Best Business Laptops 2020: The best work from home/office notebooks

Got work to do? Whether working from home, at the office or on a cross country flight, the common denominator for a mobile work companion is quite constant: Powerful, portable and excellent battery life.

That’s how we’ve always known business notebooks, but lately, a dedicated business laptop needs to do more than send emails and connect to the internet – most people are now looking for something reliable, robust, and just as easy to use for home working as it should at the office, or events.

In short, you really need one of the best business laptops on the market, one that’s powerful enough, with the latest internal components as well as the best productivity features – and of course the longest battery life. While at it, you can also consider which accessories you often need, such as the assortment of available laptop bags, docking stations, and portable battery packs/chargers to keep your machine going.

Also, you need to think of a laptop that will meet your specific needs. For most people, Windows laptops are quite enough for their tasks, sometimes Linux can also be useful. If you’re an outdoor person, you may need a rugged laptop. Students may find a Chromebook more useful over everything else.

All these considerations apply for all business users, whether you’ve got a small startup, a Fortune 500 firm, or simply a home office-based one-man team. With that inconsideration, we’ve put together a list of the best business laptops on offer. That’s to say, whether you’re shopping for the best Ultrabook or the most versatile mobile workstation or a thin client, you don’t have to waste hours on end to find the right machine. You’ll find something here to meet your business needs.

• We’ve also featured the best laptops for gamers, students, graphic designers and best budget laptops.

The best business laptops – a sneak peek

1. Dell XPS 15
2. Apple MacBook Pro 16-Inch
3. Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon (7^th Gen)
4. Huawei MateBook X Pro
5. Dell XPS 13
6. HP Envy 13-Aq0044nr
7. Razor Blade 15
8. ASUS ZenBook 13
9. Acer Aspire 5 A515-54-51DJ
10. ASUS Chromebook Flip

---

1. Dell XPS 15

Without a doubt, the best Windows laptop

CPU: 8th generation Intel Core i5 – i7 | Graphics: Intel UHD Graphics 620 | RAM: 8GB – 16GB | Screen: 15.6-inch FHD (1,920 x 1,080) – 4K UHD+ (3840 x 2400) | Storage: 256GB – 1TB SSD

Need the best Windows laptop right now? Dell’s XPS 15 should be at the very top of your short list. At the moment, it’s a clear contender of the very top position, thanks to a stunning 15-inch display, which you can scale from as low as FHD (1,920 X 1,080) to a gorgeous 4K UHD+ (3840 X 2400) resolution. This isn’t a laptop you just overlook easily.

In addition to the wonderful screen options, its available with a choice of i5, i7, or i9 Intel Core processors, along with standard RAM configurations of 8, 16, or 32 and up. Graphics card options are anything from standard integrated graphics to Nvidia’s GTX 150 with 4GB DDR5 memory.

The Dell XPS 15 can be used as anything from a daily-use workhouse for business use, to a graphics powerhouse that can handle any creative design task, and can also do some basic gaming when not working. Expect this laptop to be expensive than rivals, but it’s worth every buck you spend.

---

2. Apple MacBook Pro 16-Inch

An Apple with a massive screen

CPU: 2.6GHz 6‑core Intel Core i7 to 2.4GHz 8‑core Intel Core i9 | Graphics: AMD Radeon Pro 5300M with 4GB of GDDR6 to AMD Radeon Pro 5500M with 8GB of GDDR6 | RAM: 16-64GB 2666MHz DDR4 | Screen: 16-inch 3072×1920 at 226 ppi | Storage: 512GB – 8TB SSD

Not always do you want the best Windows laptops, and in that case, the best Mac laptop you can consider is the new MacBook Pro 16-inch. It’s a new model that builds on the popularity of the MacBook Pro 15, but this time around Apple is offering an even bigger screen.

Aside from its sprawling and beautiful 16-inch screen, the hardware and components here make this probably the most powerful laptop in this list, and should provide many years of excellent use.

It comes in a choice of 6-core or 8-core processor, and the base model comes with 16GB RAM and an option to expand to 64GB. You also have choices for the graphics card, making it ready to handle even the most demanding applications.

