Best 4k Laptops: Enjoy In High Definition View (And Touch)
Best Overall
Model
Our Score
9.7
9.3
9.1
9.0
8.8
MSRP
$1,101.60
$1,699.99
$1,843.00
from $2,399.99
$1,039.00
Processor
Intel Core i7-8565U
Intel Core i7-8565U
Intel Core i9-8950HK
Intel Core i7-9750H
Intel Core i7 8565U
RAM
16GB DDR4
16GB DDR4
16GB DDR4
16GB RAM
16GB DDR4
Hard Disk
512GB SSD
512GB SSD
512GB SSD
512GB SSD
512GB SSD
Graphics
NVIDIA GeForce MX250 Graphics
Nvidia GeForce MX150
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080
NVIDIA GeForce MX150
Display
4K (3840 x 2160)
4K (3840 x 2160)
4K (3840 x 2160)
4K (3840 x 2160)
4K (3840 x 2160)
Weight
4.85 pounds
3.04 lbs
4.1 lbs
4.83 lbs
4.78 lbs
More Information
There’s nothing more incredible than playing a game on your laptop or editing a video and thinking, “Wow, it looks so good!”
There’s no doubt that your laptop monitor plays an important role in making your tasks much more enjoyable.
4K laptops are your best bet for more realistic and eye-catching visuals.
What is a 4K laptop? “4K” basically refers to the screen. A laptop with a 4K monitor delivers beautiful screen quality with a resolution of 3840 by 2160.
Games, as well as movies, really do look spectacular on these machines.
If you’re interested in 4K laptops, it’s good to know they also come with other important features.
Here are the best 4K display laptops to choose from, looking at their specs followed by more in-depth reviews of each one.
Best 4k Laptops: Enjoy In High Definition View (And Touch)
#1 HP ENVY 13” Thin Laptop W/ Fingerprint Reader
The HP Envy laptop comes in at number one on our list of the best 4k laptops to buy.
It’s small, compact, with a whole lot more going for it.
The HP Envy laptop is a must for you if you’re a gamer, designer, or just like to watch movies on your laptop.
Here’s why.
PROS
- Its 4K micro edge touchscreen display is manufactured with Corning Gorilla Glass that is durable enough for lots of daily use.
- The screen is bright and makes colors look beautiful.
- It’s fast and powerful, so you can use the laptop for many different tasks and it will multitask for you like a pro.
CONS
- The touchpad isn’t always that precise, which can be a bit bothersome if you like using your touchpad more than a mouse.
EXTRA FEATURES
- Security is a big concern with devices these days, and this laptop does nicely to give you more peace of mind when it comes to safety. It’s got a webcam kill switch that you can turn off and on yourself, and a fingerprint reader so no one can go snooping around your files.
- This HP laptop has excellent sound, which is thanks to the Bang & Olufsen speakers inside it.
BUYING GUIDE
It’s equipped with lots of bells and whistles, but its great speed and beautiful screen are what really make it such a solid choice if you’re looking for a new laptop.
#2 Razer Blade Stealth 13 Ultrabook Laptop
This 4k laptop boasts a wonderful display, but it also scores points for its user-friendliness, such as in the case of its touchpad, which is where some laptops fall short.
PROS
- The Razer Blade Stealth has been designed to be portable and versatile, thanks to its thin, sleek and light design.
- It’s got a Razer Chroma Keyboard that offers over 16 million different color options.
- It makes use of touch display – it’s got a 4K display with sRGB compatible colors that give you greater resolution on every single image.
CONS
- The keyboard is smaller when compared to other 13-inch laptops, and that’s due to how the speakers are on either side of the laptop. However, that shouldn’t be a big issue.
EXTRA FEATURES
- The laptop’s touchpad is made of precision glass so you’ll feel more comfortable when using this laptop without a mouse, whether for work or gaming.
BUYING GUIDE
With its bright screen and extra comfortable touches, it’s worth the money.
#3 ASUS ZenBook Pro 15 Laptop With Innovative Screenpad
If you like a beautiful, crisp monitor and are a bit of a gadget nerd, this Asus laptop will be perfect for you.
