Best laptops, tablets and desktops for creatives in 2018

I've culled these recommendations from products we've tested that stand out for their performance, design and features for drawing, painting, designing, rendering, photo and video editing and other creative tasks.  The latest developments to improve your experience all around is the release of  the mobile hexacore Intel Core i7, i9 and Xeon processors, which deliver a nice performance boost over yesterday's quad-core maximum.  This isn't an exhaustive list, and I'll be updating this gallery on a regular basis. This gallery was originally published February 23, 2018. Updated with recommendations for the upgraded Apple MacBook Pro and the addition of the Microsoft Surface Go, Samsung Galaxy Tab S4 and Asus Zenbook Pro 15.

Let your creative juices flow

This is the first detachable mobile workstation that can be configured with a 4K UHD DreamColor, 4,096-level Wacom EMR pressure-sensitive display. A workstation Nvidia Quadro GPU mean it can run certified applications. Plus, it doesn't skimp on connections. The only serious competitor the ZBook really has is the Wacom MobileStudio Pro, but if you can suffer with a paltry 4,096 levels of sensitivity (compared with the Wacom's 8,192 levels) and slightly slower performance, this is much better all around. It's got a great design, including a comfortable detachable keyboard that automatically reconnects via Bluetooth when you remove it.  The matte display covers 100 percent of the Adobe RGB gamut and does so with excellent accuracy and built-in profiles. Plus the chemically etched display adds a little more friction, making the stylus feel more precise and natural compared to the typical glossy surface.

A pen-first mobile workstation: HP ZBook x2

Drawbacks: You're limited to the one, single-button stylus so if you can't compensate by reprogramming the QuicKeys on sides of the tablet, it might not work for you. Plus, it's relatively heavy and while the battery life is good for its components, it won't get you through the day. As for color, the 8-bit+FRC (10-bit simulation) display only covers about 70 percent of the P3 gamut and we're waiting for HP to release a fix that will let you calibrate when there are out-of-gamut colors. 

A portable second stylus-friendly screen: Samsung Galaxy Tab S4

The Surface Pro detachable offers 4,096 levels of pressure sensitivity and full Windows 10, plus it supports the Microsoft Dial, which can substitute some functions when you don't have access to the keyboard for your shortcuts. There's also an option to use the sRGB color space instead of the default make-colors-pop setting. If you plan to use it for painting rather than sketching, don't skimp on the processor when you buy. Go full Intel Core i7 to get the better CPU and Iris Plus graphics, if you can afford it. Complex brushes, color mixing and textures can slow you down if you don't have enough processor power.

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