So laptops come in different sizes, we have 13″ laptops, we have 15″ laptops as well. Although 13″ laptops are more portable, 15″ ones are more powerful. So here we are reviewing the best 15-inch laptops from brands like Dell to Razer.
Why would you want to buy a 15-inch laptop in the first place? Won’t it occupy more space than a 13-inch one? Well, the answer lies in the use. Of course, if you want something small and compact a 13-inch one is going to be your choice.
But a 15-inch one gives you more, more in terms of ports since it is bigger and more screen. You can find 4K displays in that size and it is better utilized in terms of size.
There are 13-inch laptops with 4K displays but let us be honest, wouldn’t it be fun to play that game in 4K resolution on a bigger screen even if it just 2 inches bigger?
The idea of a bigger laptop might turn some people away because it will be heavier and bigger. Laptops are initially designed to make computers more portable. That is why laptop manufacturers try to keep their newest models as light as possible.
But having a bigger screen, having more ports and even more powerful specs just feels good. It is still way more portable than a computer and you are getting so much out of so less.
A bigger screen feels right when you are watching movies, playing games, and when you are working. Work like video and photo editing feels better on a bigger screen.
You can connect bigger displays on your 13-inch device. But when you do not have access to bigger displays, the 15-inch laptops will come ahead.
With powerful specs and a 4k resolution display, 15-inch devices just feel right. Of course, it’s not just the display as you also have a bigger keyboard as well. There is also more space for cooling on the laptop too.
Either way, we have researched and found the best 15-inch laptops in the market. We reviewed them for your convenience and placed them in various categories.
But first, a buyer’s guide to help you find the best features in 15-inch mobile devices:
15-Inch Laptop Buyer’s Guide
We have found that 15″ laptops can house even more powerful specs than a 13″ ones. Here are some of the things to look out for and some of the benefits of buying 15-inch devices over their smaller counterparts.
Bigger Chassis Equals More Ports
Well, this one is pretty evident with the title itself. Of course, if the chassis of the laptop is bigger in size it can house more ports. Having a bigger interface to install more ports is easier for any manufacturer after all.
Having more ports is always more beneficial. If you want to connect multiple devices at the same time you need more ports.
Since almost all peripherals except for the big ones use USB ports. USB ports have advanced so far that they can transfer more data and are being used for even more applications.
You can even connect your laptop with a bigger display these days with a USB interface. So with more devices switching to the advancing USB technology, more ports are always a bright idea.
More Space to Fit More Cooling Options
We have seen some pretty decent gaming laptops these days in the 13″ category. But one thing is for sure, they will not have a lot of space in them for a better cooling solution.
The slimmer, sleeker, and smaller the device is, the less space it will have to install a decent cooling solution. Of course, laptop manufacturers are bound by limitations of space in the smaller variations. So they are not at fault here.
A bigger laptop will result in more space for the manufacturers to work with and install more cooling options.
Bigger Display
This one is the most obvious, we all know a bigger laptop would equal in a bigger display. We have 4K resolution in smaller laptops these days, but 4K resolution is way too much to fit in a smaller screen.
To properly utilize 4K display a bigger screen is better. You can also enjoy the quality of the resolution better on a bigger screen. As there are more pixels to fit on such a small screen, you are pushing your laptop to drain more battery.
An FHD or even 1440P display would look great on a 13-inch laptop. 4K display is the best resolution to work with as an editor. But this simply isn’t energy efficient even in gaming laptops.
Bigger Keyboard and Trackpad
Smaller size laptops also mean that you are going to have a smaller keyboard with tightly spaced keys. Now these might have good switches or you might find it ergonomic, but it is just common sense they will be smaller.
While a smaller trackpad might not matter a lot, but a bigger keyboard will. You can always attach a keyboard, but you do not always carry a keyboard around with you.
Carrying around a mouse is easier but a keyboard is big and bulky. If the added weight and size do not matter to you why not invest in a bigger laptop in the first place?
A bigger laptop will have more space between keys so you will not be pressing the wrong keys when typing. The same goes for gaming, you will be able to game better with properly spaced keys.
More Specs
15-inch laptops have more space internally giving the manufacturers more freedom to install bigger parts. They will be able to add more powerful GPUs and better cooling solutions for them in a bigger sized laptop.
While the most powerful GPUs are not very power efficient, if a laptop has it, it will need sufficient cooling and power for it. A 13-inch device might house it, but it will be able to use it to its maximum potential due to limitations of cooling and power consumption.
It will be a very inefficient machine if it draws too much power and heats up very fast. But on the other hand, a 15-inch laptop can have better cooling, more battery power, and more space to install such a powerful GPU.
