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These are the five brightest laptops we've tested thus far

These are the five brightest laptops we've tested
These are the five brightest laptops we've tested
Glare getting in the way of work? These consumer notebooks may not necessarily be the best, but they are some of the brightest available for outdoor visibility with some models reaching close to 700 nits.
Convertible / 2-in-1 Laptop Touchscreen Windows Apple

Most mainstream laptop and Ultrabook displays hover around the 300 to 400 nit range while cheaper models are commonly limited to 200 to 250 nits. The popular XPS 15, for example, tops out at about 400 nits when at the maximum brightness setting compared to only 230 on a Pavilion 15. Though generally sufficient for indoor conditions, users will need all the backlight brightness potential they can get when working outdoors under sunlight or even overcast.

Our small list here includes the five brightest non-industrial laptops we've seen thus far based on our independent measurements with an X-Rite spectrophotometer. The only two conditions in place are that both smartphones and tablets cannot be included and that only one model per OEM is allowed. Industrial devices like the Dell Latitude 14 Rugged or Xplore XSlate L10 can have display panels reaching over 1000 nits, but these have been omitted for the purposes of this guide.

As the table below shows, all five laptops crack the 500 nit barrier with the HP EliteBook x360 1020 G2 nearly breaking 700 nits. If you frequently use your laptop outdoors, then these models should be near the top of your next purchase list.

HP EliteBook x360 1020 G2
ID: IVO04E8, Name: M125NVF6 R0, IPS, 12.50, 1920x1080		Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Yoga 2018-20LES01W00
Lenovo 40AE / B140QAN02.0, IPS Dolby Vision HDR, 14.00, 2560x1440		Samsung Notebook 9 NP900X5T-X01US
ID: BOE06E8, Name: BOE HF NV150FHB-N31, IPS, 15.00, 1920x1080		Apple MacBook Pro 15 2017 (2.9 GHz, 560)
15.40, 2880x1800		Porsche Design BOOK ONE
SHP147D (LQ133Z1JZ25), IPS, 13.30, 3200x1800
Display
Display P3 Coverage
61.1
86.5
65.2
68.8
sRGB Coverage
89.5
100
97.4
97.8
AdobeRGB 1998 Coverage
62.2
99.4
66.8
70.7
Response Times
Response Time Grey 50% / Grey 80% *
34.4 ?(18, 16.4)
56.8 ?(21.2, 35.6)
46 ?(25.2, 20.8)
42.4 ?(20.4, 22)
35.6 ?(17.6, 18)
Response Time Black / White *
28 ?(15.6, 12.4)
24 ?(6.8, 17.2)
29.6 ?(16.4, 13.2)
28 ?(14.8, 13.2)
25.2 ?(13.6, 11.6)
PWM Frequency
1623 ?(99)
2976 ?(91)
969 ?(20)
Screen
Brightness middle
677.4
562
558.2
534
505
Brightness
673
522
528
502
466
Brightness Distribution
85
86
92
86
86
Black Level *
0.77
0.3
0.46
0.31
0.44
Contrast
880
1873
1213
1723
1148
Colorchecker dE 2000 *
2.24
2.8
4.41
1.8
2.6
Colorchecker dE 2000 max. *
7.09
5.8
10.91
3.8
4.9
Greyscale dE 2000 *
2.2
4.5
6.6
2.4
3.3
Gamma
2.1 105%
2.16 102%
2.19 100%
2.27 97%
2.32 95%
CCT
6821 95%
7205 90%
7615 85%
6563 99%
6946 94%
Color Space (Percent of AdobeRGB 1998)
57
88.9
61.3
77.92
63.6
Color Space (Percent of sRGB)
89.6
100
97.2
99.94
97.7
Total Average (Program / Settings)

* ... smaller is better

HP EliteBook x360 1020 G2

658.9
cd/m²		666.4
cd/m²		682.2
cd/m²
618.7
cd/m²		677.4
cd/m²		680.7
cd/m²
630.3
cd/m²		712.9
cd/m²		727.9
cd/m²
Distribution of brightness
ID: IVO04E8, Name: M125NVF6 R0 tested with X-Rite i1Basic Pro 2
Maximum: 727.9 cd/m² (Nits) Average: 672.8 cd/m² Minimum: 19.89 cd/m²
Brightness Distribution: 85 %
Center on Battery: 677.4 cd/m²
Contrast: 880:1 (Black: 0.77 cd/m²)
ΔE Color 2.24 | 0.5-29.43 Ø5
ΔE Greyscale 2.2 | 0.57-98 Ø5.3
89.6% sRGB (Argyll 1.6.3 3D)
57% AdobeRGB 1998 (Argyll 1.6.3 3D)
Gamma: 2.1

