20 Best Laptop For Working On An Airplane (2023 Updated)

Fantastic Laptop, good size and weight but the screen is very very bad. Black are not black, black screen is leaking, way too bright at minimum and vision in angle is very bad. Disappointing!

I recently bought from Lenovo. com a Thinkpad X1 G10 with 16 GB Ram, 512 GB SSD with an i5-1235U chip to use as a Fedora/Linux laptop, mainly for writing latex documents, creating and editing figures, surfing, writing and running some code, running Mathematica, giving talks, etc.

Overall, I am happy with the laptop, which is a nice improvement over the 7-year-old Thinkpad X1 G3 and 6-year-old Apple Macbook Pro that I have been using. Some pros: – compact and light weight. About 1/4″ smaller in length and width compared to the X1G3, highly portable.

– keyboard has a nice crisp tactile touch that is good for long bouts of typing, although the touch is not as nice as the older Thinkpad keyboards, not quite the same depth of a keystroke and the keys are a bit flatter when typing.

So ergonomics are good but not as good as older Thinkpads. – The bigger 16:10 screen is nice. I got the entry-level 14″ WUXGA (1920×1200) non-touch and it is clear and readable although, sadly, not much of an improvement compared to the screen of the x1G3 and not as nice color and resolution wise as my 6-year-old Macbook Pro.

Definitely good for day-to-day work but disappointing that screen technology has not improved substantially over 6-7 years. Especially frustrating is the slow response of 60 Hz, the screen blurs when scrolling.

This is especially noticeable when one uses a modern cellphone OLED screen with 120 HZ. – Sound is much improved over earlier X1 laptops. – Works extremely well with Fedora. I replaced the 512 GB Windows 11 SSD with a 1 TB Samsung 980 Pro SSD and installed Fedora 36 on the new drive.

The installation was simple and straightforward, and all features of the laptop work well with Fedora, e. g. , fingerprint security, wifi, zooming with the video camera, keys for adjusting sound and screen brightness, connecting to a ceiling projection unit via HDMI, etc.

So this laptop makes a very good Linux laptop, which was a main reason for my buying a Thinkpad versus other available laptops. Can’t tell if all 4 microphones are being used or whether Fedora can filter noise using these microphones.

There are some cons: – Keyboard had some stickers on it that were hard to remove. This is ridiculous for a premium business laptop. – Quite frustrating how Lenovo limits possible purchase options, e.

g. , one cannot get a 1235U processor and get an OLED screen, one cannot get more than 16 GB of RAM with a i5-1235U processor, one cannot order a laptop with Fedora pre-installed with the i5-1235U processor.

My first choice would have been to get 32 GB RAM, 1 TB drive, OLED screen with a 1235U processor to get more battery life over a P processor. – Lenovo would win big if they would allow user RAM upgrades as well as SSD upgrades.

Given that one can fit 2 TB into a thin M. 2 format SSD, should be easy to create RAM upgrades that are just as easy to install, there is plenty of room inside to do this. So customers should push for this.

– Even with the i5-1235U processor, the laptop can run too hot when using Windows 11 or Fedora 36, just when updating software or surfing. This is a big negative compared to the X1G3 or Macbook Pro, this laptop can get too hot when not doing anything CPU intensive.

Makes using the laptop on a lap uncomfortable. So the latest Intel 12th generation chips are a step backwards in terms of heat management and battery life. – Am getting about 6-8 hours of battery life when using the laptop moderately, less than I thought with a 1235U processor.

This is ok for my needs, it will last during a 5-hour plane trip, but still disappointing. I have done careful power tests, will let someone else do that. In conclusion, I would recommend this laptop to people looking for a compact quality laptop that is fully compatible with Linux.

But Lenovo could improve the laptop in several substantial ways and I hope they will do so.

Great machine, so far I have had it actively used for about 2 to 3 weeks now with heavy use of the camera for zoom and other online meetings. It so far has been everything I was looking for and the biometric lock features actually functions very well with a backup pin.

I was a little concerned about the small screen despite the infinity bezel (roughly 12 inches horizontal, 8 inches vertical, 14 inches diagonal) but it so far has worked out surprisingly well as both a light work desktop plugged into a monitor as well as a highly portable ultralight laptop for travel.

