Readers' Choice Awards 2022: Laptops and Desktops

As usual, the annual CES held last month in Las Vegas was full of new product announcements. While laptop and desktop computers may non accept gotten as much attention as smart speakers, TVs, and drones, PC makers continue to show innovative and exciting new designs, like incredibly thin-and-light laptops, 2-in-one convertibles, and Windows-based tablets.

Meanwhile, lots of people are focused on upgrading their desktop PCs—possibly to try to strike it rich in cryptocoin mining. Whatever the reason for wanting a new figurer, PCMag is here once again to aid you cull the brand that volition continue you satisfied for years to come up.

Every bit is our tradition, nosotros start our annual gear up of PCMag Readers' Choice Awards past reaching out to you lot, our readers, to find out which kinds of laptop and desktop computers you lot use and how satisfied you are with your purchases. Your feedback, in conjunction with PCMag'south good and exhaustive labs-based production reviews, will help you and your fellow readers make the correct option with their next PC purchase.

Our survey asks respondents to charge per unit the PCs they use for home (and work) on several key measures. We start with the well-nigh visceral: Overall, how satisfied are you with your figurer? We go on to ask almost satisfaction with other aspects of PC use including ease of setup, reliability, and support. We also inquire if you lot would recommend your make of reckoner to someone else. This often produces very insightful results that point the respondents' faith in the future of the brand or the usefulness of the brands' products to others.

Respondents provide a rating for each satisfaction question from 0 (extremely dissatisfied or extremely unlikely to recommend) to ten (extremely satisfied or extremely likely to recommend). To be included in our survey results analysis, a make needs to receive at least 50 responses.

For years, the PC marketplace has been consolidating effectually half a dozen different companies, just several smaller brands continue to introduce and vie for market share. Read on to see where you should focus your search when yous're ready to buy your adjacent computer.

The PCMag Readers' Pick survey for Laptops and Desktops was in the field from January viii, 2022 through January 29, 2022. For more than data on how the survey is conducted, read the survey methodology. Each person who completed the survey was entered into a drawing to win an Amazon.com gift card valued at $350.

You can win! Sign upwardly for the Readers' Pick Survey mailing list to receive invitations for time to come sweepstakes.

Looking for expert stance? Read The Best Laptops of 2022 and The Best Desktop Computers of 2022.

Laptops 2022

Apple and Microsoft have battled with each other since the dawn of the PC age. Apple has ever focused on an insular ecosystem, creating an OS that only runs on its own computers to maximize its control of the environment.

Microsoft initially focused on making an operating organisation that would run on almost any PC, but in contempo years, it has come effectually somewhat to Apple's mode of thinking. While there are still dozens of companies making Microsoft Windows-based computers, Microsoft jumped into the PC hardware business itself nigh six years ago.

That a figurer company should brand its ain operating system (or vice versa), is only about the only matter that Apple and Microsoft seem to agree upon when it comes to design. All of Microsoft'southward laptops include touch screens, and all merely one can be used as a tablet. Apple, on the other paw, continues to focus its laptop development on traditional clamshell designs, relegating bear on screens and tablet use to its iOS-based iPads and iPad Pros (iPads, iPad Pros and Android-based tablets were not included in this survey).

Who is right? The fact is, both Apple tree's and Microsoft's approaches accept found an audience with which they resonate, and both companies win our 2022 PCMag Readers' Choice Honour for laptops.

For Apple tree , this is probably no surprise. The company has now won the award xi years in a row. Once again, Apple tree has the highest satisfaction rating on every central measure, including overall satisfaction (8.9), satisfaction with ease of setup (ix.ane) and reliability (ix.1), and likelihood to recommend (9.0). Its satisfaction with tech support rating of eight.v is far improve than what any competitor received.

All the same, all of these ratings (except likelihood to recommend) are downwards slightly from 2022. That is a bit concerning, even though they remain excellent scores. In fact, this is the first time this decade that Apple's overall satisfaction rating dropped beneath 9.0.

Microsoft wins the Readers' Choice Laurels for receiving the highest satisfaction rating for Windows-based computers in every cardinal mensurate. In addition, all of Microsoft'south ratings are up slightly from concluding twelvemonth. However, there's a lot more than competition in the Windows globe and on most measures, Microsoft is tied with at least one other visitor.

Microsoft's overall satisfaction rating of 8.eight is up from 8.half-dozen in 2022 and tied with MSI, a manufacturer of gaming laptops. MSI simply received a likelihood to recommend rating of viii.v, behind both Microsoft (8.viii) and Alienware (8.7), some other make focused on gamers. Microsoft's satisfaction with reliability rating of 8.8 was tied by both MSI and Alienware, and its satisfaction with ease of setup (nine.0) was tied by Asus.

Apple and Microsoft also win a Readers' Choice Award for domicile laptops. Once again, both companies dominated the results on all cardinal measures with Microsoft facing some stiff competition from Alienware and MSI.

Tablet and convertible 2-in-1 laptops are gaining in popularity with our respondents. In fact, nearly a 3rd of laptops in the survey that were less than a yr old (31 per centum) were either a ii-in-1 or a tablet, compared to but 12 percent of those laptops purchased three to four years ago.

Asus, Dell, HP, and Lenovo also had a substantial number of respondents who used hybrid laptops, but Microsoft still came out on meridian with the highest overall satisfaction rating (8.eight) and likelihood to recommend rating (viii.8) and it earns the Readers' Choice Accolade for hybrid laptops as well.

HP did necktie Microsoft for satisfaction with overall reliability (eight.8) and HP and Lenovo actually scored slightly better than Microsoft in ease of setup, both earning ratings of 9.1 compared to Microsoft'due south 9.0. In every instance, Asus, Dell, HP, and Lenovo received much higher satisfaction ratings for their hybrid laptops than they did for their conventional models.

