If you’re shopping for a new laptop, it’s important to consider battery life when narrowing down your options. Laptops with the best battery life are often built for home, office, or school use, though it is possible to find gaming laptops with decent battery lives as well; though they won’t be nearly as impressive. Many laptops touting long-lasting batteries can give you anywhere between 10 and 12 hours of use on a full charge, which is great for getting through school or work on the weekdays as well as streaming media on the weekends. If you’re willing to spend a bit more, there are laptops like the Acer Swift 3X that claim to be able to give you almost 18 hours of use. Even budget-friendly options like the Samsung Chromebook 4+ yield up to 10 or 11 hours of battery life when fully charged, giving you a great laptop without breaking the bank. I’ve rounded up five laptops with some of the best battery lives available, and other notable features, to help you decide which one aligns with your needs.
Also: Best laptop 2022: Top notebooks, 2-in-1s, and convertibles
Lenovo Yoga 9i
Best overall
CPU: Intel Evo i7-1185G7 | GPU: Intel Iris Xe integrated graphics | RAM: 16GB | Storage: 512GB SSD | Display size: 14-inches | Resolution: 1080p | Refresh rate: 60Hz | Battery life: 15 hours
The Lenovo Yoga 9i is a workhorse of a laptop best suited to everyday home and office use. Its 2-in-1 form factor gives you the best of both a tablet and a traditional laptop, letting you switch between modes quickly to suit your needs. It’s built with an 11th generation Intel Evo i7 CPU, 16GB of RAM, and a 512GB SSD for all the power and storage you need for typical projects, web browsing, and streaming. The integrated Intel Iris Xe graphics work with the 1080p display to give you crisp, clean images during video calls, while streaming movies and shows, or working on photo edits. The battery gives you up to 15 hours of use on a full charge, letting you work almost two typical office shifts before you need to even think about plugging it in.
If you want a more in-depth look at the Lenovo Yoga 9i, you can read our full review.
Pros:
- Excellent battery
- Stylus included
- Decent display
Cons:
- Only 60Hz refresh rate
- No discrete graphics card
HP Spectre x360
Best 2-in-1
CPU: Intel Core i7-10750H | GPU: Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 Ti | RAM: 16GB | Storage: 1TB SSD | Display size: 15.6-inches | Resolution: 4K | Refresh rate: 120Hz | Battery life: 11.5 hours
The HP Spectre x360 is one of the best 2-in-1 laptops out there, especially when it comes to battery life. Even with a 4K display, you can get an impressive 11.5 hours of use out of a full charge. The laptop is built with a 10th generation Intel Core i7 processor, Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 Ti GPU, 16GB of RAM, and a 1TB SSD. Not only does this configuration make it great for creative professionals, you can also use it as a light gaming laptop. The 15.6-inch display gives you excellent 4K resolution, and the 120Hz native refresh rate produces buttery smooth motion while gaming, animating, or streaming movies and shows. A built-in fingerprint reader and IR camera that works with Windows Hello provide extra security for your work and personal data by allowing for biometric, password-free logins. And if you’re a creative professional who works with audio, the 4 integrated speakers are designed and calibrated by Bang & Olufsen for rich, clean sound even at high volumes.
If you want a more in-depth look at the HP Spectre x360, you can read our full review.
Pros:
- 4K display
- Good battery
- Great audio
Cons:
- Older CPU and GPU
- Expensive
Samsung Chromebook 4+
Best Chromebook
CPU: Intel Celeron N4000 | GPU: Intel UHD Graphics 600 | RAM: 4GB | Storage: Up to 128GB eMMC or SSD | Display size: 15.6-inches | Resolution: 1080p | Refresh rate: 60Hz | Battery life: 10.5 hours
While its cousins have made our lists for the best Chromebooks and best Chromebooks for students, the Samsung Chromebook 4+ is also worth a chance for both its battery life and configuration options. On a full charge, you can get almost 11 hours of use, letting you work, browse the web, and stream all day worry-free. You can also configure the Chromebook 4+ to suit your current or future needs. It’s built with an Intel Celeron N4000 processor, integrated Intel UHD 600 graphics, and 4GB of RAM, but you can choose either a 32 or 64GB eMMC storage card or a 128GB SSD to give you plenty of space for photos, videos, and documents. The 15.6-inch display produces 1080p full HD resolution and a refresh rate of 60Hz for a decent enough image when watching movies and shows or viewing photos. And since it retails for under $300, it’s a good choice for middle grade or high school students looking for a solid laptop for classwork.
