The 6 Best Laptops For Battery Life of 2025

The best laptop for battery life we've tested is the Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2024). This premium workstation is the one to get if you want the best overall user experience or need a powerful device for highly demanding tasks. Its battery life lasts around 16 hours of light use, enough to get you comfortably through a full day. This 2024 model is configurable with Apple's new M4-series SoCs, bringing more processing power than ever. Upgrades and new features include a higher peak display brightness (up to 1000 cd/m² in SDR), a nano-texture display option to further reduce glare, Thunderbolt 5 (Pro and Max models), and a 12 MP webcam with Center Stage support. There's good news for those interested in the base M4 model: it now starts with 16GB of RAM and sports a third USB-C port with the same external display support as the M4 Pro models.

For Windows users, we recommend the Lenovo ThinkPad P1 Gen 7 (2024), a 16-inch workstation. Like the MacBook Pro, it provides an amazing user experience overall, and while its battery life isn't quite as impressive, it's still more than enough to get you through the day, lasting around 12 hours of light use. You can configure this laptop with high-performance Intel Meteor Lake CPUs, up to a Core Ultra 9, paired with an NVIDIA GeForce or Ada Generation Laptop GPU. However, you can only get up to 64GB of RAM (user-upgradeable to 96GB), whereas the MacBook Pro is configurable with up to 128GB, so it might not be ideal if your work requires a lot of memory. Another downside is that it gets hotter under load.

If you don't need the raw processing power of a workstation but still want something premium for general productivity tasks, check out the Microsoft Surface Laptop 7th Edition 15 (2024). This 2024 model has many upgrades over its predecessor, including a brighter 120Hz display, a haptic touchpad, Wi-Fi 7, a 1080p webcam, and more ports. It feels just as well built, sporting a full-aluminum chassis, and it's even more compact, thanks to thinner bezels. Another significant change is that it now uses an ARM-based Snapdragon SoC. This chip is fast and incredibly power-efficient; however, many programs don't run natively on an ARM processor, so check that the apps you use are compatible or run well enough to get your work done first.

A worthy mention is the M3 Apple MacBook Air 15 (2024). A direct competitor of the Surface Laptop, this 15-inch ultraportable feels equally premium and sturdy. However, its Retina display doesn't get quite as bright and is limited to a 60Hz refresh rate. It also has fewer ports, consisting of only two USB-Cs and a MagSafe charging port. As for battery life, while it can't quite match the Surface Laptop's 17 hours, it can still last comfortably through a typical school or workday, averaging around 12 to 13 hours of light use.

Note: Apple has recently announced the M4 MacBook Air. This 2025 model is mainly a spec and feature update, bringing better performance, a 12MP camera with Center Stage support, and increased max RAM configuration (up to 32GB). You also get Thunderbolt 4 video output, allowing you to connect two external displays while still using the built-in screen. If you don't need these upgrades, you can likely get the M3 model at a lower price through a reseller. We've ordered the new M4 MacBook Airs and will begin testing as soon as we get them in the lab.

Our best mid-range pick is the Acer Swift Go 14 (2024), a 14-inch Windows ultraportable. Though not as premium-feeling as the models we recommend above, this compact ultraportable feels very well-built for the price. It has a spacious keyboard, a responsive touchpad, Wi-Fi 6E, a 1080p webcam, and a wide port selection that includes two Thunderbolt 4s and an HDMI. The power button doubles as a fingerprint sensor, so you can log in quickly and get to work. Its battery life is excellent at around 11 hours of light use, and you can charge the laptop via USB-C, eliminating the need to carry around a proprietary charger.

This laptop is configurable with Intel's Meteor Lake CPUs, up to a Core Ultra 9 185H. These processors can easily handle general productivity tasks like text processing, web browsing, spreadsheets, and presentations, as well as more demanding workloads like programming and light video editing. RAM and storage max out at 32GB and 2TB, respectively—only the latter is user-replaceable. Display options include an FHD+ IPS and a 2.8k OLED panel. Both look sharp and get bright enough for use in most indoor settings; just keep in mind that the OLED will drain the battery faster. It also flickers, which might bother people sensitive to screen flickering.

For those on a tighter budget, we recommend the ASUS Vivobook 16 M1605 (2023), a 16-inch Windows ultraportable. While its battery life isn't as impressive as the other picks on our list, it'll last around eight hours of light use throughout the day. This model is all plastic, but it feels sturdy and is easy to carry around despite its size. You can configure it with an AMD Ryzen 5 or Ryzen 7 CPU, which are more than adequate for everyday tasks like web browsing or video playback. While its standard 8GB of RAM configuration can be a bit limiting, models with 16GB are available through some retailers, or you can add more yourself since the RAM is user-replaceable.

The overall user experience is good. It has a comfortable keyboard, a large, responsive touchpad, and a decent 720p webcam. Its 1080p display looks reasonably sharp, and at 16 inches, it's a great size for general productivity work or media consumption; however, it isn't the brightest, so visibility may be an issue in well-lit rooms. You get Wi-Fi 6E wireless connectivity, a fingerprint sensor for quick logins, and a decent port selection with three USB-As, a USB-C, and an HDMI. Unfortunately, the USB-C doesn't support video output, so you'll have to use the HDMI port to connect an external display.

The best cheap laptop with long battery life we've tested is the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3i Chromebook 14 (2023). It's a great option for younger students or anyone needing a simple device for web browsing and video playback. You can often find the Core i3 configuration—paired with an FHD display, 8GB of RAM, and 128GB of storage—on sale for around $400 to $500 USD on Lenovo's website. Cheaper configurations exist; however, we don't recommend them unless you have an extremely light workload and don't mind compromising on the display quality.

The FHD touch-sensitive display looks sharp and gets bright enough for use in well-lit settings. If you're often on video calls, you'd be happy to know it has an excellent 1080p webcam. As for the keyboard and touchpad, the former feels spacious but a tad mushy, and the latter is small and sometimes unresponsive, unfortunately. On the upside, its battery life is outstanding at around 13 hours of light use. One last thing: Chrome OS is limited in the type of applications you can install, so make sure you can do everything through a Chrome browser or Android app.

If you like 2-in-1 tablet PCs with a detachable keyboard, check out the Microsoft Surface Pro 11th Edition (2024). This 2024 model is very similar to its predecessors, as the form factor hasn't changed much over the years. You're still getting a well-built, premium-feeling tablet with a sturdy kickstand, an industry-leading front-facing camera for video calls, an IR facial recognition camera for added security, and a back-facing 10MP that you can use to scan documents on the spot. The new Flex keyboard has a larger haptic touchpad that's easier to use, and it now supports Bluetooth, allowing you to use the keyboard even when detached from the tablet. Unfortunately, you must purchase the keyboard separately; the same goes for the stylus.

Thanks to the new power-efficient ARM-based Snapdragon SoC, the battery lasts around 11 hours of light use. That said, like the Surface Laptop mentioned above, it's best to check that the apps you use are compatible. There are technically two display options, though you don't really have a choice, as the display is tied to the choice of SoC: the Snapdragon X Plus model comes with an IPS panel, while the X Elite model has an OLED panel. The latter will give you deeper blacks, as all OLEDs do; however, its digitizer is visible, creating a grid pattern known as the 'screen door effect.' If this bothers you, getting the X Plus model is best.