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The best business laptops make it easy to work and be more productive on the go. They are light enough to carry around all day and have great keyboards and clear, easy-to-read screens that are comfortable to look at during marathon sessions. Also, the batteries last a long time, so you don’t have to carry a charger around the office. Once upon a time, the only business laptops you could really get were Lenovo ThinkPads and HP EliteBooks. Even though these are great for office workers and businesspeople on the go, there are now a lot of cheap ultraportables that are powerful, last a long time, and are thin enough to fit in a briefcase.
Any business has to make a hard choice about which laptop is best for a team. You need something that is strong, safe, powerful, light, and can last you through a long workday. There are a lot of options. We’ve gone through our most recent business laptop reviews and picked out our favorite models for getting work done. However, as we’ll explain in more detail after the picks below, it’s still important to choose carefully even from this smaller group. Not every laptop fits the way you or your employees work or what you do.
Why do you need a business laptop?
If you need a laptop for work, the best choice is an ultraportable that’s easy to carry around and has a battery that will last all day. You should also look at the quality of the screen, keyboard, touchpad, and webcam, as these can have a big effect on the overall user experience. If there are a lot of ports, you won’t need a separate dock to connect a lot of peripherals or external displays. You’d need enough processing power to get your work done, of course. We’ve put together a list of suggestions to help you decide what to buy. It includes options for different operating systems and sizes, so you can find something that fits your needs.
What are the factors to consider when choosing a business laptop?
Here are some things to think about when choosing a laptop for business:
- Processor: The processor is the brain of the laptop, so it’s important to choose one that can handle the tasks you’ll be using it for. You’ll need a more powerful processor if you plan to do a lot of multitasking or run software that needs a lot of power.
- RAM: RAM, which stands for “random access memory,” holds the data that the processor is currently using. The more RAM you have, the more programs you can use at once without slowing down. Most business people should have at least 8 GB of RAM.
- Storage: You’ll need to figure out how much space you need for storage. If you need to store a lot of files, photos, or videos, you’ll need a laptop with a large hard drive or solid-state drive.
- Battery life: You’ll need a laptop with a long battery life if you want to use it on the go. Most business laptops have a battery life of at least 8 hours, but some can last up to 12 hours or even longer.
- Screen: A laptop’s screen is one of its most important parts, so it’s important to pick one that’s easy to use. Look for a high-resolution screen that is at least 13 inches in size.
- Portability: If you want to take your laptop with you, you should choose one that is light and easy to move. Most laptops used for business weigh between 3 and 5 pounds.
- Security: Security features should be built into business laptops to keep your data safe. Look for a laptop with a fingerprint reader, a TPM chip, and a place to put a security lock.
- Operating system: The software that runs your laptop is called the operating system. Windows and macOS are the two main operating systems for business laptops. The most used operating system is Windows, but macOS is also a good choice.
Best Business Laptops
We also think that the business Chromebook is a good option for businesses that want to move away from Windows and the costs of managing it. Its market share is growing, and it’s becoming more popular. It’s getting harder to buy a bad laptop, but what sets the best laptops apart from the good ones is how they balance power, efficiency, portability, and comfort. The best laptop should have a great keyboard and trackpad, which are the two main reasons you’d choose a laptop over a smartphone or tablet.
Laptop | Processor | Display | Memory | Latest Deals |
---|---|---|---|---|
Apple MacBook Pro 16-Inch | Apple M1 Pro chip | 16.2-inch Liquid Retina XDR display | Up to 64GB | – |
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Yoga Gen 8 | 12th Gen Intel Core i5 or i7 | 14-inch or 15.6-inch OLED display | Up to 32GB | Check Deal |
Apple MacBook Pro 14 | Apple M1 Pro chip | 14.2-inch Liquid Retina XDR display | Up to 64GB | Check Deal |
Dell Precision 5470 | 12th Gen Intel Core i5 or i7 | 14-inch or 15.6-inch display | Up to 64GB | Check Deal |
Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 | 12th Gen Intel Core i5 or i7 | 16-inch OLED display | Up to 64GB | Check Deal |
Apple MacBook Pro 16-Inch
Feature | Specification |
---|---|
Processor | Apple M1 Pro chip |
Display | 16.2-inch Liquid Retina XDR display |
Memory | Up to 64GB |
Storage | Up to 8TB SSD |
Battery life | Up to 21 hours |
Weight | 4.7 pounds |
The 16-inch Apple MacBook Pro from 2023 is a powerful laptop with a sleek and refined look and great performance. With the new M2 Pro and M2 Max processors, the MacBook Pro has the power of a workstation in a design that is easy for consumers to use. This is why creative professionals choose it. With an impressive 27-hour battery life, a top-notch mini LED display, and Apple’s best laptop design to date, the machine looks and feels great and can handle even the most difficult computing tasks with ease.
