Find the Best Business Laptops for Your Workforce

Robust Security Features at Each Layer

Traditional software-based security solutions are no longer enough for business today. Sophisticated attackers find vulnerabilities beyond software alone, taking advantage of physical exploits at the hardware level. The devices used by your remote and hybrid employees are prime targets. Plus, if your employees connect to public or guest networks while working remotely, the risks to your system and data safety only increase. Mitigate your security risks by seeking out laptops with integrated hardware-based security technology that helps protect and defend against modern threats up and down the stack: hardware, BIOS/firmware, hypervisor, virtual machines (VMs), operating systems (OSs), and applications.

Memory Capacity That Matches User Workloads

A system’s primary, short-term memory is provided by its random access memory (RAM). The amount of RAM your employees will need depends on what they will be doing on the device. OSs, web browsers, and professional applications tend to consume the most RAM. Choose a memory capacity that slightly exceeds user needs today to help ensure laptop performance won’t be negatively impacted in the future.

Storage to Meet User Needs and IT Budgets

Storage provides a system’s long-term memory. It’s where applications, the OS, and other important files are stored. Storage can be a hard disk drive (HDD) or a solid-state drive (SSD).

Solid-state drives are often the more popular choice for business laptops because they are incredibly fast while also being more power efficient than HDDs. The speed of SSDs can also accelerate other tasks, such as logging onto the laptop, waiting for apps or services to start up, or conducting storage-intensive tasks. SSDs are all digital and have no moving parts, which means they can better withstand laptops being dropped or bumped—an important factor to consider for a device that is portable by design.

Long-Lasting Laptops Need the Best Battery Life

For employees constantly on the go, the battery life of their business laptop is critical. The latest laptops, such as those built on Intel vPro®, an Intel® Evo™ Design, provide quick charging options and longer battery life to keep up with the way mobile professionals work.

Many variables affect how long a laptop lasts between charges. Typically, the higher performing the system, the more power it will demand, accelerating the drawdown of the battery. Other factors that affect battery life include display resolution and brightness level and the number of concurrent applications being used.

Laptop Size and Weight Depends on Employee Uses

What’s the best size and weight for a business laptop? The answer depends on how your employees use their devices. For example, if your employee travels to see customers, small and thin may be best. For those who spend their whole day at a desk, a bigger screen size may be most important.

No matter which choice you make, it comes with a trade-off. Choose smaller, and you sacrifice screen size. Opt for higher performance, and you likely increase the weight. Systems with 13-inch to 14-inch screens commonly offer the best balance between usability and portability, typically coming in under four pounds. Screens of 15 to 16 inches are most popular, but typically weigh closer to five pounds or more. Finding that right mix of mobility, screen size, and performance starts with your employees.

Fast, Reliable Connectivity

Keeping employees connected to customer information, corporate networks, resources, and each other is crucial for business. Look for laptops with reliable connectivity options like USB, HDMI, Ethernet, and Thunderbolt™ 4 ports.

Professional laptops equipped with the latest Wi-Fi 6E standards can help ensure quality connectivity in locations with hundreds or thousands of connected devices working with time-sensitive, high-bandwidth applications. For example, laptops on the Intel vPro® platform with integrated Wi-Fi 6E enabled provide nearly 3x faster speeds¹ and responsive performance. They also support next-generation WPA3 Wi-Fi security features² and more-stable connections, especially in dense environments. For collaboration, Intel® Wi-Fi 6/6E (Gig+) are the best technologies for videoconferencing.³

Easy Access for IT Support

Now that most employees are no longer located where IT operates, ensuring easy access to worker devices is more important than ever before. When IT can see exactly what’s happening, unpredictable PC problems can be resolved before they become bigger issues. Choose devices that can be accessed and repaired even if they are not on a VPN or if their OS is down, helping to avoid significant employee downtime and loss of productivity. For example, look for systems with remote management capabilities like Intel® Active Management Technology (Intel® AMT).