2017 Guide: The Best Business Laptops, Tested

The term “business notebook” can have a host of different meanings, depending on what you do for work. (There are many kinds of businesses, after all.)

For some laptop buyers, it means a modest workhorse computer that's suited for Microsoft Office, spreadsheets, word processing, and perhaps financials. For others, it's a power-packed muscle machine for photo editing, or 3D work such as CAD or graphical design. The machines ideally suited for each of those tasks can vary quite a bit, but all still fall under the heading of a business laptop. Plus, almost everyone has a tendency, from time to time, to use a business notebook for something other than business.

While most notebooks sold today are perfectly usable for basic business tasks, only some of those machines are designed for in-office use from the ground up. More than with any other class of notebook, in our reviews of business laptops, we pay close attention to the productivity-oriented aspects and features. We take an especially close look at the quality of the built-in input devices (the touch pad or other pointer, as well as the keyboard) and the screen to ensure that these devices help maximize user productivity.

Lenovo ThinkPad T460, our current top pick in full-size biz machines

We also place extra emphasis on the laptop's build quality and overall construction. It’s no secret that business notebooks aren’t always treated with care, especially if they're not yours. Finally, as in all our reviews, performance is a key point for business notebooks—the last thing business users want is to be held back by their computer’s capabilities.

We’ll start off this guide by taking a look at what makes for the essential small-business notebook, then get into the differences between a standard business notebook and a ruggedized model. We’ll continue exploring design differences by comparing and contrasting standard notebooks and convertibles. After that, we'll discuss security features, and finish up with a section on mobile workstations, the potential benefit of high screen resolutions, and some guidelines for evaluating processor, RAM, and storage.

Let's dig in.

Small-Business Affordability: What to Look For

Most major notebook makers have a separate line of notebooks for small business, as opposed to enterprise-level business. That's because most of the security- and compliance-related features on enterprise-grade notebooks are an unnecessary expense at this level.

The main players in the business-laptop market—for both kinds of business—are Lenovo, Dell, HP, and (though to a lesser extent in the last couple of years) Toshiba. It can be tricky to tell whose lines are targeted where, so here is a brief breakdown.

DELL offers the business-oriented Latitude line, which is the one most IT departments will gravitate toward. The company offers a dizzying array of laptops in the Latitude line, with screen sizes from large to small, and in several "grades." In general, the 3000-series Latitude laptops are the least featured, followed by the 5000 series and then the 7000 series. The performance-oriented XPS line (which comes in 13- and 15-inch screen sizes) bridges the consumer and small-business worlds, while the Precision family is Dell's line of mobile graphics workstations. Inspiron is the company's key consumer brand, but some of the higher-end models are suitable for crossover home-office and home use.

Dell's semi-rugged Latitude 14 (E5470)

LENOVO, the biggest name in business laptops, is best known for its ThinkPad lines of business laptops, staples since their days as IBM hardware. The ThinkPads now come in lower-end/small-business E Series models, enterprise-grade T series models, Yoga models (2-in-1 convertibles that pivot into tablets; more on those in a bit), and X series units (ultrathin business ThinkPads, like the X1 Carbon). Beyond those are more specialized ThinkPad-branded business notebooks: workstations (the ThinkPad P Series), green-minded power-conserving models (the ThinkPad L series), and economy models (the excellent ThinkPad 13 series).

Lenovo's value-minded ThinkPad 13

HP is also a business-laptop power player. In dedicated enterprise business machines, its EliteBook and ProBook lines top its offerings; these are its equivalents to the higher-end Lenovo ThinkPads, with premium designs and excellent materials. HP's graphics workstations, meanwhile, are its HP ZBook line. The company has also offered isolated configurations of its x360 and Spectre x360 convertibles in business trim. The Envy and Spectre lines of laptops and 2-in-1s are on the whole more focused on consumers, but selected models will do very well as home-business or small-office machines. 

HP EliteBook 1040 G3, with Sure View "privacy screen"

TOSHIBA has a few lines of business-oriented machines: Its Tecra laptops are its bread-and-butter enterprise business power machines, while the Porteges are its thin-and-light business models. The company has largely retreated from the U.S. consumer market, so crossover home/home-office models are now nil.

The Lenovo ThinkPad 13 is a fine example of a price-conscious current-gen notebook built for small business and executed well. It has all the characteristics we look for in a notebook designed for productivity: a solid keyboard and touch pad, good battery life, and sturdy build quality. What this no-frills notebook doesn’t have that you can get in an enterprise-grade notebook like some other higher-end models here is WWAN connectivity, better-quality displays (including touch technology, if that's of interest), and longer possible battery life.

Robust docking solutions are also a common differentiator between the enterprise and small-business laptop brigades. For example, Lenovo offers its more generic OneLink or OneLink+ docking solution for certain models, while the higher-end ThinkPad T460 has true snap-in docking-station support that adds a layer of versatility. In the latter case, those enterprise-focused docks are compatible across most of Lenovo’s T- and X-series ThinkPads.

That kind of cross-model interchangeability is important in enterprises, where you might be rolling out a fleet of machines from the vendor's line that will need to co-exist with previous-generation models. Standardize on and buy the right hardware, and your users may be able to dock a given machine at different company locations, or replace a given fleet laptop without requiring you to buy a new dock to match the new model. In a small business, with fewer laptops in circulation, that's less of a concern.

Business Rugged Versus True Rugged Designs

Staple business notebooks like the Dell Latitude 12 5000 and the larger-screen Latitude 14 5000 series are built more durably than the average consumer notebook. They generally have internally reinforced chassis and exteriors built from thicker materials. A typical consumer notebook, in contrast, will use less-dense materials and obtain much of its chassis strength from the simple fitting of the parts together, not actual reinforcement from an internal structure. A business machine's better exterior and frame help protect the inner circuit boards from flexing and therefore give them a better chance of lasting longer.

Dell's big, brawny Latitude 12 Rugged Extreme

There is, however, a grade of business notebook above that: the "true rugged" class. The Dell Latitude 12 Rugged Extreme is one such example. True rugged notebooks are designed for use in the field in all weather conditions, from subzero to tropical, rain or shine. You might see them used in-car by police forces, or issued to utility service personnel. They’re heavy and bulky, but they make up for it by being able to withstand more abuse than any other class of notebook. Rugged notebooks tend to have sealed ports, special capacitive touch screens, and generally excellent serviceability.

That said, they also cost a major premium. Make sure you really need that kind of protection before plunking down for a true rugged machine. You’d almost certainly be overbuying if you didn’t intend to use it in an extreme environment.

Standard Notebooks Versus Convertibles

The classic notebook design has a clamshell lid hinged at the back of the chassis—no surprise to anyone. But today, any class of notebook you look at might well actually be a convertible machine. Convertible notebooks at first glance look and function like traditional clamshell notebooks, but they have the ability to transform into a different form factor.

The most common kind is what's coming to be known as the "Yoga-clone" convertible, a term now in common usage thanks to Lenovo's pioneering Yoga class of laptops, and competitors imitating them. The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Yoga is a typical one: It has a screen-hinge design that allows its lid to rotate 360 degrees around, to let the screen sit flush with the bottom of the chassis, thus turning the notebook into an impromptu tablet. Of course, this means you now have a keyboard on the bottom of the tablet, but this particular model has a clever keyboard-raising mechanism that makes the keyboard a flat surface when in tablet mode. (Few other such machines can do that.)

Lenovo's ThinkPad X1 Yoga, convertible version of the X1 Carbon

Another kind of convertible notebook is better called the "detachable"; on such machines, you can disconnect the entire lid/screen portion from the keyboard base, and the former then works as a stand-alone tablet. This is more appealing as a tablet experience, but know that the brains and brawn of the machine then need to reside wholly in the screen portion of the laptop. Though it's not a given, detachable machines tend to have lesser processing power because of the need to make everything work thermally in the confines of a tablet design. Examples include the Microsoft Surface Book line and HP Elite x2.

Convertible notebooks can be handy for presenting content to someone across the table or for taking notes with a stylus. They’re also useful for working on a plane or other such cramped environments where it may not be possible to unfold a traditional notebook.

Business Security Features

Digital security is one of the greatest concerns for any business, especially when it comes to technology. Most modern business notebooks offer at least the option for biometric security via a fingerprint reader. It’s also common for business notebooks to incorporate a Trusted Platform Module (more often referred to as a "TPM"), a secure piece of hardware within the notebook that can be used for authentication.  (How it's implemented and to what purpose will be specific to the particular laptop model.)

Enterprise-grade notebooks like the previously mentioned Lenovo ThinkPad T series may also offer the option for a SmartCard slot, another solution for user authentication and access control. Depending on the laptop, the SmartCard reader may accept a physical card, or work in contact-less "proximity" fashion.

An emerging security feature is tied in with Windows 10 and its Windows Hello functionality. Certain models using Webcams with facial-recognition tech can work with Windows Hello to log you in via your face. That makes it easy to log in without the need to track a constantly changing password, as well as add a bit of easy security when you step away from a machine for a moment. Another is HP's Sure View, which appears in some HP EliteBook 840 and 1040 models and can blur out the screen from all but a straight-on viewing angle at the touch of a key combination. If you often deal with sensitive financial, medical, or government data, this could be a boon to keep prying eyes off your work.

Special-Use Mobile Workstations

When you mention a "workstation," typically a desktop system comes to mind. But mobile workstations do exist, and they are becoming increasingly common as business-laptop offerings.