Battery life was a bit of a concern for me since I do need to move locations periodically for meetings and events and sometimes need to go several hours without plugging in the laptop; but honestly, I think for the power you get from this laptop the battery life is fine.

The keyboard is good and highly functional, but I think that Dell’s 2021 XPS 13 keyboard is better feeling for typing compared to Lenovo’s ThinkPad Carbon Gen 10. The Wi-Fi/ Bluetooth capabilities and camera of the laptop, important features for large online meetings, has so far held up well.

Overall, I am very happy with this machine for the type of work a CEO does — lots of report reading, lots of emails, light to moderate business application utilization, lots of virtual meetings, lots of records storage etc.

I can also recommend Windows 11 Pro over Windows 10. Windows 11 Pro is far more intuitive (for me) on this laptop than older windows applications. And the two make a good pair. P. S. The 65w power charger is relatively lightweight and easy to pack in a small briefcase.

This was a pleasant surprise I think worth mentioning. The laptop fits well with a Nulaxy laptop stand and hardly takes up any space compared to my older work laptops. When plugged into a monitor you can utilize it for a second screen, or close the laptop so that it can function like a portable desktop.

The computer was purchased with Windows 11 Professional (64-bit) and not Linux as indicated in the product description. Although Lenovo’s product listing indicated it was in stock and available within days, it took a few weeks and a number of calls to get delivered – but credit to Lenovo staff for chasing it down for me.

A second challenge is there are no “brain” transplant tools to transfer installed software, even though the SSD drives are the same size. Lenovo has a migration tool, but it unfortunately only transfers files.

In contrast, Apple makes transferring from one iOS laptop to another relatively effortless. I haven’t had it long enough to comment on performance, but it is definitely light and has sufficient battery storage to keep me working through a long flight or reasonable work day.

I opted for the highest speed processor, 32 GB RAM and 1 TB SSD. My experience with a Lenovo X260 laptop with an extended onsite servicing plan and 6 years of use brought me back to Lenovo this time.

The onsite plan is effective – but make sure you purchase the option to retain the SSD to prevent file loss if a repair is required. Lenovo continues to support the X260 after 6 years with frequent updates to software and drivers – very impressive since the warranty expired over a year ago.

I bought it for my birthday in November 2021. This is my daily laptop. I chose Lenovo because I liked the P14 laptop my work gave me. Pros: 1. Bright Display 2. Wide Screen size, great for multitasking 3.

Super Fast everything: startup, opening apps, downloading files, surfing the internet 4. Numeric Keypad 5. Touch screen 6. Charges fast 7. Backlit keyboard with 2 brightness levels(it would be cool, if the user can change the keyboard light colors to what they want.

Maybe even an animation to it. ) 8. Design and keyboard layout 9. Light around the startup button Cons: 1. There are no USB C ports. You will have to use your laptop charger slot(USB C) or purchase a USB A to USB C adapter 2.

The battery life is mediocre. Last maybe 5 hours most on 100% display while using the PC. Then its back to plugging in the charger. 3. There is no pause/start/stop/fast forward/rewind buttons. Yet there is a hang up and answer button(very unnecessary) 5.

I have no idea what some of the function buttons do. Example. The f9 button, f12 has a star on it which makes no sense if it opens the inspector. 6. Bloatware 7. Very Limited/No color selection, only black 8.

Limited number of ports: 1 x HDMI, 2 x USB-A 9. The price for what I would have paid does not make it a perfect fit. Luckily, I bought the laptop with a coupon around black friday. Rather than its original $1800+ price tag.

10. Cannot use other touch screen pens with this model. I tried with an HP Pen from my previous laptop. 11. Only Apple laptops seem to be able to do this, when you dim the light to the lowest level. It makes the screen black/dimmed out completely as if the screen is sleeping.

Overall: 8/10. I’m happy with the purchase thus far, despite my cons list surpassing my pros list. Its only been a little over a month. The Laptop performance hasn’t given me any issues. If Lenovo can make upgrades to some of its PCs based on my con list.

I’d consider them the best by a huge margin.

I have had this laptop only a few weeks, but so far, so good. It was not hard to set up, and it has been working very well and is very fast. I do not like how aggressive Microsoft Edge browser is in trying to get me to use it as my default browser, (pop ups, etc.

) when I prefer Chrome, and need to use Chrome for work. However, this is a problem with Microsoft and not directly with Lenovo. The laptop came with Windows OS 10, which I needed because OS 11 is not yet compatible with systems in my place of employment.

