Mac fans are often quick to claim superior performance from their Apple laptops, but a study from a warranty supplier in the US has ranked the reliability of their hardware fourth behind Asus, Toshiba and Sony.

The reliability study, conducted by SquareTrade, was based on 30,000 individual laptop units covered by its in-house warranty plans.

Laptop reliability by manufacturer. Research by SquareTrade.

Nine brands, represented by a minimum of 1000 units each, were ranked in the report, which revealed that laptops from Toshiba and Sony were nearly 40 per cent more reliable than those from HP, which came last.

“In terms of brands, Asus and Toshiba stood out as the most reliable manufacturers; while Acer, Gateway and HP had failure rates significantly higher than the average,” the report said.