Best Laptops for Working From Home 2020

AlexS

With the ongoing health pandemic forcing businesses to shut down, employees have increasingly been working remotely. And to get the job done from home, you’ll need the right tools to stay productive. In the digital age, a capable laptop should be at the top of the list to handle anything from Office tasks to collaboration. For better ergonomic, be sure to pair your perfect notebook with an external monitor. Check out our guide on dual monitor setups.

Whatever your budget is for a work laptop, these systems will deliver the power and performance needed, and the best part is that they’re portable enough to take with you when you can start to head back into the office. Here are our top five picks for the best laptops for working from home:

Image from Apple.com

Apple MacBook Air: The workhorse for Apple fans

Pros:

• Sleek design
• Elegant unibody metal design
• Long battery life

Cons:

• Limited to USB-C ports
• Difficult to upgrade components

Despite having been released more than a decade ago, the MacBook Air continues to be one of the most popular laptops – and rightfully so. This beloved notebook had set the stage for premium laptops, thanks to its unibody aluminum wedged-shape design and thin and light form factor. Though it may appear that much hasn’t changed, Apple has provided meaningful updates this year to keep the Air at the top of our list.

Still weighing in at under three pounds, the 13.3-inch Air now comes with a high-resolution Retina Display with True Tone screen technology to keep colors accurate. A TouchID sensor makes it easy to log in, and upgraded USB-C ports make it easy to connect to a battery pack for even longer battery life on the go. And powering the entire thing is Intel’s 10th-Gen processors.

For lovers of Apple’s ecosystem, if your business also relies on an iPhone or iPad, the Air should be at the top of your pick. This laptop can tap into FaceTime video calls with its FaceTime HD webcam. You can even respond to iMessages with the new Magic Keyboard, which offers a better experience than the butterfly switches on some recent Pros.

Lenovo ThinkPad E15: Made for business productivity

Pros:

• Durable MIL-STD design
• Anti-glare screen
• Privacy shutter

Cons:

• Webcam limited to just 720p
• Boring design

Arguably referred to as the gold standard for business laptops, Lenovo’s modest ThinkPad E series proves that enterprise systems don’t have to cost a fortune. At a more modest $899 price, the ThinkPad E15 comes with many features that will help you get things done, including a roomy 15.6-inch FHD display with an anti-glare coating, a speedy 10th-Gen quad-core Intel processor, and a spacious 256GB solid-state drive to store all your files.

Underneath its understated all-black design, the ThinkPad’s claim to fame is its MIL-STD certification, including a durable aluminum lid and a keyboard that can survive some spilled coffee in the morning. Harman Audio tuning and a 720p webcam help with video conferencing, while a physical ThinkShutter privacy shutter gives your family the privacy needed after work is done.

MSI Creator 17: Designed for designers

Pros:

• Powerful performance
• GPU with ray-tracing capabilities
• 4K HDR display

Cons:

• Pricey
• Heavy

At 5.51 pounds, the MSI Creator 17 is the heaviest laptop on our list, but this heavyweight powerhouse packs a big punch despite its 0.80-inch thick body. Often pigeon-holed as a gaming notebook, the Creator 17 is a mobile workstation that can handle Office tasks, web browsing, creative workflows, data analysis, and more with ease.

The $2,999 Creator 17 is a versatile system packed with Intel’s 10th-Gen Core i7 processor and Nvidia’s GeForce RTX 2070 Super graphics, making it overkill for most jobs. But if your job involves editing videos or lots of time spent in Photoshop, then you’ll appreciate the capabilities of this notebook, which includes a large 17.3-inch screen with 4K resolution and HDR support, 32GB of memory, and a whopping 1TB SSD for storage.

HP Envy x360 13: A transforming notebook

Pros: 

• Versatile 360-degree hinge
• AMD Ryzen 4000 performance
• Integrated Radeon graphics for HD gaming

Cons:

• No discrete GPU option

HP’s Envy convertible is a laptop that marches to the beat of its own drum. Though this Windows 10 laptop may share a similar design as Apple’s MacBook lineup, it comes with some features that make it just as unique as it is powerful.

For starters, the Envy x360 comes with a 13.3-inch FHD display that rotates on a 360-degree hinge, allowing it to convert between a laptop and a tablet easily. In either mode, you can use the optional Stylus Pen to write or draw on the touchscreen, which is excellent for signing PDFs or jotting down quick notes. For $999, you get the best of a tablet and laptop in one convenient package with the added benefit of 16GB of memory and 512GB of storage.

Underneath the hood, this Envy x360 is one of the few laptops that isn’t powered by Intel silicon. Instead, the AMD-made Ryzen 7 4700U chip gives this laptop plenty of power to get things done, and the integrated Radeon graphics have enough muscle power to let you unwind to a 1080p game at the end of a long workday.

Google Pixelbook Go: For life in the browser

Pros:

• Chrome OS stays up to date
• Able to run some Android apps

Cons:

• Chrome OS can be limiting
• No biometric security

If you don’t need the complexities of a full desktop operating system, you can keep things simple and light by living in the browser. Google’s Chrome OS offers plenty of tools to get things done if your primary needs rely on Google Apps. And if this describes you to a tee, then the Pixelbook Go is a great solution.

Coming in at 2.3 pounds, the Pixelbook Go is the lightest laptop on our list, but don’t let its size fool you. Backed by Chrome OS, you’ll routinely get all the latest security patches and updates, and this laptop boasts excellent battery life. It also comes with a 13.3-inch FHD display – though you can upgrade to a 4K version with touch – that will smoothly run the Chrome browser and Android apps with ease. With a premium build quality, this powerful Chrome OS laptop uses Intel Core processors and integrated Intel UHD Graphics 615.

This article was written by Chuong Nguyen