In 2005, a 4K laptop wasn’t common. Today, however: Top ManufacturersThere are many companies, including Dell, HP and Lenovo, that offer 4K displays on their flagship devices. The price of these upgrades is high, but it’s worth knowing which laptops have the best 4K displays.
This list contains our top picks in order to ensure you get the best bangfor your buck. Our top picks for 4K laptops include the Dell XPS 13 with its stunning displays and high-performance battery life.
Dell XPS 13 Plus
The top 4K laptops
Pros
- Inspiringly fresh design
- Amazing OLED screen
- Useful performance modes
- Excellent haptic touchpad
- Improved webcam
Cons
- Warm your bottom
- No headphone jack
**Why you should buy this: **The XPS 13 Plus is a killer laptop in every way and looks fantastic with a 4K panel.
**Who’s it for: **Anyone but gamers.
Our thoughts on the Dell XPS 13 Plus
Our top pick is the XPS 13 Plus The best laptopsSo it is not surprising that the 4K version ranks high on our list of top 4K laptops. The new versions offer more than we’ve ever seen in an XPS 13: a haptic and touch-sensitive touchpads, as well as a full-size edge to edge keyboard with very few keycaps. The XPS 13 Plus is also available. The best laptops for 13 inches.
We reviewed the 3.5K OLED model. It features an Intel 12th-generation Core i7-1280P CPU, 16GB RAM, and a Terabyte of PCIe SSD storage. The 4K+ OLED option also offers outstanding colors. It has a wider range of colors support, excellent contrast, and better color accuracy that most laptops in its price bracket. However, the 4K+ screen will require more power from your battery.
Dell XPS 13 Plus
The top 4K laptops
Mark Coppock/Digital trends
Dell XPS 15 9520
The top 15-inch 4K laptop
Pros
- Solid, streamlined construction
- Perfectly aesthetic
- High productivity and high creative performance
- Battery life above average
- Excellent touchpad and keyboard
- Superior OLED display
- Outstanding audio
Cons
- Expensive
- Thick chassis limits performance
This is why you should purchase it: It’s the XPS 13 Plus with more storage and a stunning 4K display.
Who is it for: Anyone who needs more than a 13 inch laptop can get it.
Our thoughts on the Dell XPS 15:
Although larger and more versatile than its smaller sibling, it is a little lighter and less portable than the XPS 15. Best 15-inch Laptops List — and the 4K configuration is one of our favorites. While the 1080p model is more affordable and offers a longer battery, the XPS 15 has the best 4K experience. It also has a higher 16:10 aspect ratio which is great for productivity.
The XPS 15 is a solid laptop thanks to the powerful Intel 12th-gen Core i7/i9 CPUs and up to 64GB memory. It also features an Nvidia RTX3050 Ti graphics chip that provides decent gaming performance and creative applications performance. The Dell XPS 15 is a stunning laptop to look at, and one of our favourite 4K laptops.
Dell XPS 15 9520
The top 15-inch 4K laptop
Mark Coppock/Digital trends
Dell XPS 17
The top 17-inch 4K laptop
Pros
- Amazing build quality
- Simple, elegant good looks
- Light and thin
- High productivity and creativity
- Solid midrange gaming performance
- Superior IPS display
- Excellent keyboard and touchpad
Cons
- Expensive
- Ports are limited in number
- Some thermal throttling
This is why you should purchase it: You need a big, beautiful, and powerful laptop as your daily driver.
Who’s it for: Content creators and hobbyist home users who want extra power.
What we thought of the Dell XPS 17:
A 17-inch laptop might seem crazy in 2022, but the Dell XPS 17 proves that large laptops can be comfortable to use and incredibly valuable to own. Dell has made some stunning displays in its XPS series over the past few years, and the XPS 17 is no exception. With such a large, vivid, and bright display, this is the perfect setup for any professional video editor, really letting you make the most of that 4K resolution — which is arguably wasted on smaller laptops.
The keyboard on this laptop is excellent too, making it as good for responsive keyboard shortcuts as it is for lengthy typing sessions, and even though it’s not really designed with gaming in mind, the Nvidia RTX 3060 is a powerful enough GPU that you can easily do some gaming in your downtime, enjoying high frame rates in whatever you play.
Dell XPS 17
The best 17-inch 4K laptop
Mark Coppock/Digital Trends
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme Gen 5
The most powerful 4K laptop
Pros
- Excellent build quailty
- Superior entry-level display
- Solid performance
- Good keyboard and touchpad
- Very powerful configuration options
Cons
- Performance was inconsistent
- Battery life was middling
Why you should buy this: ThinkPads are amazing work machines, and the X1 Extreme is no different — now with a great 16:10 4K+ screen.
