There was a time when getting a portable device for editing photos on the go was a simple process. Buy a MacBook and you’re done. They were the quickest, most capable and most reliable - sadly the most expensive.

Times have changed.

So, let’s take a look at where your money could be best spend when choosing the right laptop for photo editing.

Top Considerations:

SCREEN: Well, one of the most obvious is the screen! Bad contrast screens with poor saturation are still fairly commonplace, especially among cheaper laptops. Keep an for screens boasting IPS technology, and you should be off to a good start.

SPEED: Well, this again is fairly clear, but is defined in a number of ways. First, RAM - this is the amount of memory the machine uses in the short term to help get the tests done you’re trying to do. These days, anything over 8GB is optimal. Next up, the processor. The base speed of the CPU is rated in GHZ. This number is usually high and can be confusing. CPUs are also rated by the number of ‘cores’ - here, anything above dual core will be useful, and in more expensive machines is the norm. Processors can have dual cores, quad and six cores.

STORAGE: A SSD (Solid State Drive) is fairly standard now. But you need to make sure your new laptop is packing one - the older Hard Disk Drives (HDD) are noticeably slower and more prone to failure.

GRAPHICS: Does the laptop have a dedicated graphics card or ‘on-board’ (meaning integrated in the motherboard) graphics processor? Not a deal breaker, but something to check out!

Any laptop these day packing some sort of punch will run the most current editing software like Photoshop or Lightroom. The more money you’re willing to invest, the more performance you’ll get in return!

Heres a few models to consider:

APPLE MACBOOK PRO 16’’

It’s bigger, sexier, and totally top class! The display may be topping out at under 4k resolution, but it is probably the fastest and most capable machine out there!

Asus ZenBook Pro Duo

This dual screen thing really aces the MacBooks girly Touch Bar! Wow! Look at it! It’s fast, and very sharp, but maybe not being brought to it’s full potential. Future models should be incredible! But, early adopters will still love this thing!

HP Spectre x360-13t

The HP looks the part, and converts from a normal laptop to a tablet with pen input. Great for on the fly editing, although screen real-estate can be a little tight for serious photoshop use.

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon 7th Gen

Yeah i know - ThinkPads or StinkPads as i used to call them back in the IBM days, do look a little boring and business like - but they’re still extremely capable machines and a good choice for anyone looking for a solid every day machine.