The Best 4K Laptops You Can Buy in 2024 - IGN (2024)

The best 4K laptops offer stunning visuals, a vivid display, and ultimately result in a truly immersive experience. Whether you’re looking for a 4K gaming laptop that can take your game to the next level, or a clear, crisp display for work, there are plenty of laptops to choose from.

The Best 4K Laptops at a Glance

1. Razer Blade 16 - the best 4K Laptop
2. Asus ZenBook Pro Duo - Best 4K laptop for creative professionals
3. Dell XPS 17 - Best 4K laptop for work
4. MSI Titan GT77 - Best 4K gaming laptop
5. Samsung Galaxy Chromebook - Best 4K Chromebook
6. HP Spectre x360 16 - Best 2-in-1 4K laptop

While you might think that owning a 4K laptop is going to burn a hole in your wallet - think again! There is a great selection of 4K laptops to suit every budget, and every need. And to save you time, we’ve done the research for you.

Best 4K Laptops

1. Razer Blade 16

The best 4K laptop

Pros:

• Slim design
• Fast gaming performance

Cons:

• Expensive starting price

If you’re buying a 4K gaming laptop, you’re going to want to make sure it has the horsepower to actually drive that resolution. The Razer Blade does that in style. These laptops have built a reputation as “the MacBook of gaming laptops” and for a good reason. The Razer Blade 16 is easily one of the most beautiful laptops on the market, before you even mention the display. It’s one of the best Macbook alternatives you can buy.

The display, of course, is also gorgeous. At the high-end, you’re getting a 3840 x 2400 mini-LED display with a dual refresh rate. At the full 4K resolution of 3840 x 2400, the display has a 120Hz refresh rate. However, you can change the settings in Razer Synapse to lower the resolution to FHD to get a refresh rate of 240Hz.

Driving that display is up to an RTX 4090 and an Intel Core i9-13950HX, so you don’t have to worry about the hardware not being able to keep up with the 4K laptop screen. Those components also give the Razer Blade 16 an edge both in gaming and content creation. This all makes the Razer Blade 16 a dream come true for both gamers and creators.

2. Asus ZenBook Pro Duo

The best 4K laptop for creative professionals

Pros:

• Bonus second screen
• Solid keyboard

Cons:

• Small trackpad

Ask any video editor and they’ll tell you just how important having multiple displays is for their work. But what if I told you that you could have a good laptop for video editing with two UHD displays rather than just one?

Well, that’s what the Asus ZenBook Pro Duo offers. Not only does this laptop have a beautiful 4K display, there’s a secondary display just above the keyboard, where you can put things like your Adobe Premiere controls, Slack, or whatever else you want to keep open on your second screen.

The Asus ZenBook Pro Duo also has powerful enough hardware to make short work of any creative project you throw at it. The laptop hasn’t been upgraded for this generation, but its Intel Core i9-12900H processor and RTX 3070 Ti graphics are more than enough for even the most intense workloads.

3. Dell XPS 17

Best 4K laptop for work

Pros:

• Large display
• Powerful specs

Cons:

• Expensive

When you’re working, there’s nothing quite like having a huge 4K screen on your laptop. Even if the work you’re doing is just managing a bunch of spreadsheets, the amount of cells you can display on this screen is simply out of this world. The Dell XPS 17 offers just that, with a giant 17-inch 4K display in a slightly taller than usual 16:10 aspect ratio, which makes it even better for work than other laptops.

But just because it’s a thin 17-inch laptop doesn’t mean it lacks workstation chops. If your work includes heavy video editing or rendering, you can equip the Dell XPS 17 with up to an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4080 GPU, which will chew through any creative workloads you throw at it. Plus, if you want to play some of the best PC games on your break, the XPS 17 can totally do it without breaking a sweat.

4. Gigabyte Aero 16 OLED

Best 4K gaming laptop

Pros:

• Incredible OLED display
• Responsive keyboard

Cons:

• Poor battery life

If you’re looking for a 4K gaming laptop with an OLED screen, the Gigabyte Aero 16 OLED is hard to beat in terms of performance and value for money. Boasting a 13th-gen Intel Core processor, Nvidia RTX 4070 graphics, and a lightweight chassis, this 4K laptop is going to blow you away.

While you’ll likely have additional gaming peripherals to heighten your in-game experience, this 4K laptop does feature Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.2, built-in speakers, and a built-in microphone. Everything you need to jump in your favorite gaming titles is here in a reasonably priced, yet powerful package.

5. Samsung Galaxy Chromebook

Best 4K Chromebook

Pros:

• AMOLED display
• Reasonably priced

Cons:

• Low-end specs

Whether you think a 4K Chromebook even makes sense, they still exist. The Samsung Galaxy Chromebook is technically the last-generation Chromebook from Samsung, followed by, well, the Samsung Galaxy Chromebook 2. However, the sequel doesn’t have a 4K display.

The original Samsung Galaxy Chromebook features up to a 10th-generation Intel Core i3 processor, 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD. That doesn’t seem like a lot, especially compared to other laptops on this list, but it’s more than enough for the web and Android apps you’ll be using the Samsung Galaxy Chromebook for.

This laptop is of course good for doing web-based work of any kind, but where it really shines as one of the best Chromebooks is as a portable media machine. The laptop weighs just over two pounds, and has a gorgeous 4K AMOLED display. Whatever you’re watching on the Galaxy Chromebook, it’s going to look amazing, whether that’s YouTube videos in your downtime or watching the best movies on Netflix.

6. HP Spectre x360 16

Best 2-in-1 4K Laptop

Pros:

• All-metal chassis
• Huge touchpad

Cons:

• Too large for a 2-in-1

The HP Spectre x360 2-in-1 laptop isn't just a powerhouse; it's your ultimate multi-tasking companion, boasting a 13th-gen Intel processor that adapts to your pace. Chatting on video calls becomes a breeze with its savvy 5MP camera that keeps you well-framed and vibrant, while its reminders ensure you're taking those all-important screen breaks.

Plus, it's eco-friendly, featuring ocean-bound plastic and recycled aluminum, making better tech feel even better. So, if you care about the environment, want a powerful 2-in-1 laptop with a 4K display, and need plenty of power to run various apps, this is a solid option that looks as good as runs.

What to Look for In a 4K Laptop

If you're in the market for a 4K laptop, you likely have a specific reason for wanting an upgraded display. Whether that's to watch 4K movies, play games in 4K, or do creative work that requires high resolution can affect which laptop you should buy. Here are some things to consider when buying a 4K laptop in 2023.

Battery Life

One of the main downsides of 4K displays is that they use more energy than regular HD screens. The amount of pixels a 4K lapop screen has to light up will leave you with very little battery life to spare once you unplug. If you plan on using your laptop on the go, it's important to check how long the battery will last before making a purchase.

Graphics Cards

Another important thing to keep in mind when buying a 4K laptop is what graphics card it comes with. If you are planning on playing graphics-intensive PC games or doing a lot of video editing, you need more than just a fancy screen, you need a good GPU.