This MacBook Pro is for professionals who need a powerful computer to match their skills and the needs of their jobs, especially for creating media and doing other high-end professional tasks. Even in its most expensive configurations, the laptop is well worth the money because of how powerful it is. This is the most powerful MacBook that has ever been made.
The Good
- Powerful performance for demanding tasks.
- Stunning Retina display with accurate colors.
- Excellent build quality and design.
- Large trackpad and comfortable keyboard.
The Bad
- High starting price.
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Yoga Gen 8
Feature | Specification |
---|---|
Processor | 3.9 GHz core_i7 |
Display | 14-inch or 15.6-inch OLED display |
Memory | Up to 32GB |
Storage | Up to 2TB SSD |
Battery life | 8 Hours |
Weight | 3.04 pounds |
Check Price |
Lenovo’s ThinkPad X1 Yoga Gen 8 is a great 2-in-1 business computer. It has the high-quality build you’d expect from a ThinkPad, and it runs faster than most other convertibles. For a 14-inch 2-in-1, it has a good number of ports, an onboard stylus that charges itself, and a slim, light design. It’s not perfect, but it’s the best 2-in-1 choice for work right now because of how it can be used and how well it works. If you’re looking for a high-quality Windows 2-in-1 for your company’s executives or top performers, the
ThinkPad X1 Yoga Gen 8 is a good choice. It stands out from the rest because it is built to MIL-STD 810H standards and comes with a three-year warranty. If you don’t have to worry about your budget, this laptop is a great choice for people or businesses that need a high-quality office 2-in-1.
The Good
- Versatile 2-in-1 design with stylus support.
- Durable build and spill-resistant keyboard.
- Bright and vibrant display options.
- Extensive port selection.
The Bad
- Higher price point compared to other ThinkPad models.
Apple MacBook Pro 14
Feature | Specification |
---|---|
Processor | Apple M1 Pro chip |
Display | 14.2-inch Liquid Retina XDR display |
Memory | Up to 64GB |
Storage | Up to 8TB SSD |
Battery life | Up to 17 hours |
Weight | 3.52 pounds |
Check Price |
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2021) is the best business laptop we’ve tried. It looks sleek and professional, and it feels very well made. It is easy to carry around because it is small, and its battery can easily last through a typical workday. It works very well and can handle almost anything you throw at it, including spreadsheets, presentations, text processing, and even demanding tasks like video editing. The screen is clear and bright, the keyboard is big and feels good to use, and the touchpad is huge and works well. There are three USB-C/Thunderbolt 4 ports, an HDMI port, and an SD card reader that can read full-size cards.
If you want more screen space, you could also think about the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021). It’s the same device, but the speakers sound better and the battery lasts a little longer. It does cost more, though. As you may already know, Apple has made newer versions of the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro. They look the same as the M1 models, but the M2 models have a faster SoC, HDMI 2.1, Wi-Fi 6E, and up to 96GB more memory.
The Good
- Compact yet powerful laptop.
- High-resolution Retina display.
- Impressive processing performance.
- Great battery life.
The Bad
- Expensive starting price.
- Limited port variety.
Dell Precision 5470
Feature | Specification |
---|---|
Processor | 2.4 GHz core_i7 |
Display | 14-inch or 15.6-inch display |
Memory | Up to 64GB |
Storage | Up to 4TB SSD |
Battery life | Up to 18 hours |
Weight | 5.9 pounds |
Check price |
How is the Dell Precision 5470 not higher on this list when it has 5 out of 5 stars? It’s simple: not everyone needs a business laptop with this much power. The Nvidia RTX A1000 GPU and Intel Core i9-12900H CPU show that this laptop is a workstation. It can’t compete with the best gaming laptops, but it will run circles around a typical business laptop. If you ever create content as part of your productivity work, if you’re like me and load up your laptop with a million small tasks, or if you often transfer large data files, the 5470 will be worth its 3.3-pound weight in gold because of how fast it works.
