Best business laptops 2018

Here is our guide to the best laptops for CIOs and enterprise power users

Business users will more likely than not be looking for an efficient device that balances the performance needed for daily tasks and word processing with a long-lasting battery life.

Everything on our checklists will most likely be covered by either the MacBook Pro or Microsoft's Surface Pro, but of course, these come at a price. A high one.

Thankfully, there are lots of laptops out there that offer solid specs and performance without breaking the bank, although, you might lose out on design.

Here, we take a look at some of the best business-focused laptops to suit most budgets and CIOs.

By CIO UK Staff

July 17, 2018

CIO UK

1. Huawei

Although Huawei was traditionally known as an infrastructure provider, the vendor has moved into the consumer electronics space in recent years, most noticeably with a range of high- and low-end mobile phones. But it's also proving to be a good player in business laptops.

The MateBook X Pro is a great example, with an ultra-thin design and high-quality performance – it has NVIDIA’s GeForce MX150 graphics card built-in for faster image processor and up to 12 hours battery life.

It ships with an Intel i7 chip, and between 8GB and 16GB of memory, as well as a One-Touch power button for secure unlocking of the laptop. Storage is up to 512GB.

2. Dell

Dell offers lots of laptops designed for business use, so it should be the first stop for anyone looking for good processing power and lightweight design.

We like the Dell XPS 15 which provides a sharp 1080p screen which is two inches bigger than its sibling the XPS 13 but remains remarkably compact compared to competitors of the same listed dimensions. The XPS 15 offers 8GB of RAM and a 32GB SSD and comes with a one-year on-site warranty, lots of ports but sadly the battery is six hours, less than some of the other laptops on our list.

The Dell Latitude 5289 is another great option for business users. This Dell offers the best of both worlds, a powerful laptop with the portability of a sleek consumer machine. As it's a hybrid, it comes with a touchscreen and a fantastic battery life, not to mention, enterprise-grade security, an Intel vPro CPU, 8GB of RAM and oodles of connectivity ports.

3. Apple

Apple launched three new MacBook Pro models last October: a 15-inch model and two 13-inch versions, to go along side its already existing 15 and 13-inch MacBook Pros.

Both the new 15-inch model and the 13-inch one can come with a sensor 'Touch Bar' which replaces function keys on the QWERTY keyboard. However, they feature no USB-C port but does offer four Thunderbolt 3 ports which hold the same functionality.

Apple also released a 13-inch model without the Touch Bar which is £500 cheaper. The most expensive 15-inch MacBook will also come with 2TB of SSD storage, which is pretty remarkable.

For those wanting to spend less money, the MacBook Air 13-inch provides an impressive 12-hour battery life in the larger edition. The Air does lack the storage space of the Pro but is still a great piece of kit.

The newest member of the MacBook family is called MacBook. Pretty simple. But the product itself is very impressive, matching the Air and Pro in a lot of areas.

The latest additions to the MacBook Pro family are the 13 and 15-inch MacBook Pro with Touch Bar, both of which offer up to 10 hours battery life.

It offers RAM ranging from 8GB to 32GB memory space, and storage space from 256GB to 4GB.

They both have four Thunderbolt 3 USB-C ports and built-in Intel Iris Plus Graphics.

4. Microsoft

The latest Surface is called the Surface Book 2 and it is a thing of beauty. This laptop comes in two sizes, a 13inch model, and a 15inch one and each come in various processor, storage and memory combinations.

The 15inch model comes with 16GB of RAM and up to 1TB of storage if you go for the top spec machine. You'll also get a GTX 1060 chip with 6GB VRAM, meaning this model - Microsoft says - is five times faster than the original Surface Book.

Another great choice is the Surface Laptop, with its basic model housing an Intel Core i5 processor, 4GB of RAM, and 128GB of SSD storage. But if you want to splash the cash, the top model comes with the Intel Core i7, 16GB of RAM and a 512GB of SSD storage.

If none of these takes your fancy, the Surface Pro (2017) surely will. This 'laptop' - ok, it's more of a tablet with an attachable keyboard - hosts Core i7-7660U, 16GB of RAM and a 512GB Samsung KUS040202M SSD, making performance pretty spectacular. However, you'll have to buy the keyword and stylus as additional extras.

