Ranking: The best business laptops reviewed by Notebookcheck

Top-class business laptops - that's the promise of the HP EliteBook 1000. The 1000 models represent the absolute premium class among HP's business laptops. The convertible HP EliteBook x360 1040 G11 is one of the most expensive notebooks in HP's enterprise lineup.

The 2-in-1 does not disappoint in our test. The EliteBook's keyboard is excellent and the features are extensive, and the EliteBook also achieves a good battery life. We could not find many weak points - the display is a little slow and the CPU performance under continuous load is not quite at the top level.

The Elite x360 1040 G11 2-in-1 shines in terms of versatility and available functions for its size. However, the small cooling solution has some difficulty keeping up with the powerful Core H processors.

HP's EliteBook x360 1040 G11 costs at least around 2,000 euros.

Lenovo ThinkPad and Qualcomm Snapdragon - this combination is nothing new. However, it has not been successful so far. That seems to be changing with the Lenovo ThinkPad T14s Gen 6 which contains the Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite for the first time. The ARM ThinkPad is particularly impressive in one respect: It delivers extremely long battery life. The combination of the X Elite with the power-saving display of the T14s results in a Wi-Fi runtime of over 20 hours. In combination with the ThinkPad design, the ThinkPad T14s Gen 6 can definitely be a good option for business customers, who should, however, check in advance whether all applications are compatible.

Extremely durable, but sometimes still problematic in terms of compatibility: The Lenovo ThinkPad T14s Gen 6 is not for everyone.

The Lenovo ThinkPad T14s Gen 6 with Snapdragon X Elite is available for around 1,650 euros.

Smaller than the Lenovo ThinkPad X13 Gen 4 is the smallest in the Lenovo business lineup. The classic subnotebook packs many features into its compact casing and is an excellent choice for frequent travelers. However, there are some compromises, as the performance is not as good as that of larger ThinkPads, despite the efficient Ryzen CPU. In addition, the choice of display options is limited and users are restricted to low-resolution screens. In addition, the advantage in terms of mobility compared to larger ThinkPads such as the T14s Gen 5 is no longer as great as it used to be, so these are likely to be the better choice for many users.

The Lenovo ThinkPad X13 Gen 4 AMD is a solid subnotebook without any major weaknesses, but also only a few really outstanding strengths.

At the time of inclusion in the top list, the X13 Gen 4 AMD costs around 900 euros in the base configuration.

For the entire ThinkPad portfolio, which includes many business laptops, if we had to pick out a single model that best represents the brand, it would probably be the T14. The latest variant of the enterprise all-rounder, the Lenovo ThinkPad T14 Gen 5 makes an important turnaround towards better repairability. For the first time since 2018, the RAM in the ThinkPad T series is fully upgradeable again.

Apart from that, the ThinkPad T14 G5 still offers all the advantages of the "bread and butter" ThinkPad, such as the extensive features, high-quality input devices and replaceable keyboard. The main criticism is the rather below-average CPU performance of the Intel Meteor Lake U chip, and the speakers are not as good.

The ThinkPad T14 Gen 5 is a successful redesign with a focus on better repairability. It is a great working device for enterprise customers with many useful features, even if the processor is not the most efficient on the market.

In Germany, the Lenovo ThinkPad T14 Gen 5 starts at around 1,250 euros. On Amazon, a version with an Intel processor costs around 1,670 euros.

With the Lenovo ThinkPad T14s Gen 5 lenovo is building an intermediate floor between the premium model X1 Carbon and the normal ThinkPad T14. This year's lightest T-ThinkPad resembles the X1 Carbon more than ever. Lenovo has significantly modernized the design and given its office model much slimmer display bezels. Part of the update is Meteor Lake aka Core Ultra Series 1, which leads to a significantly improved battery life compared to last year's model. All in all, the ThinkPad T14s Gen 5 is a great notebook for use in corporate environments, which mainly lacks expandability and modularity.

Overall, the Lenovo ThinkPad T14s Gen 5 is a great notebook for business users and is by no means a bad choice for large corporate customers.

Potential buyers will have to pay at least 1,500 euros for the T14s G5. This model is available on Amazon for around 1,680 euros.

