We all know the struggle of taking your laptop to work or school, opening it, just to see a dark screen that won't turn on. The worst is what follows next - you rummage through your bag to see you haven't brought the charger with you.
Or, even if it's fully charged, it'll only last you a maximum of four hours, and that's simply not enough for a lecture, exam or workday. With many of us striking a balance between commuting to the office and working from home, we depend on our laptops having a long-lasting battery life. Additionally, even if you're not constantly commuting or on the move, being limited to where you can work due to your laptop needing charging is frustrating.
Fortunately, there are many laptops that now have a better and increased battery life. To help you find the ones with the longest life, we've got you sorted with our best battery life laptop roundup. The devices we have included in our buying guide have varying prices, storage capacities, processing power and display type. So, whether you're a 3D artist requiring a top laptop with a crisp display and one of the best graphics cards, or you need a laptop for university or school work with plenty of storage, we've got you covered.
We've scoured through the laptops on the market, and we've rounded up the best battery life laptops for you.
The best battery life laptops
Best for everything
Description
With incredible performance, a smart M1 CPU and an ultra-fast SSD, you'll find there's very little the Apple MacBook Pro can't do. Featuring a crisp and vibrant display, a whole 1TB of storage, and a superb resolution, this laptop is very versatile. It's suited for gaming, everyday use, work as well as schoolwork. The battery can last up to just short of 13 hours.
Pros
- Good webcam
- Sleek design
Cons
- Limited ports
Editor's pick
Description
The Asus ExpertBook B9450 has one of the longest-lasting batteries on the market, clocking up to over 16 hours. This will easily keep you going through lectures or a full day of work at the office. Another perk of this laptop is that they're very lightweight, so they're excellent for commuters.
Pros
- Very lightweight
- Impressive battery life
Cons
- Performance can be slow under heavy workloads
3.
HP ENVY 14
Best for battery life
Description
With the HP ENVY 14, HP has delivered a very powerful laptop with premium features. In certain circumstances, the battery can last up to 20 hours. It boasts a vibrant display and a great graphics card - the GeForce GTX 1650 Ti Max-Q. Another added perk is that it has 1TB of storage, so you'll be able to download plenty of movies, programs and creative files.
Pros
- Vibrant display
- Superb battery life
Cons
- Expensive
Best budget battery life laptop
Description
If you're not looking for premium features, just long-lasting battery life, then this laptop might be the one for you. The Acer Chromebook 314 may not have a state-of-the-art performance, but it does last for up to 10 hours and carries a very modest price tag. The touchpad and keyboard are both very comfortable and easy to use, and it has a very vivid and crisp display.
Pros
- Excellent price
- Great battery life
Cons
- No touchscreen
Recommended
Description
With a whopping battery life of up to 19 hours, the Macbook Air is ideal for any commuter, student, or anyone who needs their laptop to last for a full day. Its custom M1 chip is an absolute dream, as it allows the laptop to have a very smooth and powerful performance. We are also impressed by its new fanless style, meaning the laptop is incredibly quiet throughout.
Pros
- Superb battery life
- Powerful performance
Cons
- Lack of ports
Best value for price
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Description
The Google Pixelbook Go has managed to strike the balance between cutting-edge features and the premium price tag they carry. With this Chromebook, you'll be getting an incredibly powerful and sleek device, capable of handling hard drive intensive programs as well as the usual work tasks. It'll last through the workday too, thanks to the 12 hours battery life.
Pros
- Comfortable keyboard
- Great battery life
Cons
- Android app support is slow
Why does my laptop battery life vary?
Your battery life depends greatly on what you are doing. For instance watching videos, movies or TV series will use up a lot of energy, meaning it will eat up into your battery life quite quickly, whilst using a word processor will not.
What graphics hardware do I need?
Most laptops come with a built-in graphics card that will perform well enough for general use, but laptops with GPUs like the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 will give you more fluid visuals when it comes to gaming or graphically intensive programs.
What is resolution?
Resolution refers to the number of pixels available on the screen – the more pixels, the better the image. It's worth considering that, if you plan on jumping above standard Full HD resolution, you’ll need to make sure your graphics hardware can handle the extra work.