In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, work from home has become the new reality of the working population.
Your typical day will probably include voice/video calls, team meetings via online applications, accessing large databases and connecting to servers from home, editing heavyweight multimedia content, etc.
To match the demands of your present work scenario, you might be considering purchasing a new laptop or upgrading your existing one.
Ideally, your work-from-home laptop should offer adequate performance for your day-to-day tasks. The specifications you need will depend upon the intensity of your typical day. The perfect device must also be portable to allow you to work from anywhere.
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Our Picks: Best Work From Home Laptops 2023
In the list below, you will find some of the best picks for work-from-home professionals, starting at around $700. With the plethora of options available in the market today, it can get confusing to select the right fit for your specific needs.
Top brands like Apple, Dell, and HP now have options catered to remote working. Many of them are as portable and well-connected as the Ultrabooks and Chromebooks that have long been the devices of choice for business users.
Whether your needs are CPU-intensive and audio-visual-centric or more inclined toward spreadsheets and number crunching, there should be something here for you.
1. Dell XPS 13 9310
This $1649 device gets powered by an Intel Core i7-1195G7 processor, 16GB of RAM, a 512GB SSD, and Intel Iris Xe Graphics.
The touchscreen FHD+ display uses Dolby Vision to generate bright and detailed imagery. Moreover, with Eyesafe technology, you will experience less blue light emission.
This 2.8lbs and 0.58” laptop is designed to be portable yet sturdy. It has a lid sensor that allows you to power up quickly when you need to make a sudden video call or send an e-mail.
Features like an inbuilt fingerprint reader and the use of lightweight carbon fiber for the palm rest let this device stand apart from the crowd.
As for the connectivity realm, you will be safe with the high-speed Wi-Fi 6 and Dell Mobile Connect. They keep you connected to the internet and other devices like your mobile phone.
2. Apple MacBook Air Laptop
The Apple MacBook Air laptop, priced at $1,149.00, is a good choice for work-from-home professionals who wish to acquire a Mac on a budget.
The 13” device delivers excellent performance with 8GB of RAM, and a 512GB SSD (up to 2TB). A bright Retina display with True Tone technology and a P3 wide color gamut gives you high text clarity and brilliant multimedia rendition.
While working remotely, you can comfortably access any applications you are accustomed to using, such as Microsoft 365. Additionally, your iPhone and iPad applications also become accessible to you.
Build and design have always been priorities for Apple, and here too, you can enjoy features like a scissor-mechanism backlit keyboard and fan-less cooling. The MacBook Air uses 100% recycled aluminum to reduce its carbon footprint.
Apple incorporates plenty of connections like Thunderbolt 4 and Wi-Fi 6 to keep you connected to your colleagues. The long battery life of 18 hours is liberating for those with travel-intensive lifestyles.
3. Dell XPS 15 9510
You also get an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 graphics card and Waves Nx 3D Audio – perfect for multimedia professionals. Note that this reliable device is rather expensive at $1,899.99.
Dell offers multiple display options with this device to cater to varied user groups.
You can stick to the FHD+ model and still enjoy 100% DCI-P3 color, Dolby Vision, and a screen-to-body ratio of 92.9%. Or, you can opt for a 4K Ultra HD+ display if your work requires meticulous rendition of imagery, say, for film editing.
If you have to work on the go, this 3.99lbs and 0.71” laptop lives up to the challenge. It offers anti-reflective coating and over 13 hours of battery backup.
Facial recognition via Windows Hello and a unified environment via Dell Mobile Connect also facilitate work from home.
4. 2021 Apple MacBook Pro 14-inch
Not many can compare with the sheer performance of the 2021 Apple MacBook Pro 14-inch when it comes to getting stuff done and fast.
It comes with a powerful 16-core neural engine to enhance machine learning and offers 64GB of RAM and 8TB SSD storage.
If your work involves running CPU-intensive applications that tend to hog up memory, you will feel sorted with this MacBook.
True to its Mac spirit, this laptop provides you with a splendid visual experience. It has a Retina display with a sustained brightness of 1000 nits; the peak brightness is as high as 1600 nits.
