If you live in the present day, chances are, most of your work is on the computer. Most probably it is in the form of a laptop. I personally bring my laptop almost everywhere I go. From the office to coffee shops.
If you spend as much time on the laptop as I do and you love good design, you might as well get a beautiful minimalist laptop. With a growing number of computer manufacturers moving towards more minimalist-design-centric products, we now have a good amount of gorgeously designed minimalist laptops which are also high performing and well built.
With that said, I have done some research, and came up with what I think are the 5 best minimalist laptops you should get, based on their design and performance.
Best Minimalist Laptops to Buy in 2019
1. Dell XPS 13 9370 (Best Overall)
The Dell XPS laptop series is popular for its beautiful minimalist design and high performing features. The very thin bezels which Dell calls “Infinity Edge” around the screen is just stunning to look at. The clean back finish and minimal logo adds to the overall minimalist aesthetic.
The thin bezels around the screen are only 5.2 mm thin. Also, the laptop has a nice overall slim design. Starting at about 1.22kg, the XPS series is also very light and easy to carry around.
In terms of built quality, the XPS 13 is cut with precision from a single aluminium block which makes the chassis extremely sturdy and durable. The glass is made of high quality Corning Gorilla Glass 4 which is up to ten times more resistant to scratch than regular soda lime glass.
Interestingly, the palm rest is made of carbon fiber material which is sturdy and thin like aluminium but is lighter and keeps it cool for touch.
The Infinity Edge display is a touch display which is great for creatives like illustrators and graphic designers. In terms of resolution, it comes in 4K as well as a cheaper Full HD option.
Features :
- 8th Gen Intel Core i7-8550U Processor (8M Cache, up to 4.0 GHz)
- 16GB LPDDR3 2133MHz
- 13.3” 4K Ultra HD (3840 x 2160) Infinity Edge display
- Touch-sensitive display
- 1TB Solid State Drive
- Windows 10
- 2 x Thunderbolt 3 with PowerShare, DC-In & Display Port, 1 x USB 3.1 Gen 1 (USB Type-C)
2. Microsoft Surface Book 2 (Best Design)
Microsoft has been making many stunningly minimalist designed computers and accessories over the years and the Surface Book 2 is no exception. The beautiful slim design comes in 4 color options, platinum, black, burgundy and cobalt. I personally love the platinum color because it looks really clean and sleek.
The laptop is also really lightweight which starts at about 3.38 lbs including the keyboard. This is great if your work requires you to move around a lot like me. Also, the slim design makes it easy to fit in your bag.
One of the best things about this laptop is that they keyboard is detachable which can turn the screen into a very high performing tablet.
Regarding built, the casing is made of durable magnesium material, while the keyboard and palm rest is covered with Microsoft’s Signature Alcantara material which is really smooth and gives you a lot of comfort.
The Surface Book 2 come in 2 sizes, 13.5″ and 15″ with different resolution displays. The battery life is also impressive. According to Microsoft, it can last up to 17 hours of video playback which is just phenomenal.
I also suggest that you buy the gorgeously designed Surface Arc Mouse which is not included with the laptop.
Features :
- Intel 7th Gen Core i5 or Intel 8th Gen Core i7 (quad-core) options
- 8 GB or 16 GB RAM options
- 13.5” or 15” PixelSense Display
- Touch-sensitive display
- SSD 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, or 1TB PCIe SSD
- Detachable keyboard
- Windows 10 Pro
- Battery life: up to 17 hours of video playback
- 2 x full-size USB 3.1 Gen 1, 1 x USB-C, 3.5mm headphone jack, 2 x Surface Connect ports (1 in tablet, 1 in base), full-size SD card reader.
3. Huawei MateBook X Pro
This is another beautifully designed laptop with a handsome minimalist aesthetic. The stunning, almost bezel-less display has an impressive 91% screen-to-body ratio. The really thin bezels gives the laptop, a modern and sleek look. The keyboard layout and touchpad is also very well designed in my opinion.
The laptop has a very slim design and also very lightweight. It is only about 14.6 mm thick and about 1.33 kg in weight. This makes it really portable.
Regarding construction, the display is made of ultra-thin, very durable Corning Gorilla Glass and an anti-fingerprint coating. The screen size is about 13.9 inches with 3K resolution which is great for most purposes.
Interestingly, the one touch power button has an optimized BIOS which can power up and access the desktop in less than 8 seconds.
Features :
- 8th Gen Intel Core i7 8550U processor (or i5 option)
- 16 GB LPDDR3
- 13.9” FullView Display (91% screen-to-body ratio) with 3K resolution
- Touch-sensitive display
- 512GB SSD
- Windows 10 Home Signature Edition
- Battery life: up to 12 hours of video playback
- 3.5-mm stereo headset jack, USB-C x 1 (Allow data transfer, charging and connection with MateDock 2), Thunderbolt™ 3 (USB-C) port x 1 (Allows speedy data transfer, charging and connection to MateDock 2), USB-A x 1
4. Apple MacBook Pro 13-inch
Apple is probably one of the pioneers of modern minimalist computer designs. They have the reputation of minimalism in their products, operating system, as well as their stores and offices.
Their latest Macbook Pro has an overall beautiful minimalist design which Apple continues to perfect. They just look great in any office space or home. They come in their signature Space Grey or Silver color. It also has a Touch Bar on the keyboard, which you can use to adjust values in editing apps and much more.
The Macbook Pro comes in 13″ or 15″ versions. The Retina display is well known to be one of the best displays on the market, and the Mac operating system is reliable and smooth to operate.
Features :
- 2. 3 GHz dual-core/quad-core Intel Core i5 Processor
- 8GB of 2133MHz LPDDR3 on board memory (Configurable to 16GB)
- Retina Display
- 256GB SSD (Configurable to 512GB, or 1TB SSD)
- macOS
- Battery life: up to 10 hours of iTunes movie playback
- Two Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) ports
5. Razer Blade 15 (Best Minimalist Gaming Laptop)
Gaming laptops are not well known to have minimalist design. However, the gaming laptop Razer Blade 15, has an elegant and beautiful minimalist design.
The minimal keyboard with the RGB lighting gives that signature sense of a gaming computer while still looking clean and sleek. Razer calls this the World’s Smallest “15.6-inch Gaming Laptop”. While it is small in form, it is really powerful.
The screen is another great thing about this laptop. The thin bezels make the laptop looks really alluring. Razer calls this, the edge-to-edge display which is only 4.9mm thin.
In terms of construction quality, the Razer Blade 15 is made of strong and sturdy CNC aluminium unibody material in a thin and compact form.
Features (Base Model) :
- 8th Gen Intel Core i7 6 core processor
- 16GB Dual-Channel DDR-4-2667MHz, expandable to 32GB
- 15.6” Full HD edge-to-edge display
- 128GB SSD + 1TB HDD (Higher specs available)
- Windows 10
- Battery life: up to 6 hours
- Gigabit Ethernet, 3 x USB 3.1, Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C), HDMI, Mini Display Port
Wrapping Things Up
I believe a beautifully designed minimalist laptop can indirectly improve your work experience on it. Personally because I love design, minimalist designed things, whether they are small or big, always lifts up my mood. Hopefully with this list, you have found a laptop that can do the same to you.
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