Nikolay Palaozov

There are sub-classes in every laptop segment. The HP OMEN 16 (16-xd0000) is not as high-end as other OMEN models like the

For users who need a capable workstation for serious work, Dell offers the Precision 5690. The manufacturer mentions that the device is “Dell's smallest footprint 16″ mobile workstation”. It's not as thin as a premium office machine but this laptop is compact for such a powerhouse. Speaking of which, you can choose from four Meteor Lake CPUs and five NVIDIA RTX Ada Generation GPUs. The maxed-out configurations rely on a 45W Core Ultra 9 185H and a 16GB RTX 5000 Ada Generation at the price of an arm and a leg. The memory is soldered – yep, SODIMMs take more space. Still, the storage upgradability is just fine. Also, the port selection is modern. The high-end devices are treated with a vapor chamber cooling. Our machine has a conventional thermal system.

The Lenovo Yoga Slim 7 (Gen 9, 15ILL9) is a thin Copilot+ PC paired with efficient 17W Intel Lunar Lake processor options.

The 14.5-inch Lenovo Yoga Slim 7x Gen 9 is one of the latest Copilot+ PCs. All devices of this series come as a full package with a few exceptions here and there. This laptop has minimal optional features which is good news. You can choose between a 10-core Snapdragon X Plus X1P-64-100 or a 12-core X Elite X1E-78-100 CPU. We picked a machine with the latter. As you may already know, these chips are pretty powerful when it comes to AI tasks but they are also efficient at the same time. Yes, the battery life is great! You can change the 2242 SSD but the Wi-Fi 7 card is soldered as well as the RAM.

The Dell Precision 3591 is a not-so-expensive workstation that delivers adequate performance, making it a good choice for professionals on a budget. The device is similar to the

Acer is trying to conquer the mobile budget gaming segment with its Nitro V series of devices. The ANV16-71 model is positioned higher in the Nitro ranks. It's powered by Intel Raptor Lake-HX Refresh CPUs with a hefty 55W base power limit. Regarding graphics, you can choose from an RTX 3050 with 6GB VRAM or two RTX 4000 GPUs. We decided to buy a laptop with the most powerful processor and graphics card for this Acer series which are the Core i7-14650HX and an 85W GeForce RTX 4060. Despite its affordable price, the laptop offers good upgradability and a decent selection of ports.

Carrying around a hefty laptop on a daily basis could be annoying and even exhausting. The HP Dragonfly G4 solves this issue thanks to its sub-1 kg weight and powerful enough hardware for normal usage. This business machine relies on a 13th generation Intel Raptor Lake-U series processor options. These chips still meet the necessary standards for work but the lack of a dedicated NPU unit for AI-accelerated productivity could be a dealbreaker for some of you. It's not a surprise that the upgradability is almost non-existent because of the compact dimensions. On the other hand, the port selection is modern thanks to the pair of Thunderbolt 4s.

If the Vivobook S 14 OLED M5406 looks familiar to you that's because it's the smaller version of the M5606 model.

The ASUS ProArt Studiobook Pro 16 OLED W7604 is a mind-blowingly good workstation for creators.

Acer claims that the Acer Extensa 15 (EX215-33) is meant for small businesses and everyday users. This is valid only if you pick a machine with the optional 1080p IPS panel. We bought a gadget with a TN panel and yes, this one is awful. Since the memory is soldered, choosing a notebook with 16GB LPDDR5 seems like the way to go. Our device has just 8GB RAM. While it's still okay for basic work, you'll be in trouble if you want to open more than ten Chrome tabs at once.