Best Laptops for Photo Editing 2021 – The Most Recommended Laptops for Photographers

In this world of the Internet and technology, photo editing means a lot more than just cropping or moving someone’s face on someone else’s body. Now photo editing has become more advanced. It requires a good number of applications and software like Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom for editing photos. Especially for a professional photographer who needs to perform very precise edits and manipulate photos on a grand scale, you need a laptop that can handle all these tasks efficiently.

Just like other laptops, buying the best laptop for editing photography is not an easy task. There are a lot of things to check in a laptop for photo editings such as the processor, RAM, graphics, display, and more.  In order to reduce your extra efforts, we’ve compiled a list of the best photo editing laptop 2021 you can currently find.

Before you rush to the store to buy a laptop for photo editing work, you need to check a few important things on the laptop for editing photography.

Things to consider before buying a good laptop for photo editing

When you are looking for a laptop for photo editing and storage price tag is not enough. There are many things you should check. As you are going to spend your hard-earned money on a system, we recommend you to look for a laptop that covers the basic “must-have” specifications. Here are some things you should consider before buying a photo editing laptop:

Processor: A powerful processor is a must-have for photo editing work. Many of the new laptops or notebooks come with dual-core processors like i7 and i5 processors, that are ideally suited for photo editing or video editing works. These processors are quite power-efficient and won’t let you down regarding the performance. For most demanding photo editing applications like Adobe Photoshop, i7 and i5 work much faster than AMD processors.

Operating System: You can use both Windows or macOS for photo editing but going with macOS is probably be the best option. Many people in this industry prefer a Mac over a PC because they are more stable for this kind of work.

RAM: The more RAM, the better you can work with your laptop. For most photo editing purposes, get something that has 8GB or more. If you have a good budget to buy a laptop for photo editing, go to 16GB or higher because it will allow actual multitasking.

Hard Drive: For photo editing, you need a hard drive that will provide you with enough storage capacity for HD images and other files. The best laptop for photo editing should have a minimum of 1TB of hard drive or you can go for SSD storage. As SSDs are way faster than hard drives so it would be better than HDD. We recommend you to choose a laptop with a combination of SSD and HDD both.

Display: Unlike with a gaming laptop, you’ll need a laptop with high resolution (i.e. 1920 x 1080) for normal editing works but if have to edit 4k resolution images then you need a laptop with 3840 x 2160 with a true IPS display.

Top 10 Best Laptops for Photo Editing

1. Apple 16″ MacBook Pro Best Mac for Photo Editing

Apple MacBook Pro 16Apple laptops always remain on the top priorities for professional photographers and video producers. As they are capable of handling high-end graphics tools so are widely used for photo editing and video editing works. Here is a powerful Apple 16-inch MacBook Pro which comes with a powerful 9th generation Intel Core i7 processor that can handle multiple high-definition image files and provides fast performance.

It comes with a 16-inch full HD retina display with a resolution of 3072×1920 pixels. For storage, this laptop backed by 16GB of LPDDR3 RAM and 256GB of SSD storage making it powerful enough for multitasking. The laptop doesn’t have a discrete graphics card, but Radeon Pro 5300M coprocessor is more than enough to handle anything you do. If you’re not on a tight budget and want to buy a high-end machine then this Apple 16″ MacBook Pro would be the best laptop for photo editing work.

Hardware Specifications of Apple 16″ MacBook Pro
Processor 9th-Generation Intel Six-Core i7 Processor 2.6GHz
RAM 16GB 2133MHz LPDDR3
Storage 256GB SSD
Display 16″ FHD LED-backlit Retina (3072×1920) Display
Graphics AMD Radeon Pro 5300M with 4GB of GDDR6
Operating System macOS BigSur
Battery Life Up to 11-hours
Weight 4.3 lbs
If you need a larger display for editing photos, then don’t worry. The MacBook Pro also comes in a 15-inch variant, which is priced slightly higher than 13-inch but is surely worth every dollar you spend on it.

2. Acer Aspire 5 Budget Laptops for Photo Editing

Acer Aspire 5 A515

If you are on a tight budget but want a laptop that can perform well with your photo editing work then this Acer Aspire 5 series laptop would be perfect for you. It is powered by the latest 10th generation Intel Core i5 paired with 8GB of RAM and 512GB of SSD for storage. It has a 15.6-inch full HD display widescreen LED IPS display which is very good for photo editing work.

The graphics on this laptop is driven by NVIDIA GeForce MX350 with 2GB of a graphics card. The Acer Aspire 5 runs on Windows 10 and its backlit keyboard makes you able to edit photos at night. Apart from all these specifications, the laptop gives you a long-term battery life of up to 10 hours. It means you can do your photo editing work for a long time without worrying about the charging. Overall, it is a perfect laptop under budget for editing photography and storage.