This was one of the only laptops available that still had OS 10 installed, which is one of several reasons that I bought it, along with the large memory and RAM, and other tech features. I have never owned a Lenovo product before, but I am pleased with the product and highly recommend it.

It was pricey but I bought it on the Fourth of July Sale, which was a very good sale. I called Lenovo once for a clarification of a charge on my bill, and, after some back and forth with the representative, it became apparent that on the original bill, city tax was mistakenly excluded.

I was able to reach a representative easily enough and the representative was helpful. Extra premium support is available for extra charges.

The Thunderbolt cable is also the power for the laptop, which means you cannot be charging your computer and using energy hungry thunderbolt devices like the apollo x4 music recording interface, at the same time.

This is a horrible design flaw. The power should have stayed separate. Also, even though this has 1TB of memory the 16 GB are not sufficient for RAM hungry programs like Adobe Premier Pro. The touchscreen works, but it is clunky, coarse to the touch, and not as responsive/smooth as an iPhone.

So giving up performance for underdeveloped features was a lament for me as a 10 year Thinkpad repeat customer. It already crashed on me while applying luts and effects on video project. Overall, this laptop is not worth the discount price.

Thinkpad used to be top of the line for workhouse computers, and this is just a show pony. I’ll be keeping the item for writing and emails, but for recording music and video editing, this is nowhere near up to spec with the previous ThinkPads.

One of the best laptops I have ever owned is the Yoga X1 4th Gen. The color, build, pen, ports, security features, keyboard, combined with great internals and chipset allowed this little machine to hang in there with my 2015 Macbook Pro with everything aside from video editing.

Enter the 6th Gen Yoga X1. Deciding to get out of the Apple eco-system, I once again turned to Lenovo as my go-to, bloatware-free, maker of the world’s greatest keybed, and to my favorite model of 2-in-1 on the market, the X1 Yoga.

Finding a great deal on the 6th Gen made the purchase a no-brainer at %60 off (Thanks Lenovo!). However, this is the only reason I’m keeping it. Lenovo changed the Keybed to a shallower version more akin to the regular Yoga series (vs.

the amazing P1-esque Keyboard the 4th Gen had). This reminds me a bit of Apple’s failure with their “Butterfly Keyboard”. all things thinner is not always the answer. The texture and feel of the Aluminum chassis is.

odd. It feels almost gritty to the touch, as do the keys. I’ve never owned a laptop I actually did not like the tactile feel of (not the smooth Iron Gray version of the 4th Gen X1). Lastly, Lenovo changed the size of the pen! As if it weren’t already small enough, they decreased the width to the size of the stylus I have in my Note 10, rendering the pen useless for anything aside from chicken scratch.

The build of this laptop is still outstanding (Aluminum version), the 2 USB4/TB4 ports are wonderfully welcome as is the 16×10 aspect ration. The Touchscreen is still one of the best on the market, and the Wifi 6, and Bluetooth 5.

2 are both useful upgrades. That being said, this iteration of the Yoga X1 evolution will be less useful simply because I will not enjoy using it as much as the 4th Gen now in my wife’s hands. Catering to all things smaller is not always the answer.

Having a solid build while still maintaining the premium features of a lush keyboard and more tactile pen experience are equally important to those purchasing this machined (at least for this Illlustrator/Writer).

If you merely want the performance of this 2-in-1, I would still recommend it over the Dell and the HP Spectre 360 offerings. Hoping Lenovo actually listens to these reviews, they are my preferred PC product currently, but seeing their recent “upgrades” at CES 2022 does not breath confidence that they are heading in the direction I would personally find more useful.

I’ll be looking for a used X1 Extreme 4th Gen, as Lenovo did not announce a 5th Gen at CES. Thanks for all the hard work Lenovo, but don’t forget your roots, or the professionals who adore your products.

Great Computer. Thinkpad x1 Yoga. I7 1tb,16gb,720,IR Camera,14. 0″ WQUXGA (3840 x 2400) IPS, anti-reflective, anti-smudge, touchscreen, HDR, 500 nits//20XY0027US I do have issues with the Mouse occasionally not shown on screen when it comes back from a sleep state.

Then I have to ” paperclip ” hard reset on this laptop. Screen is nice. Keys are nice. usually not in performance mode but in optimal mode. Wish that this unit had a micro sd card holder. Miss this the most.

