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 2020
1. Dell XPS 13 7390 (Best Overall)
Buy or Check The Price Here (Amazon)
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.
This new XPS 2-in-1 7390, features a new 13.4 inch screen with aspect ratio of 16:10, which makes it great for productivity as you get more vertical space on the screen compared to previous models. The “2-in-1” allows you to use this as a regular laptop as well as folding it into a fully-functioning tablet, which you can use to read or write down notes (using a stylus) during meetings.
The thin bezels around the screen are only 5.2 mm thin. Also, the laptop has a nice overall slim design. Starting at about 1.32kg, the XPS series is also very light and easy to carry around.
In terms of build 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 5 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. Also, the material is UV-resistant and has a stain resistant coating.
The Infinity Edge display is a touch display which is great for creatives like illustrators and graphic designers. The display is also HDR 400 certified which allows over 16 million colors. In terms of resolution, it comes in 4K Ultra HD+ as well as a cheaper Full HD+ option.
Features :
- Intel Core 10th Gen i7-1065G7 Processor
- Up to 32GB LPDDR4x 3733MHz
- 13.4” 4K UHD+ (3840 x 2400) Infinity Edge display
- Touch-sensitive display
- 1TB Solid State Drive
- Windows 10
- 2 x Thunderbolt 3 with PowerDelivery & Display Port, 1 x microSD-card reader, 1 audio jack (Universal)
2. Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 (Best Design)
Buy or Check The Price Here (Amazon)
Microsoft has been making many stunningly minimalist designed computers and accessories over the years and the Surface Laptop 3 is no exception. The beautiful slim design comes in 4 color options, Platinum, Matte Black, Sandstone and Cobalt Blue. I personally love the platinum color because it looks really clean and sleek.
This laptop is also really lightweight which starts at about 3.4 lbs. This is great if your work requires you to move around a lot like mine. Also, the slim design makes it easy to fit in your travel or work bag.
This laptop also has a touchscreen and pen input, which makes it great for note-taking and even drawing.
Regarding build quality, the casing is made of durable aluminium 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 for long use.
The Surface Laptop 3 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 11.5 hours of use which is just phenomenal, and more than enough for a typical work day.
Another great thing about the latest Surface Laptop is the ability to remove and replace the SSD storage which gives you the flexibility to upgrade later down the road, or switch to a higher performing SSD.
I also suggest that you buy the gorgeously designed Surface Arc Mouse which is not included with this laptop.
Features :
- Up to Quad-core 10th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-1065G7 Processor for the 13.5″ display option
- Up to AMD Ryzen™ 7 3780U Mobile Processor for the 15″ display option
- 8 GB or 16 GB LPDDR4x RAM options
- 13.5” or 15” PixelSense Display
- Touch-sensitive display
- Removable solid-state drive (SSD): 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, or 1TB
- Detachable keyboard
- Windows 10 Home
- Battery life: up to 11.5 hours
- 1 x USB C, 1 x USB-A, 3.5mm headphone jack, 1 x Surface Connect port
3. Microsoft Surface Pro X
Buy or Check The Price Here (Amazon)
Although technically not a laptop, with the keyboard attached, this tablet have the functionality of doing most tasks that a laptop does, especially for regular office work.
The gorgeously slim bezels create such a pleasing look. In terms of design, it does not get any more minimalist than this. The sleek signature anodized aluminum with carbon composite casing, finished in matte black gives off an elegant vibe and allure.
Sporting an ARM-based processor, the Surface Pro X has a very long battery life up to 13 hours of regular use. Furthermore, the fanless design keeps the tablet quiet and calm, while not getting hot when in use.
Another great advantage to this device compared to other laptops is the ability to place a nano SIM. This means you can easily connect to a mobile network anywhere you are, which adds to the portability aspect to this device.
If portability, lightweight, battery life and just gorgeous minimalist aesthetic is what you’re looking for, then this is a great option. If you’re aiming for heavy and intensive work however, this may not be the right device for you, as ARM-based processors currently have a few limitations.
Features :
- Microsoft® SQ1™ processor
- 8GB or 16GB LPDDR4x RAM
- 13” PixelSense™ Display with 2880 x 1920 (267 PPI) resolution
- 10 point multi-touch display
- Removable solid-state drive (SSD) up to 512GB
- Windows 10 Home
- Battery life: up to 13 hours of use
- 2 x USB-C, 1 x Surface Connect port, Surface Keyboard connector port, 1 x nano SIM
4. Apple MacBook Pro 16-inch
Buy or Check The Price Here (Amazon)
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 ID and Touch Bar on the keyboard, which you can use to adjust values in editing apps and much more.
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.
However, if a 16″ screen is too big for you, I would suggest the new Macbook Air 13″ which is a smaller and cheaper option.
Features :
- Configurable up to 2.4GHz 8‑core Intel Core i9, Turbo Boost up to 5.0GHz
- Configurable up to 32GB or 64GB of RAM
- 16″ IPS Retina Display – 3072×1920 native resolution at 226 PPI
- 512GB or 1TB, configurable to 2TB, 4TB or 8TB SSD
- macOS
- Battery life: up to 11 hours of Apple TV app movie playback
- Four Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) ports
5. Razer Blade 15 (Best Minimalist Gaming Laptop)
Buy or Check The Price Here (Amazon)
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 :
- 9th Gen Intel Core i7-9750H 6 core processor
- 16GB Dual-Channel DDR4 (upgradable to 64GB)
- 15.6” Full HD 240Hz (Also available in 4K UHD OLED Touch)
- 512GB SSD (NVMe PCIe 3.0 x4)
- Windows 10 Home
- Battery life: up to 6-8 hours
- 1 x Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C), 3 x USB Type-A 3.1 Gen 1, HDMI 2.0, Mini-DisplayPort 1.4
Wrapping Things Up
I believe that having a beautifully designed minimalist laptop can enhance your overall work experience. An interesting and pleasing minimalist design can lift your mood and excitement for work. Switching from a badly designed laptop to a new minimalist design laptop can even ignite a new perspective on your work. Hopefully with this list, it has helped you find a laptop that can do all that for you.
No Comments