PROS
- This laptop has an adaptive screen pad design that enables you to create shortcuts to apps with just one button press. It also allows you to extend your screen because your shortcuts will show up on the trackpad! This is a clever way for laptop manufacturers to make the trackpad even more useful than before.
- You can display different tasks on the screen and touchpad, increasing your efficiency and helping you multitask.
- The screen is described as NanoEdge bezel, meaning that its display is clearer and sharper as well as bigger without such a large border around it as is common with laptops.
- The strong graphics enable you to do lots of different things, from playing videos to photo editing.
CONS
- The laptop is a professional one, but the webcam isn’t up to par because of its low resolution. However, if you’re not too worried about this feature, it’s definitely something that can be overlooked in favor of all the benefits the ASUS provides.
EXTRA FEATURES
- You don’t have to worry about the laptop overheating, thanks to its dual-fan system that makes use of three heat pipes. This is a good feature if you use your laptop a lot, such as when playing game or running lots of apps simultaneously.
BUYING GUIDE
While it’s quite a bit more than the Razer Blade Stealth, it’s a good choice for you if you like the frills and a screen that is Pantone-validated with color accuracy.
#4 Razer Blade 15 Gaming Laptop 2019
While this is called a gaming laptop, it can be used for many other tasks.
So if you’re not a gamer, don’t write it off this list just yet!
PROS
- It’s a well-built, compact laptop, thanks to its thin but strong aluminum body and vapor chamber cooling system. These make it durable and resistant to damage.
- The Razer Blade 15 Gaming Laptop screen is a touchscreen OLED monitor with a 60Hz refresh rate, creating a more fluid experience with images.
- It’s got a 16GB memory and quick and easy 512GB SSD storage.
- It’s compatible with Razer Core external GPU to give you extra power when you need it. This is a nice touch considering that many gaming laptops can’t work with external GPUs.
CONS
- Despite its cooling mechanism, this machine does tend to become hot when you’re busy with intensive tasks, such as playing a large game.
EXTRA FEATURES
- It’s Thunderbolt 3 compatible, so you can add three external displays to it to increase your screen view, therefore turning your gaming laptop into a desktop variety without a hassle.
BUYING GUIDE
The Razer Blade 15 Gaming Laptop’s price is on the high side, which does seem pretty expensive when compared to other laptops in this buying guide.
However, it’s right for you if you want excellent gaming and the chance to adapt the machine to better suit your needs.
#5 2019 HP – Spectre X360
This HP model is all about increasing your comfort while you work, so it’s perfect if you spend a lot of time on your laptop, whether for business or pleasure (or both).
PROS
- The laptop side bezels are narrow, increasing your screen size substantially.
- The screen offers crisp and colorful images.
- Its 16GB RAM and Intel Core i7 processor can tackle lots of different tabs open at once without causing you to slow down.
CONS
- Although the screen is sharp and offers detailed images, sometimes the glare does obstruct your view. So, you have to ensure that you’re not working somewhere where light can strike your screen and make visibility poor.
EXTRA FEATURES
- It comes with an HP Stylus pen included. Previous models of the laptop didn’t include this digital pen, so it’s a nice move forward because it offers greater versatility. You can easily use the laptop as a tablet and make notes with Windows Ink.
- The keyboard is comfortable and its touchpad is nice and soft.
BUYING GUIDE
This laptop is really value for money with a lot of extra features, like the Stylus Pen.
4K LAPTOPS FAQ
WHICH LAPTOP CAN PLAY 4K VIDEO?
In case you didn’t already know, 4K videos are basically videos that have greater resolution – if they’re 4K videos, that means that they will have four times the resolution of 1080p HD videos!
That’s a huge difference.
However, you have to have a certain laptop or TV in order to watch these videos: you need a monitor or TV that’s labeled as 4K so that it will accommodate the higher resolution.
The laptops in this buying guide can play 4K videos because they have 4K screens.
If you have a regular laptop, you’ll probably not be able to watch 4K videos because you’ll lack the resolution to do so. That said, there are some video players that can be used to view 4K videos, so maybe that’s something to check out if you can’t afford a 4K laptop.
