Adam Levell

Short answer: for most people in 2026, the best iPad is the 11-inch iPad Air with M4 ($599). It’s fast and supports Apple Intelligence, the Apple Pencil Pro and a proper Magic Keyboard. If you only need an iPad for streaming, browsing and schoolwork, the iPad (A16) at $349 is the best value, but it doesn’t support Apple Intelligence. Pick the iPad mini if you want something one-handed, and the iPad Pro with M5 if you want the OLED display and top performance.

How we put this together: this guide is based on Apple’s official tech specs, compare page and announcements (linked below). It is not based on hands-on testing by iTech Level. Prices are Apple’s US starting prices for Wi-Fi models at the time of writing. See how we choose products.

Every current iPad compared

Sources: Apple’s iPad compare page, the M4 iPad Air announcement (March 2026), the M5 iPad Pro announcement (October 2025) and iPad (A16) tech specs.

The best iPads to buy

1. iPad Air 11-inch (M4): best iPad for most people

The iPad Air got the M4 chip in March 2026. Apple says it’s up to 30% faster than the M3 model, and memory rose to 12GB, which helps with Apple Intelligence and multitasking. It works with the Apple Pencil Pro and the Magic Keyboard for iPad Air, so it can double as a small laptop. The new N1 wireless chip adds Wi-Fi 7, and it starts with 128GB of storage.

Good to know: the screen is a standard LCD (Liquid Retina) rather than the Pro’s OLED, and it unlocks with Touch ID rather than Face ID. 128GB fills up fast if you download a lot of video, so consider 256GB.

Check the iPad Air 11 (M4) on Amazon →

2. iPad (A16): best value

At $349, the standard iPad covers streaming, browsing, video calls, reading and schoolwork well. It has a 10.86-inch, 500-nit Liquid Retina display, starts with 128GB of storage, weighs 477 g and is rated for up to 10 hours of web browsing or video. It works with the Apple Pencil (USB-C) and the 1st-generation Pencil via an adapter.

Good to know: it’s the only current iPad that doesn’t support Apple Intelligence, because it has 6GB of memory and Apple requires at least 8GB. It also doesn’t work with the Apple Pencil Pro. If either matters to you, the iPad Air is worth the extra $250.

See the Apple iPad 11-inch (A16) in our shop, or check the iPad (A16) on Amazon →

3. iPad mini (A17 Pro): best small iPad

The iPad mini packs an 8.3-inch display into a 293 g body you can hold in one hand, which makes it great for reading, travel, note-taking and as a second screen. The A17 Pro chip supports Apple Intelligence, and it works with the Apple Pencil Pro.

Good to know: there’s no Apple keyboard made for it (any Bluetooth keyboard works), and the small screen isn’t ideal for split-screen work. It’s also the oldest design in the lineup, released in October 2024.

Check the iPad mini (A17 Pro) on Amazon →

4. iPad Pro (M5): best display and performance

The iPad Pro has the best screen Apple puts in a tablet: an Ultra Retina XDR tandem OLED with ProMotion, 1,000 nits in SDR and up to 1,600 nits peak for HDR. The M5 chip is the fastest in any iPad, it starts with 256GB of storage, and it has Face ID and a Thunderbolt/USB 4 port for fast external drives and displays. It’s also remarkably thin and light: 444 g for the 11-inch and 579 g for the 13-inch (Wi-Fi models).

Good to know: at $999 and $1,299 before accessories, it’s only worth it if you’ll use the OLED display (drawing, photo and video work, HDR movies) or need the extra power. For notes and everyday use, the iPad Air does almost everything for much less.

Check the iPad Pro (M5) on Amazon →

5. iPad Air 13-inch (M4): big screen for less

If you want a 13-inch canvas for drawing, split-screen work or movies, the 13-inch iPad Air gives you the same M4 chip, 12GB of memory and Apple Pencil Pro support as the 11-inch for $799, $500 less than the 13-inch iPad Pro.

Good to know: at 616 g it’s actually a little heavier than the 13-inch iPad Pro, and its LCD panel can’t match the Pro’s OLED contrast.

Check the iPad Air 13 (M4) on Amazon →

Which iPad should you buy?