In comparison to the Lenovo X1 Yoga Gen 3 20LG model/ I had also the latest I7 8650u processor,16gb ram 500gb ssd harddrive & 720/IR camera and 14. 0 WQHD LED Pro- Keyboard on Gen 3 recessed Pro-Both Keyboards on desk do not seem to have hotspots where fingers rest or positioned on.

Pro- Both Rotate and With a Google chromecast and a the microsoft whiteboard app can use as a singular whiteboard. Both could use samsung tab 6 as a second monitor. Did not notice any lag from Gen 3 vs Gen 6.

Both are fast. Im sure as more bloated software goes onto laptops that will change. Because the majority of times I plug in my laptops /decrease my battery to 95 top up and start charging at 75% I really did not notice battery loss on either laptop.

USB always on is great! headphones are bluetooth so i did not use the aux input jack for headphones. Dont like the Gen 6 steel grey as much as Gen 3 Black but Im old fashioned and kind of like everything in one colour.

mouse pad/mouse/ laptop mat etc is harder to find in that grey and it forces me to spend more money. (note I do like the new Yoga laser pointer mouse more than the older Lenovo red dot on screen mouse version.

). I gave the older laptop to a family member and I am sure that that person will truly enjoy the Gen 3 model. If not for family I would have kept the model Gen 3 longer in my possession. I did get the extended warranty as for me it is a must.

they did have to repair the Gen 3 model fingerprint sensor R&R and I had them do this on site. If it was just for personal use I think I still would get the tech coming on site for repairs vs sending unit out to a depot and hoping for a fast return.

Their customer service telephone support could definitely could use some better screening in their hiring process as when I did setup site visits for the many Lenovo products I own, I usually find them to be a Hit or Miss type of service.

Wish more time was spent with Product information or even the Warranty level of Service reviewed with their support team members. Wait for the special discounts throughtout the year for savings I usually wait for end of year christmas or boxing day but that is just me.

I am a believer in the Lenovo product line and I also like the many torture test that the thinkpad goes through to get its name. I do not like the 720p camera but I think the IR camera portion is a must for log in.

Its for business meetings so I think its fine but definitely because of covid and meetings i hope they improve on that area. Both Generation laptops are amazing. I owned the gen 3 for approx. 2 years and Gen 6 now for about a month.

I like the Gen 3 fingerprint sensor more than the Gen 6 fingerprint sensor. I really did not notice the older location fingerprint reader/ bottom corner right being much of a problem for me. I am not a Heavy Excel , photoshop, quickbook or fusion 360 type of person but I do use all of these programs in a months time.

With the exception to Very large fusion 360 files or a very large photoshop file you would be fine using this gen 6 computer. I have large hands and both keyboards are fantastic. They are great business laptops for someone that moves between offices and the 1 or 2 a week road trips to see customers then watching the occasional video or even music on personal time.

I do use the pen occasionally in the laptop. I definitely use the touchscreen so this is a definite perk for me. 3 pet peeves Customer Support Quirky but necessary for high end laptop, 720p camera needs upgrade, micro sd card holder needs to comeback like the Gen 3 with a flat profile so card can stay inside unit and does not stick out I am assuming that the Gen 7 version would probably fix at least one of these complaints.

Hope this review helps in deciding if this laptop is the right one for you. Good Luck.

Overall it’s ok, but a lot of little things could be better. First off, Lenovo asked me to review the refurbished version of this product that came with headphones. I bought the brand new version without headphones.

That they think I bought a refurbished version scared me that they charged me for new and sent a used one. I don’t think that is the case, but if I don’t review through this link, I don’t get entered into the drawing.

That has been my experience with Lenovo, just lots of little missteps. As far as the laptop itself, I am mostly happy with it. Granted these may be nitpicks for some, they add up. The Ctrl and Fn keys should be switched.

I know you can swap them through the software, but every other keyboard has the Ctrl in the corner. The buttons being under the touchpad make navigating and clicking with both hands kind of annoying.

It does it’s best to try to figure out if you are swiping or clicking, but it is imprecise. The pen has an odd shaped bulb on the end that makes putting it in a pain to align. It doesn’t want to naturally slide in to the right position, so you always have to take a moment to orient it when returning.

