We tested the battery life on hundreds of laptops. These 5 refused to die

The HP OmniBook 5 14 is the brand new king of the fortress so far as battery life goes–it’s at the moment PCWorld’s Best Battery Life pick, and for good cause. In our battery take a look at, which you’ll learn extra about here, it lasted an astonishing 25 hours on a single cost. That’s a jaw-dropping outcome for any Windows laptop computer, particularly one which prices underneath $1,000. So, the place does this effectivity stem from? It comes from the Snapdragon X Plus X1P-42-100 processor that’s nestled inside. 

It’s a lower-tier chip that trades uncooked efficiency for endurance. It’s not a gradual machine by any means, however in case you’re an influence person, you might have to look elsewhere. For the day-to-day stuff, although? Totally tremendous. The 14-inch 1920×1200 OLED show, although it delivers good colours and distinction, tops out at simply 300 nits by way of brightness. In different phrases, it’s not an enormous energy draw. The keyboard feels snappy and comfy, too, which is sweet for lengthy typing classes.

The Asus ZenBook A14 is a type of laptops that’s so gentle it’d simply cloud off into the clouds in case you’re not cautious. It weighs simply two kilos and but it someway manages to final 24 hours on a single cost. That’s simply plain bananas! This might be due to its 70Wh battery (that is on the larger finish for a transportable laptop computer) and the entry-level Snapdragon X processor, which prioritizes effectivity over pure velocity. 

It’s tremendous for issues like searching the online and writing emails, nevertheless it’s not constructed for heavy-duty apps, so in case you’re a multitasker at coronary heart… this may not be the machine for you. That mentioned, in case your precedence is to remain unplugged for so long as attainable, the ZenBook A14 will certainly ship on that entrance.

The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 2-in-1 is a enterprise powerhouse with a great deal of endurance (regardless of the smaller 57Wh battery sitting within it). This 14-inch laptop computer managed 24 hours in our playback video take a look at due to its Intel Lunar Lake CPU and lower-power show. You might unplug it for a full day (or extra!) with out worrying, so long as you retain the brightness turned down some. 

Battery life apart, it’s a traditional ThinkPad machine via and thru. You’ve bought a sturdy steel chassis, a wonderful keyboard with the enduring crimson TrackPoint, and an included pen. The 1920×1200 IPS show additionally hits 500 nits of brightness, and efficiency is snappy for productiveness and a few gentle multitasking, although it might decelerate a bit when operating super-heavy workloads.

The Lenovo Yoga 9i 2-in-1 Aura Edition is a handsome laptop computer (it’s wrapped in aluminum!) that simply retains on going and going–and it’s no marvel it took dwelling PCWorld’s Best Overall title this year. It’s one other 14-inch convertible that runs on an Intel Lunar Lake chip (Intel Core Ultra 7 258V to be actual) and between that and its 75Wh battery, it pushed out 23.5 hours of video playback. That’s not dangerous for one thing that appears so good!

It’s like the luxurious sibling to the extra straight-laced ThinkPad X1 2-in-1, swapping the decrease decision show of the previous for a sharper 2880×1800 OLED touchscreen. You’re additionally getting 32GB of RAM and 1TB of SSD, each beneficiant quantities. The Intel Arc graphics can deal with some light-weight inventive apps, too.  

23.5 hours of battery life is an exceptional outcome, there’s little question about that, nevertheless it’s a tiny bit shorter than others on this record. That’s most likely due to the Yoga’s greater decision show, which eats up extra of the battery life.

Stamina is the secret right here and the HP EliteBook X G1i isn’t any totally different in that regard. With its Intel Lunar Lake processor and 68Wh battery, it managed almost 21 hours in our exams, which is spectacular for a machine that’s constructed for the enterprise crowd. 

The 1920×1200 anti-glare show isn’t essentially the most lovely factor we’ve ever laid our eyes upon, nevertheless it’s vibrant and sharp and, most significantly, simple to learn underneath fluorescent lights. The keyboard and trackpad additionally really feel good, and the magnesium chassis retains it fairly gentle at 2.7 kilos. The facial recognition stuff is fairly nice, too.

It doesn’t match the Yoga 9i’s 23.5-hour outcome nor does it dethrone the battery life champion up prime (aka the OmniBook 5 14), however the EliteBook X G1 rightfully earns its place right here as a result of it’s dependable and that’s what actually issues most.