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AIPCs

AI laptops

"AI laptop" means two very different things. Decide which one you need before you look at specs.

If you want AI features in Windows

Copilot+ PCs are Windows laptops with an NPU rated at 40 TOPS or more. That unlocks Windows features that run on the laptop itself, such as live captions with translation and improved search. Qualcomm Snapdragon X and X2, Intel Core Ultra 200V and Series 3, and AMD Ryzen AI 300-series and newer chips meet that bar; earlier "AI" chips from 2023 and 2024 do not. Among qualifying laptops, choose the one you would otherwise want: screen, keyboard, battery life and 16 GB of memory or more.

If you want to run AI models on the laptop

Here the NPU matters far less than memory. Look for one of three designs:

  • A dedicated NVIDIA graphics card with as much video memory as you can afford. 8 GB runs models up to about 9 billion parameters well; 16 to 24 GB opens up much larger ones.
  • An Apple MacBook Pro with a Pro or Max chip, which share large, fast unified memory between processor and graphics.
  • An AMD Ryzen AI Max laptop (the chip family called Strix Halo), available with up to 128 GB of fast unified memory.

Whatever you choose, memory is soldered in almost every thin laptop. Buy the amount you will need for the life of the machine.

Our best AI laptops guide picks five, from a 24 GB MacBook Air for everyday AI to 128 GB machines that run 120B-class models, with estimated speeds for each.

Every machine we cover

Sorted by memory bandwidth, the spec that best predicts local AI speed. List prices are the manufacturer's, with the date on each product.

We earn a commission when you buy through retailer links on this page, at no cost to you. It never decides what we recommend. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. How we make money

Machines we cover, sorted by memory bandwidth
Machine Memory Bandwidth NPU Price Status Store
ASUS ROG Strix SCAR 16 (2025, RTX 5090) Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX (24 cores) 32 GB + 24 GB GPU 896 GB/s GPU 13 TOPS $4,599at Newegg (sold by Adorama), Sep 26, 2026 Researched, not tested Check Amazon
Apple MacBook Pro 14-inch (M5 Max, 128 GB) Apple M5 Max, 18-core CPU 128 GB unified 614 GB/s None $6,699list price Researched, not tested Check Apple
ASUS ROG Flow Z13 (Ryzen AI Max+ 395, 128 GB) AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 (16 cores / 32 threads, up to 5.1 GHz) 128 GB unified 256 GB/s 50 TOPS $3,299.99at Best Buy, Sep 26, 2026 Researched, not tested Check Best Buy
ASUS Zenbook A16 (Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme, 48 GB) Qualcomm Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme X2E-94-100 (18 cores, up to 4.7 GHz) 48 GB 228 GB/s 80 TOPS $1,999.99at Best Buy, Sep 26, 2026 Researched, not tested Check Best Buy
Apple MacBook Air 13-inch (M5, 24 GB) Apple M5, 10-core CPU 24 GB unified 153 GB/s None $1,499list price Researched, not tested Check Apple