Ranking: Best laptops for editing photos and videos

Compared to its predecessor (Late 2023) with the Apple M3 Max, the new MacBook Pro 16 (2024) remains visually unchanged but brings several technical upgrades. The mini LED display now reaches over 1,000 cd/m² SDR brightness and offers an optional nano-texture matte finish. Thunderbolt 5 and an improved 12MP camera are also included, though WiFi 7 is still absent.
The M4 Pro SoC, with 14 CPU and 20 GPU cores, surpasses the M3 Max, particularly in single-core performance. GPU performance has increased by 30 to 45%, depending on the workload.

The mini LED display features an extremely low black level, achieving OLED-like contrast. Subjective image quality is near perfect. However, PWM flickering at 15 kHz may be an issue for sensitive users. The panel covers nearly 100% of the DCI-P3 color space and offers high color accuracy, making it ideal for photo and video editing. A major downside is Apple's costly upgrade policy, with no user-accessible RAM or SSD upgrades.

A configuration with 14 CPU and 20 GPU cores, 24 GB RAM, and a 512 GB SSD costs around 2,700 euros. Upgrading to 2 TB storage adds 500 euros, while an M4 Max version with a 32-core GPU, 36 GB RAM, and 1 TB SSD is priced at 3,665 euros.

Apple's MacBook Pro 14 (2024) with the M4 Pro chip (14 CPU cores, 20 GPU cores) looks identical to its predecessor but introduces key upgrades.

The mini LED display now reaches over 1,000 cd/m² in SDR mode (up from 600 cd/m²) and offers an optional matte finish with minimal quality loss, improving usability outdoors. However, slow response times, constant PWM flickering, and the lack of upgradeability persist as drawbacks. 

Single-core CPU and GPU performance see a 28% boost, while battery life remains over 15 hours. Thunderbolt 5 and a higher-resolution webcam are welcome additions, though WiFi 7 is still absent. The display remains a standout feature with high resolution, strong contrast, a 120 Hz refresh rate, and factory-calibrated color accuracy.
With an M4 Pro chip, 24 GB RAM, and 1 TB SSD, the MacBook Pro 14 (2024) costs just under 2454 euros.

The new XMG Neo 16 from Schenker gets a massive update in terms of processors, display and GPUs. Both AMD and Intel models perform outstandingly well in terms of performance, for which either the Ryzen 9 9955HX3D or Core Ultra 9 275HX paired with up to an Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090.

At 300Hz, the 16-inch mini LED panel is super-fast, but the brightness is also outstanding at over 850 cd/m² in SDR mode. The DCI-P3 color space is completely covered, but the panel should definitely be recalibrated. Local dimming can at least be deactivated for color-accurate work. The short power supply cable can be annoying and there is no USB 4.0 on the AMD model. The keyboard is comfortable, PCIe 5.0 is supported as well as up to 128 GB RAM. The case is sturdy and the SD card reader works quickly.

The mini LED display of the XMG Neo 16 scores with very high contrast and brightness values, but is not well calibrated ex works - at least local dimming can be deactivated.

The base price for the XMG Neo 16 is €2,639 (AMD) or €2,699 (Intel) - with the RTX 5080 and Mini LED option, it's around €3,400.

Medion also offers mini-LEDs in the Erazer Beast 16 X1, including a 300Hz refresh rate, QHD+ resolution and an SDR brightness of over 800 cd/m². The color accuracy is pretty good, but local dimming cannot be deactivated.

The keyboard is almost at the level of a mechanical one, the Intel Core i9 275HX offers plenty of performance, but there are occasional dips under longer loads, but not with the built-in Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 with a whopping 24 GB GDDR7 VRAM. There are also good speakers, a fairly long battery life of 8 hours, two M.2 2280 slots (one PCIe 5.0), plenty of connections including Thunderbolt 4, WiFi 7 and two RAM slots. However, it gets loud under load.

There are few criticisms of the Medion Erazer Beast 16 X1, but the inconsistent CPU performance and the lack of an option to deactivate the dimming zones tarnish the overall picture somewhat.

For around 4,300 euros, you can get the aforementioned equipment including 32 GB RAM and 2 TB SSD directly from Medion.

The Asus ROG Strix Scar 16 also relies on a mini LED panel and offers an Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090. In SDR mode, the 240Hz QHD+ display shines with over 770 cd/m². P3 and sRGB profiles are calibrated ex works and local dimming can be deactivated.

The other features include a very comfortable keyboard, Thunderbolt 5 and two RAM and two M.2 2280 slots. PCIe 5.0, however, has not made it into the Scar 16. In contrast to its big brother, the appealing design comes without an AniME matrix.

The current Asus ROG Strix Scar 16 not only offers plenty of power, but also a brilliant mini LED display, high expandability and plenty of ports.

The disadvantage is that the ports are all on the side, as well as the high power consumption, high fan noise under load and the lack of PCIe 5.0. The Asus ROG Strix Scar 16 is currently available for around 5,000 euros in a top configuration including 2 TB SSD and 64 GB RAM.