• Students: the iPad Air 11 for note-taking with the Apple Pencil Pro and Apple Intelligence; the iPad (A16) with an Apple Pencil (USB-C) on a tight budget.
• Kids and family use: the iPad (A16). It’s the cheapest, and Apple Intelligence doesn’t matter much here.
• Drawing and illustration: the iPad Air 13 for screen size, or the iPad Pro for the OLED display.
• Reading and travel: the iPad mini.
• Replacing a laptop: the iPad Air or iPad Pro with a Magic Keyboard, though for many people a MacBook Air costs about the same and runs full desktop apps.

Frequently asked questions

Related guides

• Best MacBook for video editing (2026)
• Browse iPads in our shop
• Buying a used MacBook Air

Short answer: for most video editors in 2026, the best MacBook is the 14-inch MacBook Pro with M5 Pro: a bright XDR display, a hardware ProRes engine, HDMI and an SD card slot, and 1TB of storage as standard. On a tighter budget, the 14-inch MacBook Pro with M5 now starts with 1TB too and handles 4K timelines well. For 8K, heavy multicam or colour grading, step up to M5 Max. The MacBook Air works for light editing, but it has no fan and no SD slot or HDMI.

How we put this together: this guide is based on Apple’s official tech specs and announcements (linked below). It is not based on hands-on testing by iTech Level. Prices are Apple’s US starting prices at the time of writing and change often. See how we choose products.

MacBooks for video editing compared

Specs from Apple’s tech specs pages for the 14-inch MacBook Pro (M5 Pro/M5 Max), 16-inch MacBook Pro (M5 Pro/M5 Max), 14-inch MacBook Pro (M5) and 15-inch MacBook Air (M5). Starting prices from Apple’s March 2026 announcement.

The best MacBooks for video editing

1. MacBook Pro 14 with M5 Pro: best overall

The M5 Pro model is the sweet spot for editing. Apple offers the chip with a 15- or 18-core CPU and a 16- or 20-core GPU, 307GB/s of memory bandwidth, and a dedicated ProRes encode/decode engine. It starts with 1TB of storage. The 14.2-inch Liquid Retina XDR display reaches 1,000 nits in SDR and 1,600 nits peak for HDR, with 120Hz ProMotion, so you can judge HDR footage on the laptop itself. You also get three Thunderbolt 5 ports for fast external SSDs, plus HDMI and an SDXC slot for camera cards, in a 3.5 lb body rated for up to 22 hours of video streaming.

Good to know: spec it with at least 24GB of memory for 4K timelines with effects. Neither the memory nor the internal storage can be upgraded later, so buy what you’ll need.

Check the MacBook Pro 14 (M5 Pro) on Amazon →

2. MacBook Pro 14 with M5: best value

The base 14-inch MacBook Pro is the cheapest way to get the XDR display, HDMI and an SD card slot. Since March 2026 it starts at $1,699 with 1TB of storage. The M5 has a 10-core CPU, a 10-core GPU and hardware acceleration for H.264, HEVC, ProRes and ProRes RAW. Unlike the MacBook Air, it has a fan, so long exports hold their speed. It’s a good fit for YouTube, wedding and social video work in 4K.

Good to know: memory tops out at 32GB, bandwidth is 153GB/s, and the ports are Thunderbolt 4 rather than 5. Heavy multicam, 8K or complex Fusion and After Effects work will push you toward the M5 Pro.

Check the MacBook Pro 14 (M5) on Amazon →

3. MacBook Pro with M5 Max: best for 8K, multicam and colour grading

The M5 Max doubles the ProRes engines to two, which speeds up exports of multiple ProRes streams. It supports up to 128GB of unified memory with 460–614GB/s of bandwidth depending on the GPU, and starts with 2TB of storage. Apple says it’s up to 3x faster than the M4 Max in DaVinci Resolve Studio in its own testing. It comes in both sizes: the 14-inch at 3.6 lb, or the 16-inch at 4.7 lb for the larger screen.

Good to know: at $3,599 and up, it only pays off if your projects actually hit the limits of the M5 Pro. The 14-inch M5 Max is rated for slightly less battery life than the M5 Pro (20 vs 22 hours of video streaming).

Check MacBook Pro M5 Max models on Amazon →

4. MacBook Pro 16 with M5 Pro: best for a bigger screen

If you edit mostly at a desk but still travel, the 16-inch gives you a 16.2-inch XDR panel (3456 × 2234) with room for a full timeline and viewer, and it’s rated for up to 24 hours of video streaming. It has the same ports and M5 Pro chip options as the 14-inch.