Who is it for?: Anyone who wants to maximize screen real estate for work and play.
What we thought of the ThinkPad X1 Extreme Gen 5:
If style is the least of your concerns or you want 4K laptop power in a system that doesn’t scream “look at me,” the ThinkPad X1 Extreme Gen 5 is what you need. While the X1 Extreme retains the rigidity and sturdy feel of its predecessors, the latest versions have gone on a diet, featuring a sleeker body and lines than the ThinkPads that came before.
Those trimmer bezels help contain a high-contrast 4K+ panel that offers excellent colors and great brightness. Base specs for the UHD model include a 12th-gen, 14-core/20-thread Intel i7-12700H processor, 8GB of RAM, and a 256TB PCIe SSD. The GeForce RTX 3050 Ti is a highly capable GPU as well, creating an ideal setup for more rigorous video editing or esports gaming, and up to an RTX 3080 Ti can be configured.
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Ultra Gen 5
The best 4K laptop
Razer Blade 15 2021
The best gaming 4K laptop
Pros
- Sleek design
- Comfortable keyboard and touchpad
- Exceptional gaming experience
- 300Hz refresh rate
- Ideal port selection
This is why you should purchase it: The Blade is an amazing gaming laptop, and 4K really makes the visuals pop.
Who is it for: Gamers and anyone who likes a flashier laptop.
What we thought of the Razer Blade 15 2021:
The Razer Blade 15 is one of the best gaming laptops on the market, and it has been one of our go-to recommendations for gaming on the go for some time. For 4K, you need to step up in price. The most recent Razer Blade 15 supports a 15.6-inch 4K IPS display that’s individually calibrated at the factory. The display gives you accurate color as well as 100% coverage of the DCI-P3 color space.
Powering the display is an Nvidia RTX 3080 Ti graphics card, an Intel Core i9-12900H CPU, 32GB of RAM, and a 1TB SSD. This is Razer’s most recent offering using the most recent parts. The Razer Blade 15 4K model is locked at 60Hz, so it’s not the best for high-speed or competitive games without an external gaming monitor, but there’s also a QHD (2560 x 1440) display option with a 240HZ refresh rate if that’s important to you.
Razer Blade 15 2021
The top gaming laptops in 4K
Most Frequently Asked Questions
Is a 4K Laptop worth the investment?
The 4K display (3840×2160) provides sharper images with four times the pixels of Full HD (1920×1080) displays. 4K is a good option if you are looking to buy a laptop with a 15.6 inch or larger display. Full HD can look a bit grainy on bigger displays, especially in terms of text quality. With text that looks more like what you might find on a printed sheet and images that look closer to the original, a 4K resolution will make sure everything is sharp.
If you are looking at laptops with smaller 14-inch displays, 4K will be less important. The smaller the display, the sharper the image — but there’s a lower limit to what some people will notice. If you are someone who works with text or images a lot, you may need 4K on a display as small at 13.3 inches. This will give you a sharp image that you can’t see any individual pixels, no matter how hard or fast you try.
A 4K display is required if you plan to view 4K videos, such as via Amazon Prime or Netflix. Although you might not be able tell the difference with smaller displays, 4K resolution is the best option if you want to get the best quality possible.
But there are valid reasons to avoid 4K notebooks. They tend to be more expensive, some older applications don’t display well on ultra-high-resolution displays, and 4K displays use more battery life (more on that below).
What should you look for when buying a 4K laptop
You will want to see the same things on a 4K laptop than you would in one with a lower resolution. Review the panels and ensure they are not just 4K. Also, make sure to check for high contrast and wide color reproduction. The screens used by manufacturers in 4K laptops are usually better, so it’s easier to find a quality display. Many of the newest technologies today, like OLED, are most commonly used in 4K displays.
Are 4K laptops required to have dedicated graphics?
4K laptops don’t require dedicated graphics. Integrated graphics such Intel’s Iris Xe, which are designed for running the operating systems and multitasking applications, work well.
You will need dedicated graphics if you plan to use Adobe’s suite of creative tools or play games. That’s particularly true with gaming — you’ll need a very fast dedicated GPU to run modern titles at 4K resolution.
Is a 4K screen a bad thing for battery life?
Yes, 4K displays can reduce battery life. Full HD displays use four times as much energy to light, so the graphics system has to work harder. The same number of pixels must be lit, so reducing the resolution on the screen won’t improve battery life.
This is not a matter of battery life being shorter by minutes. A 4K screen can actually reduce battery life by up to hours over Full HD displays. This is why it’s important to only purchase a 4K laptop when you are certain you need the better resolution.
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