Checklist the Best laptops of 2020 -[PHOTOS]

Sarah Tew/CNETWe already had the XPS 13 as a top pick for anyone looking for great performance and battery life in the smallest chassis possible for a 13.3-inch screen size display. But for 2020 Dell made the laptop even smaller, while making the screen larger and increasing performance for both CPU and graphics-intensive tasks. It’s not a huge leap, but it’s still the best in the category.

Sarah Tew/CNET

HP outdid itself on its latest ultraportable premium two-in-one. At first glance it might seem like little more than a processor update — it’s running on a great 10th-gen Intel CPU — the latest x360 is significantly smaller than its predecessor without sacrificing usability. New features like an instant mic mute button join other privacy and security features like an IR camera and fingerprint reader and switch to disable its webcam. Plus, it’s available with 4G LTE wireless so you can get your work done wherever and whenever you want.

Sarah Tew/CNET

Though HP and Dell have excellent premium two-in-one convertible laptops, they have small 13.3- and 13.4-inch displays. If you want a bit more room for your work or entertainment, the 14-inch C940 is a great choice. One of Intel’s Project Athena laptops, the C940 is tuned to be more responsive and for longer battery life. Everything about it is fast.

Sarah Tew/CNET

The Surface Pro continues to hit all the right notes if you’re looking for a do-it-all Windows tablet that doubles as a Windows laptop. These powerful laptops feature 10th-gen Intel Core processors, fast Wi-Fi 6 wireless and long-lasting battery life. It’s also the first to feature an honest-to-goodness USB-C port. Read our Microsoft Surface Pro 7 review.

Lori Grunin/CNETAsus wowed us when we first saw the B9450 at CES 2020 and again when we got to actually use it. Several novelties make the 14-inch ExpertBook B9450 stand out from a crowd of me-too business laptops, in addition to the yowza 16-plus-hour battery life as tested. Read our Asus ExpertBook B9450 review.

Sarah Tew/CNETThe combination of the MacBook Pro’s hardware and MacOS extracts the maximum performance from the components while delivering class-leading battery life in a way Windows systems never seem to do, and the high resolution display screen remains terrific. Plus, this model’s keyboard uses scissor-style switches under the keycaps, rather than the much-derided butterfly-style switch. You pay for it, though — base price for the 16-inch model of this device is $2,399.  Read our Apple MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2019) review.

Sarah Tew/CNETRazer’s featureless-slab aesthetic slips seamlessly fits into almost any environment, and if you opt for one of the higher-end configurations it’s (unsurprisingly) a great laptop for both creative work and gaming.  If you’re willing to go with black and an emptied wallet, you can get an Adobe RGB calibrated 4K OLED display and a GeForce RTX 2070 for $3,300.

If you need workstation-class graphics and Windows, you can step up to the Studio Edition of this laptop, which is also a nicely balanced combination of design, speed and features. Read our Razer Blade 15 Advanced review.