The Good
- Strong performance and workstation-class hardware.
- Quality display options for creative work.
- Good range of ports.
The Bad
- Heavier and bulkier due to workstation features.
- Shorter battery life under heavy workloads.
Lenovo ThinkPad Z16
Feature | Specification |
---|---|
Processor | 3.2 GHz ryzen_7 |
Display | 16-inch OLED display |
Memory | Up to 64GB |
Storage | Up to 2TB SSD |
Battery life | Up to 18 hours |
Weight | 6.8 pounds |
Check price |
Lenovo’s ThinkPad Z16 beats the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon, which had been the best business laptop for a long time. It won because it has a battery life of almost 15 hours, a beautiful and durable body, great security, and speed that will make your coworkers green with envy. Add to that a good 16-inch screen that means you won’t need a portable monitor, great sound, and a quiet typing experience that will make your office mates happy, even though the keyboard isn’t our favorite.
At 4 pounds, it’s not the thinnest or lightest business laptop, so if you travel for work often, you might want to look at one of the other options on our list. However, if you work from home or in an office and need a powerful, reliable laptop that will last for years, look no further.
The Good
- High-performance hardware options.
- Bright and color-accurate display choices.
- Durable build quality.
- Lenovo’s reliable keyboard and TrackPoint.
The Bad
- Relatively heavy and bulky.
- Premium configurations can be expensive.
Dell Latitude 9430
Feature | Specification |
---|---|
Processor | 1.1 GHz core_i7 |
Display | 14-inch or 15.6-inch display |
Memory | Up to 64GB |
Storage | Up to 2TB SSD |
Battery life | Up to 24 hours |
Weight | 3.6 pounds |
Check Price |
The Dell Latitude 9430 is the best 2-in-1 business laptop because it can be used as a tablet or a laptop. In our Laptop Mag battery test, it ran smoothly for 12 hours and 39 minutes. But that’s not the only reason to buy it. The bright InfinityEdge display makes it possible for Dell to fit a 14-inch screen into a chassis that’s only 0.54 inches thick. Performance is more than enough to handle all the browser tabs you forgot to close during the day as well as all of your productivity apps.
The sleek but durable design and the fact that it can be used as a 2-in-1 or as a separate tablet all help to make it more useful. Add to that the fact that its vPro processor provides enterprise-grade security and that its FHD IR camera or fingerprint reader make it easy and safe to log in, and you have a business laptop that is worth its admittedly high price.
The Good
- Slim and lightweight design.
- Good performance and multitasking capabilities.
- Decent battery life.
- Quality display options.
The Bad
- Not as powerful as some competitors in the same class.
- Limited upgrade options.
Acer Swift 5
Feature | Specification |
---|---|
Processor | 4.7 GHz core_i7 |
Display | 14-inch IPS display |
Memory | Up to 16GB |
Storage | Up to 1TB SSD |
Battery life | Up to 17 hours |
Weight | 2.65 pounds |
Check Price |
Acer always makes laptops that are great in terms of both performance and price. The Acer Swift 5 is a good example. The Mist Green aerospace-grade aluminum system is easy on the eyes. Our reviewer called it “the most attractive notebook I’ve seen this year.” But the Swift 5 is more than just a pretty face. With a 12th-generation Intel Core i7 processor and Intel graphics built in, the Swift 5 did well in our tests of overall performance and file transfer.
And it beat our category average by a lot. On the Geekbench 5.4 test, where the Swift 5 scored a very good 9,859, it did best. We were also surprised by how well the notebook’s built-in Intel Iris Xe graphics worked. On the Sid Meier’s Civilization VI benchmark, it got 26 frames per second.
The Good
- Lightweight and portable design.
- Good value for the specifications.
- Bright and vibrant display.
- Comfortable keyboard and touchpad.
The Bad
- Build quality is not as premium as some other options.
- Speakers may lack depth and quality.
Apple MacBook Air M2
Feature | Specification |
---|---|
Processor | Apple M2 chip |
Display | 13.3-inch Liquid Retina display |
Memory | Up to 16GB |
Storage | Up to 2TB SSD |
Battery life | Up to 18 hours |
Weight | 2.7 pounds |
Check Price |
The MacBook Air M2 is almost the perfect laptop. It has the same great performance and battery life we’ve come to expect from Apple Silicon, but it also has the new design from the MacBook Pro 14 and 16 and a beautiful new 13.6-inch display. Few Windows laptops can beat this one when it comes to performance and portability, so if you can live in the macOS ecosystem, this one should be at the top of your list. The only thing we don’t like about the Air M2 is that the SSD has a slightly slower write speed than its predecessor. However, this is still much faster than average and shouldn’t stop you from buying it.