And let's not forget the Surface Pro 4, this Windows 10 tablet with detachable keyboard packs quite the punch. And although it is an older model, it comes with up to 16GB of RAM and 1TB of storage, enough to please the most power hungry CIO. And because it is slightly older, you can get a solid machine without breaking the bank.

5. Acer

The Acer Swift 5 is responsive, powerful and lightweight. The screen is excellent for the price (coming in at around £800), build quality is solid, and its performance will definitely compete with much more expensive laptops.

And let's not forget the Acer Swift 3, possibly one of the best all-round laptops on the list. Build quality is excellent, battery life good and the performance will outrank many expensive laptops.

But if you want something even cheaper, the Acer TravelMate range is a good choice, mainly because they don't feel very bargain at all. TravelMate is an ultra-portable, compact and sleek laptop with excellent security features as standard.

6. Lenovo

The Lenovo ThinkPad laptop line is the embodiment of business laptops. They boast long battery life in a sleek and lightweight design with solid performance.

The shining star - we think - is the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon. This impressive laptop comes with excellent battery life, solid build quality and keyboard, plus the X1 is super light and slim. Specs-wise it hosts the 2.7GHz Intel Core i7-7500U and 8GB of RAM, as well as, three USB-C sockets, two USB 3.0s, a full-size HDMI and a miniature RJ45 networking port, much better than a MacBook.

Another solid option is the Lenovo Yoga 11 710. This flexible laptop is ideal for the travelling CIO, offering a 360-degree hinge and a touchscreen. It's positioned in the market as a rival to the 12-inch MacBook.

Naturally, when opting for size and portability you lose out on power, but with an eight-hour battery life, perhaps this could be overlooked.

If you are after a solid laptop on a budget, then the Lenovo Yoga Book could be what you’re looking for.

Priced from £449.99, the Yoga Book offers a versatile 2-in-1 device that works as both a laptop and tablet. It has up to 12 hours of battery life, with built-in Intel Atom processor.

The Yoga Book is available on Android and Windows 10 operating system.

For users after a more powerful workstation, the Lenovo ThinkPad P71 is great for just that. Although not as slim as other models, it offers a 4K UHD display with IPS technology and built-in colour calibration for accurate imagery.

Interestingly, out of all the ThinkPad models, the P71 is the only VR (virtual reality) certified model available. This means that users can access professional AR and VR ready features on the device.

7. Asus

The Asus ZenBook UX305 is a great option for business users. You can expect MacBook Air good looks, long battery life and a competitive price from the Asus ZenBook 13. It's ideal for traditional users that don't want to stray too far from the conventional laptop format.

We also like that the Asus Transformer Book comes with 4GB of memory, a 64GB SSD drive and Intel Quad-Core Cherry Trail processor, not to mention it's a lightweight and portable design weighing just 2.28 pounds. What's more, this Asus boasts 12 hours of battery life and 9.5 hours generated from a two-hour charge.

8. HP

The HP Spectre 13 laptop is slimline, ultra-portable and surprisingly powerful. Spectre offers a premium feel designed to rival the 12-inch Macbook Pro. It has an Intel Core i7-6500U, which is uncommon in thin laptops, that normally opt for the Intel Core M series chipset. This means the laptop could have potential cooling problems, although this chipset is still part of Intel's low-voltage range of CPUs.

Another option is the HP EliteBook 840G5, which offers both style and substance for business users. It has a slim design with a huge 1080p of screen privacy, also delivering a fast performance via its built-in Core i7 processor.

It has 16GB of RAM storage space, with the integration of Windows 10 operating system.

If you are after something more versatile, the EliteBook x360 G2 could be the best option. Offering up to 16 hours of battery life, the thin 2-in-1 laptop is a handy tool for business travel users.

It includes a fingerprint reader, facial recognition logins and a joint mobile app for users to ensure their laptop are secure. Both models can be purchased here.

9. Chromebooks

Expect business-class performance with this beautifully designed Dell 13-inch Chromebook. You get a vivid full HD display and wireless tech that connects you to the cloud in seconds. A downside for some is you don't get Windows. Chrome is Google's cloud OS, great for working on the move. Connectivity and security concerns mean it won't be for everyone, but there is no denying the style and convenience.

There are lots of Chromebooks, which are very similar in spec, so for a lightweight laptop, that definitely won't break the bank, a Chromebook could be an excellent choice.