Top 10 CES 2026 Laptops: Detailed Review and Rankings

Name: Top 10 New Laptops of 2026
Uploaded: 2026-01-15T21:44:16.789484+00:00
Channel: Just Josh
Description: Summary and key takeaways on Top 10 CES 2026 Laptops: Detailed Review and Rankings, covering Introduction The CES 2026 laptop showcase was dominated by

Just Josh

Jan 15, 2026

•

3 min read

YouTube video ID: aekZft0b6xI

Source: YouTube video by Just Josh — Watch original video

PDF

Introduction

The CES 2026 laptop showcase was dominated by incremental upgrades rather than groundbreaking new designs, with the notable exception of Intel’s new Panther Lake CPUs. These processors promise cooler, quieter performance and longer battery life for ultrabooks, making them more appealing for demanding tasks like programming, video editing, and gaming.

Overall Trends

Incremental improvements across most models (brighter screens, better cooling, refined hinges).
Panther Lake CPUs emerging as a performance catalyst, especially in thin‑and‑light devices.
Pricing pressure from brands like HP, offering premium specs at lower cost.
Focus on usability: improved SD card readers, better keyboard travel, and more ergonomic power‑cable placement.

The Rankings

10. ASUS Zephyrus G14 & G16 (2026 refresh)

Brighter OLED panels and upgraded cooling.
New Intel CPUs allow higher GPU wattage, especially for the RTX 5080.
G14 now includes a full‑size SD card reader and stronger hinges.
Still needs real‑world testing to confirm GPU power claims.

9. HP Omnibook Ultra

Redesigned thin‑and‑light chassis with competitive pricing.
Offers latest Intel or Qualcomm chips.
Build quality and keyboard travel slightly behind premium rivals, but price‑to‑performance ratio is excellent.

8. MSI Stealth 16 (2026)

First thin‑and‑light gaming laptop with an RTX 5070 Ti at 125 W.
Redesigned chassis exhausts hot air out the back, centered keyboard, left‑side power port.
Upgradeable memory (though costly) and removal of the tiny number pad.

7. ASUS TUF A14 with AMD Strix Halo APU

Strix Halo combines a 40‑core GPU with strong CPU performance, rivaling an RTX 4060.
Shared memory architecture benefits AI workloads.
Won last year’s best 14‑inch gaming laptop for its cool operation and battery life.

6. ASUS ZenBook Duo (2026 redesign)

More compact dual‑screen design, usable in “book mode”.
Brighter displays with smaller bezels and Panther Lake CPU for better battery life.
Moves from concept‑device status toward a practical tool for developers and students.

5. Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i

Updated with a haptic trackpad, thinner chassis, and larger battery.
Panther Lake CPU should improve battery life and performance.
Aims to challenge the 16‑inch MacBook Pro as a premium Windows alternative.

4. Dell XPS 14 & 16 (2026)

Premium build, tandem OLED displays, variable refresh‑rate down to 1 Hz for battery savings.
New functional row and marked haptic trackpad.
Issues: difficult opening mechanism, lower sustained CPU wattage (25 W/35 W), and slightly dimmer OLED panels.

3. ASUS ExpertBook Ultra (Bronze Award)

Ultra‑thin, premium feel with tandem display, haptic touchpad, and 12‑core Panther Lake CPU.
Offers a 5‑year warranty and strong overall performance for business users.

2. Lenovo Yoga Pro 7i (Runner‑up)

Compact 15.3‑inch OLED, mid‑range dedicated GPU, Panther Lake CPU.
Full‑size SD card reader, good port selection, and optional mechanical trackpad.
Targets students and professionals who need performance without bulk.

1. Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Ultra (Best New Laptop)

Extremely thin and light with a high‑power (40 W sustained) Panther Lake processor and 12‑core GPU.
Premium soft‑touch coating, curved edges, bright PLE display, and dual USB‑C charging ports.
Minor drawbacks: no USB‑A, light‑colored backlight can blend with keyboard, and a quirky “FIFA edition” trackpad.
Positioned as a premium Windows counterpart to the MacBook Pro 16, priced around $1,500.

