5 Best Windows ARM Laptop: High Budget Required

ARM Windows 11 laptops are pretty successful so far, but not all the owners who tested them were completely happy with their performance. However, we have made a list with the best Windows ARM laptops you can buy right now and make your own decision.

What is the best Windows ARM laptop?

1. Microsoft Surface Pro – Best overall

• Snapdragon X Elite (12 cores)
• 16 GB RAM, 512 GB SSD
• 13-inch touchscreen OLED display
• 5G connectivity

• A bit too expensive for a 2 in 1

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Microsoft Surface Pro’s price starts from $1.000, but if you really want the best ARM laptop, you will have to go for the maximum configuration here.

We’re talking about Snapdragon X Elite SoC, and the OLED screen version. You may also choose to have 5G connectivity or not and that would be a $200 price difference. So, if you’re not travelling into places where you can’t find Wi-Fi, that is not worth buying for.

However, the difference between Snapdragon X Elite and Snapdragon X Plus is definitely worth the money. The 16 GB of RAM is non negotiable, but you can opt for 1 TB of storage instead of the 512 GB version.

You should also know that you should also invest in a keyboard to go with it, so you can really say you’ve got a laptop. The advantage of Microsoft Surface Pro is that it really shows that Windows 11 was configured pretty well to work with the ARM SoC.

About the battery, the specs say that it covers you for 14 hours of usage. We didn’t test it yet, but that is usually measured under ideal conditions, so you shouldn’t expect for more than 10-11 hours.

2. Dell XPS 13 – Great performance

• Snapdragon X Elite (12 cores)
• 32 GB RAM, 512 GB SSD
• 13.4-inch touchscreen 3K OLED
• Qualcomm FastConnect 7800 Wi-Fi 7

• Windows apps still run with hiccups

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Dell XPS 13 weighs only 1.17 kg and has a thickness of 0.6 inches which makes it remarkable for portability.

The OLED screen with 3K resolution (2880×1800 pixels) looks great for any apps you would throw at it, but everyone who tested it said almost the same things: some Windows games are not launching at all and the Microsoft office apps are freezing sometimes.

However, that’s not a Dell XPS 13 thing. This is still a problem for all ARM laptops with Qualcomm Snapdragon X SoCs.

Other than that, you can configurate the laptop in the DELL store and while the starting configuration is priced at $1.000, you will surely be temped in upping the RAM to 32 GB for $100 and the non-touch LCD to an OLED 3K touchscreen for $300. That will bring you to $1.400, but you may also double or quadruple the 512 GB storage if you want.

3. Samsung Galaxy Book4 Edge – Huge awesome display

• Snapdragon X Elite SoC
• 16 GB RAM, 512 GB SSD
• 16-inch AMOLED 2880×1800 pixels
• 10 hour battery life

• The battery life is not so great

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We reviewed Samsung Galaxy Book4 Edge so if you want to know more details about this laptop, make sure to check it out. If you don’t, let’s just say that our conclusion was that it’s a pretty good personal laptop.

The best part about this laptop is the amazing AMOLED 16-inch display that is great for watching movies. However, that’s also its Achille’s heel because although it’s rated for 14 hours of battery life, we couldn’t get more than 10 hours on normal usage.

As with all other ARM laptops, it stumbles on Windows office apps, but it worked pretty good on a 3D game from Steam.

As for the ports, you get 1 USB3.2 and 2 USB4.0 ports, one MicroSD card reader, a HDMI 2.1 port that supports 4K@60Hz and an audio jack.

4. Lenovo ThinkPad T14s Gen 6 – Great battery life

• Snapdragon X Elite X1E-78-100
• 32 GB LPDDR5X, 256 GB SSD
• 14-inch WUXGA (1920 x 1200), IPS LCD
• Fingerprint Reader

• It comes with 175 built-in apps that you might not need

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Traditionally, ThinkPad laptops from Lenovo have been designed for office and business work, and the ARM ThinkPad T14s Gen 6 is no exception. The 14-inch WUXGA display is certainly created for long hours work and the built-in fingerprint reader is a must when it comes to office and business purposes.

The laptop also comes with some dedicated features such as Dictation Toolbar for handy speech-to-text transcription. Of course, this is a Copilot + laptop so you also have a ready personal assistant at your fingertips.

Lenovo also worked on the keyboard to make it more convenient for writing. However, the manufacturer praises the laptop’s multiday battery life. We didn’t test it, but from online reviews, you get an average of 22 hours of battery life. Although it’s not multiday, it’s still great for a Snapdragon X Elite laptop.

5. HP EliteBook Ultra G1q – Designed for corporate needs

• Snapdragon X Elite
• 14-inch touchscreen 2240×1400 pixels
• 16 GB RAM, 512 GB SSD
• 5MP IR camera

• No HDMI port or SD/microSD card slot

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HP EliteBook Ultra G1q is an ultralight business laptop and it might be great for that job. For once, you get a great 5 megapixel webcam that is great for virtual meetings or conferences.

However, HP totally ignored the personal needs here. There is no HDMI port on board. All you get is 2 USB-C ports, 1 USB A port and the three way audio jack.

The HP laptop also doesn’t include the latest wireless technology. You’ve got a Wi-Fi 6E (2×2) and Bluetooth 5.3 wireless modules on board. Say all you want but EliteBook Ultra G1q is in this top because the majority online reviews place it pretty high in demand because it’s sturdy and reliable.

If you’re a manager in a corporation, you’re probably going to be offered this laptop with your onboarding.

Should I buy an ARM laptop?

So, these are the top 5 ARM laptops right now. Their technical specifications might be very close, so you need to look at more subtle differences. We definitely recommend pick a few favorites and get your hands on them in a computer shop near you to get a real feel of what you’ll be getting.

Right off the bat, we tell you that ARM is not yet ready for Windows 11. There are a lot of issues to fix, starting from drivers and fine tuning applications. Also, a lot of software and game developers didn’t yet make adjustments for ARM and if they did, they are not yet completely adapted to the environment.

We also have a list of Copilot+ laptops and their specs, to help you make a more clear choice.

If you already have one of these laptops, tell us about your experience in the comments below.