The charging adapter doesn’t wrap up nicely. Dell and Apple do a better job of designing the power cord/adapter. There is no indent in the lid to make opening nicer. It sticks out a bit more so it’s not hard to open, but it’s not satisfying.

The logo is recessed into the palm rest which makes it slightly annoying when moving your hand. Again, these things are slight, but having so many things be just slightly annoying is kind of annoying in itself.

Like the extra strength label over the power button showing you it is a fingerprint sensor. It was hard to get off, and then left residue that was hard to get off. Just why? The spacing between the USB-C ports is generous, but not the spacing between the USB and HDMI.

USB-C tips are narrow, HDMI and USB are sometimes fat, which means they rub and are more difficult to pull out. If you are going to put space between them, put it between the USB and HDMI ports instead.

Tablet mode is not ideal because it is slick and heavy, so you can’t hold it comfortably. Similar when closed and pulling it out of a bag, it feels like it wants to slip out of your hands. I like that there is a cover for the camera.

I like the lit keyboard. I don’t like the keys being rounded/scalloped on the bottom it makes them seem not always in the right space if you are trying to hit a corner of a key.

If you want to experience significant upgrades in an apple computer, then the MacBook Air with the M1 chip is definitely the one to buy. It’s one of the fastest and most cost-efficient choices for a computer where technology has come together to create a tremendous change in experience for laptop computer users.

Between Apple’s proprietary M1 chip that is fanless, solid state hard drive, retina screen display and upgraded sound system, an incredibly extended battery life before the need to recharge and much more, the new apple technology literally constitutes the wave of the future.

The overall performance enhancements clearly put you in the driver’s seat and establish considerable measurable distance from the previous evolution of computing in general. Literally every detail has been given attention to improvements with the end-user constantly in mind.

Speed of processing is near instantaneous and regardless of software program complexity, the MacBook Air M1 simply sets it all in motion at blistering speeds. While some complain that apple products are costly, the advantages of becoming part of the apple technology environment makes it worth every penny.

The seamlessness between apple products is yet again another favorable feature and whether for business or pleasure, you’ll find yourself able to be completely connected throughout your array of apple devices.

They’ve literally captured the market in our opinion because their focus upon technology and consumer needs is unparalleled by the competition. It’s very safe to say that switching to the apple family of products means never having to look back because the company is constantly taking its consumers forward at an ever faster pace.

You should also be on the lookout for the new M2 processing chip and related products that will be driven by it, many of which are projected to be out sometime this year. Very frankly, the experience of using our apple products on a daily basis is one that we look forward to with the complete confidence that we’re interfacing with the technology around us using the best possible assets.

We just purchased two MacBook Air M1 computers and the new iOS Mac iPad with the M1 chip. Together with our other apple products, we’ve moved well forward to the cutting edge of features and technology that we seek as consumers.

Apple truly has assembled a winning team that has surrounded itself with a business model to produce absolute premier computers and other apple products capable of defining innovation in a way no other company can achieve.

Throughout our entire experience with apple products since 2011, we’ve never once encountered problems. Not once, and it represents a shining example of quality control, attention to detail and the constant look well forward into what consumers need most in technology and reliability.

Based upon our experience, just as Microsoft had taken the market by storm with windows very early on, Apple is well on its way to completely ruling the computer and communications environment because it not only continues to surprise and satisfy with the latest technology but also the most innovative as well.

Without any hesitation, we grant apple products 5 stars.

I bought this as a personal laptop to use along side my work laptop (a MacBook Pro). For all intents and purposes, it’s just as fast and reliable as my Pro, and significantly cheaper. It has no internal fan so doesn’t ever get loud like the pro does, and surprisingly it has never gotten overly hot or overheated despite being used for hours at a time.

It’s just as fast, if not faster than the pro, which is one of the selling points for the M1 Chip. Speaking of, as usual, Apple has gotten greedy and decided to no longer rely on outside CPUs (Intel), as my pro and previous models did.

Performance/speed is the big differentiator between the processors, but I don’t use this computer for much of anything where this increase is super noticeable. Sure, programs load a bit faster, but the difference isn’t super noticeable, to me at least.

One BIG con to the M1 chip for me, is that I’ve already noticed that it’s less functional when it comes to certain things. For instance, I have multiple external monitors that I constantly hook up to both my work and personal computer.