Honorable Mentions

Redesigned, lighter Lenovo LOQ.
Updated ThinkPad X915 with extra ports.
Dell’s upcoming Alienware OLED high‑end laptops and a slim Alienware concept.

Community & Next Steps

The channel encourages viewers to comment on missed laptops, promises full reviews soon, and highlights the collaborative spirit among laptop reviewers. For price tracking and personalized recommendations, the team directs readers to bestlaptop.deals.

CES 2026 reinforced that most laptop manufacturers are refining existing platforms, with Intel’s Panther Lake CPUs providing the most noticeable performance leap. While several models excel in specific niches—gaming, productivity, or ultra‑portability—the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Ultra stands out as the most well‑rounded offering, delivering premium build quality, strong performance, and excellent battery life at a competitive price.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is Just Josh on YouTube?

Just Josh is a YouTube channel that publishes videos on a range of topics. Browse more summaries from this channel below.

Does this page include the full transcript of the video?

Yes, the full transcript for this video is available on this page. Click 'Show transcript' in the sidebar to read it.

Helpful resources related to this video

If you want to practice or explore the concepts discussed in the video, these commonly used tools may help.

Intel Panther Lake Laptop Processor Recommended

Provides the latest high‑performance CPU and integrated GPU architecture, enabling cooler operation and longer battery life for thin‑and‑light laptops, which is central to many of the top CES 2026 models.

Amazon →

Asus Zenbook Duo Laptop 2026

Features a dual‑screen design with brighter displays and Panther Lake CPU, offering a versatile tool for developers and students seeking multitasking capability without sacrificing portability.

Amazon →

Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Ultra Laptop

Combines a premium soft‑touch chassis, high‑power Panther Lake processor, and long battery life, making it an ideal reference for readers interested in the best all‑round Windows laptop of 2026.

Amazon →

Links may be affiliate links. We only include resources that are genuinely relevant to the topic.

