Best business laptops

We examine some of the best laptops for CIOs and enterprise users to choose from

Every business user requires an efficient device to complete their daily tasks, and laptops are particularly handy when working both in and out of the office.

There are several popular business laptops in the market, with different features and tech specs to meet individual requirements. From Microsoft, Dell, Apple and more, finding the best one for you shouldn't be a challenge.

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 CIOs and budgets.

By CIO UK Staff

January 9, 2019

CIO UK

1. What to consider?

There are several factors to consider when buying a new business laptop, whether for you or to be shared among others in the organisation.

It is probably a good idea to first consider what you require and what the typical day-to-day uses of the device will entail. This will help to shortlist the options that are available to choose from.

Firstly, it is key to identify what software is best for your business uses. Although Windows is the most widely used across organisations, consider the different applications that you will be using and whether they are all compatible with your desired operating system.

In most cases, there are some applications that are not compatible with macOS that are compatible with Windows and vice versa, so take this into consideration before buying.

The laptop size is also an important aspect. If your work requires you to travel often, it is probably a good idea to go for a laptop that is of good size and weight. This can be identified by the display, a laptop of 13inch panel or less would be good for travellers.

Of course, battery life is definitely one of the core factors of consideration when it comes to this as well. It is a good idea to buy a laptop has a battery life of 8 hours or more for use on long-haul flights.

Finally, consider the budget. Whether provided by your organisation or yourself, it is a good idea to go for what fits your budget.

2. 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.

3. Dell

Dell offers lots of laptops designed for business use, and is a well recognised brand when it comes to 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. There are lots of ports but sadly the battery life is just 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 laptop offers the best of both worlds, power and 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.

The Dell Precision 7730 is a little larger 17inch mobile workstation, featuring 8^th gen Intel core and Xeon 6-core processors.

Probably best for office and working from home, the workstation offers a fast speed of up to 3200 MHz and built-in Nvidia Quadro P5200 GPU making it capable to run some of the most demanding applications. It includes Windows 10 Pro, but is also compatible with Ubuntu Linux at an extra cost.

4. Apple

Apple - which really needs no introduction - launched three new MacBook Pro models last October: a 15-inch model and two 13-inch versions.

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, with up to 10 hours of battery life.

It offers RAM ranging from 8GB to 32GB, and storage space from 256GB to 4GB and built-in Intel Iris Plus Graphics.

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.

Apple also released a new MacBook Air model in November, which includes Touch ID and 8^th generation Intel dual-core processor.

It offers between 8GB and 16GB of RAM, between 128GB and 512GB of storage and up to 1.5TB SSD. Although the battery life remains the same as the previous model at 12 hours, its 13.3inch screen now includes a retina display and is available in three colours: gold, silver and space grey and starts at £1,199.

This essentially immediately superceded the £1,249 MacBook, meaning if you're looking for a more portable machine the new MacBook Air is the obvious choice.

5. 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 keyboard 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.

The latest Surface Pro 6 is an upgrade from the previous versions, offering more features suited for enterprise use.

The detachable laptop now includes 8^th gen Intel Core Processor and up to 13.5 hours of battery life. Its storage space goes up to 512GB, which is very handy for large businesses and boasts of 12.3 PixelSense touchscreen display that is compatible with its Surface pen and touchpad.

6. 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.

7. 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.

8. 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.

The ZenBook Flip S UX370UA provides an ultra-thin 2-in-1 laptop weighing only 1.1kg, making it one of the most lightweight business laptops available.

With 4K UHD display resolution, the high-quality screen display is great for multiple tasks. It includes up to 16GB RAM and up to 1TB PCle 3 SSD with its 8^th generation Intel Core i7 Processor.

To add, the Zenbook features Windows 10 as its default operating system.

9. HP

The HP Spectre 13 laptop is slimline, ultra-portable and surprisingly powerful. Spectre offers a premium feel designed to rival the 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.

The EliteBook x360 1030 G3 comes as a fully packaged convertible laptop great for business use.

The 13.3inch device offers an ultra-bright 4K touchscreen display, with four versatile modes for different uses such as tablet mode for writing, presentation, streaming content and the traditional laptop mode.

It is available in 8GB or 16GB memory and includes Windows 10 operating system.

10. Chromebooks

When it comes to Chromebooks expect business-class performance with the beautifully designed Dell 13-inch Chromebook. You get a 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.

The HP Chromebook x2 is a 12.3inch tablet that offers high-resolution display and up to 12 hours battery life.

It includes a detachable keyboard and pen, which is handy for business professionals that write reports or hold meetings and presentations often.

With 32GB of storage, built on Intel core processor, this is a good pick for anyone after a light laptop.

Again, the Chromebook is only available on ChromeOS, which is suited for organisations that rely on Google Docs and web-based applications.