Intel allows for the Pro to operate on multiple screens without any external drivers. The M1 Chip however, currently only supports the ability to use ONE external monitor. I thought at first that something was wrong with my Air when I first got it home and could only get one monitor to work, despite having two monitors connected, the same way I do with my Pro.

I ended up researching this though and found that the M1 chip simply does not support this. However, apparently this is something that Apple has mentioned should be available later, via an IOS update.

While I hope this is true, Apple hasn’t exactly been open and honest about upgrading current features/abilities, so I’m not holding my breath (do yourself a favor and check forum boards relating to calendar in pane on the Apple Outlook app, a feature that’s VERY valuable on the PC version that has hundreds of thousands of requests, but Apple still won’t make this simple update).

If they do upgrade the M1 chip in a timely manner, then my review would go to 5 Stars. However, if this and other updates aren’t made, I’d say that you’re better off going with a previous model with the latest Intel Core processor.

I don’t tend to use Apple products outside of Apple TV and iPad Pros. I have had MacBooks provided by my employers in the past so I’m at least able to navigate MacOS OK, but I wanted something to really experiment with without worrying about ruining company equipment.

I’m used to using heavier gaming laptops with larger screens, so this feels almost like a toy. It’s incredibly light, has what I would consider insane battery life and is. fine. I’ve been looking around for apps or uses that Macs are outstanding at (and yes, I realize it’s an Air and not a Pro) but so far the only application I’ve used where it noticeable outperforms any of my Windows laptops is with Ableton Live 11.

There is no noticeable lag using my MIDI keyboards and controllers, where with my Windows laptops it’s not possible to record live without turning off the speakers because the lag is so bad. The interoperability with my iPad Pro is pretty impressive.

I haven’t really dug into what’s possible yet, but have used my iPad as a second display and the setup is simple and seamless. I’m still trying to dig into use cases for this MacBook vs my windows laptops and there aren’t many.

It’s not capable of being a primary gaming system, though it can easily handle some of the less intensive Mac-compatible games I have on Steam. I may be using it as my primary music recording/producing system going forward, though.

And it’s so light and capable enough that I can easily see using this first when I go on vacation or just want a laptop with me to use at a cafe or wherever. I suspect my initial rating may change with more use and my limited experience with Macs in general makes it difficult for me to evaluate the M1 chip.

Bottom line, I’d say if portability is your highest priority and you don’t need high performance for gaming or intensive creative work, it’s pretty decent. Though you could probably get by with a Windows laptop for half the price for general computing.

Review of Microsoft Surface 4 laptop, 15 inch and Surface 4, 13. 5 inch, (16GB RAM, 512 GB SSD models). I use both the 15 inch and the 13. 5 inch models of the Surface 4, and they have a similar specification apart from the overall size, screen size, pixel count, and weight.

And the price. When connected to a UHD 4k TV by HDMI, the 15 inch produces a larger picture, occupying most of the TV screen. Surface 4: 15 inch, black matte: 2496 x 1664 pixels, weight approx. 1. 6 kg Smooth metal hand-rest around the keyboard.

Surface 4: 13. 5 inch, ice blue 2256 x 1504 pixels, weight approx. 1. 3 kg Alcantara-covered hand-rest around the keyboard, a bit more comfortable to use. Both have the 11th generation Intel Core I-7 processor, with four cores and eight logical processors.

Both have 16 GB of RAM, and a nominally 512 GB SSD, which the system reports as about 476 GB with about 420 GB free. The specifications are more than adequate for most everyday purposes, and the laptops tackle them very quickly.

The display is very sharp and clear and both have touch screens; because the trackpad is excellent I don’t find myself using the touchscreen very often. Both of these are slim and elegant laptops, with a solid feel due to aluminium cases, excellent keyboards and good sound within the limits of a laptop.

Construction and finish is of a high standard. Windows 11 runs fast, starts up quickly, and handles everyday tasks with ease. Web browsing including YouTube works perfectly. The battery life seems quite decent, around 12 hours or so of web browsing, and the battery charges quickly from the supplied charger.

I particularly value the fact that Microsoft 365, (which I use on a desktop computer as well) and therefore Microsoft One Drive, run excellently on these two laptops. The built in expansion ports are limited, as has been commented upon elsewhere, but are actually adequate for my purposes.