Summarize another video

Full Transcript YouTube

All right, sponsored videos are done.
Here are our actual top 10 laptops of
CES. Look, this year it honestly felt a
bit m more about incremental
improvements versus revolutionary new
devices with the exception of Intel's
Panther Lake CPUs. Those actually look
really good. They should make Ultrabooks
a lot more compelling this year. They
now should have the performance for
tasks like intensive programming and
more serious video editing and gaming.
And in our limited testing of those
laptops, they did stay very cool and
quiet while doing so. Plus, according to
Intel, those laptops should have that
same great battery life as we came to
expect from thinner and light laptops
powered by Luna Lake. Obviously, we'll
have to test all that when they come in
for review. In fact, shh, we already
have a couple. But anyway, most laptops
themselves were more incremental
updates. So, with that said, here's our
top 10. Links to buy of course will be
below the video when they do become
available and we will list all of them
on our website of course bestlaptop.d
deals so you can track prices right
across retailers. Number 10 is Asus's
improved Zephris G14 and G16. Look last
year these were pretty good laptops. In
fact, the 16-in was really the best all
round Windows laptop for people who want
a balance of performance and
portability. But it did have a couple of
issues. The Zephris's OLED panels just
weren't as bright as competitors, and
their GPUs weren't fed full power,
especially their higher tier ones like
the 5080. Well, this year, Asus have
addressed both these issues. The screens
are now brighter, and there is an
improved cooling solution. This and the
inclusion of the supposedly more power
efficient new Intel CPUs are allowing
Asus to up the wattage fed to their
GPUs, particularly those higher wattage
ones. Also, the G14 is now getting a
full-size SD card reader, so it should
be able to better compete with the
MacBook Pro 14. Now, according to ASUS,
they're also getting stronger hinges.
Look, we really need to get these
laptops in for testing, as I kind of
have my doubts here. It was rare last
year that the Zephris laptops were able
to hit their previous max GPU wattage.
So, I want to see it to believe it to
see if they're able to hit this new max
GPU wattage. Number nine is HB's
Omnibook Ultra. I have one right here.
When it comes to thinner and light
premium laptops, HP's redesigned
Omnibook Ultra is looking really strong
this year. Look, it may not have the
bells and whistles of some of the other
thinner and lights I'm about to talk
about, but what HP tends to do better
than those other brands is their
pricing. HP just often significantly
undercuts other laptops with similar
build quality and specs. If they follow
that previous game plan, this new
redesigned Omnibook Ultra is going to
give you a lot for your money. I'd say
90% of what those other laptops do for a
much cheaper price. You'll be getting a
thin and light laptop that's premium
enough for most people with one of
Intel's or Qualcomm's latest chips. It's
not perfect. As I said, its chassis, it
isn't quite as premium as other brands
leading laptops. And its keyboard, it
does continue to feel a bit low travel,
but HP's pricing strategy is probably
going to make this one a winner in 2026,
especially with what we're expecting to
see with laptop pricing. Number eight is
MSI's new and fully redesigned Stealth
16. With ASUS' G16 now being
ridiculously expensive and Asus Predator
Helios Neo6s getting a surprising
downgrade from a 5070Ti to a 5070, there
is a vacuum in the market for a thinner
and light gaming laptop with a 5070Ti.
Well, MSI's new Stealth, it looks like a
contender. Of course, it comes with a
5070 Ti and unlike last year's model,
it's actually fed decent power. Not the
max 140 watts, it's 125, but that's
still a really good amount. This year's
redesigned chassis, it also exhausts hot
air out the back, not on your mouse
hand. They've got rid of that silly tiny
number pad, and they've centered the
keyboard. They've also moved that
annoying power cable over to the left
side, so it won't get in the way of your
mouse hand, at least not if you're
right-handed. On top of this, it's got
upgradeable memory. Yay. But then, of
course, who can afford to upgrade their
memory this year? Anyway, it is really
nice to see that MSI has listened to a
lot of feedback and made a lot of
changes. Number seven is Asus' tough A14
with AMD Stricks Halo. People have been
shouting from the rooftops to put
Stricks Halo in a decent affordable
laptop. If you're unaware, Stricks Halo
is AMD's super powerful APU. It combines
insane CPU performance with a powerful
integrated GPU. The new chip inside the
TU A14 specifically, it features the 40
core GPU that has the performance that
rivals a dedicated Nvidia RTX 4060
laptop GPU that is quite a bit stronger
than Intel's latest XC3 12 core GPU that
you've probably been hearing a lot about
this week. Anyway, since Tris Halo is an
APU, it can share its memory between the
CPU and GPU. So you can give the GPU
access to a lot more memory than a
normal dedicated GPU would be able to do
which is exactly what AI developers
really want. This is the first time that
we've seen Stricks Halo in a regular
laptop that we hope is going to be
