In a previous post I wrote about why you should upgrade your laptop to a more recent one and gave a few reasons for your consideration. Newer PCs though, cost a lot more than older ones but there are some you can easily afford within your budget. It all depends on your preferences and desired specs or features.
As years go by, manufacturers improve on their PC hardware to bring better performance and meet modern needs. Most laptops now look very thin and sleek, with high-end specs hardware to provide consumers and tech enthusiasts with exactly what they want and more.
In this article, we would be looking into top five (5) laptops of the year 2020. Not all of the laptops mentioned here were manufactured in 2020, but they made this list because they were manufactured between 2019 and 2020 and built with specs that equal all you’d expect in a PC manufactured in 2020.
Note also that the devices mentioned below are arranged in no particular order of ‘best to worst’ or vice-versa. They’ve been randomly placed.
HP Spectre x360 (2020)
Key Specs | |
---|---|
CPU | 1.3GHz Intel Core i7-1065G7 (10th Gen, 10nm)(quad-core, 8MB Intel Smart Cache, up to 3.9GHz with Turbo Boost) |
Graphics | Intel Iris Plus Graphics |
Memory | 16GB LPDDR4X memory 1TB storage (32 GB Intel Optane memory) |
Display | 13.3-inch 4K (3,840 x 2,160) OLED 360-degree touch display |
The Hewlett-Packard x360 Spectre is a 13-inch high-tech laptop built for. The X360 Spectre has got a 90% screen-to-body ratio, giving you a better view of your work-space and further adding to its aesthetic qualities.
According to Forbes, the HP Spectre x360 13 is one of the first 13-inch laptops to use an OLED display. OLED display is common with most high-end 15-inch laptops like the HP Spectre x360 15.
Judging by its specifications, you can easily understand that the X360 Spectre is great fit for whatever purpose you have in mind. Be it gaming, business, personal or other commercial use, this laptop will totally not disappoint you.
The HP Spectre X360 (2020) is pretty lightweight, so it’s easier to carry along wherever you have use for it. Its pricing starts from $1,299.99 and goes up to $1,899.99 depending on the configuration.
Dell XPS 13
Key Specs | |
---|---|
CPU | Up to 10th Generation Intel® Core™ i7-1065G7 Processor (8MB Cache, up to 3.9 GHz) |
Graphics | Intel Iris Plus Graphics |
Memory | 16GB 3733MHz LPDDR4x Memory Onboard 512GB M.2 PCIe NVMe Solid State Drive |
Display | 13.3-inch, UltraSharp 4K UHD (3840 x 2160), InfinityEdge, Touch Display |
The Dell XPS 13 laptop was designed with precision engineered details, from stunning materials to minimal footprint, with true unrivaled performance and 10th Gen InteI® Core™ processors.
With its powerful configuration, the Dell XPS 13 is super ready for whatever use you need it for. It’s one of the best Ultrabooks there is in the market right now. The laptop is also very lightweight, which makes it easy to carry about and you let it rest smoothly on your lap while you do your business.
To further secure your device and its data on the Dell XPS 13, you can easily choose between two secure, personalized ways to log on. The infrared camera with Windows Hello recognizes your face, unlocking your XPS with secure facial recognition technology. The fingerprint reader integrated into the power button also lets you log on with just a touch. How cool is that?!
Huawei MateBook 13
This laptop is one of the most ultra-slim laptops out there.
Key Specs | |
---|---|
CPU | 8th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-8565U processor 8th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-8265U processor |
Graphics | NVIDIA® GeForce MX150 / NVIDIA® GeForce MX250 / Intel® UHD Graphics 620 |
Memory | 8 GB LPDDR3 2133 MHz 512 GB / 256 GB NVMe PCIe SSD |
Display | Size: 13 inches Type: IPS Resolution: 2160 x 1440, 200 PPI Touchsreen: Available only on certain models Colour: 100% sRGB colour gamut (Typical Value) Contrast Ratio: 1000:1 Maximum Brightness: 300 nits (Typical Value) Viewing Angle: 178 degrees Aspect Ratio: 3:2 |
Huawei MateBook 13 display is based on Huawei FullView which brings to life a fully immersive visual experience. Screen-to-body ratio of the MateBook 13 is 88% and the screen packs very bright, rich, and vivid graphics.
