The 6 Best Laptops For Working From Home - Spring 2024 Reviews

The best laptop for working from home we've tested is the Apple MacBook Pro 14 (M3, 2023). This premium workstation has tons of processing power to handle nearly any workload and provides an amazing user experience. It has a sharp, bright, 120Hz Mini LED display, a spacious and tactile keyboard, and a gigantic, easy-to-use touchpad. Its webcam is among the best on the market, so your colleagues can see and hear you clearly on video calls. The battery lasts around 15 hours of light use, allowing you to work in different rooms or even out in your backyard without dragging the power adapter around.

Unlike its predecessor, the M3 MacBook Pro 14 is available with a base M3 chip, similar to the discontinued 13-inch model with Touch Bar. This is a great option if you don't need the processing power of the Pro/Max chips but still want the 'Pro' features, like the 120Hz Mini LED display and up-firing speakers. If you don't plan on using an external monitor and prefer a larger laptop, you can get the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (M3, 2023). It's essentially the same device but with a larger 16-inch screen and better-sounding speakers.

For Windows users, we recommend the Dell XPS 15 (2023). It's also a premium laptop with a sturdy build and plenty of processing power. It's available with Intel 13th Gen CPUs and NVIDIA RTX 40-series GPUs, up to a Core i9 and 4070. Plus, you can play way more games than on a MacBook in your downtime since there are more Windows games, and the NVIDIA GPUs have better optimization and gaming features, like DLSS, ray tracing, and Frame Generation. However, there are a few downsides, like its bad 720p webcam, limited port selection, and high thermals. By the way, Dell has discontinued this model and replaced it with a smaller 14-inch, so if you like the 15.6-inch size, this is a good time to get one because it's regularly on sale on Dell's website.

If your work consists only of lighter tasks like text processing, web browsing, and spreadsheets, the Apple MacBook Air 15 (2023) might be a better option. It doesn't have as much processing power as the Apple MacBook Pro 14 (M3, 2023), so you aren't paying for performance you don't need. Don't worry; its M2 chip is still more than adequate for general productivity tasks. Plus, it's very compact for a 15-inch device, making it easy to carry if you need to go to the office. You get a nice display, Apple's amazing haptic touchpad, and an excellent 1080p webcam. Its main flaw is its limited port selection, as it only has two USB-C/Thunderbolt 3 ports with support for a single external display.

At the time of writing, Apple has released a newer 2024 model equipped with its M3 chip. This model only has a few upgrades, including Wi-Fi 6E, slightly better performance, and support for two external displays (with the laptop closed). If you don't need the upgrades on the newer model, it might be worth looking for an M2 model through third-party sellers, marketplaces, or Apple's refurbished section, as you can likely find it at a lower price.

On the Windows side, we recommend the LG gram 14 (2023), an ultraportable that weighs only 2.1 lbs! It provides a good user experience overall, and its battery lasts longer at almost 11 hours of light use. Its wide port selection includes two USB-C/Thunderbolt 4 ports, allowing you to connect up to two 4k displays with a single cable. However, its 14-inch screen isn't as sharp and doesn't get as bright. If you're often on video calls, the webcam is great but nowhere near as good as the MacBook Air's, as the image is far too underexposed. It's more serviceable, though, as the SSDs are user-replaceable.

Our mid-range pick is the Lenovo Yoga 7i 16 (2023), a Windows 2-in-1 convertible. It has a 16-inch display, so you have plenty of room for multitasking, and it's still very portable due to its thin and light design, so you can easily take it with you when you go to the office. Build quality is great, though not quite as good as the MacBooks above. You can choose between an FHD+ or QHD+ panel; the latter looks sharper and gets brighter to combat glare. Battery life is excellent at around 12 hours of light use on a model with a QHD+ display. The keyboard feels great to type on and includes a Numpad, which is great for those working with lots of numbers. Biometrics include a fingerprint sensor and facial recognition camera, so you can log in quickly and get to work. It's available with Intel 13th Gen U- and P-series CPUs, which are plenty fast for general productivity tasks.

The Acer Chromebook Spin 714 (2022) is a great alternative if you want something smaller. It's also a 2-in-1 with stylus support, but it's more portable and runs Chrome OS. Its Intel 12th Gen CPU has no problem handling anything you'd need to do on a Chromebook. The keyboard and touchpad aren't as good as the Lenovo above, but they remain decent. Availability might be a problem since this is an older device from 2022. If you have trouble finding one, you might want to check out the newer 2023 model, which we haven't tested but expect to perform similarly. It has newer Intel 13th Gen CPUs and a higher resolution 1440p webcam. You can get the 2023 model on Amazon or at Best Buy.

We recommend this 14-inch Windows ultraportable, the Acer Swift 3 14 (2020), for those on a budget. Acer's Swift lineup isn't considered budget, but because this is a model from 2020, the price has decreased considerably. For a little over $500 USD, you can get an Intel Core i7 configuration with 8GB of RAM and 512GB of storage. The Intel 11th Gen CPU isn't the newest kid on the block, but it's still adequate for general productivity tasks like text processing, web browsing, spreadsheets, and video playback. The battery lasts well over 13 hours of light use, so you don't have to worry about bringing a charger.

This laptop feels well-built and is very portable. It has a sharp and reasonably bright IPS display, a decent keyboard, and a wide port selection, including two USB-As, one USB-C/Thunderbolt 4, a full-size HDMI, and a headphone jack. Our main gripe is that the webcam's video quality is bad; the image looks underexposed, and the microphone sounds staticky.

The best cheap laptop for working from home we've tested is the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3i Chromebook 14 (2023). This 14-inch Chromebook is a great option for those with a light workload, like text processing, web browsing, and video playback. We recommend the Core i3 configuration (paired with a touch-sensitive FHD display, 8GB of RAM, and 128GB of storage), which you can regularly find on sale for around $400 to $500 USD on Lenovo's website. You can get one of the cheaper configurations (Intel N100 or N200 CPU and/or 4GB of RAM) if you have an extremely light workload; just know that you'll experience more slowdowns when multitasking.

The touch-sensitive FHD display on the aforementioned Core i3 model looks very sharp and gets bright enough for use in most indoor settings. Above the display is an excellent 1080p webcam, so your colleagues can see and hear you clearly on video calls. Unfortunately, the keyboard feels a little mushy, and the touchpad is small and sometimes unresponsive. Battery life is outstanding at around 13 hours of light use or 12 hours of video playback. Lastly, Chrome OS is limited in the type of applications you can install, so just make sure you can do everything through a Chrome browser or Android app.

If you want a versatile device that you can use for general media consumption during your downtime, go with the Microsoft Surface Pro 8 (2021), a tablet PC with a built-in kickstand and detachable keyboard. You can detach the keyboard to make the device lighter and easier to hold or to save space, like on a kitchen counter. Its 3:2 IPS panel looks incredibly sharp, gets bright enough to combat glare, and supports pen input. The keyboard feels good to type on, but you need to buy it separately, and the same goes for the stylus. Its 1080p webcam is excellent, and you also get an IR camera for quick logins via facial recognition. The port selection isn't that great, as you only get two USB-C/Thunderbolt 4s, a headphone jack, and a Surface charging port.

Microsoft has released the Surface Pro 9. It's the same device but with faster Intel 12th Gen processors. It's easier to find since it's a newer model, but if you don't need the increased performance and would rather save money, you can likely find a good deal on a Surface Pro 8.