Laptops seem to keep on getting thinner, and the hardware inside keeps getting more powerful. Despite the size and performance changes, battery technology keeps advancing as well, and altogether we're seeing modern laptops hit some impressive uptimes. For those who hate the idea of having to search for an outlet in the middle of the workday or while you're sitting in an airport, I've put together this list of laptops with impressive battery life.
Dell XPS 13 9370
The refreshed XPS 13 9370 (about $1,000) comes with 15W eighth-gen Intel Core processors (CPU) and a 52WHr battery. This combination nets you about 10 hours for a 13.3-inch 4K configuration and about 13 hours for the 1080p version, both great uptimes.
Get inside up to an Intel Core i7-8550U CPU, 16GB of DDR3 RAM, and a 1TB PCIe solid-state drive (SSD), and take advantage of two Thunderbolt 3 and a USB-C 3.0 port to connect your peripherals.
LG gram 15Z980
LG's updated gram series of laptops, available in 13-, 14-, and 15-inch options, offers up impressive battery life in an unbelievably light package. The 15-inch model I reviewed, with eighth-gen Intel Core i7 CPU, 16GB of RAM, 1TB SSD, and 15.6-inch FHD touch display, got about 13 hours of life from a single charge. Pretty impressive from a laptop that weighs just 2.41 pounds (1,095g).
The new 15.6-inch configurations start at about $1,230 for a Core i5 CPU and 8GB of RAM, while the high-end version costs about $2,000.
Microsoft Surface Book 2
Available in both 13.5-inch and 15-inch configurations, the Surface Book 2 (starting at about $1,500) brings a ton of power in a modular design. Available with eighth-gen Core i7 CPU, 16GB of RAM, a 1TB PCIe SSD, and an NVIDIA GTX 1060 GPU with 6GB of GDDR5 VRAM in the larger version (the 13-inch has an available GTX 1050 GPU with 2GB of GDDR5 VRAM), you can still expect to get about 10 hours of life from a single charge when using the laptop as a whole.
With the display removed from the keyboard (where the discrete GPU is also housed), you can expect to get about 20 percent of the usual battery life. If you're looking for a premium laptop that sits at the top of Microsoft's lineup, this is it.
Samsung Notebook 9 15
Samsung's Notebook 9 lineup got a refresh for 2018, bringing eighth-gen Intel Core CPUs and a similar design. The 15-inch model (about $1,500) comes with an eighth-gen Intel Core i7-8550U CPU, 16GB of DDR4 RAM, a 256GB PCIe SSD, and an NVIDIA MX150 GPU with 2GB of GDDR5 VRAM.
This is some serious performance from a laptop that weighs in at about 2.82 pounds (1.28kg), and that's including a beefy 75WHr battery that can realistically get up to about 13 hours from a charge. The 15-inch display is capped at 1080p, helping keep the battery life up, but it's nevertheless something you won't mind looking at on a daily basis.
Lenovo Yoga 920
Lenovo's 14-inch convertible Yoga 920 (about $1,200) has a sturdy all-metal body and a beautiful touch display with minimal bezel. Inside, you can get up to an eighth-gen Intel Core i7-8550U CPU, 16GB of DDR4 RAM, and a 1TB PCIe SSD, plus you have the option of either an FHD or 4K display.
In my testing, I saw about 10 hours of life from a single charge, and that was with the 4K display. Opting for the FHD screen would no doubt add a few hours to the life, truly making this an all-day workhorse. The watchband hinge and pen support are just the cherries on top of a great laptop.
Lenovo ThinkPad T470
Is it cheating if you're able to hot-swap a dead battery for one that's already charged? Either way, the ThinkPad T470 from Lenovo (about $880) can get you up to about 14 hours of life if you opt for the larger batteries. Yes, you'll have to carry the extra one around with you, but this is an invaluable feature when on long-haul flights or you're working in the field.
As for hardware, get up to a seventh-gen Intel Core i7-7600U CPU, 32GB of DDR4 RAM, and a 1TB PCIe SSD. This is true ThinkPad durability and function, and you're getting for ports three USB-A 3.0, Thunderbolt 3, HDMI 1.4, Ethernet, SD card reader, and the option for a Micro SIM slot that allows you to stay connected to internet no matter where you are.
Acer Aspire E 15
Acer's Aspire E 15 (about $600) is a bit of a throwback to times gone by. It weighs more than five pounds, it has an optical drive, it has legacy ports, it has a dedicated NVIDIA MX150 GPU, and it has a full keyboard with number pad. It also has a big battery that, coupled with an eighth-gen Intel Core CPU, gets about nine hours of life.
That's not bad for such a laptop this price, and if you don't mind something that's not exactly sexy and not exactly premium, you'll no doubt be able to get a lot of use out of it.
More resources
Be sure to check out our laptop buyer's guide for an extensive collection of laptops, rounded up into a bunch of different categories to help you find exactly what you need.
See the Windows Central laptop buyer's guide
Updated February 23, 2018: This list has been refreshed with all-new laptops that are offering the best battery life.