Best 15-Inch Laptops Reviewed and Categorized
Best Overall
Check Reviews
Dell XPS 15
Dell XPS 15 is the best overall because it is a really balanced laptop. It has powerful specs but also very decent battery life.
The best overall category is dominated by the XPS 15 because of its power. This makes it the go-to laptop for editors due to the 4K display, powerful specs, and decent specs.
Dell XPS 15 is the choice of professionals, not only does it have very decent specs but it comes in a 4K variant. The 4K resolution is perfect for editors of all kinds, whether it is a video editor or a photo editor.
This machine is perfect in all scenarios, the processor is a Core i7-9750H which is a powerful mobile CPU. It has 6-cores and 12-threads which clocks up to 4.50GHz. With this laptop working with 4K videos will be fast and easy. The powerful CPU is paired up with 16GB of DDR4 memory so that the CPU can utilize all the cores properly.
The laptop has a beautiful 4k display with almost non-existent bezels. The Infinity Edge display by Dell has virtually no borders or bezels and the whole pane is a display. The laptop gives us exactly what we love, more screen.
The 4K resolution is not just there for nothing, it has amazing colors and wonderfully crisp and sharp images. It is a touch display so you can zoom in and out by pinching in and out with your fingers. Talk about convenience.
Dell XPS 15 also has a GTX 1650, which will allow you to use it for rendering tasks. The GPU is powerful enough to run AAA titles on medium graphics without any problems.
But this laptop does not feel or even look like a gaming one. But the GPU will make designers tasks very easy and they will be able to use all of the features on their software whether it is Photoshop or Illustrator.
With a Thunderbolt 3 port, you can not only transfer data faster but connect a display of up to 4K and charge your laptop as well. So if you feel like your design work or editing task requires a bigger display, then use the Thunderbolt 3 port for that purpose.
Lastly, the battery life is superb, even though 4K displays are notorious for consuming more power, it is still amazing. But one thing that does make people pull away from this laptop is its price. It is on the expensive end of the spectrum.
Best Gaming
Check Reviews
Razer Blade 15
Razer is one of the first companies to introduce a 4K OLED in a 13-inch form factor. But we are not here to talk about the smaller variant, the Razer Blade 15 is a beast in the slimmest skin.
It is going to be hard to find something as sleek and as powerful as this Razer Blade 15. Not only does it use the latest 10th Gen processing power but its graphics are also powered by the RTX series of GPU.
Razer has been the best gaming brand all across the U.S. whether it comes to peripherals, accessories, or laptops, it is number 1. The Razer Blade 1 takes the tradition further with its prowess.
First of all, it is amazingly sleek for being such a powerful machine. Like seriously, it is thinner than a cent, and it packs more power than most gaming PCs out there.
As we said there is a 10th Generation Intel Core Series processor powering this gaming laptop. The Core i7-10750H preceded the 9750H which was the go-to CPU for laptop manufacturers before.
This 6-core and 12-thread CPU has a base clock of 2.60GHz but can boost up to 5.0GHz. These CPUs are said to be the first ones to cross the 5.0GHz threshold without the need to overclock. It also has 16GB of DDR4 memory for attaining those clock speeds on the CPU cores.
With such a powerful CPU, you would need to pair it with an equally powerful GPU. Enters the RTX series of GPUs, with Ray-Tracing and DLSS 2.0.
The model we had was using an NVIDIA RTX 2070 Max-Q, the mobile version of the RTX 2070. So the gaming performance of this laptop is off the charts. But if that is not enough, little more money goes a long way as you can upgrade it to an RTX 2080 Super. For us, though even this variant ran all AAA titles we came across far on high to ultra graphic settings.
That is not all, this 15-inch laptop also has an amazing 4K OLED display that has some of the most vibrant colors we have seen. With the RTX 2070 Max-Q, you might even be able to play games on 4K if you wanted to.
Not only that, but there is also a Thunderbolt 3 port included for you to play games on a bigger screen if you wanted to. So if the 15.6″ display does not fulfill your gaming desires, go big.
This laptop is already pretty expensive, but if you upgrade the GPU on the Razer Blade 15, you will have to pay a hefty amount.
Best Business Laptop
Check Reviews
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme 2nd Gen
When it comes down to business, ThinkPad is the way to go. But when you mean business, the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme 2nd Gen laptop is unbeatable.
Search up the best business laptop available, you will find either this laptop of the X1 Carbon. The Carbon is a bit cheaper but the X1 Extreme has some extreme level specs.
No matter what you do, whether you are running a media house, you have a corporation with 1000 employees or have a startup with 4, you need a good business laptop. Business laptops are rarely ever shut down, they are either powered on or they are on standby with tons of excel sheets and Chrome tabs open in the background.
The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme 2nd Gen will not only let you do all that but take you beyond. It has really powerful specs and amazing battery life along with security features that are essential for any businessman.