With the biggest screen and tons of power, it’s not surprising that this laptop comes with the biggest price tag of all laptops featured in this list.

---

3. Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon (7^th Gen)

The only ultra-thin laptop that shines

CPU: Intel Core i7-8565U | Graphics: Intel HD Graphics 620 | RAM: 16GB | Screen: 14-inch, 2560 x 1440 pixels | Storage: 256GB-2TB SSD

Earlier models of the Lenovo X1 Carbon have been nothing but best-in-class business laptops, and this year’s model is even better, with Lenovo delivering a thinner and slimmer design without any tradeoffs.

Lenovo is known to deliver the best business security platform, and that’s more reason to buy this ThinkPad Carbon that delivers lots of power despite its small size. It comes with pretty much every feature you need in a productivity machine, making it the best business laptop your money can buy.

Battery life is excellent, lasting up to 15.5 hours, and a rapid charging feature that yields battery back up to 80 percent capacity in only an hour, making the X1 Carbon an ultrabook that will keep you working while you’re on the move.

---

4. Huawei MateBook X Pro

Timeless design for business executives

CPU: 8th generation Intel Core i5 – i7 | Graphics: Intel UHD Graphics 620, Nvidia GeForce MX150 2GB GDDR5 | RAM: 8GB – 16GB | Screen: 13.9-inch 3K (3,000 x 2,080) | Storage: 512GB SSD

We have seen PC manufacturers go heads-over with top-notch technologies and designs, but we didn’t anticipate Huawei’s direct assault on the bests of Dell, Apple, Lenovo and Asus in the high-end computing niche. For business executives looking for an attractive alternative to the clichéd Surfaces and MacBooks of this world, the Huawei MateBook X Pro (Mach-W19B) is perhaps the only thing worth considering for 2020.

Huawei has managed to deliver a sleek ultraportable laptop that mimics the Apple MacBook Pro on everything –from color to keyboard switches. But in surprising twist, Huawei’s replica of the MacBook Pro is luxurious, performant and long-lasting, with subtle improvements upon both Apple’s design and the Dell XPS 13’s performance.

See Full Review: Huawei MateBook X Pro Review

---

5. Dell XPS 13

A small yet powerful laptop

CPU: 8th generation Intel Core i5 – i7 | Graphics: Intel UHD Graphics 620 | RAM: 8GB – 16GB | Screen: 13.3-inch FHD (1,920 x 1,080) – 4k (3840 x 2160) | Storage: 256GB – 1TB SSD

In case you find the Dell XPS 15 too big for your liking, the Dell XPS 13 makes for an excellent alternative.

Dell bills it as the ultraportable of the future, and looking at its specs sheet, you can easily see why the name. It simply punches above its weight with Windows 10 Pro across the range and attracts a very reasonable pricing regime.

This award-winning laptop packs a 13.3-inch display into a chassis meant for an average 11.6-inch model. In 2019, it was refreshed with even better components, resulting in a much-improved business laptop experience. You can upgrade it with 16GB and a 1TB M2 SSD drive, but the battery life is exceptional with just over 22 hours on a single charge.

If you need a laptop with the best webcam, the XPS 13 offers an above the screen camera for better video calls, which helps make the Dell XPS 13 once again an exceptional business money your money can buy.

---

6. HP Envy 13-Aq0044nr

A thin, sleek laptop for your Envy

CPU: 8th-generation Intel Core i7-8565U | Graphics: Nvidia GeForce MX250 | RAM: 16GB | Screen: 13.3-inch 4K (3,840 x 2,160) IPS | Storage: 512GB SSD

The Envy line already has some of the thinnest borders in the business, but the new HP Envy 13-aq0044nr boast a thrilling 97 percent screen-to-body ratio. Simply said, 97 percent of the laptop’s footprint is taken up by the display, leaving a bezel that’s just 2.5 millimetres thick. That’s the best yet, competing with the Asus ZenBook S13, a thin, premium ultraportable.

The HP Envy 13 is a well-crafted, great-looking ultraportable laptop with strong performance and small but meaningful touches over the 2-in-1 Spectre x360, that make it a pure joy to use. It’s very fast, last a very long time on a single charge, and feels great in hand.