A dock is available if more ports are needed. The 15 inch laptop is connected to my TV, and has a Logitech wireless keyboard and mouse, so I can sit some distance away and view the big display. The 13.

5 inch laptop is used as a portable browsing device, replacing an iPad.

I’ve owned multiple Surface computers, including two Pros, three Laptops, and the Surface Book. I wanted to love the Surface Pro because of its portability, but that easel configuration felt awkward and unstable, whether on a seatback tray or my thighs.

The Book is an impressive machine with its convertible design, but that’s a feature I rarely use. It was bulkier than I wanted for travel, so I repurposed it as a competent desktop replacement. If I had to choose just one Surface for maximum versatility, it would be the Laptop.

I’ve owned the first generation and Laptop 3. Laptop 4 is unquestionably the best yet. It feels fast and crisp. The AMD Ryzen 5 processor reacts swiftly to anything I throw at it–admittedly, nothing too taxing.

I simultaneously run Edge, Outlook, OneNote, some simple Excel spreadsheets, and Photoshop Elements. No gaming. The computer never feels like it’s straining to keep up. It’s more responsive than the Intel i5 in my previous Laptop 3, and the battery life is far superior.

The Ice Blue color is a refreshing change from tired shades of gray, and my palms are happy to be back on plush Alcantara after regretting the migration to cold, bare metal on the preceding generation.

My Surface Laptop 3 wasn’t yet a year old, but this Laptop 4 was a splurge I don’t regret.

This is the first Surface product I have ever owned, and I must say, I am quite impressed! The laptop itself is quite light, but feels quite premium at the same time. The trackpad is smooth and buttery, while also not making much noise when clicking.

The keys have nice travel and are also quiet. The Surface has a nice screen, and although not as bright as other comparable laptops, it’s not bad at all. The laptop has a long-lasting battery too. I can get a good 12-15 hours or so while multitasking.

This laptop can be pretty pricey for what features you get compared to other laptops on the market, but I feel you are paying extra for the premium build, durability, and portability. One major downside of the Surface Laptop is the lack of ports.

It only has one each of USB-A and USB-C. Unfortunately, it also doesn’t have Thunderbolt 4. The lack of ports means you likely would need to invest in an external hub, especially if you have multiple peripherals you want to connect.

Pros: -portable and lightweight -quite durable -nice vertical 3:2 screen ratio -the Sandstone color is really unique -long battery life between charges -fast charging with included power supply: 0% to 80% in an hour Cons: -lack of ports -can get a bit warm when multitasking.

At last, a laptop that not only fast enough to play moderately demanding games, but despite the 17-inch screen which is a joy to behold, also light enough to carry around and has battery life that keeps it going all day.

And for me, the big plus is that it’s quiet. Even running a game with the fan seemingly on max output, it’s a bit of white noise in the backgroud, not a jet engine whine like my previous machine. Most of the time though, it’s silent.

With 1TB of storage and 16GB of memory, the hardware supports everything I need it for. You might want more RAM or storage if you were editing videos but the specs suggest you can add more storage; I haven’t opened it up to check.

The centrepiece though is the display. I love the anti-glare screen so I can sit by a window without seeing reflections, narrow bezels allow the screen to fill the field of view and it’s plenty bright enough for my uses.

Othe user interface issues: the keyboard is just deep and clicky enough to be great to type on, and the separate number pad is useful too – if only for the Enter key that sits on the far right and is easy to prod when typing quickly.

If I had a criticism, it would be that the Enter key in the middle of the keyboard is harder to pick out than if it were larger, and I’d prefer the Home and End keys, which I use a lot when typing, not to require use of the Fn key.

The black case also picks up fingerprints easily but these are easy to remove with isopropyl alcohol. Or vodka will probably work too! And I’d prefer to have had Windows Pro installed by default rather than Home just for the additional networking functionality but that’s simple to remedy.

Charging is via a USB-C port and the charger itself is a fairly small, lightweight component, making the whole apparatus easy to carry around when necessary. Overall, after weeks of research, I’m delighted with the laptop which brings together everything you might want at the right price in a 17-inch laptop.

I first spotted the Gram and thought it was probably too good but couldn’t find another product to beat it.

I “auditioned” a half a dozen laptops by using each for a month. I tried ALL the big brands. My HW requirements were: 11th gen Core i7 or Core i9, 32 gb memory, 1 tb (or more) SSD drive. The keyboard was of prime importance to me also.

