In this digital age, most if not all Small & Medium Enterprises (SMEs) will require a laptop (computer) to send digital invoices, create purchase orders or perform tasks using software like Adobe Photoshop, AutoCAD, and MATLAB.
The market for business-centric laptops is vast. Some features that business laptops should have include a long-lasting battery life, upgradeable internals such as Random Access Memory (RAM), Solid State Drives (SSDs) and a more rugged (if possible) casing, as most business professionals will need to lug them all around town.
Here is a list of the top 5 laptops that we think will suit most businesses in a wide range of industries.
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| Brand | Upgradable RAM | Upgradable Storage | Weight | Cost |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 10 | No | Yes | 1.12Kg | $ 2,353.76 |
| Dell XPS 15 | Yes | Yes | 1.84Kg | $ 2,698.98 |
| Razor Blade 15 | Yes | Yes | 2.09Kg | $ 2,582.00 |
| HP EliteBook 640 | Yes | Yes | 1.37Kg | $ 2,029.00 |
| MacBook Pro 14″ | No | No | 1.6Kg | $ 2,999.00 |
#1 Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 10
First launched in 1992 by IBM and bought over by Lenovo in 2005, the ThinkPad line is notorious for its ultra-ruggedness and business-oriented design profile. Most ThinkPads have readily available spare parts and their components are easily replaceable or serviceable, thus making them a mainstay for many businesses around the world.
Lenovo uses the US Department of Defence’s durability standards to build the X1. These checks include harsh temperatures, temperature variations, humidity, and dust. Thus, making the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 10 a great contender for most business professionals.
You can also consider using Lenovo’s Device as a Service (DaaS) option where they will specifically curate the devices your businesses need with tech support too.
The ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 10 is an ultra-sleek and light laptop and with their Now Tile® ready technology, you could use your smartphone to locate your X1 if you misplaced it. Coming in at 1.12kg, this bad boy can be taken anywhere with ease, and with spare parts found easily straight from their website, you can be assured that your laptop will be working no matter where your business takes you.
Great For: Almost every industry
Price: $2,353.76
Weight: 1.12Kg
#2 Dell XPS 15
The Dell XPS 15 is great for business professionals who require heavy computer usage but with portability in mind. It sports an NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 3050 Ti that can handle most professional software such as Adobe Photoshop and even 3DS Max renders.
Having an inbuilt full SD card slot and a quad-speaker design with Waves Nx® 3D Audio for Speakers, the Dell XPS 15 is great for photographers and sound engineers who require editing on the go.
Great For: Creatives & Engineers
Price: $2,698.98
Weight: 1.84Kg
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#3 Razor Blade 15
The all-star Razor Blade 15 is considered the best gaming laptop in the world, and usually, gaming laptops come heavily equipped to handle heavy business software usage.
It has a 144Hz screen refresh rate which allows ultra-smooth viewing quality, and a powerful RTX 3060 graphics card which can support MATLAB and AutoCAD. It also comes equipped with a Kensington slot which allows you to place a lock to physically secure your laptop to your work desk. It also sports 4 expandable storage slots if you require more storage space in the future.
Great For: Gaming professionals & Engineers
Price: $2,582.00
Weight: 2.09Kg
#4 HP Elitebook 640
A no-frills laptop that sports an array of port options to plug in 3 USB Type-A, 1 Thunderbolt 4 USB Type-C, 1 headphone/microphone combo and an HDMI port.
Its onboard Intel Iris X graphics might not be as powerful as an Nvidia GPU, but it runs more efficiently and consumes lesser electricity, thus improving battery life. It is also the most affordable option coming in at $2,029 and you can future-proof it with upgradable RAM and storage slots.
The HP EliteBook 640 is lightweight at 1.37 kilograms and has HP security systems such as HP Secure Erase which permanently removes data from your storage to retain heightened privacy, and HP Sure Admin which allows firmware IT managers to ensure that your software does remain compatible, HP Sure clicks which provides an extra layer of security from Malware attacks and HP Sure Run, that ensures your laptop critical security processes remain working in the event of a malware attack.
These security redundancies ensure you can continue working on your next financial meeting without the risk of having your data lost or exploited by external parties.
Great For: Administrators, HR, Finance teams & most businesses
Price: $2,029.00
Weight: 1.37Kg
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#5 MacBook Pro 14”
The pristine, sleek, and head-turning MacBook Pro Is by no means just a laptop for show. It packs a punch when it comes to design workflow. With its new M1 chip that outpaces many PC counterparts, it increases workload speed which allows you to run multiple applications without lag or delay.
With the same M1 chip, the MacBook Pro 14” runs heavy programs with more efficiency and thus reducing the amount of power needed to run those programs. On top of that, it has one of the fastest rendering speeds in video editing. Not to mention, if you are building iOS or mac apps, the MacBook Pro is better built for that.
It does have some drawbacks like not being able to run all sorts of applications as most programs are made for the PC, so do check with your IT professional if the software your company uses can run on the Mac. Alternatively, you can install windows on the Mac and run your business programs on the Windows portion without affecting your data on the Mac side.
The new MacBook Pro 14” also has more ports like an SD card slot, HDMI port, and USB Type-C thunderbolt port. You now do not have to lug the external dongle around to have access to more port selections.
Apple also has a dedicated team to serve business customers with their hardware and software. Their team curates the devices your business requires such as the right laptops for your employees, Apple TVs to be installed in your meeting rooms, iPads for designers to showcase their work using augmented reality (AR) and even managing your employees’ devices and data with Apple Business Manager software.
Great For: Creatives, Software Engineers & iOS coders
Price: $2,999.00
Weight: 1.6Kg
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Notable Mention
Before you go off spending your IT budget, here are some notable laptops that your business can improve sales and customer retention.
#6 iPad
Nowadays the iPad replaces the “lite” notebooks of the past and can even run versions of Adobe Photoshop and open CAD drawings. This capability enables businesses to showcase their work to potential clients more professionally.
iPads can be used more readily to give your clients a better visual using augmented reality (AR) that can be created on the go. It is also much more convenient to prop up your quotation in industries which have a more dynamic billing process and documents can be signed without the need for a printer.
The iPad starts at $679 and can be easily distributed to your team with the help of Apple’s business team.
Note: This is not an exhaustive list. Do let us know what other laptops you think should be included in this list.
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