The laptop is powered up by a Core i7-9750H that is a 6-core and 12-thread CPU. It is a super-powerful processor and a go-to for most manufacturers for their laptops.
The laptop clocks at 2.6GHz and can boost as high as 4.5GHz, so no matter how CPU intensive tasks you run, you will be just fine. So if you are someone who likes to keep many software running in the background for quick access, this laptop has you covered.
It is paired with 16GB of RAM that you can expand to as much as 64GB if you have enough money on hands. Ours had 16GB because that is more than enough, more than that would be overkill for a business laptop.
The laptop also has a GPU, yes a business laptop with a GPU, how great is that. An NVIDIA GTX 1650 is included in this laptop, so if you are in the designing business, use this to run the most graphics-intensive software with all of its features.
Lastly, what would a ThinkPad laptop be without security features, right? You have the Think Shutter, encryption, and fingerprint reader to keep your laptop and its data safe from any intruders that might end up having the laptop in their hands.
The laptop has an FHD display but you can get 4K resolution if you have the money for it. We went for the 4K display that we found on Amazon at a reasonable price. And this laptop has a 180-degree hinge so lay it flat if you have to.
of course, with all these powerful specs the price is nothing to cough at either. You will find this laptop at pretty expensive prices regardless of where you find it.
Best 2-in-1
Check Reviews
Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 AMD Edition
Here we have one of the best touch-screen laptops, the Surface Laptop 3, which has the most responsive touch we have seen. But Microsoft has a twist in store for anyone who wants it, an AMD Surface edition Ryzen CPU.
When AMD makes you a custom Ryzen CPU, you know that the laptop must be worth it. Surface Laptop 3 had some of the best features in 2-in-1 laptops at its time of release.
When it comes to touch-screens, rarely have there been instances of any laptop surpassing the responsiveness of the Surface Laptops. The Surface Laptop 2 was such a favorite of editors for all their tasks, whether it was encoding videos or editing photos.
AMD made a custom Ryzen CPU for the laptop, the Ryzen 7 Microsoft Surface Edition. There is also the Ryzen 5 Microsoft Surface Edition available if you are short on budget.
The Ryzen 7 Surface Edition has 4-cores and 8-threads to handle multitasking efficiently. But the secret of this CPU is in the powerful integrated graphics.
The CPU has a base clock of 2.3GHz and it boosts up to 4.00GHz easily. Sadly the CPU is locked and cannot be overclocked so there is that. But we think the reason behind this is to make it as power-efficient as possible.
Surface Laptop 3 does not have a discrete GPU but the Ryzen 7 CPU has a surprise in store. It has Radeon RX Vega 11 Graphics integrated into it and can run graphics-intensive tasks easily without hassle.
This laptop is an editor’s dream, with a beautiful, sleek, and almost bezel-less touch-screen display. We knew some people who used the Surface Laptop 2 and they just fell in love with the Surface Laptop 3 at first sight.
Ryzen CPUs are notorious for RAM consumption, so we have 16GB of RAM which is more than enough to power all the cores of the CPU. Lastly, when it comes to price, Surface Laptop 3 is a tad bit expensive.
Also, there is an Intel version available, Intel Core i5 and Core i7, if you are a fan of team Intel.
Best VR-Ready Laptop
Check Reviews
Acer Predator Helios 300 15-inch
The Acer Predator Helios 300 features the 6-core 10th Generation Intel i7-10750H and an overclockable Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060 6GB. You also get an FHD screen with a 144Hz refresh rate and a fast 512GB NVMe SSD.
Packed with plenty of power and boasting fantastic construction, the Acer Predator Helios 300 15-inch is our favorite VR-ready laptop under $1500.
The 15-inch version of the Acer Predator Helios 300 is perhaps one of the best mid-range gaming laptops you can buy right now. It’s packed with features that you won’t find in other gaming laptops at this price point.
The powerful Intel i7-10750H drives this laptop with its six cores, and you have a special overclockable Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060 to let you get the most juice for the gaming and VR experience. Additionally, this laptop comes with a Full HD IPS panel that runs at 144Hz for a buttery, smooth refresh rate.
A powerful 512GB NVMe SSD ensures fast boot-up and loading times, and a part-metal design with Aeroblade metal fans ensures the laptop stays cool even during the most rigorous gaming sessions.
You might think Acer has compromised somewhere in the build construction to keep the price down, but that’s far from the truth. The touchpad and keyboard of the Acer Predator Helios 300 are superior to other gaming laptops in its class.
For its sheer power, great pricing, and overall appeal, we do believe the Acer Predator Helios 300 is the best VR-ready laptop under $1500 right now and highly recommended it to anyone looking to dive into the VR world.