I can touch-type and wanted a fast keyboard with good feel and a good key layout, something similar to a standard 101-key keyboard. I tried a couple with numeric keypads, which I use A LOT, but the offset of the trackpad was so annoying, having to type to the left of the screen.

I found that CPU & GPU cooling was an important factor, as many of the laptops would throttle the CPU excessively, negating the performance of the CPU dramatically. It also turned out the trackpad was a big deal.

Some well-reviewed laptops had excessively large trackpads, which caused me to accidentally highlight text or push on-screen buttons. In the end, what I found about the HP ZBook Studio that made it superior to all the others is: 1) It’s fast.

MUCH faster than all but one of the others, and it ties that one. Laptops with the EXACT same CPU, GPU, & memory were much slower than the ZBook (I used multiple benchmark app’s to validate). 2) The ZBook’s superior cooling hardware helped to avoid the throttling plaguing other similar laptops.

3) The trackpad is the right size and its smooth surface makes it a pleasure to use, & I don’t accidentally activate it. 4) The centered keyboard, specific to the ZBook Studio model, has great feel, proper key spacing, good key layout, and the included keys are useful.

The fact that you can assign different colors & effects to keys, groups of keys, or the entire keyboard was a bonus I’m still struggling to understand the importance of. 5) Good speakers, good screen, good battery add to its comfortable utility.

I don’t care about weight, but I know that’s important to some, like students. It is NOT a perfect laptop. I wish it had the user-upgradeability of others, and I think the case would be much more comfortable if the edges were rounded rather than acute.

I wish F-keys were standard sized and that it had a discrete SYSRQ key (for Linux). Despite these issues, it may not be perfect, but it is the best of the currently available workstations/high-end laptops.

I know, because I tried them all.

If you want a small form factor, but the most power you can get for performance work and gaming, look no further. This thing is a beast. The keyboard has travel to it. It feels a little different from your average laptop keyboard and takes some getting used to, but I actually prefer the way it feels once you do.

Words per minute at least for me are better on this laptop than other laptops I’ve had. The trackpad is a pretty standard size and works flawlessly. Nothing to complain about there. It has 2 USB-C ports on one side and 1 USB-A on the other.

There is a headphone jack and a full SD Card reader which is nice. There’s no HDMI port, but a mini DisplayPort instead. You’ll have no trouble hooking HDMI through a mini DisplayPort adapter for projects.

The stereo speakers have a very clean and crisp sound. It doesn’t have the bass of a home sound system, but they’re definitely one of the best you can get on a laptop. Under the hood, there’s not much you can upgrade other than the SSD.

Even the RAM is soldered on, but with these specs, I wouldn’t expect to need an upgrade. Gaming performance on it is as expected with the RTX 3070. Given the small form factor, the cooling is adequate, but not over the top.

It has a calmer lower-pitch noise to it when the fans are at work. It stays at a good temperature with new AAA games. You are compromising a few frames for a more compact laptop due to a lack of space for extreme cooling, but it’s plenty powerful enough as it is.

The display is as accurate to true colors as it gets. You can be confident with Photoshop or After Effects that you don’t have to compensate for screen color distortion. I do 3D 8K video editing with After Effects for a show using four projectors for the holidays.

I never thought something this small could handle a task like this with such ease. I can take this laptop outside and do editing right at my house! The bottom line, this is the most robust laptop of its size.

It weighs less than 4 pounds and is less than 3/4 of an inch thick. Looking at it and holding it, you’ll be amazed that it is more powerful than many workstation desktops on the market today.

The computer business must be tough? HP, the company that advanced computational capabilities for budding scientist, engineers and even astronauts through the 70’s and 80’s is more than just another on-time internet storefront sales kiosk.

Forty-Five years after engineering school at Clemson University and my career as a civil engineer, I purchased a new HP ZBook laptop online this year to extend my computing capabilities as a consultant and again it was reminiscent of the 70’s when HP retired the slide rule and rescued engineerning students all over the US with the HP 35 calculator.

Their pulse for this technology still reigns in this industry and it’s my hope they can sustain this legacy as a living benefit for the advancement of education and the computational sciences. The ZBook G8 with the Wolf Security provides for not only my business needs as a consultant but has the computational power necessary to analyze the most data intensive problems and provide the graphical solutions important in todays software.