A Laptop for Every Budget: Your Guide to the Best-Performing Laptops of 2023

Article by

Sarah Ashe

March 2, 2023

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With our new work from anywhere culture, it’s important to be armed with the right equipment. What could be more important than your laptop? It’s the item you’ll spend most of your time with — whether you’re writing emails, formatting budget spreadsheets, designing infographics or writing content you’ll need a laptop that functions at it’s best so that you can function at your best.

From CPUs to battery life to resolution, it’s worth taking the time to do your research so that you end up with a laptop that works well for you and helps you perform in your role. We’ve pulled together a guide of 2023’s best laptops for every budget, every profession and every requirement.

Dell XPS 13

$1,149

Best for: Everyday web browsing and office use (it’s also good for watching movies, but don’t tell your boss!)

With its bright and crisp display, 16GB of LPDDR5 memory and a slim, aluminum chassis, this little laptop delivers fast performance at a reasonable price.
It’s thin and light, making it easy to transport, but don’t worry, it’s sturdy at its core.
It sports a sleek, edgeless look but still has room for a 720p webcam to facilitate all of your virtual meetings.
A 13.4 inch display carries 1,920 x 1,200 pixels, giving it a wonderfully clear cut display.
It has two Thunderbolt 4 USB Type C-ports. So, if you need to connect lots of devices you’ll need to invest in a docking station.

The details:

HP Pavilion Plus 14-inch

$900

Best for: Buyers on a budget looking for a good all-rounder.

The HP Pavilion Plus is perfect for office work, web browsing and research, or even casual gaming. The best part is, it doesn’t break the bank.
It’s light, at just 3.1 pounds, and compact meaning you can easily transport it to your workplace of choice.
It looks clean and professional and has an attractive 2K display.
Battery life is shorter than other models lasting 8 hours, not enough for a full day out. But, it has a fast-charge feature meaning you can get back to 50% of battery in a mere 30 minutes of charging.

The details:

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 10

$1,200

Best for: Professionals who enjoy a sturdy, quality build.

Lenovo’s ThinkPad range is the crème de la crème of business laptops.
This X1 Carbon 14 inch is powered by a new generation Intel Core i7-1240P processor and 8GB of RAM (you can upgrade to 16GB if needed).
It boasts a smart 14 inch 1080p display and there’s an option to go touchscreen if that’s your preference.
Most notably, it has a sturdy and robust build but remains light - only 2.5 pounds.
It’s built for business purpose with biometric security in the form of a built-in fingerprint reader and an optional Privacy Guard display to keep all of your data safe whilst you're on the go.

The details:

Apple MacBook Pro 16 (M1 Pro Processor)

$2,299

Best for: Creative and design work.

The Apple MacBook Pro 16 has a 16.2 inch screen that can only be described as perfection! It makes this laptop optimal for creative and design work.
It has plenty of space for you to view multiple audio tracks when audio editing, and has expansive timelines for easy video editing.
If you’re editing photos, the display has brilliant color accuracy and 1,600 nits brightness.
Battery life lasts up to 21 hours and the machine has extra ports so you won’t need additional adaptors or hubs for external devices.
While pricey, if you're a designer, videographer or photographer, it might well be worth it.

The details:

HP 14

$394

Best for: Those on a tight budget needing to do light office work.

Don’t be put off by its low cost; the HP 14 has many handy features that make this laptop a worthy contender.
It has a mid-range, energy-efficient AMD Ryzen processor.
It offers a pretty solid performance for lightweight tasks such as web browsing and office work.
It weighs 3.2 pounds, making it easy to transport.
Plus, it looks good! With trim bezels and a slim chassis it looks modern and sleek.
Note, the display isn’t super bright - limited to 250 nits - but that should be good enough for everyday use.

The details:

ASUS ZenBook Pro Duo 15

$2,800

Best for: Editing audio, video and photos, design work.

The Asus ZenBook is a good alternative to the MacBook Pro 16. Its high-end Intel Core i7 12th-generation CPU and 32GB of DDR5 memory is giving Apple’s newer models a run for their money.
The Nvidia RTX 3060 means this laptop is capable of handling 3D transitions and 3D design work.
The ZenBook’s dual display is what makes this model stand out. The main display is 15.6 inch 4K OLED touchscreen which provides crisp, vibrant images and it supports 100% of the DCI-P3 professional color space for color accuracy.
The secondary touchscreen, the ScreenPad, sits on the top of the keyboard deck. It enables you to access a range of controls in editing applications quickly.
Limited battery life is this laptop's one downfall; make sure to keep your charger handy.

The details:

Lenovo Yoga 7i 16-inch

$1,000

Best for: Those who like a 2-in-1 laptop/tablet.

The Lenovo Yoga has a long battery life and a high-res, responsive touchscreen.
At its heart lives the Intel Core i7-1260p delivering top performance in both lightweight and heavier tasks.
16GB of high-speed LPDDR5 memory offers a significantly higher bandwidth than previous 2-in-1 models.
The 16-inch 2K touchscreen presents clear images and its taller 16:10 aspect ratio makes it easier to scroll longer documents or web pages.
It has a 360 degree hinge allowing you to convert it into a compact tablet and has a pair of USB Type-C ports for attaching an external monitor or drives.

The details:

Dell XPS 13 Plus OLED

$1,750

Best for: Those looking for a highly portable, high-performance laptop.

The Dell XPS 13 Plus boasts a revolutionary new design.
The XPS 13 Plus upgrades the CPU to Intel’s 12th generation processors and has DDR5 memory and a 512GB SSD.
The pièce de résistance of this model is its bright 4K OLED display. At just 13.4 inches it has high pixel density and clear text. The OLED technology produces deeper black levels than found on a typical LCD screen so everything from a static image to a movie looks fresh and vibrant.
This laptop also comes with a unique keyboard/trackpad design. It has tactile feedback motors to assist you with your navigation and tapping.
Battery life lasts 12 hours.

The detail:

It’s time to purchase!

We hope this guide helped you find your perfect laptop! Press order on your new machine and elevate your work from anywhere set up today.

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A Laptop for Every Budget: Your Guide to the Best-Performing Laptops of 2023

Article by

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Everything you need to work from anywhere

Dell XPS 13

$1,149

HP Pavilion Plus 14-inch

$900

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 10

$1,200

Apple MacBook Pro 16 (M1 Pro Processor)

$2,299

HP 14

$394

ASUS ZenBook Pro Duo 15

$2,800

Lenovo Yoga 7i 16-inch

$1,000

Dell XPS 13 Plus OLED

$1,750

It’s time to purchase!

Tools for modern work