Good to know: at 4.7 lb it’s over a pound heavier than the 14-inch, and it starts at $2,699.

Check the MacBook Pro 16 (M5 Pro) on Amazon →

5. MacBook Air 15 with M5: best for light editing on a budget

The MacBook Air uses the same M5 chip family, with hardware ProRes support, 16GB of memory and 512GB of storage as standard. The 15-inch model has the 10-core GPU and weighs 3.3 lb, starting at $1,299; the 13-inch starts at $1,099 with an 8-core GPU. For short-form social video, vlogs and simple 4K edits, it’s plenty.

Good to know: it has no fan, so long exports and effects-heavy timelines slow down as it heats up. The 500-nit display isn’t an XDR panel, so it’s not suited to HDR grading. There’s no HDMI or SD slot, just two Thunderbolt 4 ports. If you find last year’s MacBook Air 15 (M4) heavily discounted, it’s a reasonable alternative for the same kind of work.

Check the MacBook Air 15 (M5) on Amazon →

What matters most for video editing on a Mac

• Memory: 16GB is fine for 1080p and light 4K. Choose 24–36GB for regular 4K work with effects, and 48GB or more for 8K, heavy Fusion or After Effects. Unified memory can’t be upgraded after purchase.
• Storage: 1TB is a practical minimum for the system and active projects. Keep media on a fast external SSD; Thunderbolt 5 on the M5 Pro and M5 Max models helps here.
• ProRes and codecs: every M5 MacBook here accelerates H.264, HEVC and ProRes in hardware. The M5 Max’s second ProRes engine matters mainly for multicam and multiple ProRes streams.
• Display: the MacBook Pro’s XDR panel (1,000 nits SDR, 1,600 nits HDR peak) is the one to have if you grade HDR. The Air’s 500-nit panel is fine for SDR work.
• Cooling: MacBook Pros have fans and sustain performance on long exports. The fanless Air slows down under sustained load.
• Ports: HDMI and an SDXC slot on the MacBook Pro save you from carrying dongles for monitors and camera cards.

Frequently asked questions

Related guides

• Lightest 17-inch laptops (2026)
• Buying a used MacBook Air
• Are desktops better than laptops?

Short answer: the lightest 17-inch laptops you can buy in 2026 are LG’s gram models. The LG gram 17 weighs about 3.1 lb (1.4 kg), lighter than many 14-inch laptops, and the LG gram Pro 17 adds an NVIDIA RTX 5050 at just 3.26 lb (1.47 kg). Most other 17-inch laptops weigh 4.5 lb (2 kg) or more, so the gap is large.

How we put this together: weights and specs come from manufacturers’ official spec pages and independent spec databases (linked at the end), not from hands-on testing by iTech Level. Weights vary slightly by configuration (touchscreen, battery, GPU), so we list the manufacturer’s figure for the model shown.

The lightest 17-inch laptops, ranked by weight

1. LG gram 17: the lightest 17-inch laptop

LG’s gram line has been the lightest 17-inch laptop for years, and the 2025 model continues that. LG lists the Core Ultra 7 configuration at 3.12 lb, and independent spec databases list the lightest Lunar Lake (Core Ultra 200V) versions at about 1.35 kg (2.97 lb). For comparison, a 13-inch MacBook Air weighs about 2.7 lb, so you get a 17-inch 2560×1600 screen for roughly the weight of a small ultrabook.

• Screen: 17-inch, 2560×1600 (16:10), with touchscreen options
• Processor: Intel Core Ultra 7 (Core Ultra 7 258V on the Copilot+ versions)
• Battery: 77 Wh; LG quotes up to 20 hours of video playback on the Core Ultra 7 model
• Thickness: about 0.74 in

Good to know: it’s light partly because of a magnesium-alloy chassis that flexes more than heavier aluminium laptops, and it uses integrated graphics, so it’s built for work, study and streaming rather than gaming.

Buy it if: you want a big screen you can carry every day, with long battery life.
Skip it if: you need a dedicated GPU for games or creative work (see the gram Pro 17 below).

2. LG gram Pro 17: the lightest 17-inch laptop with an RTX GPU

LG markets the gram Pro 17 as the world’s lightest 17-inch laptop with NVIDIA RTX graphics. According to LG’s spec sheet, the RTX 5050 model weighs 3.26 lb (1.47 kg) and is just 0.57 in (14.5 mm) thick. Most 17-inch laptops with dedicated graphics weigh 5–6 lb or more.

