Best laptops under $900

Top pick: Apple 13-inch MacBook Neo — the safest all-rounder here. It's a current Apple laptop with strong owner ratings, a Retina screen, USB-C and a 256 GB SSD, and it's the one I'd hand to most people for everyday work, school and media.

Who the others suit:

• Dell XPS 13 — if you want a sharp 4K touchscreen and a premium Windows ultraportable; the catch is only a handful of ratings, so it's less proven.
• Asus Zenbook A14 — a light Windows machine with an octa-core chip and a crisp 16:10 screen for mixed work and travel.
• Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3x — the value Windows pick: 16 GB RAM and a 512 GB SSD, good for lots of browser tabs and multitasking.
• Acer Swift Air 14 — a 14-inch 120 Hz screen and Core 5 chip if smooth scrolling matters more than raw power.
• Acer Aspire 16 AI (16-inch touch) — the big-screen choice for a desk setup; also sold refurbished for far less.
• 15.6" N153 Ryzen 5 — the budget gaming-leaning option with AMD graphics.
• HP 14-inch / Lenovo Chromebook — only for light web, email and streaming on a tight budget; 4 GB RAM and a Chromebook OS limit what they can do.

Skip the 15-inch MacBook Pro Retina — it's an old model, not a current buy.