The 10 Top Laptops Of 2018 (So Far)

Laptops To Love

It's been a strong start to 2018 for new laptop launches: for one thing, whittling down to a list of the 10 best laptops thus far was much tougher than in past years. Laptop makers including HP Inc., Dell, Lenovo, Apple and LG have all upped their games when it comes to laptop portability, performance and design. Among our favorites at the CRN Test Center have included Dell's redesigned XPS 13, Lenovo's sixth-generation ThinkPad X1 Carbon and HP's EliteBook 830 G5.

What follows are the 10 laptops that have most caught our attention during 2018 so far.

(For more on the biggest news of 2018, check out "CRN's Tech Midyear In Review.").

Apple MacBook Pro

Display options: 13.3-inch, 2,560 x 1,600 resolution, non-touch; and 15.4-inch, 2,880 x 1,800 resolution, non-touch

Starting price: $1,799 (13.3-inch); $2,399 (15.4-inch)

What's cool about it: Apple has updated the MacBook Pro with Touch Bar for 2018, and among the highlights is that it's now configurable with up to 32 GB of RAM (compared with a maximum of 16 GB of RAM previously). Also helping to boost the MacBook Pro's performance is the addition of eighth-gen Intel Core processors, including an available six-core chip in the 15-inch model (the 13-inch model tops out with quad-core processors). Meanwhile, the inclusion of a third-generation butterfly keyboard on the new MacBook Pro enables quieter typing, and Apple has brought its vibrant "True Tone" display technology from the iPhone to the MacBook Pro screen, as well.

Dell Latitude 7390 2-in-1

Display options: 13.3-inch; 1,920 x 1,080 resolution; convertible touch screen

Starting price: $1,149

What's cool about it: Dell has taken what we've appreciated most about past Latitude models and added in Microsoft's excellent Precision Touchpad, as well as handy 2-in-1 convertibility. The laptop is highly portable, weighing just above three pounds and measuring 0.7 of an inch thick, and comes with a backlit keyboard featuring comfortable, deep keys. Other highlights include terrific performance from eighth-gen Core processors and a number of business-friendly security features, among them Windows Hello facial recognition log-in.

Dell XPS 15 2-in-1

Display options: 15.6-inch; 1,920 x 1,080 or 3,200 x 1,800 resolution; convertible touch screen

Starting price: $1,199

What's cool about it: Launched earlier this year, this device serves as Dell's first 2-in-1 version of the XPS 15. Along with its 360-degree hinge for folding the display, the laptop offers differences from the clamshell XPS 15 including a form factor that is 5 percent thinner (0.63 of an inch thick). Dell says that makes the convertible XPS 15 the thinnest 15-inch 2-in-1 on the market. Even with that slim profile, Dell has managed to include quad-core Intel CPU options (eighth-gen Core i5-8305G or Core i7-8705G) that are integrated with discrete AMD graphics (Radeon RX Vega M GL) -- one of the first deployments of a processor integrating Intel CPUs and AMD GPUs. In addition, the XPS 15 2-in-1 offers up to 15 hours of battery life.

Dell XPS 13

Display options: 13.3-inch; 1,920 x 1,080 or 3,840 x 2,160 resolution; non-touch or touch screen

Starting price: $999.99

What's cool about it: With its first full redesign in three years, the latest XPS 13 (the 9370) gets major improvements on portability even while becoming more powerful and durable. The new model uses Intel's eighth-generation Core processors and promises up to nearly 20 hours of battery life, while retaining the XPS 13's signature ultra narrow-bezel display. In terms of the all-important portability factor, the XPS 13 is now 24 percent smaller in overall volume -- measuring just 0.46 of an inch thick, compared with the previous 0.6 of an inch thick. Meanwhile, a new white color option for the interior of the laptop is made from woven glass fiber, which is UV-resistant and stain resistant.

HP EliteBook x360 1030

Display options: 13.3-inch; 1,920 x 1,080 or 3,840 x 2,160 resolution; convertible touch screen

Starting price: $1,449

What's cool about it: For the third-generation model of the EliteBook x360 1030, display options go up to 700 nits of brightness and can include an optional Sure View integrated privacy screen. The notebook features a reduction in overall size, including through slimming down the left and right bezels by 50 percent. All in all, the new EliteBook x360 has a 10 percent smaller footprint than the previous model. The weight has also been kept at a highly portable 2.76 pounds, down from 2.82 pounds previously, while the notebook moves up to speedy eighth-gen Intel processors and promises up to 18 hours of battery life on a charge. Additionally, the laptop features the option of LTE connectivity‚making it the "world's lightest 13-inch business convertible with 4G LTE," according to HP.

