1. Apple MacBook Pro 16
- Notebookcheck rating: 93%
- Find this model on BestBuy
- Battery Life: Up to 20 hours
The MacBook Pro 16-inch (M3 Max, 2023) impresses with its M3 Max 16-Core chip, achieving up to 20 hours of battery life. The new Space Black color is attractive and less prone to fingerprints than the Midnight color on the MacBook Air, though it still requires occasional cleaning.
Apple has also enhanced its M3 Max 40-Core GPU performance, achieving commendable results given the device's 60-watt maximum power consumption. The 16.2-inch Liquid Retina Display remains outstanding, and the 120Hz ProMotion refresh rate ensures smooth performance, including gaming.
Ports selection include two Thunderbolt 4/USB-C ports and a headphone jack on the left, with another Thunderbolt 4/USB-C port, an HDMI port, and an SD card slot on the right. The MacBook Pro 16 is an excellent multimedia laptop and nearly perfect for video editing, thanks to its unified memory.
2. Apple MacBook Pro 14
- Notebookcheck rating: 93%
- See this product at BestBuy
- Battery Life: Up to 18 hours
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2023) offers an excellent balance of premium design and powerful performance with the M3 Max 16-Core chip. Its battery life is outstanding, lasting over 18 hours of light use, easily covering a full day or more, depending on your workload.
Despite its 14-inch size, the M3 Max 40-Core GPU handles a 4K video transcoding to 1080p in just 5 minutes and 38 seconds, showcasing impressive performance even in the base model. The 14.2-inch display with a resolution of 3024 x 1964 is super bright, featuring 81.3% DCI-P3 coverage and 558 nits of brightness, ensuring everything looks stunning on this screen.
The MacBook Pro 14 also features a spacious keyboard and an easy-to-use haptic touchpad. Port selection includes three USB/Thunderbolt 4 ports, an HDMI 2.1 port, and a full-size SD card reader.
3. HP Dragonfly G4
- Notebookcheck rating: 92%
- Check it out at Amazon
- Battery Life: Up to 16 hours
The HP Dragonfly G4 impresses with a 13.5-inch display and an efficient Intel Core i7-1365U processor, paired with a 68-watt-hour battery that ensures up to 14.5 hours of battery life. Its matte black aluminum chassis rivals the elegance and sturdiness of a MacBook, combining lightweight design with robust build quality and minimal flex in the keyboard deck or lid. The matte finish not only enhances its sharp appearance but also feels pleasant to the touch.
The integrated 1440p webcam delivers sharp, grain-free images with accurate skin tones, and features an IR sensor for secure facial recognition logins. HP claims the Dragonfly G4 is the first business laptop to support dual webcams simultaneously, enhancing its video conferencing capabilities.
4. Asus Zenbook 14 OLED
- Notebookcheck rating: 87%
- Available for purchase on BestBuy
- Battery Life: Up to 16 hours
The Asus Zenbook 14 OLED is an impressive laptop with a remarkable battery life of up to 16 hours, offered at an affordable price point.
Equipped with Intel's latest Core Ultra 7 155H processor, the Zenbook 14 delivers sufficient power for a range of tasks. Its 120-Hz 3K OLED display features excellent picture quality and accurate color profiles, making it suitable for photo and video editing in both P3 and sRGB color spaces. The display covers 79.8% of the DCI-P3 color gamut and reaches a brightness of 339 nits.
The Zenbook 14's comfortable keyboard ensures fatigue-free typing throughout the day, thanks to its 1.4mm key travel and satisfying click-to-pressure ratio. The input devices are reliable, and the connectivity options are comprehensive, including USB-C, USB-A, and an HDMI output. However, the RAM is not expandable, which might be a limitation for some users.