Ultimate Guide to the Best OLED Notebooks : In-Depth Analysis and Ratings

OLED displays are becoming increasingly commonplace in laptops, especially as new processors in Windows Copilot+ PCs allow for better battery power and can run cooler. We’ve extensively tested a ton of great new OLED-equipped laptops this year, so this list was hard to put together, but we’ve narrowed it down to five select machines that are great options for their use cases.

Also: The best laptops: Expert tested

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What’s the best OLED laptop right now?

The best all-around OLED laptop that we’ve gone hands-on with is the Samsung Galaxy Book 4 Edge . Everything about this device says “flagship,” and it sets itself apart with an impressive arsenal of hardware. The Snapdragon X Elite chip runs cool, and the onboard AI capabilities keep the battery life at impressive levels. This is a premium laptop with a gorgeous OLED display and a slim, light form factor that’s future-proofed with AI via the Windows-on-ARM architecture. Read on for the rest of our picks for the best OLED laptops right now.

The best OLED laptop of 2024

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Pros

• Gorgeous display
• Thin, light form factor
• High-performing hardware
• Runs fast and cool

Cons

• Windows on ARM chipset can pose issues
• Memory can’t be upgraded
• Pricey

Samsung Galaxy Book 4 Edge

Best OLED laptop overall

Samsung’s Galaxy Book 4 Edge was one of the first batch of Copilot+ PCs to come out this year, as a flagship device with the fastest version of the new Snapdragon X Elite processor. I went hands-on with this laptop earlier this year and one of the first things I noticed was its brilliant display and thin, light form factor.

The 16-inch AMOLED 2x (2800 x 1800) display features a gorgeous 3K resolution with a 16:10 aspect ratio and 120Hz refresh rate for silky-smooth visuals. It’s also sufficiently bright at a standard 400 nits, going up to 500 for HDR video. Additionally, the display features some crazy-good anti-glare technology with impressive light mitigation.

Review: Samsung Galaxy Book 4 Edge

Samsung upped the ante with the AMOLED display in the Edge, which offers both better power efficiency and better resolution (but comes with an increased cost). This display is also a touchscreen, but doesn’t come with a stylus, nor does it fold back flat or into a tablet. However, a few useful applications of the touch include the ability to pinch-to-zoom and to scroll – two functions that are intimately familiar to all of us on our smartphones.

Regarding the rest of the physical form factor, the keyboard on the Edge feels fine; it’s tactile and features a satisfying key travel distance, and I appreciate the full-sized format with the number pad on the right. Lastly, if you have a Samsung smartphone or any other device, a host of integrations make this an even more attractive laptop, like the ability to remote into your phone and share files back and forth.

Samsung Galaxy Book 4 Edge tech specs: Operating System: Windows 11 Home 64 ARM | CPU: Snapdragon X Elite 3.4 or 3.8GHz | GPU: Integrated Qualcomm Adreno | Display: 16-inch WQXGA+ AMOLED touchscreen, up to 500 nits brightness, 120Hz refresh rate | RAM, Storage: 16GB, 1TB eUFS | Camera: 2MP 1080p | Battery: Up to 18 hours | Weight: 3.4 lbs.

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Pros

• Thin, light, and durable
• Feels premium
• Good battery
• Affordable

Cons

• Windows on ARM chipset can pose issues
• Not the best speakers
• USB-C ports only

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Lenovo Yoga Slim 7x

Best ultraportable OLED laptop

Of all the new Copilot+ PCs around the $1,000 price point, the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7x feels like one of the most premium. Its dark “cosmic blue” colorway and sleek form factor exude a grown-up, capable aura that feels both down to business and ready to have some fun.

The solid hardware on board supports that impression, with the Snapdragon X Elite processor leading the charge, and the brilliant 3K OLED display acting as the cherry on top.

Review: Lenovo Yoga Slim 7x

Truly, this might be one of the brightest displays I’ve seen on a laptop in a while, capable of up to 1,000 nits of brightness for peak HDR content. The touchscreen display features a resolution of 2944 x 1840 pixels (or 3K), resulting in a gorgeous media experience with a 90Hz refresh rate for that silky-smooth, crisp image.

At just 2.8 pounds and half an inch thick, the Slim 7x lives up to its name as an ultraportable laptop that easily slides into a backpack without noticing it, supported by a durable, all-aluminum chassis, making it a solid option for remote workers and freelancers on the go.

Lenovo Yoga Slim 7x tech specs: Operating System: Windows 11 Home 64 ARM | CPU: Snapdragon X Elite 3.4GHz | GPU: Integrated Qualcomm Adreno | Display: 14.5-inch OLED touchscreen, up to 1,000 nits brightness, 90Hz refresh rate | RAM, Storage: Up to 32GB, Up to 1TB SSD | Camera: 1080P FHD | Battery: Up to 22 hours | Weight: 2.8 lbs.

