Best 14-inch laptop 2021 | Windows Central

Best
14-inch laptop
Windows Central
2021

Best overall: HP Spectre x360 14

Those of you who have already considered the HP Spectre x360 14 will wonder why we’re including a 13.5-inch laptop in a collection of 14-inch laptops, but this notebook is so close to the screen size and it’s one of our favorite Windows laptops, we just had to include it.

The Spectre x360 14 houses a mighty 13.5-inch OLED display with a 3:2 aspect ratio. The resolution tops out at 3000×2000, it’s protected by an anti-reflection coating, can hit a maximum brightness output of 400 nits, and is 100% DCI-P3 compliant for color reproduction.

Thanks to the taller display, HP was able to increase the touchpad dimensions by almost 17%, which makes this a great choice for those who infrequently use a dedicated mouse. But the specifications don’t end there as inside you’ll find an 11th Gen Intel Core i7-1165G7 CPU with Intel Iris Xe graphics.

The sizable 66Wh is rated at about 17 hours of life from a charge, though that differs in real-life testing. We saw about seven hours with the OLED model, which translates to about 10 hours with the FHD+ model. The display has tilt pen support for natural inking, Wi-Fi 6 connectivity gives you fast, reliable wireless internet, and Bluetooth 5 for your accessories.

Even the front-facing camera has a privacy shutter, and there’s an IR camera for Windows Hello. honestly, there’s plenty to love about the HP Spectre x360 14 that made it almost impossible for us to not include it here.

The Acer Swift 3 is available with Intel or AMD processors, but we’ve selected Team Red here to keep this collection a little more balanced. With an AMD Ryzen 7 4700U, you’re going to have a great time getting work done since this is a very capable mobile processor.

There’s also a decent port selection and the battery should be able to hold out through an entire day. A fingerprint reader helps to keep your data safe using Windows Hello, and the price is fantastic for those on a tighter budget. Where things start to falter for the Swift 3 is the keyboard and display. the former may not be for everyone, and the display is a little on the dim side.

Still, for less than $700, this is a great value laptop.

If you’re after a convertible 14-inch laptop, we recommended the Lenovo Yoga 9i 14. You can configure it with up to an 11th Gen Intel Core i7-1185G7, LPDDR4x-4267MHz RAM, and Intel Iris Xe integrated graphics for excellent performance. There’s also Thunderbolt 4 for high-speed connectivity.

But it’s not just what’s inside the Lenovo Yoga 9i 14 that counts. The TrueStrike keyboard is excellent, so too is the soundbar hinge with Dolby Atmos tuning. And since it’s a 14-inch laptop, you can enjoy a 4K touch display with HDR 400, but fear not if you don’t require a UHD panel as there’s an FHD version with Dolby Vision and a similar 400 nits brightness.

The aluminum construction is undoubtedly premium, and battery life for the FHD model hits more than 10 hours of regular usage from a charge. This would make a great laptop for productivity work, but its convertible form, display, and soundbar really make it ideal for media consumption.

Did you know Razer has a gaming laptop with AMD Ryzen processors? The Razer Blade 14 only comes with red CPUs and they’re great for both work and play. It’s not the best gaming laptop and doesn’t come close to winning any awards on battery, but when it’s plugged in you can have a great time with the Blade 14.

The RTX 3080 from NVIDIA is also amazing for gaming, matching the prowess of other Razer Blade laptops. The display is similar in that regard and is as good as you can expect from a Razer notebook. While gaming laptops used to be big, bulky machines, Razer’s lineup of Blade laptops are all compact and lightweight.

We can’t talk about business laptops and not mention the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon. The 9th Gen edition is the best Lenovo has made yet, sporting 11th Gen Intel processors, 5G connectivity, and a gorgeous 16:10 display.

And for work (and security), Lenovo included Windows Hello biometrics, webcam privacy shutter, as well as a robust port selection. You’ll find Thunderbolt 4 USB-C, USB-A, and HDMI on the latest X1 Carbon, along with a dongle in the box for even more ports. Lenovo also keeps the red “nipple” pointer.

The HP ENVY 14 is a solid option for creators. You can configure up to an 11th Gen Intel Core i7-1165G7 processor and an NVIDIA GTX 1650 Ti Max-Q discrete GPU, making it a great companion for creative work while on the move.

The display has a 16:10 aspect ratio and while it may top out at 1080p, it’s colorful and a total joy to use with a brightness of 403 nits. The keyboard is comfortable for those who type all day, the Precision touchpad is large for easy productivity, and ports include Thunderbolt 4, two USB-A, 3.5mm audio, microSD card reader, and HDMI 2.0.

Battery life can also play a major part in creator machines and the ENVY 14 delivers with up to 13 hours if you’re taking it easy. This isn’t the most powerful machine around, but it’s a solid start for those who want to do more on the move.

Bottom line

There’s no wrong choice when it comes to picking a laptop as it should perfectly match your requirements and budget. So long as the notebook you purchase is good enough for tasks you wish to carry out, you’ll be good to go. Our favorite is the HP Spectre x360 14, which has enough computing power for business and even a little light gaming on the side.

If you’re wanting something a little different, the Lenovo Yoga 9i 14 is our favorite convertible Windows laptop and lets you enjoy content in various modes. Then we’ve got the HP ENVY 14, which is a good place to start for creators.

Credits — The team that worked on this guide

Rich Edmonds is a staff reviewer at Windows Central, which means he tests out more software and hardware than he cares to remember. Joining Mobile Nations in 2010, you can usually find him inside a PC case tinkering around when not at a screen fighting with Grammarly to use British words. Hit him up on Twitter: @RichEdmonds.

Daniel Rubino is the executive editor of Windows Central. He has been covering Microsoft since 2009 back when this site was called WMExperts (and later Windows Phone Central). His interests include Windows, Surface, HoloLens, Xbox, and future computing visions. Follow him on Twitter: @daniel_rubino.