However, the player will have to be compatible with your laptop’s system drivers, which isn’t always possible.
DO LAPTOPS SUPPORT 4K?
The short answer is that not all laptops will support 4K display.
The average resolution of a laptop is 1366 X 768, which is considered to be low resolution and not 4K-compatible.
A 4K laptop, on the other hand, offers a resolution of 3840 x 2160! These are known as ultra high definition laptops.
Some people might think this is too much for a small laptop to really be worthwhile, but it definitely has its advantages, especially because these days so many people use their laptops for things like watching movies on Netflix
Having clearer, sharper images can help to create a more immersive experience.
Besides, many of the laptops with 4K display that are featured in this buying guide contain smaller bezels to make for larger screens, making the higher resolution more suitable.
CAN THE EYE SEE 4K?
If you’re intrigued by the idea of uhd laptops, you might wonder if the eye can really see 4K.
While we talk about a picture being crisp and clear, such as in the case of 4K laptops in this buying guide, there actually is a limit to how much the eye can perceive when it comes to resolution.
In fact, according to experts in an NBC News article, the human eye can’t really tell much difference between 4K and other resolutions.
This is because our eye has natural limitations that prevent us from seeing the higher resolutions.
That said, you might see a small difference between a display of 1080p and 4K, though.
To make it more likely that you will, it helps to be looking at a large screen to notice any subtle differences between the two resolutions. Or, just make sure you’re looking at the screen from the proper distance.
An article by Forbes outlined that when we view screens, whether those of a TV or a laptop, at the right angle, we can differentiate between resolution much better.
So, it points out that the perfect viewing distance from a 32-inch TV is 2 feet.
If your screen is 13 inches, you should sit 0.7 feet in front of it. You can work out how far to sit from your laptop screen, depending on its specific specs,
IS 4K REALLY BETTER THAN 1080P?
If you consider that you might not even notice the subtle differences in pixels of 4K versus 1080p, you might wonder if investing in laptops with 4K screens is really worth it or if you should just stick to a 1080p screen instead.
Well, here are some reasons why 4K screens can be better for you.
- 4K screens will show greater details because of the increased clarity, such as hairs on a person’s head and other details. Bear in mind, these screens also show more variation in color! These fine details usually become blurry when displayed on a lower resolution. If you sit at the right distance from your laptop, as mentioned earlier, you’ll be able to see it and enjoy this feature, such as in the case of gaming or movie nights.
- 4K laptops are valuable if you do a lot of photo or video editing. By using software, such as Adobe Photoshop, you can make the most of the extra pixels in 4K screens and create something amazing.
They might run short of battery, though. Because there’s so much more to see, a 4K laptop will be using a lot more battery life than other laptops.
This is where 1080p screens can be better because they use less battery life to show you the 2 million pixels on their screens – instead of the 8 million pixels in 4K screens!
But there’s always the chance to plug your laptop into a power source, so this shouldn’t be a defining factor when it comes to buying a 4K laptop.
If you need a laptop for streaming 4K movies, picture editing, and video editing, the battery life of a laptop with a 1080p display is a moot point because you can’t increase your resolution to cater to 4K resolution. Ultimately, you will need a 4K laptop.
If, on the other hand, you’re not involved in those activities, and you’re not concerned about things such as color accuracy, you might feel that a 4K laptop might be lost on you and not worth the price of it.
Conclusion
4K laptop screens have been rising in popularity.
They promise sharper, more beautiful images, and that’s definitely something valuable if you use your laptop a lot and for various tasks.
Should you get a 4K laptop? It really boils down to your preference and why you need the laptop in the first place, and that’s something to consider before you go ahead and purchase the best 4k laptop in this buying guide.
However, it’s also worth considering that many of the 4K laptops featured in this guide are not just focused on their dazzling displays – they offer many other features that can be valuable to you as a laptop owner.
The display can make your work easier, but sometimes it’s just a nice bonus in a solid laptop that will bring you joy for many years to come.
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