Which laptop to pick? With notebooks ranging in price, features and performance, consumers are spoilt for choice. To distinguish the best ones — how responsive it feels, how fast it charges and how long the battery life — chipmaker Intel created the Intel Evo platform.
To be certified as an Intel Evo notebook, it needs to meet certain requirements. For instance, the notebook should wake from sleep in less than a second. And last over 9 hours if it has a Full-HD screen. You can read the details from Intel, but basically, an Intel Evo laptop delivers what Intel believes is the best experience in a Windows notebook. Of course, even among Intel Evo notebooks, there are winners and losers. Here are our favourite five.
Acer Swift 5
For those who are always on the road, consider the Acer Swift 5. It's not much to look at — a standard clamshell design without much flair — but it excels in two key departments. Firstly, its magnesium alloy chassis is very handy at just over 1kg. More importantly, its 11-hour battery life is simply outstanding, even compared to its Intel Evo rivals.
Asus ZenBook Flip S
Elegant and classy, the Asus ZenBook Flip S is the Taiwanese PC maker's premium Windows 2-in-1 convertible. Besides its sleek, eye-catching design, the Flip S also has a stunning 4K OLED screen that offers true blacks and rich colours. It is really beautiful and a perfect fit for this luxurious convertible. The downside of the display, though, is that it is probably the reason for the middling battery life (slightly over 5 hours).
Dell XPS 13
The Dell XPS 13 continues to be one of the best premium notebooks in the market. This year's version gets upgraded to the Intel Evo platform, while retaining the slim and compact design of its predecessor. Its best feature is arguably the near bezel-less display, which can be configured with a bright and vibrant 4K touchscreen. Be prepared for the dongle life, though, as the XPS 13 only has two Thunderbolt 4 ports.
Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Carbon
The Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Carbon is probably one of the most well-rounded Intel Evo notebooks. It is slim and light (under 1kg) and has a QHD screen that offers a good compromise between high resolution and battery life. What distinguishes the Lenovo from competitors is a presence detection feature that uses a time-of-flight sensor to improve security and conserve power, while also making it convenient for users to log in.
LG Gram 16
Sporting a new design with a 16:10 display that improves user productivity, the latest LG Gram 16 is a rarity in notebooks. How many 16-inch notebooks clock in under 1.2kg? For that matter, I can't think of any 15-inch models that are as portable as the LG. Also impressive is the huge 80 watt-hour battery, which lasted over 10 hours in a video playback test. In short, the Gram 16 is the big-screen ultrabook you didn't think you'd need.
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