somewhat affordable. The Tough A14, in
fact, it actually won our best 14-in
gaming laptop of last year. Not because
it's super premium, but because it's the
most practical of the 14-in
higherformance laptops. It doesn't get
that warm under load, and it has
excellent battery life. So, we can't
wait to try the new Stricks Halo
version. Number six is the fully
redesigned Asus Zenbook Duo. In prior
years, this was kind of a cool laptop
that was innovative, i.e. a laptop that
could be used as a regular one or
convert into a dual screen one, but it
just didn't fully deliver on its
promise. You couldn't use it with the
screens side by side, only on top of
each other. It was a bit big and bulky.
Its screens didn't get as bright as we'd
like, and it didn't feel all that
premium. This year, Asus have really
addressed a lot of these issues. It is
more compact and you can actually use it
in book mode. Not perfectly, but much
better than the prior years. The screens
are also brighter with smaller bezels.
Plus, having Intel's new Panther Lake
processor inside, it should help with
battery life. Guys, it no longer feels
like a concept device, and I can really
see software developers and students
actually buying one. Number five is
Lenovo's Yoga Pro 9i. This was a device
that just missed its opportunity to be
the dominant 16-inch premium laptop from
last year. That's for people like
programmers and creators or anyone who
wants a productivity laptop and perhaps
does some gaming on the side. The Yoga
Pran and I, it just fell short in some
key places. Although it had an
incredibly comfortable keyboard, its
mechanical trackpad just kind of sucked.
Well, it's now got a haptic one. It also
felt thicker and bulkier than it needed
to be last year. That's fixed, too. It's
now thinner and lighter. Its charger
wasn't beefy enough, so it drained the
battery a little even while plugged in
during intensive use. I'm talking about
that shouldn't happen either, according
to Lenovo. Obviously, on this one, we
will have to get it in for review and
fully test that. Also, its battery life
has always been pretty bad. That should
be improved with its new Panther Lake
chip and slightly larger battery. On
this list, the Yoga Proni. It really may
seem a bit boring, but guys, that's
because it was already a pretty good
laptop. I think this new 2026 variant
should really be an excellent
alternative to the MacBook Pro 16 and
could be the dominant Windows laptop for
people looking for strong performance, a
premium experience, and some
portability. Number four is Dell's
completely redesigned XPS 14 and 16.
Yes, the XPS is back. These are super
premium and very compact laptops for
their respective screen sizes. Dell have
really optimized space here. They have
stunning tandem displays, a choice of
Intel's new Panther Lake processors,
charging capable USBC ports on either
side. They've also got incredible
speakers, easily as good as the MacBook
Pros.
Plus, Dela finally fixed their own
self-inflicted issues. The physical
function row is now back and the
invisible haptic trackpad now has clear
markings. For such a nice laptop, you
may think it's just odd. Why isn't it
higher up on our list? The situation is
this. Dell have done a lot here. For
example, they are the first we've seen
to introduce a variable refresh rate
panel that goes right down to one herz,
which would really help with battery
life. But these laptops, they still have
a bit of a way to go to be as polished
as the other laptops higher up on our
list. For example, at Dell's own press
event, their COO actually struggled to
open one of these new XPS laptops. These
are really hard to open. There isn't a
lip or an indent for your finger to grab
onto. Dell's desire for formover
function strikes again. Also, the
Panther Lake chips in these laptops
aren't fed as much wattage as they are
in others. A max of 25 W sustained for
the 14 and 35 W for the 16. These chips
actually have a theoretical max of 45 W
sustained. Also, the front edge is a
little sharper than we'd like, and the
tandem OLED displays aren't as bright as
other tandem OLEDs. Overall, these are
really nice laptops and a huge step
forward for Dell, but I feel they need
one more iteration to move further up
our list. The final three, winning our
bronze award for the third best laptop
of CES is Asus's Expert Book Ultra. If
you haven't heard of this one, it just
ticks all the boxes. It's super thin and
light and built really well, guys. This
thing feels very premium. It's got a
tandem display, a haptic touchpad, a
comfortable keyboard, USBC ports on both
sides. You can even get it with a 5-year
warranty, and of course, it's got the
top tier Panther Lake processor inside.
That's the one with a full 12 core XC3
integrated GPU. So, you can expect that
this laptop is going to perform really
well. If you are looking for a super
thin and light laptop, what more could
you want? And I have to say, we really
like that Asus are making this business
laptop available to consumers. This is
kind of similar to what Lenovo has been
doing with their ThinkPads for years.
Anyway, we're trying to get this one in
super fast, so get subscribed with the
notification bell on because our full
review is coming soon. Coming in as
runner up for the best new laptop of CES
is Lenovo's new Yoga Pro 7i. Guys, last
year, one of the hottests selling