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Pros

• Stacked with high-end hardware
• Brilliant, high-fidelity display

Cons

• Underwhelming battery life
• Heavy
• Pricey

Acer Swift X 14

Best OLED laptop for creators

The Swift X 14 has a stunning display with a hi-res 2.8K resolution supported by a wide array of supportive features. It covers the entire DCI-P3 color gamut and portions of the sRGB and Adobe RGB color spaces, allowing for a truly vivid image that creators will gravitate toward.

It also features a 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio, which provides top-tier visual fidelity. But this wasn’t even my favorite feature – what I truly enjoyed was the 120Hz refresh rate, making images sharp and crisp and UI elements ultra responsive.

Review: Acer Swift X 14 (2024)

However, all the solid hardware, specifically the RTX 4070 GPU, is taxing on the battery. In my testing, I found the laptop can run for about six hours and 20 minutes at most before dying. If you try to push its performance, the battery drains even faster. This makes the Swift X 14 best for users who have reliable access to an outlet.

I recommend Acer’s 2024 Swift X 14 to professionals looking for a powerful work laptop capable of doing a little bit of everything. Its hi-res display and powerful hardware can tackle tough tasks with ease, and it can even act as a solid gaming laptop. However, all the powerful hardware makes for a pricey machine.

Acer Swift X 14 tech specs: Operating System: Windows 11 Home x86 | CPU: Intel Core Ultra 7 155H | GPU: Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 | Display: 14.5-inch WQXGA+ OLED, up to 500 nits brightness, 120Hz refresh rate | RAM, Storage: Up to 32GB, Up to 1TB SSD | Camera: 1080p FHD | Battery: Up to 10 hours | Weight: 4.27 lbs.

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Pros

• Brilliant display
• Sleek, durable form factor from a unique material
• Great speakers

Cons

• Middling battery life
• Runs warmer than other laptops on this list
• Pricey

Asus Zenbook S 16

Best 16-inch OLED laptop

Asus’ sleek new Zenbook S 16 runs on the recently-released AMD Ryzen AI 9 chip with a 50-tops NPU to boost performance via AI. There’s been a lot of hype surrounding this processor as it’s supposed to be AMD’s answer to Intel’s AI chips and the Qualcomm Snapdragon X, and in my benchmarking it outperformed the Snapdragon when it came to graphics.

Speaking of graphics, I adore the display. It is a 16-inch 3K (2880 x 1800 pixels) OLED touchscreen that runs at a speedy refresh rate of 120Hz. The glass appears to be covered in an anti-fingerprint coating because no matter how many times I touched it, not a single smudge was left behind. It also covers the entire DCI-P3 color gamut, allowing over a billion colors to be displayed on the screen at once.

Review: Asus Zenbook S 16

I also have to mention the physical design of the Zenbook. It’s made out of “ceraluminum,” a composite material made of ceramic and aluminum primarily used in aerospace design due to its strength, scratch resistance, and lightness. All of which directly apply to this laptop (particularly the latter), as the Zenbook weighs just 3.3 pounds. Not to mention, it looks premium and unique.

I recommend the Asus Zenbook S 16 to users who want a lightweight laptop with a gorgeous OLED display and powerful AI capabilities. AMD’s next-gen chipset provides solid performance, but it falls short in running as cool as other processors on the market, and its battery life is not the best, giving around 10 hours during our battery test.

Asus Zenbook S 16 tech specs: Operating System: Windows 11 Pro | CPU: AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370, 5.1GHz | GPU: AMD Radeon 880M | Display: 16-inch AMOLED, up to 500 nits brightness, 120Hz refresh rate | RAM, Storage: Up to 32GB, Up to 1TB SSD | Camera: 1080p FHD | Battery: Up to 10 hours | Weight: 3.3 lbs.

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Pros

• Great battery life for an OLED
• Tons of ports
• Impressive performance

Cons

• Charges with Lenovo’s proprietary cable
• Hefty

Lenovo IdeaPad Pro 5i

Best OLED laptop for battery life

OLED screens are notoriously demanding on laptop batteries, but new technology is beginning to push back against that assumption. Intel’s Core Ultra 9 “Meteor Lake” processor offers impressive battery life for an OLED on Lenovo’s IdeaPad Pro 5i, pushing past the 10-hour mark and providing solid performance in the process.

I tested the hardware by running many common workplace tasks, from web browsing to writing documents and video conferencing platforms simultaneously. It handled everything I threw at it without skipping a beat. Additionally, the Lenovo IdeaPad Pro 5i has 32GB of memory, ensuring load times are almost nonexistent. This hardware configuration even allows the IdeaPad Pro 5i to act as a capable gaming laptop.