HP EliteBook 1050

Display options: 15.6-inch; 1,920 x 1,080 or 3,840 x 2,160 resolution; non-touch

Starting price: $1,899

What's cool about it: The EliteBook 1050 serves as HP's first 15-inch Elite 1000 series device, and its display goes up to 650 nits of brightness along with having an option for the Sure View integrated privacy screen. The biggest differentiator for the EliteBook 1050, though, is around performance. The notebook features Intel's eighth-gen H series processors, which offer greater horsepower with up to six cores. The EliteBook 1050 can be configured with up to 32 GB of RAM, as well. The notebook also offers discrete graphics -- the Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 -- making it the first "ultra-slim" notebook with GeForce GTX, HP said. In terms of thickness, the EliteBook 1050 measures 0.74 of an inch. And on battery life, the notebook promises up to 16 hours of usage on a charge.

HP EliteBook 830

Display options: 13.3-inch; 1,920 x 1,080 resolution; non-touch or touch screen

Starting price: $1,249

What's cool about it: With the fifth-generation model of the EliteBook 830, aimed at mainstream corporate workers, HP has included its terrific aluminum-bodied design from higher-end EliteBook 1000 models. The bezels around the display are also slimmer than on previous models for a more-premium look and smaller size overall. The notebook offers solid performance from its eighth-gen Intel Core processors, and comes with a few security features that weren't available originally on the x360 models. Those include HP Sure Run, which helps to maintain and protect firewalls, and HP Sure Recover, which can detect if an image has been tampered with and recreate the original image without IT support.

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon

Display options: 14-inch; 1,920 x 1,080 or 2,560 x 1,440 resolution; non-touch or touch screen

Starting price: $1,139

What's cool about it: For the sixth generation of Lenovo's ThinkPad X1 Carbon, the popular business notebook gets an enhanced display with brightness of up to 500 nits and optional support for Dolby Vision HDR technology. Other new additions include USB-C mechanical side docking, improved microphones (that reach a farther distance), and eighth-gen Intel Core processors. In addition, the new X1 Carbon offers up to 15 hours of battery life, optional LTE connectivity, and--perhaps best of all--a weight of just 2.49 pounds.

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Yoga

Display options: 14-inch; 1,920 x 1,080 or 2,560 x 1,440 resolution; convertible touch screen

Starting price: $1,253

What's cool about it: Now in its third generation, the ThinkPad X1 Yoga for 2018 supports Dolby Vision HDR for improved color and brightness (up to 500 nits). Meanwhile, the ThinkPad X1 Yoga adds eighth-generation Intel Core processors and offers battery life of up to 15 hours. And like the X1 Carbon, the new X1 Yoga offers better microphones and optional LTE connectivity. In addition, as a convertible touch-screen laptop, the X1 Yoga offers an integrated ThinkPad Pen Pro and a retractable keyboard.

LG Gram

Display options: 13.3-inch, 14-inch, 15.6-inch; 1,920 x 1,080 resolution; non-touch or touch screen

Starting price: $1,099.99

What's cool about it: LG's 2018 update to its Gram notebook series is impressive on a number of fronts, including portability and battery life. The 13.3-model is incredibly lightweight at 2.1 pounds, yet still manages to pack in a large 72WHr battery that promises up to 22.5 hours of usage on a charge. The LG Gram is easily one of the lightest notebooks on the market that still features full-powered Intel Core processors from the eighth-generation U series. It's not flimsy, either: the Gram is made from metal alloy (nano carbon combined with magnesium) and meets military-standard durability ratings for protection against drops. The 14-inch model, meanwhile, is not much heavier at 2.2 pounds and still promises up to 21.5 hours of battery life--while the 15.6-inch version weighs just 2.4 pounds and offers 16.5 hours of usage per charge. Other key features are a fingerprint reader and a great selection of ports including USB-C, USB-A (three on the 15.6-inch model, two on the other models), HDMI and microSD.