Hardware Specifications of Acer Aspire 5 10th Generation Laptop
Processor 10th Generation Intel Core i5-10210U Processor, Up to 4.2GHz
RAM 8GB DDR4
Storage 512GB NVMe SSD
Display 15.6” FHD WLED-backlit (1920 x 1080) IPS display
Graphics NVIDIA GeForce MX350 with 2 GB of dedicated GDDR5
Operating System Windows 10 Home
Battery Life Up to 10-hours
Weight 3.97 lbs

3. HP Pavilion 15-cx0042nr Laptop

HP Pavilion 15-Inch LaptopHP Pavilion 15 is a powerful and budget laptop for photo editing. Not only that it is also one of the best working laptops you can buy with high-end performance and specifications. It has a 15.6-inch full HD IPS display with a resolution of 1920 x 1080. With its anti-glare coating, you will be able to enjoy crystal-clear images with 178-degree wide-viewing angles.

The laptop is powered by an 11th generation Intel Core i7 processor paired with 16GB of DDR4 RAM making it efficient to handle a lot of handles with ease. For storage, the laptop comes with a combination of 512GB SSD that will provide you with enough room for storing your high definition images and files. It sports an Intel Iris X graphics card that makes it efficient for handling gaming and image editing applications such as Photoshop and Lightroom.

Hardware Specifications of HP Pavilion 15-eg0021nr Laptop
Processor 11th Generation Quad-Core Intel Core i7-1165G7 Processor (Turbo to 5.0GHz)
RAM 16GB DDR4
Storage 512GB PCIe NVMe SSD
Display 15.6″ diagonal FHD IPS WLED-backlit (1920 x 1080) Display, 60Hz
Graphics Intel Iris X Graphics
Operating System Windows 10
Battery Life Up to 8-hours
Weight 3.86 lbs
You may like to read – Top 10 Best Gaming Laptops under $1500 – Also Suitable for Photo Editing

4. Asus ZenBook 15 UX534F Ultrabook

ASUS ZenBook 15 UX534ASUS ZenBook is a slim and lightweight ultrabook with a stunning design. It comes with a durable brushed-metal finish, which gives it all the premium look. The laptop is powered by the latest 10th generation Intel Core i7 processor which can be turbo up to 4.9GHz. The laptop comes with a 4K UHD 4-way NanoEdge thin-bezel display with up to 92% screen-to-body ratio. With an ErgoLift hinge feature, this ultrabook is able to automatically tilt the keyboard to optimize your user experience.

It’s Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 Max-Q discrete graphics coprocessor is powerful enough to edit several photos at the same time. For even smoother multitasking, the laptop offers 16GB of DDR4 RAM and 512GB of SSD hard drive which is fast, reliable, and efficient. Apart from these hardware specifications, this laptop weighs only 3.6 pounds and gives a longer battery performance of 12 hours. All these specifications make it an ideal laptop for photo editing.

Hardware Specifications of ASUS ZenBook 15 Laptop
Processor 10th Gen Intel Core i7-10510U Quad Core Processor (Turbo to 4.9 GHz)
RAM 16GB DDR4
Storage 512GB PCIe NVMe SSD
Display 15.6-Inch 4K UHD 4-way NanoEdge bezel display
Graphics Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 Max-Q discrete graphics
Operating System Windows 10
Battery Life Up to 12-hours
Weight 3.6 lbs

5. Dell XPS9500 Ultrabook High-Performance Laptop for Photo Editing

Dell XPS 9570Dell XPS series is the most recommended laptop series along with Apple MacBook Pro for image processing and editing work. Here the Dell XPS9500 is considered to be the high-end laptop that can do everything you need for photo editing work and much more. It comes with a silver color aluminum chassis, which gives it a premium touch and feel. It is the smallest 15-inch performance-class laptop with a full HD InfinityEdge anti-glare display which gives a sharp and wide viewing angle. It is the only laptop with a 100% minimum Adobe RGB display making it the best laptop for photo editing.

The laptop is powered by the 10th generation Intel Core i7 quad-core processor clocked up to 5.0GHz. It comes with 16GB of DDR4 RAM which is good enough for multitasking. The notebook also paired with 512GB SSD provides plenty of storage room and high-performance responsiveness to run your applications quickly. The laptop comes with a 4GB of NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650Ti dedicated graphics card for the smoothest image editing. Its backlit keyboard makes it possible to edit photos in low-light or no-light rooms. All these powerful specifications make this Dell XPS series laptop one of the best laptops for photographers and photo editing.

