In 2026, we will see the beginning of precision medical forecasting. Just as there have been remarkable advances in weather forecasting with the use of large language models, so will there be for determining an individual’s risk of the major age-related diseases (cancer, cardiovascular, and neurodegenerative). These diseases share common threads, such as a long incubation phase before any symptoms are manifest, usually two decades or more. They also have the same biologic underpinnings of immunosenescence and inflammaging, terms that characterize an immune system that has lost some of its functionality and protective power, and the accompanying heightened inflammation.

The science of aging has given us new ways to track these processes with body-wide and organ clocks, along with specific protein biomarkers. That enables us to determine whether a person or an organ within a person is aging at an accelerated pace. Along with that, new AI algorithms can see things that medical experts cannot, such as accurately interpreting medical images like retinal scans to predict cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases many years in advance.

These added layers of data can be combined with a person’s electronic medical records, which include their structured and unstructured notes, lab results, scans, genetic results, wearable sensors, and environmental data. In aggregate, this provides an unprecedented depth of information about the person’s health status, enabling a forecast for risk of the three major diseases. Unlike a polygenic risk score which can detect a person’s risk for heart disease, the common cancers and Alzheimer’s, precision medical forecasting takes it to a new level by providing the projected temporal arc—the “when” factor. When all of the data is analyzed with large reasoning models, it can provide a person’s vulnerabilities, and an individualized, aggressive preventive program.

We already know the risk of these three diseases can be reduced with lifestyle factors, such as an optimal anti-inflammatory diet, frequent exercise, and a regular, high-quality sleep pattern. But, along with attention to these factors, which are far more likely to be implemented when an individual is cognizant of their risk, we will have medications that will promote a healthy, protective immune system and reduce body-wide and brain inflammation. Already the GLP-1 medicines have been shown to be a front-runner for achieving these goals, but many more medications are in the pipeline.

The potential for precision medical forecasting has to be demonstrated and validated via prospective clinical trials that show, using the same metrics of aging, that a person’s risk is decreased. An example for people with increased risk of Alzheimer’s is the blood test known as p-tau217, and that risk can be markedly reduced with improved lifestyle factors, especially exercise. That could be confirmed with a brain organ clock and body-wide aging clocks.

This is a new frontier in medicine—the potential for primary prevention of the three age-related major diseases that compromise our health span and quality of life. It would not be possible without the advances in both the science of aging and AI. For me, this is the most exciting future use of AI in medicine: an unparalleled opportunity to prevent the major diseases from occurring, something that has been dreamed about but has not been possible at scale due to the deficiency in data and analytics. In 2026, it finally will.

As you can see, gaming laptops have become a major emphasis for AMD, because it’s the one area where AMD has managed to win designs from Intel. One great example is the Razer Blade 16 2025, which switched to the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 rather than using one of Intel’s HX chips.

Like Intel and Qualcomm, AMD is also rumored to launch its next-gen chips at CES 2026, which will reportedly use Zen 6 architecture.

Apple makes several chips these days, used in MacBooks, Macs, iPads, and iPhones. The M-series chips have been a huge hit since 2020, dramatically increasing performance and battery life. Fortunately, the designations are a bit simpler to parse through. Each generation of chip is designated by a number, while add-ons like Pro and Max scale up the processing and graphics performance.

The M5 family of chips for MacBooks is the latest release, although the rollout has been limited so far. It’s only available in the 14-inch MacBook Pro right now, meaning Apple is still selling the M4 MacBook Air and M4 Pro/Max MacBook Pro.

The older chips are important to know about, too, especially since you can still buy the M1 MacBook Air. You can also buy “renewed” or refurbished versions of older models, such as the M3 Pro or M2 Max MacBook Pro. While the generational bumps (from M3 to M4, for example) have provided consistent increases in CPU performance, it requires getting into very specific comparisons to know the difference between the M2 Max and M3 Pro, for example. For more information, check out our Best MacBooks guide.

The M5 MacBook Air, M5 Pro MacBook Pro, and M5 Max MacBook Pro are all rumored to launch sometime in early 2026.

How Much Processing Power Do You Need?

If you’re a typical user who runs a web browser, Microsoft’s Office Suite, and perhaps even some photo editing software, we recommend a laptop with one of Intel’s Core Ultra V-series chips, such as the Core Ultra 7 258V. These perform well enough and get great battery life.

There are a few good reasons to go for Qualcomm, however. While battery life on these devices is similar to Intel’s latest chips (and Apple’s, for that matter), performance doesn’t drop as much as Intel’s. The prices are also lower, especially on Snapdragon X and X Plus configurations. Laptops are selling for as low as $799 that use the Snapdragon X. While these don’t perform as well as the X Plus or X Elite models, they still get great battery life, which is impressive for a laptop of this price.

The iBuyPower Slate system I spent the last month gaming on isn’t particularly flashy, nor is it a shining example of the heights that gaming PC brands can reach. It is, however, a totally usable system with minimal bloatware, and any qualms I have with some odd choices don’t harm the gaming performance.

At its listed price of almost $2,000, this configuration of the iBuyPower is charging you a modest premium just to install (almost) all of the components, but frequent sales and discounts make this a more palatable deal as the price gets lower.

It’s really only set back by some minor assembly issues, as well as parts that may limit future upgrades, which currently affects users at opposite ends of the PC building spectrum disproportionately. Given the current RAM pricing issues, this is a better value than ever, and perhaps cheaper than an off-the-shelf build.

A Mixed Experience

First, the good stuff: The GPU is packaged separately from the rest of the system, which may sound odd, but I’ve found that’s one of the most common pain points when shipping a new gaming PC. I’ve seen system builders use expanding foam, special brackets, and folded cardboard supports, among other solutions, but packing the graphics cards in its original box is far simpler and safer, and the other ways of shipping a PC with an installed graphics card still require opening the system up anyway. I do wish the instructions were more specific to the case, particularly since the PCIe bracket might be a little fiddly for total novices, but anyone who has worked with gaming systems in the past shouldn’t have any issues.

The case isn’t particularly unique or eye-catching, but it does have a wide, slightly smoky glass side panel that helps give it a clean silhouette. The dark tint allows the lights underneath to shine a bit without the whole system being overtly gamer-coded, but also makes them extremely reflective. There are no screws holding it in place, it’s just press fit, but it’s nice and sturdy, and I didn’t worry about it falling out. Like most glass panels, they inhibit airflow, so iBuyPower has set the front fan array an inch or so back from the panel, and added mesh sections at the top and bottom, which helps alleviate the issue. Even so, I can’t imagine the fan directly behind the center glass panel is doing all that much.