Why You Can Trust CNET Best Laptops and Tablets to Give as Holiday Gifts for 2023
Whether it's for gaming, travel, content creation, entertainment or all of the above, these are our top picks for laptop and tablet gifts.
- More than two decades experience writing about PCs and accessories, and 15 years writing about cameras of all kinds.
If you're on the hunt for the perfect laptop or tablet computer, you know how complicated the process can be. Not only are there so many options on the market right now, but everyone's tastes and preferences are different. Considering the array of brands, models and budgets at hand, we went ahead and rounded up some great options for the best tablets and laptops to give as holiday gifts.
Looking to score a wonderful deal on a new device? It goes without saying that the prices for the majority of these laptops and tablets will be discounted throughout the holiday shopping season. Please take note that the costs featured for each item reflect the best prices we found at the time of publication. As new deals come and old ones expire, we'll regularly update the list to reflect the price changes. And if you're on the hunt for more device options that the ones we've highlighted below, head on over to our entire list of the best laptops of 2023. There, you'll find links to our top picks across every laptop category.
The newer M2 MacBook Air has advantages over its older M1 Air sibling: a larger display (13.6 inches versus the previous 13.3 inches), a faster M2 chip and an upgraded higher-res webcam. However, the entry-level M1 MacBook Air remains our top choice for gift-giving because its performance is good enough for everyday school and home office use, and it's more affordable. It regularly gets discounted, too.
HP packed a lot of value into the Aero 13: Eye-pleasing magnesium-aluminum chassis, strong processing performance, long battery life, a bright, colorful display and a weight of around 2 pounds (0.91 kilograms). Amazingly, with all that it offers though, it has an affordable starting price.
Dell's G15 has been a favorite budget gaming laptop for the past few years, along with the HP Victus line. It was joined this year by a 16-inch version, the G16. We tested both and were impressed with what each offers.
If you're looking for a gaming laptop bargain, the G15 is the way to go. But if you can afford to spend a couple hundred dollars more, the G16 is a better bet for longevity. Either way, you'll get a good gaming laptop for the money, but we strongly recommend waiting for a sale.
Despite not being the latest and greatest iPad, the ninth-gen entry-level iPad is still our pick for gifting, and not just because it's the least expensive. It improved a lot over its predecessor, doubling the base storage to 64GB, adding a faster A13 chip and better cameras (most importantly, a wider-angle higher-res front-facing Center Stage camera that tracks your face via digital pan and zoom). It still uses the first-gen Apple Pencil, which is fine for the money, and it's still compatible with a range of keyboard cases.
The Lenovo Chromebook Duet 3 is an awesome little 11-inch ChromeOS tablet with a detachable keyboard and touchpad. Its small size and performance aren't ideal for full-time use. But the Chromebook Duet 3 is a good pick if you're looking for an affordable ultraportable device to get some work done on the go, sketch or jot down notes in class or do simple stuff like email, web browsing, mobile or cloud gaming, reading and streaming video.