The MateBook 13 is portable, has high-precision multi-touch screen and gives you two colour choices- Mystic Silver and Space Gray!
Battery life of the MateBook 13 is superb; with integrated graphics you can watch 1080p videos from your device storage for 10 hours, and discrete graphics can play local 1080p videos for 9.6 hours.
The main con of the Huawei MateBook 13 is its relatively low memory.
Apple MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2019)
…the new MacBook Pro is by far the most powerful notebook we’ve ever made.
– Apple
Key Specs | |
---|---|
CPU | 2.6GHz 6‑core Intel Core i7, Turbo Boost up to 4.5GHz, with 12MB shared L3 cache 2.3GHz 8‑core Intel Core i9, Turbo Boost up to 4.8GHz, with 16MB shared L3 cache |
Graphics | AMD Radeon Pro 5300M with 4GB of GDDR6 memory and automatic graphics switching Intel UHD Graphics 630 |
Memory | 16GB of 2666MHz DDR4 onboard memory 512GB / 1TB SSD storage |
Display | 16‑inch (diagonal) LED‑backlit display with IPS technology; 3072‑by‑1920 native resolution at 226 pixels per inch with support for millions of colors |
Generally, MacBooks are somewhat rated as the best laptops in the market. The Apple MacBook Pro 16 brings features even better: best speakers on a laptop and very wonderful battery life.
This laptop packs 16-inch Retina display, super-fast processors, next-generation graphics and largest battery capacity ever in a MacBook Pro. With these outstanding configurations, whatever game you’re playing will run perfectly stable with superb graphics that will blow your mind. If you need this laptop as a business person, the question is, what can you not do with this awesome device?
As with all devices, the MacBook Pro 16 also has its flaw: it is not as lightweight as other laptops mentioned here, it is heavy. Depending on why you need a laptop and your working environment/conditions, the weight of this MacBook Pro might not be an issue for you at all.
Alienware Area-51m
Finally, something for hardcore gamers who prefer mobile to desktop gaming setups.
Key Specs | |
---|---|
CPU | 9th Generation Intel® Core™ i7-9700 9th Generation Intel® Core™ i9-9900K |
Graphics | NVIDIA® GeForce GTX® 1660 Ti 6GB GDDR6 NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 2080 8GB GDDR6 (OC Ready) |
Memory | Upto 32GB, 2x16GB, DDR4, 2400MHz Upto 512GB RAID 0 (2x 256GB PCIe M.2 SSDs) + 1TB (+8GB SSHD) Hybrid Drive |
Display | 17.3″ FHD (1920 x 1080) 60Hz Anti-Glare, IPS Display |
The Alienware series is a high-end laptop built specifically for gaming. With the Alienware Area-51m is a 17-inch gaming laptop with upgradeable, overclockable desktop 9th Gen Intel® Core™ processors and NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ graphics, plus a magnesium alloy chassis.
Alienware Area-51m is a mobile gaming laptop that packs the power of a deskop gaming computer. Do not let the fact that it’s mobile and portal deceive you into thinking that the Area-51m is not powerful enough to pass for a desktop gaming setup, this is actually a beast.
This gaming laptop though is pretty expensive, as it’s pricing starts from $1,899.99 up to $4,249.99. There’s also the issue that it requires two large power adapters.
Summary
Depending on your requirements and desired configuration, all of these laptops are great and can be used for different purposes. If you need something very specific for a special reason, you might have to consider going for one that’s better optimized for the reason you need. For instances, of your primary need for the laptop intense gaming, Alienware Area-51m should be your pick, if you can comfortably afford it.