Even while doing FaceTime, you can enjoy the crisp picture quality that comes with a 1080p camera and smooth, loud sound from a six-speaker system. Apple also provides force-canceling woofers to enhance your auditory experience further.
One of the best features of this MacBook is its stupendous battery life: up to 21 hours! You can travel, work on the run, etc., without fretting about losing power.
5. Lenovo Legion 5 Laptop for Home and Gaming
The 15.6″ Lenovo Legion 5 laptop for home and gaming costs a reasonably affordable $1,049.99 but offers a lot for its price.
It is an AMD machine driven by an AMD Ryzen 7 5800H processor, 16GB of RAM, a 512GB SSD, and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050Ti graphics.
You can experience satisfying performance and speeds whether you are analyzing numbers at work or defeating foes in the arena.
Since this is a gaming device, the display front is top-notch. An FHD screen, Dolby Vision, and 100% sRGB color render crystal-clear imagery. Additionally, the refresh rate and the response time are excellent at 165Hz and 3ms.
Nahimic Audio is noteworthy in enhancing the sound output. It is advantageous not just for gamers but also for creative professionals like editors.
The 5.28lbs laptop provides connections like Wi-Fi 6, USB-C, and Bluetooth 5.0 to let you stay plugged in.
6. Dell Inspiron 15 5510
It offers decent performance: an Intel Core i7-11390H CPU, 8GB of RAM, and a 512GB SSD.
The audio-visual front is charming, with an FHD monitor and an NVIDIA GeForce MX450 graphics card. Plentiful connections and accessibility features like Alexa let this device sync well with modern professionals.
The build of this laptop is particularly cutting edge. An aluminum top cover lends you a premium feel, but the chassis remains lightweight and sleek at only 3.6lbs and 0.71”.
Dell has incorporated features that cater specially to work-from-home employees, such as a mechanical camera shutter and a lid-open sensor. The latter allows you to access your laptop quickly. The keyboard is comfortable to use, with the keycaps and the touchpad bigger than you may have used before.
7. HP Pavilion 15-inch Laptop
The HP Pavilion 15-inch laptop is both reliable and high-performing as a work-from-home platform.
It gets powered by an Intel Core i7-1165G7 processor, 16GB of RAM, and a 512GB SSD. This laptop will cost you around $944.00.
Display- and sound-wise, things look pretty good with an FHD screen, a wide-viewing angle (178-degree), and B&O audio. With support for IPS, you can comfortably work in a position that suits you without experiencing distortion.
Note that HP does not offer a discrete GPU here but integrates Intel Iris Xe graphics. It can be a shortcoming if your work involves extensive multimedia editing and requires the power of a dedicated graphics card.
While working unplugged, you can enjoy peace of mind for up to eight hours and then power up quickly with the HP Fast Charge technology. At 3.86lbs and 0.7”, it is a portable and slim device that travels well.
8. LG Gram 14Z90P Laptop
It is rather pricey at $1,499.99 but comes with powerful specifications. An Intel Evo Core i7 drives this machine, along with 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD.
This astonishingly lightweight laptop weighs just 2.2lbs and has a thickness of 0.66”. If your work demands the kind of power it delivers and the mobility it boasts, it might be worthwhile to ramp up your budget.
On the display frontier, you get a colorful and vivid screen with a resolution of 1920 x 1200 and a color gamut of DCI-P3 99%.
LG has equipped this laptop with connections like two USB-C ports, USB-A, and HDMI. It also has Alexa to simplify your user experience and let you get more work done quicker.
9. Acer Swift 3 Thin & Light Laptop
It costs just $749.99 but manages to give a good performance for everyday tasks at the workplace.
Inside the processing compartment is an AMD Ryzen 7 5700U processor, 8GB of RAM, and a 512GB SSD.
You can enjoy bright imagery on the FHD monitor with 100% sRGB color a screen-to-body ratio of 85.73%.
It is a highly portable laptop with a bodyweight of only 2.65lbs and 12.5 hours of battery life. Moreover, Acer offers quick charging: 30 minutes of charging for four hours of playback.
