review for full details.

The best AMD-powered laptop for photo editing

There’s no doubting the display is the star performer on this laptop, and it helps make photo editing a breeze. When our reviewer tested it out, they were pretty emphatic about its benefits: "It feels bigger than it is," they said, "the sharpness and responsiveness is incredible, and the hardware underpinning it runs games and video in fantastic detail at high framerates."

With 17.3 inches of real estate and the option of a 4K resolution, your images will have all the space they need. It does mean that the Alienware m17 R5 isn’t the most portable of laptops, but if you don’t plan on hitting the road much, that won’t be an issue.

And our testing proves it offers up much more than just a gorgeous display. Whether you want to process huge photo libraries, edit reams of video footage, or just play some games at high settings, this laptop can handle it with ease. If you prefer AMD chips and are looking for a powerful laptop to meet your needs, this one is well worth considering. See our full Alienware m17 R5 review for more.

The best portable laptop for photo editing

You’d be forgiven for passing over the Dell Precision 5470 in your hunt for the perfect photo-editing laptop. But its modest design hides an excellent performer that’s ideally suited to a range of creative tasks – it’s a “wolf in sheep’s clothing”, as our reviewer put it.

For instance, its 14-inch display is sharp and vibrant, and it stretches close to the edge of the device to help immerse you in your work. Our testing showed it could perform close to the M2 Pro in Apple’s 14-inch MacBook Pro, which itself is a powerhouse of a laptop. And Dell’s laptop offers excellent battery life of around 12 hours, so it can keep on working far longer than many of its rivals. That all makes it a surprisingly capable image editing laptop, despite its modest looks.

The best portable MacBook for photo editing

The MacBook Air always used to lag behind the MacBook Pro. But now that it has Apple’s M2 chip, it’s neck-and-neck with its Pro cousin – and even pulls ahead in some cases – making it a top-notch device for editing your photos.

First up is the display. Apple has shrunk the bezels around the screen, providing more room for your work and a more immersive experience. Although it’s not the mini-LED panel you’ll find in the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro, you still get True Tone, 500 nits of brightness, and support for the P3 colour gamut.

Elsewhere, you get the incredible power and efficiency of the M2 chip. The MacBook Air doesn’t come with a fan – it simply doesn’t need one, such is the M2’s ability to perform while only sipping power. That makes for a serenely quiet laptop that can still handle heavy photo-editing workloads.

As for battery life, that’s even better than what we saw in the M1 MacBook Air. When we reviewed the M2 model, it lasted for over 16 hours on a single charge – five more hours than the M1 version.

Altogether, we felt it was "basically everything a creative professional would want from an upgrade" in our review. High praise indeed.

The best modular laptop for photo editing

The Framework laptop may not be a record-breaking powerhouse in terms of performance, but it has one key advantage over every other laptop here: it’s incredibly easy to take it apart and swap out its components. In fact, it’s designed to be almost entirely modular, and our reviewer dubbed it a "laptop built to last".

That means it can keep up with changes as internal components improve. If you want to put in a more powerful processor in the years to come so it can keep up with your photo-editing workloads, you can do that, as long as the parts are compatible. It gives you the kind of flexibility that no other laptop can match, and makes repairing it a cinch if anything goes wrong. See our Framework review for more.

The best lightweight OLED laptop for photo editing

Our reviewer's verdict was that the Acer Swift Edge 16 is "an excellent all-around laptop with a strong CPU". It strikes a fine balance between power and portability, and is surprisingly light and agile for a 16-inch laptop, but is still capable of handling your image-editing tasks with ease. While it’s not built for the beefiest of 3D rendering tasks or 4K gaming, it is adept and almost everything else.

We found that the combination of large screen and light weight makes it well suited for working on the go, and means you don’t have to edit your images on a tiny, cramped screen if you’re away from home. Having an OLED panel and support for the DCI-P3 wide colour gamut certainly helps, as does the capable Ryzen 7 CPU. It shows you don’t have to opt for a chunky, weighty laptop if you need a dose of portable performance. Check out our Acer Swift Edge 16 review.

The best dual-screen laptop for photo editing

The Asus Zenbook Pro 14 Duo OLED (2022) is a rather quirky offering, but hear us out on this. If you hate your display being taken up by various windows within editing software, this laptop has an innovative solution to plugging in a second monitor: it has a slim, built-in display right under its main screen, which is great for photographers and editors as extra display real-estate.

Our reviewer called it "revolutionary", adding: "when audio editing on the go, I tend to carry around multiple extra control surfaces, so the ScreenPad Plus virtually eliminates the need for them."

Not only that, but it's rocking an OLED display and 100% coverage of the DCI-P3 gamut, as well as plenty of power thanks to its 12th-generation Intel processor (with configuration options up to the flagship Core i9). You also get plenty of RAM and the option of a GeForce RTX 3050 Ti GPU for those that like to use applications boosted by Nvidia graphics cards.

That second display can make typing a bit of a pain, and those beefy components demand a lot of power, so battery life can be disappointing. But these are the only two criticisms we can provide for this unusually designed laptop.

It has plenty of ports, including an HDMI and built-in SD card reader which are useful for photographers who want additional display and hate using adapters to import their images. In short, this is a creatively designed device that feels purpose-made for the wider creative market. Photographers of any level can appreciate the fun design innovations it provides.

Read our complete Asus Zenbook Pro 14 Duo OLED review for more details.

The best speedy workstation laptop for photo editing

The MSI Creator Z17 is almost more of a desktop workstation than a laptop thanks to the sheer power and size of the device. Its large 17-inch display, super-powered processor and masses of memory allow it to chew through your photo libraries with consummate ease, yet you can still fold it up and take it with you if you want to work on the go.

When we reviewed it, we were impressed with how using “large Photoshop documents barely caused it to blink.” The 2560 x 1600 resolution display hits 100% of the DCI-P3 gamut, and you can use it as a touchscreen with the MSI Pen if you’re so inclined. There are also plenty of useful, high-speed ports, including Thunderbolt 4 slots and an SD card reader. So whatever type of creative work you want to do, the MSI Creator Z17 is more than up for the task. See our MSI Creator Z17 review for more.

When it comes to laptops, Dell has an excellent reputation, and the company’s XPS 13 9315 2-in-1 does not disappoint. It manages to perfectly balance productivity, performance and portability, making it a great option for both work and play.

It can be outfitted with an Intel Core i7 CPU and 16GB of RAM, and while it won’t demolish the most demanding of video-rendering tasks, it can handle Photoshop and image-editing work with ease. It’s two Thunderbolt 4 ports are a welcome addition too, and let you hook up high-speed peripherals should you need them.

The convertible nature of this laptop is one of its key selling points. You can easily detach the keyboard and use the display as a standalone tablet to enjoy its bright, vivid output. And if you need to use it as a laptop – well, it’s ready-made for that too. As our review put it, "This machine is ideal for those who can’t choose between a traditional laptop or a tablet."

It’s not perfect, as its audio won’t blow you away and it’s certainly not built for gaming or very intensive workloads. But as a lightweight, portable device that converts easily from laptop to tablet, it shines.

FAQs

FAQs