Hardware Specifications of Dell XPS 9500 Ultrabook
Processor 10th Generation Intel Core i7-10750H Processor (Up to 5.0GHz)
RAM 16GB DDR4
Storage 512GB SSD
Display 15.6-inch full HD (1920 x 1080) InfinityEdge Non-Touch Anti-Glare 500-Nit display
Graphics NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650Ti with 4GB GDDR6
Operating System Windows 10 Home
Battery Life Up to 10-hours
Weight 4.0 pounds
You may like to read – Top 10 Best Gaming Laptops under $800 

6. Microsoft Surface Book 3

Microsoft Surface Book 3

If you are looking for a 2-in-1 laptop for photo editing and image processing work then Microsoft Surface Book 3 would be an ideal choice for you. Microsoft’s Surface Book 3 is an even stronger MacBook Pro competitor based on its powerful hardware specifications and performance. It is a detachable laptop, which comes in two different sizes i.e. 13 and 15-Inch. You can turn the screen over and re-attach it to the base based on which type of working mode you prefer. It means you can go from a laptop to a note-taking tablet next to a graphics tablet thereafter.

If we talk about its hardware specifications, the Surface Book 3 is powered by a 10th generation Intel Dual Core i7 processor paired with 16GB RAM and 256GB of a solid-state drive. It runs on the Windows 10 operating system which makes this laptop more efficient for photo and graphics editing tasks. It comes with NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 graphics card to tackle intensive tasks, edit large video files, and enjoy the best gaming experience. The laptop weighs about 3.38 pounds which is very light to carry. With 15.5 hours of battery life, you can stay productive for a long time. Overall, Surface Book 3 is a perfect laptop for photo editing professionals as well as for other purposes.

Hardware Specifications for Microsoft Surface Book 3
Processor 10th generation Intel Dual Core i7 Processor
RAM 16GB DDR4
Storage 256GB SSD
Display 13.5″ UHD (3000×2000) LCD Touchscreen Display
Graphics NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650
Operating System Windows 10 Pro
Battery Life Up to 15.5-hours
Weight 3.38 lbs

7. Latest HP Spectre x360 15t with Active Stylus

HP Spectre x360

The HP Spectre X360 is another best laptop for photo editing which comes with cutting-edge design aluminum chassis which is finished in dark ash grey color. It has several attractive features that make it suitable for photo editing. The laptop is powered by the latest 10th Generation Intel Core i7 Quad-Core processor paired with 16GB of DDR4 RAM and 1TB of SSD for storage. It sports a 15.6-Inch 4K ultra-HD backlit touchscreen display with a resolution of 3840 x 2160 pixels.

For graphics, the HP Spectre x360 has a powerful NVIDIA GeForce MX150 with 2GB of dedicated graphics memory, which is enough for all photo editing apps. The laptop comes with an Active Stylus Pen to sketch, blend, write, and navigate with astonishing accuracy. It comes with pre-installed Windows 10 allows you to do almost any task. All in all, it is is a perfect blend of work, play, and power making it an ideal laptop for editing photos and visuals.

Hardware Specifications of HP Spectre x360 15t 2-in-1 Laptop
Processor 10th Generation Intel Quad-Core i7-10510U Processor (Up to 4.9GHz)
RAM 16GB DDR4
Storage 1TB PCI NVMe M.2 SSD
Display 15.6″ FHD 4K UHD WLED-backlit (3840 x 2160) Touchscreen Display
Graphics NVIDIA GeForce MX150 Graphics 2 GB GDDR5
Operating System Windows 10 Home 64
Battery Life Up to 12-hours
Weight 4.83 lbs
You may like to read: Top 10 Best Laptops Under $700

8. ASUS VivoBook S512 #Best Seller

ASUS Vivobook S15

ASUS VivoBook S15 is one of the most portable laptops you can buy under $1000 price range. It is the most recommended laptop for photo editing 2021 because it provides everything that could make any laptop an ideal choice for editing photos and videos. From lightweight chassis to high-performance hardware to long battery life, the ASUS VivoBook S15 fulfills all of them. It comes with a 15.6-inch full HD display with WideView technology, which offers more clear, rich, and more accurate colors.

It sports the latest 10th generation Intel Core i7 processor paired with 16GB of RAM. Storage on the device is handled by a 256GB SSD with 1TB HDD for faster file accusing speeds. For graphics, it comes with NVIDIA GeForce MX250 with 2GB of the dedicated graphics card which is powerful enough for all photo editing apps such as Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom. The best part is that it is a thin, lightweight, and long battery life laptop that lets you do your work from anywhere you travel. Overall, the laptop is yet another perfect laptop if you’re looking for the best laptop for photographers.

