The best business laptops make it easy to finish chores and increase travel productivity. They have good keyboards, bright, easy-to-read screens that are enjoyable to look at for extended periods, and are light enough to carry around all day. Long battery life is another benefit.
Before, Lenovo ThinkPads and HP EliteBooks were mainly your only choices for a work laptop. Although recent developments in mobile technology have given us a plentiful crop of reasonably priced ultraportables that are strong, powerful, and small enough to fit in a briefcase or look stylish on a desk, they are still ideal laptops for mobile professionals and office workers.
With so many options available today for a tremendous business-ready laptop, you’ll need help sifting the wheat from the chaff. For our shopping guide to the best business laptops, keep reading.
Table of contents
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Nano
Display: 13 inches; 2K
CPU: Intel Core i5-1130G7 | Intel Core i7-1160G7
GPU: Intel Iris Xe Graphics
RAM: 8GB – 16GB
Storage: 256 – 1TB
SSDWeight: 2 pounds
Pros
- long-lasting battery.
- Lightweight.
- anti-glare, 2K display
Cons
- fewer ports.
- Dull audio.
The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Nano is a superior business laptop due to its strength, portability, and durability. With a battery life of 12 hours, the Nano, the lightest laptop on this list, still has enough power to carry you through a full day of work without needing a charger. You may also pay extra for a 4G/5G connection if you need to stay connected while traveling.
Lenovo did not compromise performance and usability. In addition to the usual set of security features and durability ratings shared by all ThinkPads, the Nano’s Intel 11th Gen Tiger Lake processors provide the performance you need for a tonne of work. Additionally, the ThinkPad-branded keyboard offers a quick and pleasant typing experience. You might wish to bring a USB hub because it only has two Thunderbolt / USB-C ports.
Apple MacBook Air M1
Display: 13.3 inches; 2560×1600
CPU: Apple M1
GPU: Integrated 8-core GPU
RAM: 8GB-16GB
Storage: 256GB-2TB
SSDWeight: 2.8 pounds
Pros
- rapid performance.
- Strong support for older apps.
- Incredible battery life.
Cons
- The thick bezels remain.
- There aren’t many ports.
Apple’s M1 microprocessor revolutionized laptops, and the MacBook Air was among the first to have one. Furthermore, thanks to signal processing, the camera on the MacBook Air is more precise and color-accurate than ever before, and the Magic Keyboard still gives an excellent typing experience.
Overall, if you need a MacBook for business, the M1-equipped MacBook Air is the best option. It’s challenging and long-lasting and can handle everything from corporate presentations to coffee shop brainstorming sessions.
Dell XPS 13
Display: 13.4 inches; 1920×1080, 3840×2160, or 3.5K OLED
CPU: 11th-Generation Intel Core i3-i7
GPU: Intel UHD to Intel Iris Xe
RAM: 8GB-16GB
Storage: 256GB-2TBGB
SSDWeight: 2.64 pounds
Pros
- Beautiful, immersive display, especially if you choose the 3.5K OLED variant.
- A comfortable keyboard.
- Excellent overall performance.
- Slim and appealing chassis.
Cons
- Battery life might be improved.
- Port selection is limited.
- 720p webcam with grain
Because of its superb performance, gorgeous display, and small design, the Dell XPS 13 is one of our favorite laptops. All of these benefits combine to make it an outstanding business laptop, and while the battery life isn’t as long as that of some other laptops in this price bracket, it’s usually enough to get you through a day of work without needing to charge.
If you can afford it (a few hundred dollars more than the non-OLED 4K screen option), the OLED’s deep, inky blacks, bright colors, and high contrast ratios shine when fitted in the XPS 13’s thin-bezelled InfinityEdge design.
Microsoft Surface Laptop 4
Display: 13.5-inch 2256 x 1504 touchscreen
CPU: 11-Gen Intel Core i5/i7 | Ryzen 5/7 4000-series
GPU: Integrated Intel Iris Xe or Radeon graphics
RAM: 8GB to 32GB
Storage: 256GB to 1TB
SSDWeight: 2.79 pounds
Pros
- The design is light and slim.
- Very comfortable keyboard.
- Outstanding speakers.
- Excellent battery life.
Cons
- More ports are required.
- Thick bezels are unsightly.
- A better webcam is required.
The Microsoft Surface Notebook 4 is a fantastic choice for corporate usage because it is the company’s closest approach to a flagship Windows laptop. This 2021 addition to the Surface Laptop range features premium components inside a slim chassis and has a bloatware-free Windows 10 installation.
If you want to work from anywhere with a high-quality Windows laptop, the Microsoft Surface Notebook 4 is the way to go. It includes a great keyboard with well-sized, appealing keys and a beautiful Alcantara deck option that provides more comfort to your wrists than a standard all-metal laptop. Add in the long battery life of 10+ hours and the screen’s tall 3:2 display ratio, which allows you to read and edit documents more comfortably, and you have an excellent laptop for working on the road.
Acer Swift 3
Display: 14 inches; 1920×1080
CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 4700U
GPU: AMD Radeon graphics
RAM: 8GB
Storage: 512GB
SSDWeight: 2.7 pounds
Pros
- Incredible battery life.
- Outstanding performance.
- Affordable.
Cons
- The display is a touch dull.
- Speakers aren’t outstanding.
If your organization is on a limited budget and you want to get the most bang for your buck, the Acer Swift 3 proves that exceptional performance can be acquired at a surprisingly low cost. This lightweight laptop offers a long battery life (11:09) thanks to AMD technology. It also includes more ports than some of the previous laptops: a USB Type-C port, HDMI, and a USB-A port. A fingerprint reader is also included.
The keyboard is also ideal for getting work done in the workplace due to its soft, pleasant keys. We only wish the Swift 3’s display was better and more colorful, and the speakers were a little louder. However, if you’re on a limited budget, you can’t argue with the value and performance given by the AMD-based Acer Swift 3.
Dell XPS 15 OLED
Display: 15.6 inches; 3.5K
CPU: 11th Gen Intel Core i7
GPU: Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 Ti
RAM: 16 GB
Storage: 512 GB
SSDWeight: 4.2 pounds
Pros
- The 3.5K OLED display has stunning contrasts.
- Outstanding performance.
- Large and comfortable keyboard.
- The svelte chassis still looks fantastic.
Cons
- Battery life is disappointing.
- The 720p webcam produces blurry.
We recommend the XPS 15 if you want a big screen for your professional laptop. It’s exquisite and appealing for its size, with the same excellent performance and gorgeous thin-bezel design as its XPS brothers. Some ingenious design modifications, including bigger keycaps and a responsive touchpad that is more than 60% larger than the previous iteration, further improve the new XPS 15.
Suppose you have an extra $1,000 or so to spend (including a few new components in addition to the OLED screen). In that case, the OLED’s deep, inky blacks, stunning colors, and high contrast ratios shine when placed in the XPS 15’s eye-catching InfinityEdge design.
Conclusion
It’s becoming increasingly difficult to buy a bad laptop, but what separates the best business laptop of 2022 from the average laptop is how they combine power, efficiency, mobility, and comfort. Because these are the two major reasons you’d choose a laptop over a smartphone or tablet, the greatest laptop should have a good keyboard and trackpad. Its display should be easy on the eyes, bright, and sharp enough to prevent ragged edges and exposed pixels from distracting you. Except for intensive video editing and advanced games, it should be capable of doing the majority of jobs. It should be lightweight and portable, having the ability to last all day without needing to be charged.