laptops at least on our website was the
Legion 5i, a 15-in gaming laptop with a
mid-tier dedicated GPU that came in a
little over $1,000. It was just the
sweet spot. A large enough display and a
big enough cooling solution, yet more
portability than a 16-in laptop. Well,
the Yoga Pro 7i really takes this to
another level. It's more compact than
that Legion and more portable. It has a
stunning 15.3 in OLED panel. It's got a
mid-range dedicated GPU and a Panther
Lake CPU. To top this off, you get a
great port selection, including a fast
full-size SD card reader. and the one
from the Lenovo store can be had with a
haptic trackpad. Apparently, the best
buy configuration will only have a
mechanical one. Anyway, this is really
going to be the perfect laptop for a
student who wants a bit more grunt than
an ultrabook, but doesn't want the
weight or bulk of a larger laptop. In
fact, this is probably going to be a top
pick for anyone who wants a lot of
portability, but just doesn't want to
compromise on performance or
productivity. By the way, Sierra, she
wanted me to add that this was her
personal pick for the best laptop of
CES. The only reason I didn't put it as
number one is because I feel Lenovo's
next laptop has broader appeal. Taking
our award for the best new laptop of CES
for 2026 is Lenovo's Yoga Slim 7i Ultra.
This laptop is going to appeal to so
many people with almost no downsides, at
least from the limited time that we
spent with it. The Yoga Slim 7i Ultra is
incredibly thin and light, yet it is
powerful. It has one of Intel's most
powerful Panther Lake processors inside,
the one with that 12 core GPU, and
unlike other manufacturers, Lenovo is
feeding at 40 W sustained. This is a lot
of power for a laptop this size. And
you're going to be able to do a lot of
things on it, whether it's performance
intensive tasks or even a bit of gaming.
And if you think it's going to get super
hot with all that power, I actually felt
it while gaming and it wasn't too bad.
But obviously, wait for our full review.
The Yoga Slim 7i Ultra, it also feels
incredibly premium. The soft touch
coating that they've used all around
this laptop is just chef's kiss. Anyone
who picks this thing up is going to want
to buy one. It also looks stunning in
its white color. But guys, it wasn't
just this that set the Yoga Slim 7i
Ultra apart. It was just how polished
the device is. The edges, they're all
nicely curved for comfort. There is a
charging capable USBC port on both
sides. The keyboard felt very
comfortable to type on and not low
travel. You could easily open the laptop
because of its lip. It has a bright PLE
display and a haptic touchpad. My only
nits and it's pretty minor with this
laptop is that it lacks a USBA port. The
light colored backlight on the white
model may blend in with a light colored
keyboard making it kind of hard to read
the keys in certain lighting conditions.
And that FIFA edition's trackpad is a
bit of a no-go, at least for me. On that
version of the laptop, the soccer pitch
isn't smooth to glide your fingers over
as you can feel the lines of the pitch.
Please note though, this laptop, at
least in my opinion, is really a Yoga
Slim 9. Basically, it's a much more
premium version of the Yoga Slim 7. I
think given how awful last year's Yoga
Slim 9 was, Lenovo wanted to avoid
calling it that and instead added Ultra
onto the end of the name. I'd expect it
to come in at a similar price point as
the 9 being around $1,500 or a little
higher. And I must say I do think that's
kind of fair for this laptop given how
amazing it is. Well, that's it for our
top 10. There were plenty of other
honorable mentions that we did see at
the show. For example, the redesigned
and lighter LOQ, which apparently I
meant to pronounce lock. The updated
ThinkPad X915 with Panther Lake, and it
has more ports, including an SD card
reader. Also, Dell is introducing an
OLED screen for their high-end Alienware
laptops, which really completes their
offering. They also announced that they
are working on a slim Alienware, which I
did see the concept chassis. They
wouldn't allow me to take press photos
of it, unfortunately, but I must say it
does feel more premium, and it actually
looks much better than a Blade 16, but
it's a very early stage device. Anyway,
if you think we've missed a laptop that
deserves to be on here, just leave a
comment down below or like someone
else's. We'll be checking the comments
to determine which laptops we want to
prioritize for our full reviews.
Finally, and I just want to end with
this, I think the best thing about CS
was actually seeing our fellow
reviewers. There really is only a
handful of us who do this full time. And
even though we are competitors, everyone
is just very respectful and might I say
good friends. As I always say, if you
are in the market for a laptop, make
sure to check our website,
bestlaptop.deals.
It really is the hub for laptop buying.
We provide our top 10 laptops for each
type of laptop buyer. You can combine
use cases together for a custom
recommendation. And we track prices
right across retailer so you know where
to go to get the best deal. Till next
time, go do something awesome with your
day and I will catch you later.
>> There we go.
>> There we go.
And just randomly without mentioning it,
there's Austin holding the laptop.
>> It's just Austin. Sorry.