Acer has helpful features to support remote work, such as smooth voice/video calls with Acer Purified Voice technology and Amazon Alexa for quick responsiveness.
It employs a stereo ring fan to dissipate heat and keep things sustainable. Multiple usage modes like silent, normal, and performance allow you to adjust the cooling based on your needs.
10. Acer Predator Helios 300 Gaming Laptop
It costs $1,299.99, which makes it within budget for committed gamers. The performance gets led by an Intel i7-11800H processor, 16GB of RAM, a 512GB SSD, and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 graphics.
If you work as a multimedia professional, you will find several features right up your street. Sample this: DTS:X Ultra for 360-degree surround sound, a refresh rate of 144Hz, and a response time of 3ms.
Whether you create and edit audio-visual content at work or settle down for a session of avid gaming in the evening, this device has got your back.
Working long hours is not a challenge here, as an efficient heat dissipation system keeps things cool. High-speed internet with Killer Wi-Fi 6 enables a connected working experience away from your desk.
This 5.07lbs, 0.9” device also offers a customized keyboard with concave WASD keycaps for quick and precise presses.
Selecting a Work From Home Laptop: What to Look for
Let us discuss some prime considerations while purchasing a laptop for remote work, either temporarily or for the long haul.
- CPU: It is now fairly standard to get an eleventh-gen Intel CPU, although you can choose an older generation based on your budget. An AMD laptop like the Lenovo Legion 5 is another option you can consider to enjoy high speed and efficiency at a competitive cost. Apple continues to be a coveted option for work-from-home professionals who have the cash (and the need).
- RAM and storage: As a rule of thumb, acquire 16GB of RAM and at least 512GB of SSD storage. If your job demands more memory, you might want to favor a laptop like the Apple MacBook Pro that comes with up to 8TB of space. If the device lets you upgrade the RAM and storage, you get the flexibility to customize according to your specific requirement.
- Display: Pick an FHD screen, at the very least, preferably with IPS and a wide color gamut to avoid straining your eyes. If you work in a creative industry like photography, you might need an NVIDIA GPU to avoid stress about slow speeds and pixilated displays.
- Battery backup: A minimum of eight hours of battery capacity is imperative for a remote-working laptop. You do not want to be stuck to a power station while completing a work assignment on the run. It is wise to opt for a quick-charging battery. For instance, the Acer Swift 3 laptop offers four hours of video playback after just half an hour of charging.
- Connectivity: While working outside the office, your connectivity needs rise. You will require USB connections to access all your data, Wi-Fi 6 for consistent internet, webcams (at least HD) for calling, card readers, etc.
- Security: To keep your sensitive business documents safe, you need dependable security solutions built into your laptop. It becomes even more of a necessity if your work involves frequent travel. MacBooks come with the safety of an Apple M1 chip. Brands like Dell have started offering a mechanical camera shutter to keep your video calls private.
- Portability: It is best to choose a lightweight laptop that provides you the freedom to work from anywhere. Laptops like the LG Gram 14Z90P weigh just 2.2lbs. Many premium devices have now incorporated feather-light designs. They bring down the weight of your chassis to as low as that of a typical Ultrabook.
Conclusion
As of 2023, many employers continue to allow their staff to connect from their home offices to stay protected from viral exposure. More and more workplaces have become remote, and some have even made remote login a permanent, long-term option. In this situation, a robust and powerful laptop has become an essential possession.
Leading technology companies have risen to the occasion and come up with portable, competent laptops that suit work-from-home employees.
Today, you can find thoughtful additions like anti-reflective coating on the screen to permit you to work outdoors and experience less interference.
Security solutions have been strengthened to facilitate work in shared environments. Many laptops in different budget ranges now offer facial recognition and fingerprint readers.
Accessibility and ease of use are priorities for manufacturers at this time. Working from outside the office blurs the boundaries between your home and workplace and can trigger fatigue, eye strain, and mental exhaustion.
The addition of features like Alexa, an ergonomic keyboard, exceptional sound quality, and lightweight build make the transition simple.
When working from home, it is paramount to keep your productivity high and distraction levels low. The right laptop for your requirements will understand this and bolster a positive work environment for you.