• Screen: 17-inch IPS, 2560×1600, 144 Hz variable refresh rate
• Processor and graphics: Intel Core Ultra 9 285H with an NVIDIA RTX 5050 (8 GB GDDR7)
• Memory and storage: 32 GB LPDDR5X; dual SSD slots
• Battery: 90 Wh; LG quotes up to 27 hours of video playback

Good to know: an RTX 5050 in a thin chassis is an entry-level gaming and creator GPU. It handles photo and video editing and lighter 1080p gaming, but it isn’t a replacement for a full gaming laptop. For that, see our best budget gaming laptops under $1,200.

Buy it if: you want a big, light laptop that can also edit video or play games casually.
Skip it if: you mainly need battery life and portability. The regular gram 17 is lighter and cheaper.

3. HP 17: a lighter-than-average budget 17-inch

If the gram models are over budget, mainstream 17-inch laptops are about 1.5 kg heavier. The HP 17 (17-cn series) is one of the lighter budget options at about 2.05 kg (4.5 lb), with a 17.3-inch Full HD screen, a full keyboard with a number pad, and Intel Core i5 options.

Buy it if: you want the most screen for the money and will mostly use it on a desk or around the house.
Skip it if: you’ll carry it daily; at 4.5 lb it’s noticeably heavier in a bag.

4. ASUS Vivobook 17: another budget big-screen pick

The ASUS Vivobook 17 (X1704 / F1704) weighs about 2.1 kg (4.6 lb) according to ASUS, and is about 0.78 in thin. It has a 17.3-inch Full HD screen, a number pad, a fingerprint reader on many configurations, and a webcam shield.

Buy it if: you want an affordable, simple 17-inch laptop for home, office or school.
Skip it if: weight is your main priority.

Is a 16-inch laptop a better idea?

If you mostly want a big screen that’s easy to carry, the lightest 16-inch laptops are even lighter than the gram 17: the Acer Swift Air 16 is listed at about 0.99 kg (2.2 lb) and the LG gram 16 at about 1.2 kg (2.65 lb). You give up about an inch of diagonal screen, but most people won’t notice the difference in daily use. A 17-inch screen still wins for spreadsheets, side-by-side windows, and anyone who prefers larger text.

What to look for in a lightweight 17-inch laptop

• Weight under 3.5 lb (1.6 kg): today, only LG’s gram models reach this at 17 inches. Anything around 4.5 lb is fine for home but tiring to carry every day.
• Battery size: a bigger screen draws more power. Look for 70 Wh or more if you work unplugged.
• 16:10 screens: a 2560×1600 16:10 panel shows more of a document than a 1920×1080 16:9 panel of the same size.
• Build rigidity: the lightest laptops use magnesium alloys, which can feel flexier. That’s a trade-off, not a defect.
• Graphics needs: integrated graphics are enough for work and streaming; you only need an RTX GPU for gaming or heavy creative work.

Frequently asked questions

What is the lightest 17-inch laptop?

The LG gram 17. Depending on configuration, it weighs about 2.97–3.12 lb (1.35–1.42 kg), according to LG and independent spec databases. No other current 17-inch laptop comes close.

What is the lightest 17-inch laptop with a dedicated GPU?

The LG gram Pro 17 with an NVIDIA RTX 5050, at 3.26 lb (1.47 kg) according to LG’s spec sheet.

How much does a typical 17-inch laptop weigh?

Most mainstream 17.3-inch laptops weigh about 4.5–5 lb (2–2.3 kg), and 17-inch gaming laptops often weigh 5.5 lb (2.5 kg) or more.

Is a 17-inch laptop too big to carry?

Not if it’s a gram. At around 3 lb it’s lighter than many 14-inch laptops, though you’ll need a bag with a 17-inch sleeve. Standard 4.5 lb 17-inch laptops are better suited to use at home or in an office.

Related reading

• Best budget gaming laptops under $1,200 (2026)
• Are gaming laptops worth it in 2026?
• Browse laptops

Sources: LG gram Pro 17 (17Z90TR) spec sheet; LG gram 17 (17Z90T) product page; Ultrabookreview: lightest laptops list; LaptopMedia: HP 17 specs; ASUS Vivobook 17 (X1704) tech specs.

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