Review: Lenovo IdeaPad Pro 5i

All this power can be thoroughly enjoyed on the IdeaPad Pro’s hi-res 2K (2,048 x 1,280) OLED screen that’s capable of displaying content in stunning detail. The screen has a speedy refresh rate of 120Hz, enabling realistic movies and a silky-smooth visual display.

A few things to note: To charge the laptop, you’ll have to use Lenovo’s proprietary 230W AC adapter. You can’t use a USB-C charger. Luckily, the adapter isn’t super bulky so it’s easy to carry around, although it would’ve been great to have the option. And speaking of bulk, this laptop weighs 4 pounds, making it not exactly lightweight, but about average as far as OLEDs go.

Lenovo IdeaPad Pro 5i tech specs: Operating System: Windows 11 Home x86 | CPU: Intel Core Ultra 9 Processor 185H | GPU: Nvidia GeForce RTX 4050 | Display: 16-inch 2K OLED touchscreen (2048 x 1280), up to 400 nits brightness, 120Hz refresh rate | RAM, Storage: 32GB, 1TB SSD | Camera: 1080p FHD | Battery: Up to 11 hours | Weight: 4.2 lbs.

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What is the best OLED laptop?

The best OLED laptop is the Samsung Galaxy Book 4 Edge for its thin, light form factor, stacked hardware, and of course: its brilliant display. If you’re looking for a laptop that goes all out on a screen, Samsung’s flagship Copilot+ PC is just that.

That being said, the Galaxy Book 4 Edge is not for everyone. If you’re looking for a smaller laptop (or a little more approachable price), you’ve got great 13- and 14-inch models to choose from, as well.

Which is the right OLED laptop for you?

Deciding which OLED laptop is right for you starts with identifying what you’ll primarily be using it for.

For example, if you’re looking for an entertainment machine with a killer display, you might be attracted to the Samsung Galaxy Book 4 Edge , with a large, gorgeous screen and striking form factor. But if you’re looking more for a portable machine you can take with you to and from work, the aptly-named Lenovo Yoga Slim 7x might make more sense for its diminutive form factor.

The table below provides a quick breakdown to help you further narrow your choices based on your needs.

How we test OLED laptops

Kyle Kucharski/ZDNET

We use a combination of methods to test laptops here at ZDNET. First, we acquire data from benchmarking software to analyze a system’s metrics under the hood, and compare those to advertised numbers. Then, we spend an extended amount of time with the laptop (usually a week or two) using it the same way a normal consumer would, to analyze its portability, form factor, and how well the battery actually holds up, among others. For an extensive breakdown, check out our comprehensive laptop testing methodology .

• Benchmarking: First, we run a series of tests to put the computer’s hardware through the wringer in order to see what it’s capable of. Cinebench is one of the most commonly-used hardware testing suites, which tests the laptop’s rendering performance on single and multiple CPU cores. PCMark 10 is another powerful program that covers a wide variety of tasks performed in the workplace, and there are many others that we use in tandem to gather as much data as we can. Some components we run tests on include the following.
• Processor: The “brain” of the laptop, and one of the most important factors that determines performance. The four biggest manufacturers that make most of the CPUs found in laptops today are Intel, AMD, Qualcomm, and Apple (in their own machines only). This is tested in benchmarking software.
• The display: The size of the display (measured diagonally from corner to corner) is also what dictates the laptop’s overall size, and play a big role in the laptop’s cost. Brightness is measured in “nits,” and color spectrums are tested in benchmarking software.
• The graphics processor (GPU): Whether it’s integrated into the CPU or a dedicated graphics card, how well the machine handles graphics is a key factor when it comes to demanding visual tasks like video editing, rendering, and of course, gaming. We test the GPU with a combination of benchmarking software, gaming, and media playback.
• Physical form factor: Finally, the laptop’s overall appearance and physical form factor encompasses its weight, thickness, how the keyboard and trackpad feel, and whether or not it has a display that can be folded back to form a tablet. We carry the laptop around for at least a week and note how well it commutes.
• Battery testing: We test a unit’s battery in a few ways. A handful of benchmarking programs have their own battery testing components, but we also will just let the laptop run for as long as it can under a medium load. We ensure screensavers and hibernation mode are turned off, set the display’s brightness and audio at 50%, load up a livestream on YouTube in Chrome, and wait ‘til the end.
• The human element: As we mentioned earlier, metrics and system data is important, but numbers alone don’t give you the full picture. This is where we weave in our personal experience with the device and tap into the practical use cases that consumers actually care about.

Ultimately, our goal is to break down the capabilities of each and every laptop we test into digestible terms that real people can find useful. There is a lot of noise and confusion when it comes to navigating the laptop and computer consumer market, so we hope to bring an intuitive element to the whole process by leveraging our team’s decades of experience.