Pros:
- Configuration options
- Good display
- Great battery
Cons:
- Only 60Hz refresh rate
- Not user upgradeable once configured
Dell G15
Best for gaming
CPU: Intel Core i7-12700H | GPU: Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 Ti | RAM: 16GB | Storage: 512GB NVMe SSD | Display size: 15.6-inches | Resolution: 1080p | Refresh rate: 120Hz | Battery life: 10 hours
The previous generation Ryzen edition of the Dell G15 made our list of best cheap gaming laptops, and this new iteration of the G15 (while a bit more pricey) is still one of the best gaming laptops available. Especially when it comes to battery life. A full charge will give you almost 10 hours of use while streaming or browsing the web, which is exceptional considering the top-tier, 12th gen Intel Core i7 CPU and GeForce RTX 3050 Ti graphics card. And while you’re gaming, you’ll get about 2 hours before you need to plug in. And while that seems really disappointing, it’s better than some other gaming laptops out there, and to be expected when putting the G15 under heavy graphics loads while playing games like DOOM Eternal or FIFA 22. The 15.6-inch display produces both a 120Hz native refresh rate and 1080p full HD resolution for a clean, smooth gameplay experience, while the 1TB SSD gives you plenty of storage space for your Steam or Epic Games library.
Pros:
- Great battery for a gaming laptop
- 12th gen Intel Core i7 CPU
- 1TB SSD
Cons:
- No Thunderbolt connectivity
- Screen is somewhat dim at 250 nits
- No RGB lighting
Acer Swift 3X
Best under $1000
CPU: Intel Core i7-1165G7 | GPU: Intel Iris Xe Max integrated | RAM: 16GB | Storage: 1TB SSD | Display size: 14-inches | Resolution: 1080p | Refresh rate: 60Hz | Battery life: 14 hours
The Acer Swift 3X isn’t exactly a “budget” laptop, but it is one of the more affordable on this list and available overall. And even though it has a more budget-friendly price, that doesn’t mean that it has skimped out on features and components. It’s built with an 11th gen Intel Core i7 processor, integrated Intel Iris Xe Max graphics, 16GB of RAM, and a 1TB SSD for plenty of power, memory, and storage for work projects, browsing the web, and streaming movies, shows, and music. Acer claims that the Swift 3X’s battery can give you an astounding 17.5 hours of use on a full charge, but our testing got us closer to 14 hours; which is still very, very impressive. A built-in fingerprint reader gives you added security for your work and personal data, while Thunderbolt 4 connections allow for ultra-fast data transfers, device charging, and external display connections when you need more space to work. It also supports Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth for faster wireless internet speeds and wireless peripheral connections so you can stay up-to-date with work, in contact with friends and family, and up-to-speed on the latest Netflix and Prime Video releases.
Pros:
- Great price
- Excellent battery
- Thunderbolt 4 connectivity
- Wi-Fi 6
Cons:
- No discrete GPU
- Only 60Hz refresh rate
Product | Price | Battery life | CPU |
Lenovo Yoga 91 | $1450 | 15 hours | Intel Evo i7-1185G7 |
HP Spectre x360 | $2030 | 11.5 hours | Intel Core i7-10750H |
Samsung Chromebook 4+ | $233 | 10.5 hours | Intel Celeron N4000 |
Dell G15 | $1323 | 10 hours | Intel Core i7-12700H |
Acer Swift 3X | $920 | 14 hours | Intel Core i7-1165G7 |
How did we choose these laptops?
Aside from price and battery life, I tried to choose a variety of laptops to suit different work and entertainment needs. I chose models from brands like HP, Dell, Samsung, and Acer because they tend to be not only affordable, but reliable as well.
Which laptop is right for you?
Once you’ve hammered out a budget for a new laptop, you then need to figure out how long you will need the battery to last once it’s unplugged. For students and mobile professionals, you’ll want to err on the side of caution, opting for models with longer battery lives than what you actually need; just in case classes or work runs long and you can’t get to a wall outlet right away. Gamers looking for a new laptop need to temper their expectations on battery life and go into the shopping process knowing that the absolute most you’ll get out of a full charge while playing games is 3 to 4 hours, but the average is closer to just 2 hours. However, gaming laptops can have much longer battery lives when used for things like browsing the web and streaming media.
How many hours of battery life is good for a laptop?
It all depends on what you’re going to use the laptop for. Gaming laptops are considered to have “excellent” battery lives when you can get 3 or 4 hours out of them while playing games. For laptops intended for home, school, or office work, it’s reasonable to expect your battery to last between 8 and 10 hours. Though it is possible to find models with significantly longer battery lives, which are great if you want to use your laptop while on a business flight or watch a movie in bed.
Can I use my laptop while it’s charging?
Absolutely! You can do everything on a laptop while it’s charging that you can when it’s unplugged. My advice would be to not leave it plugged in after the battery reaches full charge, since this can actually damage the battery and lead to a diminished battery life.
How can I extend my laptop’s battery life?
If you want to get more use out of a battery charge or extend your laptop’s standby time, you can take a variety of steps to do so. One of the quickest and easiest is to simply reduce your screen’s brightness; by reducing screen brightness, it won’t draw as much power and extend your battery’s life. You can also enable a power save mode, which automatically disables unused ports and programs to reduce power consumption. Or you can keep your laptop’s operating temperatures lower with a cooling pad. By improving airflow and waste heat dissipation, your laptop won’t have to work as hard to run programs, further improving battery life.
Are there alternatives to consider when shopping for laptops with the best battery life?
There are plenty of options out there if you’re prioritizing battery life over other features when shopping for a new laptop. Here’s a short list of other products I thought were great choices: