Top picks for working from home or the office

For the best overall business laptop we’ve tested, look no further than the brand new Apple MacBook Air M2 (2022)

Inside, it features Apple’s all-new M2 chip, which may only offer minimal improvements over the M1, but it’s worth remembering the original performance jump from Intel power to Apple Silicon. As a result, the numbers aren’t too different when compared to the M1 Air, but this new MacBook Air is still more than capable of handling professional tasks such as 4K video editing with ease. The 8GB of RAM on the standard model should be more than enough for most people, especially given the upgrade to 16GB will cost you an extra £200/$200. Like its predecessor, this is also a fanless MacBook, which means it’s silent all the time, but may fall down during sustained loads due to the lack of active cooling.

The screen with the 2022 MacBook Air M2, at 13.6 inches, is the largest available on Apple’s Air Series of laptops, and remains an excellent panel, even if it isn’t Mini LED, like the MacBook Pro 2021. In testing, we found the screen here to match Apple’s claimed 500 nits of brightness, meaning it’s ideal if you’re working a lot in brighter spots.

The design of the 2022 MacBook Air M2 may not have lived up to leaks that suggested a complete redesign a la iMac, but opts instead for a more boxy look like the current run of MacBook Pros. This isn’t such a bad thing, given how sleek it looks, and this is exhibited especially by the fact it’s thinner than the previous model. At 1.24kg, it’s also immensely portable, and a thickness of just 1.13cm also makes it thinner than an iPad with a Magic Keyboard attached. The port selection is alright, with USB-C ports and a MagSafe connection, although you don’t get an SD card reader and HDMI out, as you do on the MacBook Pro. The keyboard and trackpad are both excellent, which is a must if you spend much of the day working in docs and sheets.

The endurance on offer is also excellent, with the M2 MacBook Air lasting comfortably throughout a working day with around 20% to spare, while in running a video loop tested, it lasted for around 14 hours, which is a 2 hour boost compared to the original M1 powered MacBook Air.

Reviewer: Max Parker

Full review: Apple MacBook Air M2 (2022)

The Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Pro is a marvellous choice for those wanting more of a value choice for a business laptop. Even with that more affordable price tag, it’s still going to be an amazing performer. 

Its build quality proved to be exemplary with no real flex in its aluminium casing, while at 1.39kg, this is also a rather portable laptop, which will be handy if you’re moving from meeting to meeting and you want a device that’ll be super easy to carry.

We also found its glass touchpad to be especially pleasing to use, while the keyboard on offer here provided a satisfying deep keypress like the ThinkPads of old.

The display on offer here is also excellent, with rich colours and great vibrancy for both indoor and outdoor usage. With our trusty colorimeter, we measured the brightness here to be 388 nits, which smashes the usual 300 nit target we have for laptops, making this one of the better displays out there. A 14-inch screen size is also great, especially given the 16:10 aspect ratio to offer more vertical real estate.

During testing, the 11th gen Intel Core i7 processor provided some great performance, with benchmarks closing to ultrabooks a few hundred pounds more expensive, such as the Dell XPS 13. This beefy processor performance made both basic productivity tasks and more labour intensive workloads in using pro-grade apps such as Photoshop a doddle. As an Intel Evo-approved machine also, the chip manufacturer views the Yoga Slim 7i Pro as one of the best Intel-powered laptops out there. 

We also found the battery life on offer here to be able to get you through a working day with a little bit of juice to spare, even if the 19-hour figure Lenovo quotes is optimistic. Around 9 hours seems a little more realistic.

Reviewer: Andrew Williams
Full review: Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Pro review

The LG Gram 16 (2022) is currently our top recommendation if you’re after a laptop for business that brings with it the benefit of a larger screen – 16 inches to be exact.

That larger screen size made working a joy during testing, with the ability to have loads of windows open and still have space to work. The 2560×1600 resolution is also excellent, with the images being detailed and vibrant, especially compared to a more standard FHD screen.

As well as offering a punchy display, this 2022 iteration of the LG Gram 16 also offers the same ludicrously light build, with the magnesium alloy construction on offer helping the Gram 16 to be especially featherweight compared to other large screen laptops. This does have the effect of introducing some flex into the chassis, but it should still be robust enough to last. The port selection is fantastic, with a vast array of USB-C, HDMI, Micro SD card reader and headphone jack on offer, while the HD webcam is good enough for video chats, and the keyboard offers a deeper travel than other laptops we’ve tested.

This 2022 iteration also comes with Intel’s new 12th gen processors, with the Intel Core i7-1260P chip inside our sample proving to be rather speedy for productivity tasks, and even faster than an M1 chip inside a MacBook Air. The integrated graphics here also proved to be capable enough for content creation and casual gaming, while the SSDs speeds are some of the fastest we’ve tested recently, and the actual capacity of either 512GB or 1TB depending on the model is also good.

The battery here lasted for nearly 11 hours during our benchmarks, which is above average compared to other large screen portables, although intriguingly constitutes a downgrade compared to last year’s model, which lasted for over 15 hours.

Reviewer: Ryan Jones

Full review: LG Gram 16 (2022)

If it’s a business class laptop you want that’ll also be able to handle creative tasks with ease, then the MacBook Pro 2021 is exactly what you’re after.

This is thanks to its ridiculous performance levels with either the M1 Pro or M1 Max chips, both of which offer a major performance boost compared to the original iteration of Apple silicon. Its benchmark scores blitz practically every other laptop we’ve tested, including any number of the best Windows laptops and ultrabooks we’ve tested. Its thermal performance, even under extreme load when rendering and editing 4K videos in Final Cut, is excellent, with it being as quiet as a mouse.

The display used in the MacBook Pro 2021 has also experienced its own major upgrades, with Apple switching from an IPS LCD to a Mini LED. The end result is one of the sharpest and most vibrant panels on a laptop today, as demonstrated by the peak 1600 nits of brightness we measured, which also goes hand in hand with sterling HDR reproduction. In addition, a resolution just shy of 4K offers some detailed imagery, and the powers of Apple’s ProMotion tech also allow a 120Hz of refresh rate to be supported, making that output even smoother than before.

Its design returns to the boxier and arguably more industrial-looking frame of old, which looks great. In addition, MagSafe power delivery returns, as does HDMI out and an SD card reader. We also found the keyboard here to be marvellous with substantial travel and well-sized keys, while the Touch Bar has been ditched in favour of a more conventional function row.

We found the battery life on offer with these MacBook Pros to match Apple’s lofty claims, with the larger 16-inch model faring better marginally than the 14-inch model, with its 21 hours of stamina. We also didn’t need to reach for the charger over a working day, although you may want to have it to hand if you’re working with any more intense workloads.

Reviewer: Max Parker
Full review: Apple MacBook Pro 2021 review

The Dell Latitude 7320 is a marvellous option for a business laptop if security is integral. It’s also one of the more functional-looking devices out there.

This is reflected in its plainer design than other more expensive laptops, although at 1.21kg, it’s one of the lightest on this list, which makes it especially portable. It’s also rather well built too, with little flexing in the casing. The light weight definitely didn’t lead to any compromises on build quality. With a deep travel and some rather chunky and large keys, we also found the keyboard on the 7320 to be one of the best compact laptop keyboards we’ve tested in a while.

We found the performance for such a small laptop to be solid, with great results in our benchmark tests, while the screen also proved to be decent good for mainstream work. It’s a 13.3-inch FHD matted panel, which makes this laptop much easier to use in bright environments. Colours here are relatively punchy, and gamut coverage is more than good enough for basic productivity tasks, even if it may not be up to standard for more intense workloads.

A total 63Wh capacity also allows the Latitude 7320 to offer some great battery life, with it reaching the heights of 12.5 hours during our testing. This is more than enough for a working day, and you may even be able to get a couple more hours out of it before grabbing the charging cable.

Reviewer: Andrew Williams
Full review: Dell Latitude 7320 Review