What are some factors to consider when choosing an OLED laptop?

Kyle Kucharski/ZDNET

If you’re looking for a laptop with an OLED display, you want vibrant, rich colors and a silky-smooth visual experience with a high refresh rate and powerful GPU. OLEDs provide a distinctly premium user experience, and although they were once heavy and expensive, the latest laptops have come a long way in terms of accessible, battery-efficient technology.

We selected these OLED laptops after conducting thorough research and real-world testing experts. In our evaluation, we weighed the following aspects:

• Display: An impressive OLED display is one of the first things you notice about a laptop. But we also consider the screen size as it dictates the overall size and weight of the laptop, and perhaps most importantly – the cost. The larger the display, the higher the cost.
• GPU Performance: The onboard graphics processing unit is what powers the laptop’s display, and when it comes to the laptops on this list, they’ve all got pretty powerful GPUs. That being said, they will have different strengths and weaknesses. The Copilot+ PCs run cooler and more power-efficient than dedicated GPUs like the Nvidia RTX 4070 GPU in the Acer Swift X 14 , but might not match them in raw power.
• Refresh Rate: This number refers to how quickly the screen “refreshes” the image, and is measured in GHz. The higher the number, the smoother and more distinct the image looks. Lower rates will result in blurring and graphical tearing, while high rates are sharp, precise, and high-contrast.
• Battery: OLED displays have a reputation for being power-hungry, although with advancements in AI-powered processors, things have changed. For example, the Lenovo IdeaPad Pro 5i has a great battery for laptops in general, not to mention one with an OLED. The Copilot+ PCs (Samsung’s Galaxy Book 4 Edge and the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7x ) also have very well-optimized batteries that will last an entire day of work with sustained use with no problems.
• Features: Lastly, we consider the full suite of features a laptop has. Whether there are additional elements designed for creators such as toolkit hotkeys or a special track pad, or a touchscreen or peripheral additions, different features will accommodate different users.

What should a good OLED laptop cost?

OLED laptops are typically going to run above the $1,000 price point for their top-tier displays. However, that doesn’t mean sale prices or promotions won’t see prices dip below that. The most inexpensive laptop on this list is the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7x for $1,199, which is a steal for how premium and high-performing that machine is.

In a more general sense, budget laptops, by and large, cost less than $800. $1,500 and above is where you begin to see the elite laptops; the cream of the crop. You’re looking at gaming laptops, business computers like the Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio 2, and flagship devices like Samsung’s Galaxy Book 4 Edge .

Between $800 and $1,500 is where you will the mid-range options. Everyday laptops that can perform well while also not completely destroying your wallet. Most options fall in this range with plenty to choose from.

Should you stick to the usual laptop vendors or seek out lesser-known brands?

Generally speaking, the leading PC vendors have the broadest range of offerings and the best-documented track records in terms of product development and customer relations. So in the absence of certain use cases or budgets, you’re usually looking at the likes of Lenovo, HP, Dell, Apple, Asus, and Acer; all of which currently lead the PC market plus a handful of other well-known brands.

Are there alternative OLED laptops worth considering?

We’ve covered the most common use cases for OLED laptops, but there are still a few solid options outside of these mentioned, particularly with gaming laptops, ultra-powerful workstations for developers, and content creation. If you’re still looking to weigh your options, here are a few more laptops with great OLED screens that we consider great choices.

Best OLED gaming laptop alternative Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 Asus’ ROG Zephyrus G14 is a fantastic laptop that both geeks and power users will appreciate. The customizable RGB lighting adds flavor for gamers, while the hardware is good enough for most gaming sessions. But professionals will also appreciate the stylish design and the the long battery life. View at Amazon Best 13-inch OLED alternative Dell XPS 13 I’m inclined to say that this is one of the best 13-inch laptops I’ve tested this year. The display is one of the best parts of this laptop, and the colors are crisp and vibrant with 100% DCI-P3 color support and a premium matte display. Dell’s XPS line features a bold design with an “invisible” trackpad and edge-to-edge keyboard that results in a gorgeous laptop. View at Dell Best 15-inch OLED alternative Asus Vivobook S 15 (2024) The Vivobook S 15 is a great 15-inch laptop, but it’s also more portable than you’d expect. The chassis’ minimalist, all-metal design is lightweight and airy, and it feels premium and well-designed. It features an 89% screen-to-body ratio with ultra-thin bezels, resulting in a widescreen feel that’s great for both watching and editing media. Additionally, the OLED display is brilliant and high-contrast, rocking a max 600-nit brightness and 120Hz refresh rate for some silky-smooth and crisp image quality. View at Asus

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