The 18-inch flagship ROG Strix Scar 18 from Asus not only impresses with its enormously fast components, Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX and Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090but also the built-in, 750 cd/m² bright mini LED display with QHD+ resolution and 240Hz refresh rate. Accurate P3 and sRGB profiles are available ex works. Local dimming can also be deactivated for more accurate image processing and sRGB content can be converted to the P3 color space in HDR mode.

You also get a comfortable keyboard, Thunderbolt 5, two SO-DIMMs and two M.2 2280 slots for memory expansion. However, PCIe 5.0 is not on board - instead, a RAID 0 network is used. The design should also be very appealing to many potential buyers, including the AniME Vision display on the lid.

The Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 currently offers the best performance and display among Windows laptops for creators - expandability and connections are also good, although they are all on the side.

The disadvantages are - in addition to the high power consumption - the noise level in the higher performance modes, the mediocre battery life and the very dirt-sensitive plastic base unit. The Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 is currently available for 5,300 euros with the aforementioned configuration including 2 TB SSD storage and 64 GB RAM, for example from Computeruniverse.

The Schenker XMG Pro 16 is a gaming/workstation hybrid with an RTX 5070 Ti, Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX and a 300 Hz fast and 500 cd/m² bright QHD+ display, which only covers the sRGB color space. The colors were very accurate in our test, but there was still a blue cast, which was gone after our calibration, but the color accuracy dropped as a result.

The performance is brute and stable, the input devices are good and even the battery life is more than impressive at over 9 hours. Four RAM slots and two M.2-2280 slots (one PCIe 5.0) are available for a generous memory expansion. There are also plenty of ports including a fast SD card reader and Wifi 7. What is missing is Thunderbolt 5, good speakers and a quiet background noise under load.

The XMG Pro 16 from Schenker offers brute performance and a lot of features at a fair price, as long as you don't primarily need DCI-P3 and AdobeRGB.

The XMG Pro 16 can be configured at Bestware from around 1,875 euros with a newsletter voucher. However, the Core Ultra 9 costs a whopping 315 euros more than the 13900HX.

Another 18-inch gaming laptop in the top ranks is the Aorus Master 18 from Gigabyte, which, like the Scar 18 with its RTX 5090 and Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX can shine. The four SO-DIMMs and three M.2-2280 slots are an advantage over other laptops. The casing and input devices performed well to very well in our test and there are also plenty of ports, including Thunderbolt 5

A QHD+ mini LED display with a 240 Hz refresh rate and an SDR brightness of 450 cd/m² and around 1,000 cd/m² in HDR mode is installed. The color accuracy is high ex works, only blue stands out a little with a DeltaE of around 4.5. The CPU performance is also not as high as the Scar 18. In 3D mode, there is a high noise level of 52 dB(A) in balanced mode, idle consumption is increased and the SSD throttles under continuous load.

The Gigabyte Aorus Master 18 is a very solid choice for content creation, but unfortunately the dimming zones cannot be deactivated.

5.you have to fork out222 euros for the Gigabyte Aorus Master 18 with the aforementioned equipment including 4 TB SSD storage and 64 GB RAM.

The MSI Titan 18 HX is brute in every respect. Starting with the 4K 120Hz mini LED display, through to the Intel Core Ultra 9 285HXwhich performs its work unthrottled and, together with the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 continuously draws 260 watts. As if that wasn't enough, the gaming machine has two Thunderbolt 5 ports including DisplayPort 2.1, four NVMe ports (one of which is PCIe 5.0) and a mechanical keyboard.

The 18-inch display achieves a brightness of over 700 nits in SDR mode, but should be calibrated - unfortunately, the dimming zones cannot be deactivated. Another disadvantage is the slow SD card reader, while the battery life of just over 4 hours is not unusual for such equipment. The high emissions and the somewhat feedback-poor touchpad are also annoying.

The Titan 18 HX from MSI offers state-of-the-art graphics, 4K 120 Hz MiniLED and brute performance, but at a proud price of over 5,000 euros.

6.you can currently spend 500 euros for the top configuration including 64 GB RAM and 6 TB SSD storage for the MSI Titan 18 HX. 1. 000 can be saved with an RTX 5080.

With the Raider A18 mSI offers extremely powerful CPU and GPU performance thanks to the AMD Ryzen 9 9955HX3D and the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080. In addition, a 120 Hz fast 4K+ mini LED display is used and PCIe 5.0 is offered - but no USB4. The cooling system is loud, the sound is poor and there is practically no battery life. In addition, the colors of the 470 cd/m² bright display are still inaccurate even after calibration and the dimming zones cannot be deactivated. At least the keyboard is pretty good

The performance of the MSI Raider A18 is brutal, but the poor cooling system and the inaccurate colors of the mini LED display are a clear drawback

The MSI Raider A18 with 64 GB RAM and 2 TB SSD storage is currently available for 4,350 euros.