laptops Laptop recommendations for business use. Thanks!

[GLAVAN117]

Hi all, 

I’m looking for some help and recommendations on what to look out for in a laptop for business use / travel. And some models for reference. 
 

use cases:

mainly will be used for; office suite, emails, light marketing / occasional photo editing.
battery and weight seems to be my main issue; furthermore I’ll be traveling internationally soon but will still need to do work. This laptop will also become my main office away from home when I get back if that makes sense. So it can’t be too “basic”. Other requirements I would say is, working on critical files meaning I need something reliable the best way I can try word it and to support applications like adobe’s tools and MYOB. 
 

I currently have an Asus strix 16” powerhouse which is great to take to the office as I feel I have a desktop in my pocket wherever I go. However it’s heavy, battery pack is huge and it has to be plugged in. I knew this going in but accepted the trade offs for performance…. But travelling is no joke and I can’t be taking seperate carry on just for my laptop haha. 
 

I don’t mind spending a bit for something worth it. As it’s an important part of my businesses operation. However I’m worried going out of my usual mind set of performance focused brands I know and trust. Top brands like LG gram , Lenovo and hp who look great on paper but reviews seem not as informative like LTT reviewing asus, Alienware etc. and they don’t really show much on their sites either like the wealth of information we get in the performance scene. 

 

im also in Australia, so a lot of models might also be out of reach. Quite annoying to say the least. 
 

Kind Regards, 

Daniel. 

[Agall]

26 minutes ago, GLAVAN117 said:

Hi all, 

I’m looking for some help and recommendations on what to look out for in a laptop for business use / travel. And some models for reference. 
 

use cases:

mainly will be used for; office suite, emails, light marketing / occasional photo editing.
battery and weight seems to be my main issue; furthermore I’ll be traveling internationally soon but will still need to do work. This laptop will also become my main office away from home when I get back if that makes sense. So it can’t be too “basic”. Other requirements I would say is, working on critical files meaning I need something reliable the best way I can try word it and to support applications like adobe’s tools and MYOB. 
 

I currently have an Asus strix 16” powerhouse which is great to take to the office as I feel I have a desktop in my pocket wherever I go. However it’s heavy, battery pack is huge and it has to be plugged in. I knew this going in but accepted the trade offs for performance…. But travelling is no joke and I can’t be taking seperate carry on just for my laptop haha. 
 

I don’t mind spending a bit for something worth it. As it’s an important part of my businesses operation. However I’m worried going out of my usual mind set of performance focused brands I know and trust. Top brands like LG gram , Lenovo and hp who look great on paper but reviews seem not as informative like LTT reviewing asus, Alienware etc. and they don’t really show much on their sites either like the wealth of information we get in the performance scene. 

 

im also in Australia, so a lot of models might also be out of reach. Quite annoying to say the least. 
 

Kind Regards, 

Daniel. 

Look at some of the 14" models with the Ryzen AI HX 365 or HX 370. They're solid APUs that can cut the power down to work within type-c with far better battery life than a full gaming laptop. You can find models of each without dGPUs and with 32GB of RAM (sometimes more).

 

US example: 

ASUS Vivobook S14 14" WUXGA OLED Laptop Copilot+ PC AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 with 32GB Memory 1TB SSD Neutral Black M5406WA-BS99 - Best Buy

[Crunchy Dragon]

24 minutes ago, Agall said:

Look at some of the 14" models with the Ryzen AI HX 365 or HX 370. They're solid APUs that can cut the power down to work within type-c with far better battery life than a full gaming laptop. You can find models of each without dGPUs and with 32GB of RAM (sometimes more).

 

US example: 

ASUS Vivobook S14 14" WUXGA OLED Laptop Copilot+ PC AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 with 32GB Memory 1TB SSD Neutral Black M5406WA-BS99 - Best Buy

My suggestion would have been something akin to this if Windows was required, otherwise a MacBook is a really good option here if all the necessary software runs on macOS.

[Commodus]

3 hours ago, GLAVAN117 said:

Hi all, 

I’m looking for some help and recommendations on what to look out for in a laptop for business use / travel. And some models for reference. 
 

use cases:

mainly will be used for; office suite, emails, light marketing / occasional photo editing.
battery and weight seems to be my main issue; furthermore I’ll be traveling internationally soon but will still need to do work. This laptop will also become my main office away from home when I get back if that makes sense. So it can’t be too “basic”. Other requirements I would say is, working on critical files meaning I need something reliable the best way I can try word it and to support applications like adobe’s tools and MYOB. 
 

I currently have an Asus strix 16” powerhouse which is great to take to the office as I feel I have a desktop in my pocket wherever I go. However it’s heavy, battery pack is huge and it has to be plugged in. I knew this going in but accepted the trade offs for performance…. But travelling is no joke and I can’t be taking seperate carry on just for my laptop haha. 
 

I don’t mind spending a bit for something worth it. As it’s an important part of my businesses operation. However I’m worried going out of my usual mind set of performance focused brands I know and trust. Top brands like LG gram , Lenovo and hp who look great on paper but reviews seem not as informative like LTT reviewing asus, Alienware etc. and they don’t really show much on their sites either like the wealth of information we get in the performance scene. 

 

im also in Australia, so a lot of models might also be out of reach. Quite annoying to say the least. 
 

Kind Regards, 

Daniel. 

I'll ask the obligatory "how about a MacBook Air?" question.

 

It sounds like the apps you use are all cross-platform, so it'd just be a question of whether or not you're comfortable trying macOS. If you'd prefer Windows or specficially require it, that's alright.

 

I suggest the Air because it's light, completely silent, lasts ages on battery, and is fast for the tasks you're describing. I'd point to the 15-inch version given that "main office" criteria, but it'd still be much easier to carrier around than your Strix 16-inch.

 

If you do want or need Windows, I'd lean toward Lenovo's Slim 7i Aura Edition, ThinkPad X9, or (if you have the money) ThinkPad X1 Carbon. The brand is generally good with its designs, including keyboards and trackpads. They'll be plenty quick for your needs and should last a while on battery.

[GLAVAN117]

Hi all, thankyou so much for the quick responses. I’m new to this site in the form of actually having my own inquiry so apologies if I clicked a few wrong buttons. (Hit solution by accident ). I’ll take a look into everything and get back to you all. Great ideas and food for thought.