I’ve historically been a Windows desktop guy, building my own PCs over the years and spending the majority of my years content with that situation. However, the more I travel to events and conferences, the more I see the value in Windows laptops. In that, I also subject myself to inquisitive family members and friends, who forever ask the same question: “Which laptop should I buy?”

The answer, as I’m sure many of you know, boils down to “it depends”. Naturally, I have a shortlist of the best Windows laptops that are always at the front of my mind. Then again, not everyone has the disposable income to afford my favorite ASUS Zenbook A14 or Lenovo Yoga Slim 7x examples. Here’s where the problems start. Many will then walk into their nearest supermarket (or some other megastore) and pick up the cheapest option available.

It’s not as though affordable laptops are all terrible. On the contrary, the budget laptop bracket is showing signs of significant improvement, as examples like Dell's XPS 13 respond to the introduction of the entry-level MacBook Neo. Annoyingly, few enthusiasts would previously entertain a conversation about $599–$699 Windows laptops in the pre-Neo age, but that’s all changed since Apple made its move. For many, choosing a Windows laptop is still confusing.

A big part of that disorientation comes from an onslaught of specs when shopping, and most people just don’t care. I’d argue that, aside from storage space and a laptop's physical size, the rest is just incidental number-crunching that wouldn’t matter to your average user. If you want to close out your afternoon feeling exhausted, dig into the argument of whether 8GB of RAM is enough for Windows. It all comes back to that linchpin: "It depends."

For me, there is so much more value in a laptop’s weight, display type, and battery life than the waves of other components you could spend all day comparing. However, that longevity aspect depends heavily on your choice of processor, which is one of the worst cans of proverbial worms you could ever open, as Intel, AMD, Qualcomm, and now even NVIDIA ship laptop chips with complex names.

So, who’s to blame, Microsoft? It’s easy to understand the accusation when I look at Apple’s walled garden and how simplistic it can be to shop for a MacBook. But no, it’s not Microsoft’s fault. It even feels disingenuous to accuse manufacturers of saturating the Windows laptop market, because each brand presumably has its reasons for building so many variants. Everyone has different needs, but what is the everyman supposed to do?

Ironically, Microsoft came close to a potential solution with its Copilot+ PC initiative. It was part of the AI PC trend, encouraging buyers to pick up a laptop with a built-in NPU and other comparable components to support local AI apps and features. It’s a mostly forgettable affair, with only the mandatory Copilot key appearing in modern Windows laptops reminding us of its attempts.

Instead, Microsoft could take notes from a certain gaming brand and lean into a 'Seal of Approval' method, curating category flagships from each manufacturer. If you shopped for a certified 'Windows Pro' laptop, it could guarantee a 120Hz display and 32GB of RAM (or higher) with the most powerful mobile processors on the market. Too much? Opt for an imaginary 'Windows Core' alternative that sticks to IPS screens but delivers at least 16GB of memory.

Unfortunately, that implies anything outside this magical certification might be viewed as disposable e-waste, but I think consumers still need help making that distinction, anyway. The real challenge would be convincing all the major laptop brands to get on board, but then again, they already did it for confusing Copilot+ PCs, so how far-fetched could this idea really be?

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Ben is a Senior Editor of Windows Central, covering PC gaming hardware, software, and everything connected to it. He's built more custom desktops than he can count, and has hands-on experience with some of the most exciting components and accessories for Windows PC and Xbox. A lifelong obsession with Microsoft's technology has led to broad expertise in laptops and in the cutting-edge processors that are pushing the industry forward.