Dell XPS 13 — Computer of the Year 2016

Proving that Apple isn’t the only company that can make beautifully thin, buttock-clenchingly expensive laptops, Dell’s latest devices, like the updated XPS 13, also remind us that the company once considered primarily a maker of computers for corporates has ‘done a Volvo’.

That is, it’s managed to create products that aren’t only practical and reliable but desirable and — shock shock, horror horror — dare we say it, cool. Choose from Intel’s Skylake i5 or i7 processors, 8GB or 16GB of RAM, a 256GB or 512GB SSD, and either a full-HD 13in display or the unbelievably crisp QHD+ (3,200 x 1,800 pixel) touch-enabled version which Dell has managed to squeeze into an 11in frame thanks to the almost non-existent bezel.

If you type all day the keyboard will delight you too. If you want a Windows 10 laptop without compromises or pointless style decisions that add nothing to usability, look no further.

From R37,000 | dell.com/za

And if you’re feeling especially ostentatious, you can nab it in Rose Gold

Shortlisted

Apple MacBook

This refreshed version of the 12in MAcBook is beautiful — and backs up its looks with speedy processors.

Asus ZenBook

Cheaper than most of its rivals while still being as capable and better looking, the ZenBook is very calming indeed.

Apple MacBook Pro

We don’t mean the Touch Bar and USB-C Pro, but the generation before, which now looks even more tempting.

HP Spectre

The world’s thinnest laptop until pipped by Acer’s Swift 7… and better than its namesake Bond film.