Among Apple’s latest taglines is, “Power to the pro” and, if you are looking for the ultimate photo editing experience, you can get on a Mac platform—the desktop models are where you are going to want to look.
Are you struggling to choose the best laptop for photography?
Selecting a photography laptop can be a struggle. There are so many options out there, packing impressive storage, memory, and high-resolution displays. So which laptop is best?
- I'm switching from a Windows PC back to my, mid 1980s Apple IIC, beginning. I want to get a new iMac 27' for photo editing. I have a LR catalog with 80K images, roughly 1.5 GB in size not including previews.
- I got the opportunity to test a Mac Pro standard configuration in my studio for a few weeks. I loaded the latest version of my Adobe Creative Cloud applications on it as well as a few utilities that I.
Fortunately, there are a few photography laptops that rise above the rest. In this article, we’ll share them with you.
So read on to discover the absolute best laptop for photography.
The Best Laptop for Photo Editing Revealed:
Here’s a quick rundown of the list:
The Best Laptop for Photography: How to Choose?
The best laptop for photography must be fast.
It must be powerful.
And it must have a gorgeous high-resolution display.
That’s how we chose our five parameters for evaluating the best laptop for photography:
- Processor: A newer, faster processor is best for editing photos.
- GPU power: The best GPUs take on some of the processing burden.
- Storage volume: Photos take up a lot of space. More storage is always better.
- Memory: More memory means faster processing.
- Display: A high-resolution display is fundamental for photo editing.
1. Apple 15.4” MacBook Pro With Touch Bar (Top Choice)
- 15.4” inch display with HD resolution
- 2.9 GHz Intel i9 processor
- AMD Radeon Pro 560X graphics card
- 512 GB of internal storage
Best For: Serious photographers looking for the best processor and display combination money can buy
Here’s the absolute best laptop for photography:
The 15.4” MacBook Pro.
Why?
First, the processor is a 2.9 GHz Intel Core i9 Six-Core–which is both fast and powerful. With the i9, you shouldn’t have any problems running photo editing applications.
Second, this MacBook Pro comes with 32 GB of RAM. This is enough memory for just about anything. When using this MacBook to edit photos, you’ll be just fine.
Not to mention the storage: This MacBook offers 2 TB –which is enough space for a couple of weeks of shooting on the go.
And the GPU is also impressive. This Apple computer includes the AMD Radeon Pro 560X, which comes with 4GB of RAM.
Finally, the 15.4” display is incredible, sporting a 2880 x 1800 resolution.
- 2.9 GHz Intel Core i9 Six-Core
- 32GB of 2400 MHz RAM - 2TB SSD
- 15.4' 2880 x 1800 Retina Display
- AMD Radeon Pro 560X GPU (4GB GDDR5)
- True Tone Technology
- Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac) - Bluetooth 5.0
- Touch Bar - Touch ID Sensor
- 4 x Thunderbolt 3 (USB Type-C) Ports
- Force Touch Trackpad
- macOS
2. HP 15.6” ZBook Studio G5 Mobile Workstation
- 2.2 GHz Intel Core i7
- 16 GB of RAM
- 512 GB of SSD drive storage
- Ultra HD resolution display
Best For: Serious photographers looking for a beautiful photo editing display
The HP 15.6” ZBook is not our first pick for best photography laptop.
But it’s pretty darn good. And it would make any photographer happy.
For instance, the HP ZBook is powered by a 2.2 GHz Intel Core i7–which is more than enough processing power for photography work.
To add to that, the graphics card is a NVIDIA Quadro P1000–which comes with 4 GB of RAM.
Related Article: Best Video Editing Laptops
Next, check out the memory: 16 GB of RAM. While not quite as impressive as the MacBook Pro, 16 GB should satisfy every photographer out there.
And did I mention the 512 GB SSD drive storage?
Another great thing about the HP ZBook Studio G5 is the display. The 15.6” display boasts a resolution of 3840 x 2160 (UHD).
Which means that your photos will look incredible–they’ll be crisp, clear, and sharp.
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P.S. if you are taken aback by the current review score on HP.com, you may want to check the stellar reviews this laptop got on B&H.
3. HP 15.6″ ZBook Studio x360 G5 Multi-Touch 2-in-1 Mobile Workstation
- 2.2 GHz Intel Core i7
- 16 GB of RAM
- 512 GB SSD drive storage
- Ultra HD resolution display
- Touchscreen
Best For: Serious photographers who prefer a touchscreen for photo editing
The HP 15.6” ZBook Studio x360 is almost identical to the ZBook Studio reviewed above.