Hardware Specifications of ASUS VivoBook S512
Processor 10th Generation Intel Core i7-10510U Processor (Turbo up to 4.9GHz)
RAM 16GB DDR4
Storage 256GB SSD + 1TB HDD
Display 15.6-inch Full HD (1920×1080) 4-way NanoEdge bezel Display
Graphics NVIDIA GeForce MX250 2GB
Operating System Windows 10 Home
Battery Life Up to 11 hours
Weight 3.97 lbs

9. HP 15-eg0021nr Notebook

HP 15-dy1036nr FHD Laptop

This is another HP laptop on our list of the top 10 best laptops for photo editing. It comes with silver color polished metal reflective chassis, which gives it all premium touch. The laptop is powered by the 11th generation Intel Core i7 processor clocked at the 2.7GHz frequency. The laptop comes with a 15.6-inch full HD WLED-backlit display with 1920 x 1080 resolution which offers excellent 178-degree viewing angles. For multitasking, the laptop is provided with 16GB of DDR4 RAM and for storage, the laptop is featured with 512GB of a solid-state drive for fast loading.

As it runs on the latest Windows 10 Pro, it is compatible with many of the latest versions of photo editing software. For graphics, this HP laptop comes with an Intel Iris Xe graphics card which should be enough for most photo editing applications. The laptop weighs only 3.86 lbs and has a battery life of up to 8 hours. All these sets of powerful configurations make this laptop one of the best choices for students for multimedia usage such as photo editing, video, and audio editing, and more.

Hardware Specifications of HP 15-eg0021nr Notebook (Latest Edition)
Processor 11th Generation Qual-Core Intel Core i7-1165G7 Processor, 3.6GHz
RAM 16GB DDR4
Storage 512GB NVMe M.2 SSD
Display 15.6” Full HD WLED-backlit (1920 x 1080) micro-edged Display
Graphics Intel Iris Xe Graphics
Operating System Windows 10 Pro
Battery Life Up to 8 hours
Weight 3.86 lbs

      Also read: Top 10 Best Intel Core i7 Processor Laptops

10. Microsoft Surface Pro 7 New Release

Microsoft Surface Pro 7

In 2021, Microsoft Surface Pro 7 is the most versatile laptop you can buy for your photo editing work. It comes with an ultra-portable design having different working modes such as laptop mode, tablet mode, or studio mode. It sports a 12.3-inch PixelSense ultra HD display with a resolution of 2736 x 1824 pixels. Do note that Surface Pen and Surface Pro Signature Type cover are sold separately they are not included in the package.

The laptop sports a 10th generation Intel Core i5 processor paired with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of SSD storage. Microsoft is also claiming a much-improved battery life—up to 10.5 hours on the new Surface Pro. The laptop runs on Windows 10 Pro operating system which is good if you’re into photo editing. Although, you have to buy a detachable keyboard separately. This will increase your spending limit but, if we look at its powerful configurations, this is one of the best laptops for photo editing and photographers.

Hardware Specifications for Microsoft Surface Pro 7
Processor 10th generation Intel Core i5 Processor 1.3 GHz
RAM 8GB LPDDR3
Storage 128GB SSD
Display 12.3″ PixelSense touchscreen display (2736×1824) Display
Graphics Intel Iris Plus Graphics
Operating System Windows 10 Professional
Battery Life Up to 10.5-hours
Weight 1.7 lbs

Picking the one ‘best laptop for photo and video editing’ would be unviable. It all depends upon your own experience and usage whether a machine is the best fit for you or not. With a premium display, HD graphics, fast processor, it perfectly sums up what best laptops for photo editing should offer.

We think our short review of photo editing laptops will help you to find the best machine. If you still need any suggestions or guidance related to the laptops, feel free to ask and leave a comment below.

6 thoughts on “Best Laptops for Photo Editing 2021 – The Most Recommended Laptops for Photographers”

  1. Elizabeth Werlin

    I can afford the
    HP Pavillion
    Asus Vivobook
    Acer Aspire
    Which one is the best please?

    1. Best Laptop Ninja

      Hi Elizabeth,
      If you can afford then get yourself the ASUS VivoBook Pro from the above list. It will be best for photo editing and other demanding tasks.

  2. I’m confused about buying mac pro for photo editing. As there is two types of processor. M1 and Intel. Which one should I buy? What’s your suggestion as it is for photo editing.

  3. I have always loved to use Acer Aspire for photo editing, I already use it very comfortably. Thanks for sharing this useful information.

  4. I am a professional in Photoshop image editor so I prefer to use HP Notebook for photo editing. Because I already using this laptop for my profession service comfortably.

  5. All of the information is very helpful but I think the Core i7- 10 generation is the most suitable for any type of software work.

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