The Acer Travelmate P6 14 is light-weight and has a pointy touchscreen show, plus it has the combination of USB-A, USB-C, and HDMI ports we wish to see on enterprise laptops. But it surely has a loud fan that spins up means too typically, together with whereas doing one thing so simple as unzipping a small file. Loud laptop computer followers was once a truth of life, however the laptops we suggest now are quiet until underneath heavy workloads. It is also not possible to show off the Acer’s AI presence sensing, which dims the show when it thinks an individual has walked away from the laptop computer. This in all probability gained’t be a problem for most individuals, however for those who’re turning away out of your laptop computer rather a lot—like whereas performing some work on an L-shaped desk—it turns into extremely annoying ready for a second for the pc to acknowledge your human physique.
The Microsoft Surface Laptop 7 has develop into an excellent enterprise laptop computer over its many iterations, however there are nonetheless a number of issues holding us again from recommending it. First, we seen artifacts that appeared like a slight grainy texture on the shows throughout the 2 items we examined. Once we initially requested Microsoft about the identical challenge on the OLED model of the brand new Floor Professional, which launched on the identical time, the corporate mentioned it was a component of the touchscreen that was visibly interacting with the show. The Floor Laptop computer’s Snapdragon processor can be not suitable with each Home windows utility. (Right here’s a list of main suitable apps.) That is much less of a problem as extra Home windows purposes get ported to the brand new chip’s structure, but it surely prevents us from totally endorsing laptops with these processors. With that mentioned, we commend Microsoft for making the most recent Floor Laptop computer extremely simple to restore. Along with elements being labeled and straightforward to take away, even the rubber ft on the underside of the laptop computer are designed to be simply taken out and—crucially—put again in, fairly than utilizing cheaper glue to stay on customary ft like most producers.
We examined two variations of the HP EliteBook 1040, with each OLED and non-OLED shows. These are about half a pound lighter and barely slimmer than the EliteBook 840 we at the moment suggest, however after utilizing them we don’t suppose the sleeker design is definitely worth the at the very least $350 distinction between the fashions. Between the 2 fashions of the EliteBook 1040 we examined, the OLED show was a drastic enchancment in distinction and picture high quality, particularly in comparison with the lackluster, low-quality shows typically discovered on enterprise laptops. As a lot as we preferred it, the OLED show took off about 6 hours of battery life, measuring in at 10.5 hours in comparison with the non-OLED model’s 16.5-hour lifespan.
The Samsung Galaxy Book4 Edge is extraordinarily quick and has numerous engaging options, like a slim design and sharp AMOLED show. Nevertheless, it falls quick as a fantastic enterprise laptop computer. It is not repairable, and the brand new Snapdragon processor nonetheless is not suitable with all software program on Home windows. (Right here’s an inventory of main suitable apps.) We would fairly suggest a laptop computer we all know can run any Home windows utility, and the present advantages of Snapdragon processors aren’t vital sufficient to courageous the unsure waters of compatibility points.
The Dell XPS 14 lacks USB-A and HDMI ports, and it’s heavy. This mannequin weighs 3.7 kilos, solely about half a pound greater than our prime decide, the HP EliteBook 840 G11, but it surely’s a really noticeable half pound. We additionally had a problem with the webcam crashing, and we discovered the laptop computer oddly tough to open, particularly one-handed.
The Lenovo ThinkPad T14 Gen 5 delivered good efficiency in our exams, however we want the HP EliteBook 840 G11’s construct high quality, show, and webcam. Our prime decide is lighter and slimmer, it’s simpler to open with one hand, and its show has extra distinction. This Lenovo laptop computer’s audio system sounded worse than these on the HP mannequin too, and we had a quick downside with the webcam’s picture flashing purple after we launched the digital camera.
The Samsung Galaxy Book4 Pro supplied nice efficiency in our exams, and it has the ports we wish to see on a enterprise laptop computer, but it surely fell quick in battery life. We measured a median battery lifetime of slightly below 9.5 hours, about 2.5 hours lower than what we obtained from our prime decide, the HP EliteBook 840 G11. We additionally want the HP laptop computer’s webcam.
Apple’s 14-inch MacBook Pro and 16-inch MacBook Pro are each supposed for professionals—“professional” is true within the title, in any case. They’re mild, their screens are unbelievable, their keyboards and trackpads are good, and Apple’s assist is often responsive and useful. We’ve got a guide to MacBooks for those who want macOS to Home windows. However these laptops at the moment don’t meet most of our upgradability and repairability criteria for a superb enterprise laptop computer. They’re tough to restore and often not possible to improve, and so they embrace only a handful of equivalent ports, necessitating a pile of dongles.
Correction: A earlier model of this information referred to the HP EliteBook 840’s prime lid as plastic, however it’s really made from magnesium.
This text was edited by Signe Brewster and Caitlin McGarry.