The Good
- Slim and lightweight design.
- Impressive M2 performance.
- Excellent Retina display.
- Long battery life.
The Bad
- Limited port variety.
- Higher price compared to some Windows competitors.
Microsoft Surface Pro 8
Feature | Specification |
Processor | 4.2 GHz core_i5 |
Display | 13-inch PixelSense display |
Memory | Up to 32GB |
Weight | 1.96 pounds |
Check Price |
If you like the 2-in-1 tablet design, the Microsoft Surface Pro 8 (2021) is one of the best laptops we’ve tested for both business and personal use. You can remove the keyboard to save space or make the device easier to hold. The built-in kickstand lets you tilt the screen almost flat so you can take notes or draw with a stylus. Also, unlike the Lenovo, the stylus can be tilted, which makes it a good choice for digital artists and creators. On the other hand, you have to buy the keyboard and stylus separately, which makes the device more expensive overall.
The keyboard is very comfortable, especially for a type cover keyboard, and the webcam is one of the best on the market. The battery lasts about seven hours with light use, which is to be expected since there isn’t much room for a big battery in a tablet. There’s a newer Microsoft Surface Pro 9 with faster Intel 12th Gen. CPUs, but they’re usually more expensive, so it’s up to you to decide if you need the extra processing power.
The Good
- Versatile 2-in-1 design.
- High-resolution PixelSense display.
- Good performance for a tablet.
- Surface Pen and Type Cover support.
The Bad
- Type Cover and Surface Pen sold separately.
- Battery life could be better.
HP Elite Dragonfly Chromebook
Feature | Specification |
---|---|
Processor | 12th Gen Intel Core i3, i5, or i71.6 GHz apple_ci5 |
Display | 13.5-inch 2K touch display |
Memory | Up to 16GB |
Storage | Up to 512GB SSD |
Battery life | Up to 18 hours |
Weight | 2.19 pounds |
Check Price |
Chromebooks… for people who work? We really do mean it. The best choice right now is the HP Elite Dragonfly Chromebook Enterprise. The Dragonfly is much safer than a typical Chromebook because it has Intel vPro security, a Titan C chip, and a fingerprint sensor. With a free year of Parallels for Chromebooks, you can use all the Windows apps you still need.
The HP Elite Dragfonfly Chromebook’s strong points are its security and how easy it is to manage, but the rest of the hardware doesn’t let it down. The 13.5K 2K display that can get as bright as 400 nits looks great. Its 2-in-1 design, light weight of 2.8 pounds, and optional support for 5G make it a dream for people who travel a lot.
The Good
- Premium build quality and design.
- Lightweight and portable.
- Good performance for a Chromebook.
- Bright and color-accurate display.
The Bad
- Premium configurations can be pricey.
- Limited application compatibility compared to Windows or macOS.
How to Choose a Best Business Laptop?
When looking for the best business laptop, you should think about a number of things to make sure it meets your professional wants and preferences. Here’s a step-by-step plan to help you make an informed choice:
- Find Out What You Need: Figure out exactly what you need. Think about things like the type of work you do, the software you’ll use, how mobile you need to be, and your cash.
- Performance: Choose a laptop with a strong processor (like an Intel Core i5 or i7 or an AMD Ryzen) and enough RAM (8GB or more) to handle multitasking and apps that use a lot of resources.
- Portability: If you move a lot, choose a durable laptop that is lightweight and small. Look for types with batteries that last longer so you can work on the go.
Questions and Answers
A1: Think about things like speed (CPU, RAM, storage), portability, battery life, build quality, security features (fingerprint reader, TPM), keyboard comfort, display quality, connectivity (ports, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth), and support options.
A2: Most work laptops run on Windows, macOS, or some versions of Linux. The choice relies on what software you need, how well it works with other programs, and what you like.
A3: 8GB of RAM is usually enough for general work tasks. If you do a lot of multitasking or work with programs that use a lot of resources, you might want to upgrade to 16GB or more.