In a major industry shake-up, Apple is no longer the leading laptop brand. After dominating Laptop Mag’s Best and Worst Brands for seven years in a row, the MacBook-maker dropped to fifth place this year. Lenovo took first place in Laptop Mag’s special report, followed by Asus, Dell and HP.
Each year since 2010, Laptop Mag, part of Purch’s tech brand portfolio, has published its Best and Worst Laptop Brands list, which rates the major manufacturers based on product quality, innovation, value and selection, design, and tech support.
While Apple still delivers top-notch support, the company dropped dramatically in the overall list due to lower review scores and limited value and selection in its lineup. This year, the company alienated many mainstream consumers by pricing its new laptops above $1,299. On the high end, Apple’s new MacBook Pros got rid of the USB ports and SD-card readers that creative professionals need.
“Apple fell so sharply because the company focused on more expensive systems with nice-to-have features like the Touch Bar while moving too quickly to ditch the features creative pros rely on,” said Mark Spoonauer, Laptop Mag’s editor-in-chief. “Other laptop brands have really stepped up their game, especially in the 2-in-1 category.”
Lenovo won the Best and Worst Brands by producing many high-quality laptops, particularly in its ThinkPad and Yoga lines. The company also provided strong support and industry-leading innovations, like the Yoga Book and its completely flat Halo keyboard.
“Lenovo has had one of the best and most innovative product lines in the business for a long time,” said Avram Piltch, Laptop Mag’s editorial director. “This year, the company took its products to the next level and brought its support along for the ride.”
Of the 10 brands rated, Microsoft placed last, not because of poor quality but rather a lack of new products and innovation. The company’s only laptop-related product release during the evaluation period, which lasted from Feb. 1, 2016, to March 1, 2017, was a new performance dock for its existing Surface Book. Samsung took ninth place due to a combination of poor tech support, limited selection and lower-rated products.
To learn more about how each of the top 10 brands fared, read the Best and Worst Laptop Brand Ratings 2017 on laptopmag.com.