Chromebooks—the thin, light and typically inexpensive laptops that run Google'south ChromeOS—continue to proceeds popularity in certain markets and heave overall PC sales. Simply only a pocket-sized number of our respondents utilise them and no brand received the requisite l responses to exist included individually in our analysis.

However, as a grouping, Chromebooks appear to be providing users with a very skilful experience. Overall satisfaction and likelihood to recommend both rated eight.seven. Satisfaction with reliability rated ix.0, just behind Apple tree and ahead of every Windows brand, while satisfaction with ease of setup rated nine.3, improve than every other company including Apple.

Related Story See all of our survey results for Laptops.

WINNERS: LAPTOPS

Readers' Choice 2022 Award Categories: Overall, Habitation Use
Apple
For more a decade, Apple tree has set the standard for what a laptop has to do to satisfy its users and this year is no exception. The company's ratings are down slightly from last year, however even so no other brand tin can match its satisfaction scores.

Readers' Choice 2022 Award Categories: Overall, Abode Use, Hybrid Laptop
Microsoft
The Windows-laptop that provides the near satisfying experience comes from the company that developed the operating organization: Microsoft. Its focus on tablet and 2-in-i machines provides an exciting alternative to Apple's approach.

Desktops 2022

Laptop computers garner near of the attention and sales among PC buyers. In fact, nigh 2-thirds of the computers that our survey respondents rated were laptops. Still, desktop PCs simply make sense if y'all don't need to be mobile and desire the most bang for your cadet.

One company, Apple, has consistently received the highest satisfaction ratings for desktop PCs, and this year is no exception. Apple once again wins the PCMag Readers' Selection Award for desktop computers for its Mac computers. In addition, while Apple tree's laptop scores declined slightly this yr, that was non the instance for any of the visitor'due south desktop satisfaction ratings.

Apple was the only company to go a rating of nine.0 or amend on any measure, and information technology did information technology on every measure. Apple received a nine.ane for overall satisfaction, upwardly from 9.0 in 2022 and its likelihood to recommend rating improved fifty-fifty more, going from 9.1 to 9.iii. Satisfaction with ease of setup and overall reliability stayed the same at nine.5 and 9.three, respectively.

Many people don't realize it, only you tin run Microsoft Windows on a Mac, either through a virtual machine or past setting up a dual-kicking environment. Withal, if yous'd prefer a desktop reckoner built from the footing up for Windows, look to gaming computer vendor CyberPowerPC which also wins a Readers' Pick Award. CyberPowerPC may not be a household proper name, but the company earned summit marks amongst Windows-based PCs for overall satisfaction.

CyberPowerPC didn't reach Apple's stratosphere, but it did receive an overall satisfaction rating of 8.viii, which is very good. Merely Acer and Asus came shut, each getting an eight.6. Acer did crush CyberPowerPC in satisfaction with reliability at viii.9 to 8.eight, only both are very adept scores. Only 2 percentage of respondents said their Acer desktop needed to be repaired or replaced in the final 12 months, the everyman percentage in our survey. By contrast, 17 per centum of CyberPowerPC desktops needed some sort of repair, which is a little troubling. CyberPowerPC, Acer, and Asus besides received identical likelihood to recommend ratings of 8.6, the best for any Windows desktop brand.

Although the vast majority of CyberPowerPCs are used in the home when we expect only at home PCs, Asus actually rated slightly better and earns a Readers' Pick Award for abode desktops. The 2 companies had identical overall satisfaction ratings of 8.7, simply Asus' overall reliability was 8.9 to CyberPowerPC'south viii.8; likelihood to recommend was 8.7 compared to CyberPowerPC's viii.6. Acer besides rated an 8.vii in likelihood to recommend and Dell got an viii.6 from its dwelling house users on this measure.

2018 marks the 20th anniversary of Apple's all-in-one iMac line of desktop PCs, which combine the monitor and figurer into i unit of measurement. Windows PC manufacturers were slow to conform all-in-one designs, but they are gaining in popularity. Lxx-seven percent of the Apple desktops reported on in our survey were all-in-ones compared to only 12 percent of the Windows desktops. Notwithstanding, 15 percent of the Windows desktops in the survey that were purchased in the final twelvemonth were all-in-ones compared to only eleven percentage of older machines.

Apple wins a Readers' Selection Laurels for its all-in-one, simply nosotros didn't feel either Dell or HP, the two Windows brands that received enough responses, were deserving of an award. They lagged too far behind. For case, Apple'southward overall satisfaction rating for its all-in-ones was ix.2 compared to HP's 8.1 and Dell's 8.0. Apple rated a 9.iii for likelihood to recommend whereas Dell only received an 8.ane and HP a 7.9. We think all-in-ones tin brand a lot of sense in certain environments, but right now you're far better going with an Apple iMac than ane of its competitors.

Related Story See all of our survey results for Desktops.

WINNERS: DESKTOPS

Readers' Choice 2022 Award Categories: Overall, Home Utilize, All-in-One Desktop
Apple
A perennial favorite among PCMag readers, Apple received satisfaction ratings this twelvemonth that were fifty-fifty better than concluding. Most respondents prefer the all-in-one blueprint of Apple tree's iMac and new iMac Pro, a design Apple's competitors seem yet to be able to master.

Readers' Choice 2022 Award Categories: Overall
CyberPowerPC
If you're looking for a Windows PC, especially if you lot're a gamer, accept a close look at CyberPowerPC. The small PC visitor earned big satisfaction numbers from its users, including the best overall satisfaction rating.

Readers' Choice 2022 Award Categories: Home Use
Asus
Asus is the all-time pick this year among Windows-based desktops for the home. The company's satisfaction ratings improved nicely from its 2022 scores.

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