The perfect laptop for work or school is one that will last you an entire day on a single charge. It should be light enough to be carried for hours without giving you a backache. Yet it is sufficiently capable to handle everything from Excel to Java. Depending on your needs, other considerations include a decent webcam (perhaps one with a privacy shutter), face or fingerprint unlock, touchscreen with stylus support, and even the screen's aspect ratio. Here are five of our current favourites.
Acer Travelmate P6
At just over 1kg, the Acer Travelmate P6 is certainly built for the road. Its 14-inch 16:10 screen is optimised for work, while an integrated privacy feature narrows the viewing angle to deter prying eyes. Acer has thrown in lots of memory and storage to complement the laptop's capable Intel Core i7 processor. Its battery life was also excellent at over 9 hours.
Apple MacBook Pro (2021)
Apple's M1-based MacBook Pro is an excellent choice if you're doing lots of video and photo editing. The laptop runs apps like Adobe Photoshop and Final Cut Pro like a champ. It helps that the display gets really bright, while its aspect ratio lets you place two windows side by side and see more. In addition, the return of the SD card slot and HDMI port help to reduce the number of dongles you'll need to carry around.
Asus Expertbook B7 Flip
If you need to work anywhere securely, consider the Asus Expertbook B7 Flip. This 2-in-1 Windows convertible comes with fast 5G connectivity, and is portable enough at 1.4kg. Like the Acer Travelmate P6, the Asus has a built-in privacy screen that darkens the display and reduces its visibility from the sides. It also has many I/O ports, including less common ones like micro-HDMI and mini-DisplayPort.
LG Gram 16
The LG Gram 16 retains the sleek and portable design from last year's model. It is a feathery 1.2kg for a 16-inch laptop. While the computing hardware has gotten an incremental upgrade, LG has added useful software features that can automatically lock the laptop or dim the display, as well as more unusual ones like moving a window from the laptop to an external monitor with a glance.
Microsoft Surface Pro 8
Microsoft's laptop-tablet hybrid gets its biggest makeover yet with the latest Surface Pro 8. Changes like a new Type Cover that can fit (and charge) the Slim Pen 2 stylus and Thunderbolt 4 ports are much welcomed. Writing or inking with the stylus is as smooth as it gets with the display's new 120Hz refresh rate. The front webcam is also great for online meetings with its clear and detailed videos.
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