Mobile workstations such as the HP ZBook 14 G2 usually bear a close resemblance to non-workstation business notebooks, but they include specialized hardware for professional applications. It's that specialized hardware—a distinct dedicated graphics processor from Nvidia (Quadro) or AMD (FirePro)—that defines what's actually a mobile workstation.

These workstation-focused graphics chips are specifically designed for use with 3D and 2D design applications, CAD/CAM modeling, and other graphically demanding programs. In addition, most mobile workstations will be "ISV certified," tested and guaranteed to work with certain professional applications.

Lenovo ThinkPad P50s workstation: Core i7, Quadro GPU, and a 3K display

In addition to their specialized graphics cards, mobile workstations also offer the crème de la crème of mobile processors, storage drives, and as much RAM as you could need. They’re also offered with exclusive screen options, including models with extra-high resolutions (up to 4K), color-calibrated screens, and exceptional viewing angles. The main application for these machines is graphics work or scientific applications requiring massive calculation (sometimes GPU-assisted), and the standard set for their displays needs to be much higher than a run-of-the-mill business or consumer laptop.

Business-Notebook Components: What to Look For

SCREEN. The connection might not seem obvious at first, but screen resolution is a primary driver of user productivity. Think about it: The more pixels that fit on a screen, the more data can fit there. It's possible to show and use two full-size windows side-by-side on a screen with a high resolution such as 1,920x1,080 (a.k.a. 1080p or "full HD") whereas on a more standard 1,366x768 display, you’ll have to shrink those windows down considerably, or view just one at a time.

A 1080p screen is typically sufficient at the screen sizes most business laptops come in—which is to say, 15-inch or smaller. Currently the ultra-high-resolution 3K and 4K screens that we've seen on some gaming laptops and power-user machines are only just starting to appear in business notebooks. At the moment, they’re mainly limited to mobile workstations. A high-res panel also affects battery life (in a negative way, all else being equal), so unless you need a 3K or 4K screen for graphics work, 1080p is likely your best balance. 

HP's Elite x2 G1, a business 2-in-1 based on the Core M

PROCESSOR & MEMORY. Unless you’re running a particularly demanding application (see the workstations section above), you’ll be happy to know that nearly all business PCs sold today have plenty of power for general productivity. Intel’s “U” series CPUs, such as the current gen ("Kaby Lake") Core i7-7200U or very common previous-gen "Skylake" Core i5-6200U, have ample oomph for Microsoft Office and even for light use in more demanding applications such as Adobe Photoshop.

A signal that you are looking at an enterprise-business-focused laptop is the presence of an Intel processor that supports vPro, a set of technologies that enables easier security configuration, remote configuration, and identity protection, as well as support for cutting-edge business features like wireless docking and wireless display. (The AMD equivalent, newer and much less commonly seen, is in the Pro series of AMD A Series processor chips.)

To complement a CPU of the Core level, we recommend 8GB of RAM for most users, especially if they're heavy multitaskers, although 4GB will suffice in most cases if you’re on a tight budget.

STORAGE. We also recommend extra consideration be given to equipping any business laptop with a solid-state drive (SSD). SSDs cost extra versus a standard hard drive, and they deliver much less capacity on a dollar-per-gigabyte basis. But they provide exceptionally fast startup and file-access times, which can improve productivity, and they're far more rugged than standard hard drives. (Bumping or dropping a laptop while it's reading from or writing to an SSD is much less a worry than with a sensitive spinning-platter hard drive.)

If an SSD-equipped laptop is not in the cards for budget reasons, try to opt for a hard drive that has an SSD cache on it. The cache is usually between 8GB and 32GB in size, and these drives are sometimes dubbed "SSHDs." The cache provides a measurable performance boost over standard hard drives for a fraction of the cost of an SSD.

We're starting to see some bifurcation within SSDs, too. Standard 2.5-inch SSDs are giving way to gumstick-size M.2 SSDs, which help laptop designers slim down their machines in a big way. Within M.2 SSDs, some use the standard Serial ATA interface that has been a staple of PC storage for ages, while high-performance alternatives are shifting to M.2-based PCI Express SSDs, which usually support a spec called "NVMe." It's not important to insist on one of these cutting-edge SSDs, but seeing one in a configuration you are considering is a sign that it's a performance oriented machine. (For lots more about M.2, see our guide The Best M.2 Solid State Drives, Tested.)

BATTERY. Look for a swappable-battery design, rather than an internal, fixed one, if you're looking at a machine with the juice to cross oceans on a charge. Our current favorites on that front are in the Lenovo ThinkPad T460 (14-inch) and X260 (12-inch ultraportable) lines. You can equip these machines with extended-life batteries that garnered field-leading 20-plus-hour running times in our tests. 

Ready for Our Recommendations?

Let's take a look at the top 15 business machines we've looked at in recent months. (It's a Lenovo-heavy list, but the many forms of the ThinkPad really do dominate this field.) Some are fleet machines, a few are meant for small business, and a handful are workstations. All are solid picks.