See full review: HP Envy 13-aq0044nr Review

---

7. Razor Blade 15

For gaming and heavy applications

CPU: 8th-generation Intel Core i7-8759H | Graphics: Nvidia GeForce RTX 2070 | RAM: 16GB | Screen: 15.6-inch 4K (1,920 x 1,080) IPS | Storage: 256GB SSD

With its wide color gamut, the Razer Blade 15 fits the bill for architects, video editors and gaming when not working. It has the power to run elaborate simulation software and can play triple-A games on the side.

I’m always fascinated by Razer laptops and a big fan of the latest offering. They always strike a touch of class and a stylish design, while leveraging performance than triumphs over majority of the competition. That’s particularly true with the new RTX Razer Blade 15 line-up of gaming laptops, that also suffice for IT students.

If you’re not on a budget, the RTX 2080 Razer Blade 15 is certainly a solid landing ground for serious AAA gaming. It brings forward technologies like ray tracing that provides an extra polish to unexplored spheres and similar muscle for graphics application.

Razer has always perfected on offering portable yet powerful laptops that can be used for gaming as well as media editing and content creation. It also means that the cheaper RTX 2070 model of the Razer Blade 15 boasts better ray tracing performance, which is quite surprising, but much welcome among media editors, IT professionals and engineers.

See full review: Razer Blade 15 Review

---

8. ASUS ZenBook UX333FA-AB77

Best in class performance, at a good price

CPU: Intel Core i5 – 8565U| Graphics: Intel HD | RAM: 16GB | Screen: 13.3-inch (1,920 x 1,080) | Storage: 512GB SSD

Asus has been trying to undercut the Apple MacBook Air, and they kind of succeeded with the ZenBook 13 line that rings low prices but packs more power than the most powerful Air ever produced. With the ASUS ZenBook UX333FA-AB77, the company is taking on the Dell XPS 13 with a sleek, premium design and lots of power for less money.

The only thing missing from the XPS 13’s offering is a Thunderbolt 3 port, but it compensates with a nano-edge display, powerful 8th Gen. Core i7 processor, a dual-function touchpad with a switchable numeric keypad for enhanced productivity and a TPM security chip to secure your files.

If you’re a graduate student pursuing specialized studies in your field of choice, the ZenBook aligns to most course demands. It does it all, graphic design, film making, is portable for the frequent traveller and is ideal for business studies.

See full review: ASUS ZenBook UX333FA-AB77

---

9. Acer Aspire 5 A515-54-51DJ

Very affordable, but gets the job done

CPU: Intel Core i5 – 8265U| Graphics: Intel UHD Graphics 620 | RAM: 8GB | Screen: 15.6-inch (1,920 x 1,080) | Storage: 256GB SSD

If you’re going in for virtual/online classes, or any course that require secondary research for assignments, checking e-mail for homework and frequent video-calling classmates, the Aspire 5 might be all you need.

It comes with a 15.6-inch non-touch 1080p display, an 8th Gen Intel Core i5-8265U processor, 8GB of DDR4 RAM and a 256GB solid-state drive. That right there is an impressive spec sheet for almost all your classroom needs, without being too expensive.

Build quality and productivity performance are what separates the Acer Aspire 5 A515-54-51DJ from some other budget college laptop alternatives.

See full review: Acer Aspire 5 A515-54-51DJ review

---

10. ASUS Chromebook Flip

Chromebooks are also great for business

CPU: Intel Core m3-8100y| Graphics: Intel HD Graphics 615 | RAM: 4GB | Screen: 14-inch (1,920 x 1,080) | Storage: 64GB Flash Drive

The Asus Chromebook Flip C434TA-DSM4T is an exciting laptop, providing class-leading performance, and it’s by far the most exciting piece of hardware around. It runs fast enough for the usual OS tasks, it runs a long time on a single charge of the battery, and its sleek metallic design makes it easy to carry around in college and at work.

For students and home-office users who need something portable, yet long lasting, the Flip makes for an excellent choice. It will let you stay online for many hours as you share important information with peers, multitask and complete assignments. And, it doesn’t cost so much.

.