Dell calls premium laptops for the enterprise sector Latitude. The upper mid-range is formed by the Latitude-7000 series, the most compact representative of which is the Dell Latitude 7350 is the most compact representative. It is a small powerhouse with Core Ultra, which impresses with Wi-Fi 7 and very long battery runtimes. On the negative side, Dell only installs very small M.2 2230 SSDs, which limits the upgradeability. The Turbo Boost performance could also be better.

The Latitude 7350 has won awards for its 1 kg weight and extremely long battery life, making it ideal for many business travelers. In terms of display options and graphics performance, it doesn't offer anything outstanding, but that shouldn't matter in most usage scenarios.

The convertible version of the Dell Latitude 7350 costs around 1,500 euros.

For HP, the HP EliteBook Ultra G1q is a first. No EliteBook powered by an ARM processor existed before this one. The Snapdragon X Elite no longer lags behind the established x86 competition, unlike leading Qualcomm CPUs, and this high-quality laptop with its very slim chassis delivers a long battery life with a very quiet fan. The main criticism is that Windows on ARM still has compatibility problems, despite all the improvements.

The EliteBook Ultra G1q 14 marks a good start for Qualcomm, but it still has a long way to go, because Intel and AMD are still one step ahead at the same price.

The EliteBook Ultra G1q starts at around 1,800 euros.

Lenovo's ThinkPad X1 Carbon. There is hardly a business laptop currently on the market that is as prestigious and has been on sale for as long. The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 12 is the latest iteration of the lightest 14-inch ThinkPad and in fact probably the best version to date.

Buyers of the redesigned premium laptop will enjoy the extremely lightweight laptop with excellent input devices, many connections, a very high-quality OLED display with a refresh rate of 120 Hz, loud speakers and good performance with moderate emissions. The battery life has also improved compared to its predecessor, with only the somewhat inconsistent CPU performance being a major point of criticism.

The new design is lighter, more compact, faster and easier to use. However, the low resolution of the webcam will not age well and the performance is unfortunately sometimes unstable.

The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G12 costs around 2,300 US dollars in the USA at the time of testing. The tested version with Core Ultra 7 155H is only available in Germany as the campus version. Otherwise, the X1 Carbon G12 is only available with U-CPUs such as the Intel Core Ultra 7 155U.

HP EliteBook or HP EliteBook x360: Customers have the choice between a classic clamshell and a convertible whose display can be folded 360 degrees. The HP EliteBook x360 830 G10 is the latest variant of this series in the small 13.3-inch size. The compact notebook offers a lot for business customers: legacy ports, security features, great input devices including the digitizer pen, WWAN upgradeability and a matte touchscreen. All these features are housed in a robust aluminum casing. The business laptop doesn't really have any major weaknesses: the CPU performance and battery life could be better. The RAM is also soldered.

A laptop without many weaknesses, many strengths and a few average-good features: The HP EliteBook x360 830 G10.

The EliteBook x360 costs at least 1,300 euros.

Although Lenovo has given the ThinkPad X1 2in1 the abbreviation "Gen 9", it is a new model in terms of name. The reason: Lenovo has renamed its ThinkPad X1 Yoga; instead of Yoga, the quick-change artist is now called 2in1. As this premium convertible model for business customers has made it to Gen 8, the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 2in1 Gen 9 is the logical successor.

In terms of design, there is largely continuity between the X1 Yoga and its successor, the X1 2-in-1. The new model brings a few new features, such as the webcam bulge on the display and a slightly modified keyboard layout, and the bezels are also a little slimmer. A new haptic trackpad with integrated TrackPoint buttons is optional, which was also convincing in our test - however, TrackPoint users may not be quite as happy with it as touchpad addicts. Another new feature is that the stylus can no longer be stored in the casing, which makes it easier to lose. On the inside, there is an update to Meteor Lake, which, however, does not have an absolutely resounding effect. The behavior of the fans was somewhat annoying.

Lenovo has equipped the ThinkPad X1 2in1 G9 with a new casing, but this results in more problems than advantages for the customer. Although there is up to 64 GB RAM and the convertible is WWAN-ready, you have to do without the integrated stylus and the performance of the Meteor Lake U processor is on a par with its predecessor.

The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 2in1 Gen 9 costs at least €2,035.