Topping our list is the one convertible model that also happens to be the smallest in terms of screen size. The 12.5-inch HP EliteBook x360 1020 G2 is about two times brighter than most Ultrabooks in the market today including those from HP's own Spectre series. The similar EliteBook 840 G5 is also extremely bright at about 650 nits. It's perhaps unsurprising that HP has been making a big deal about the very bright 13.3-inch EliteBook x360 1030 G3 being a major selling point for the model.

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Yoga HDR 2018

483
cd/m²		521
cd/m²		484
cd/m²
499
cd/m²		562
cd/m²		506
cd/m²
550
cd/m²		561
cd/m²		531
cd/m²
Distribution of brightness
Lenovo 40AE / B140QAN02.0 tested with X-Rite i1Pro 2
Maximum: 562 cd/m² (Nits) Average: 521.9 cd/m² Minimum: 7.1 cd/m²
Brightness Distribution: 86 %
Center on Battery: 567 cd/m²
Contrast: 1873:1 (Black: 0.3 cd/m²)
ΔE Color 2.8 | 0.5-29.43 Ø5
ΔE Greyscale 4.5 | 0.57-98 Ø5.3
100% sRGB (Argyll 1.6.3 3D)
88.9% AdobeRGB 1998 (Argyll 1.6.3 3D)
Gamma: 2.16

The ThinkPad X1 Yoga HDR is the second laptop from Lenovo to meet the technical requirements for an HDR-certified display. One of these requirements for the HDR600 standard is to have a maximum brightness of 600 nits compared to just 300 or 400 nits on most earlier ThinkPad models. As a result, the X1 Yoga HDR is also the brightest ThinkPad laptop available thus far.

Samsung Notebook 9 NP900X5T

520
cd/m²		525.9
cd/m²		512.9
cd/m²
512.5
cd/m²		558.2
cd/m²		529.4
cd/m²
523.3
cd/m²		538.8
cd/m²		535.2
cd/m²
Distribution of brightness
ID: BOE06E8, Name: BOE HF NV150FHB-N31 tested with X-Rite i1Pro 2
Maximum: 558.2 cd/m² (Nits) Average: 528.5 cd/m² Minimum: 8.23 cd/m²
Brightness Distribution: 92 %
Center on Battery: 558.2 cd/m²
Contrast: 1213:1 (Black: 0.46 cd/m²)
ΔE Color 4.41 | 0.5-29.43 Ø5
ΔE Greyscale 6.6 | 0.57-98 Ø5.3
97.2% sRGB (Argyll 1.6.3 3D)
61.3% AdobeRGB 1998 (Argyll 1.6.3 3D)
Gamma: 2.19

The 15-inch Samsung Notebook 9 NP900X5T and 13-inch Notebook 9 NP900X3N are unique in that they each have an "Outdoor Mode" toggle mapped onto a Function key. When activated, the maximum brightness jumps to about 550 nits. Glare will be heavily reduced but not completely eliminated because of the glossy panel.

Apple MacBook Pro 15 2017

Apple displays are generally more color accurate out of the box with wider gamuts and subsequently deeper colors than a Windows alternative. Perhaps not by coincidence, Apple MacBook Pro models are also some of the brightest. Both the latest MacBook Pro 15 2017 and MacBook Pro 13 2017 can each reach over 500 nits when set to their respective maximums.

Porsche Design BOOK ONE

Rounding up our short list is the surprising Porsche Design Book One convertible. In spite of all its performance, battery life, and quality issues as mentioned in our full review, the 13.3-inch system is still one of the brightest non-detachable convertibles money can buy. With the aforementioned 13.3-inch EliteBook x360 1030 G3 launching soon, however, the Porsche convertible is a tough recommendation.

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> Expert Reviews and News on Laptops, Smartphones and Tech Innovations > News > News Archive > Newsarchive 2018 07 > These are the five brightest laptops we've tested thus far
Allen Ngo, 2018-07-18 (Update: 2018-07-18)