- Both use the P1000 graphics card.
- Both sport an incredible 2.2 GHz Intel Core i7 processor.
- And both offer a powerful combination of 16 GB of RAM and 512 GB of SSD storage.
Even the displays are identical. They’re both ultra HD, 15.6” screens that look amazing.
But there’s one thing that sets this laptop apart…
…and that’s a touchscreen.
For photographers who prefer to do photo editing with their hands, then this is the option to get.
Plus, this laptop is ultra-flexible. The display can fold 360 degrees–going from laptop to tablet in seconds.
You might be wondering:
If this laptop is so impressive, why not rank it above its brother?
The answer is simple: Price. These extra features cost more–and for some photographers, such features won’t be worth the extra bucks.
Best Macbook Pro Configuration For Photoshop
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4. Asus 15.6” ZenBook Pro 15 UX550GE Multi-Touch Laptop
- 2.2 GHz Intel Core i7 processor
- 16 GB of RAM
- 512 GB of SSD storage
- Ultra HD display
- Touchscreen
Best For: Serious photographers looking for a touchscreen display
If you want a second touchscreen option, check out the Asus 15.6” ZenBook Pro.
The Asus 15.6” ZenBook Pro 15 UX550GE is a multi-touch laptop, powered by a 2.2 GHz Intel Core i7 processor. Paired with the processor is 16 GB of RAM.
That’s a potent combination. One that promises to easily satisfy all your photo editing needs (and then some).
Plus, the 512 GB of SSD storage should hold you over for a few days of shooting in the field.
The 15.6” display sports ultra HD resolution–so your photos will look incredible.
Asus 15.6' ZenBook Pro- 2.2 GHz Intel Core i7 processor
- 16 GB of RAM
- 512 GB of SSD storage
- Ultra HD display
- Touchscreen
5. Asus 15.6” TUF Gaming FX504GE
- 2.2 GHz Intel Core i7
- 8 GB of RAM
- Full HD display
- 128 GB M.2 NVMe SSD and a 1 TB HDD
Best For: Photographers who also want to do some video editing
Now, the Asus 15.6” TUFis a gaming laptop. It’s designed to handle the pressures and demands of the latest resource-hogging games.
Which means that, for photo editing, it performs flawlessly.
Best Macbook Pro Configuration For Photography
First, the laptop is powered by a 2.2 GHz Intel Core i7 processor–one that’s supported by 8 GB of RAM.
No, it’s not the 32 GB of memory offered by a MacBook Pro. But it’s more than enough for most photo editing operations.
This Asus also offers a full HD display–perfect for photo editing.
Plus, the laptop is powered by the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti GPU with an integrated 4GB of memory.
Also of note are the dual storage units: a 128 GB M.2 NVMe SSD and a 1 TB HDD. For the traveling photographer, this amount of space will surely be appreciated!
Asus 15.6' TUF Gaming Laptop- 2.2 GHz Intel Core i7
- 8 GB of RAM
- Full HD display
- 128 GB M.2 NVMe SSD and a 1 TB HDD
Related Post: Best Computers for Video Editing
6. Dell 15.6” XPS 15 9570 Multi-Touch Notebook
- 2.2 GHz Intel Core i7
- 16 GB of RAM
- 512 GB SSD
- 15.6” display with 4K resolution
- Touchscreen
Best For: Photographers looking for an ultra HD resolution display
The Dell XPS is a popular laptop–and for good reason.
It’s powerful, offering a 2.2 GHz Intel Core i7 processor and 16 GB of RAM. That is more than enough power for photo editing work.
Plus, the Dell XPS sports a 512 GB SSD. This is perfect storage for photographers who spend several days in the field.
Despite all this power, the major selling point of the laptop is its display:
- 15.6 inches
- Touchscreen
- Offering 4K resolution (3840 x 2160).
This is perfect for photo editing (or viewing of any type).
So with the Dell XPS…
…you won’t be disappointed.
Dell XPS- 2.2 GHz Intel Core i7
- 16 GB of RAM
- 512 GB SSD
- 15.6' display with 4K resolution
- Touchscreen
Related Article: Best Desktops for Photo Editing (8 Picks for 2019)
The Best Laptop for Photography: Conclusion
Hopefully, you now know which laptop is best for your photography needs.
Remember:
All of these laptops offer powerful processors–enough to quickly edit your photos at home or in the field.
All of these laptops offer incredible displays.
And all of these laptops have impressive amounts of memory and storage.
With specs like that, it’s hard to go wrong!
Related Article: Best Budget Laptops for Photography (5 Picks Under $500 in 2019)
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