Best Travel Laptop for Business in 2018
When you are traveling on a business trip, you need certain functionality in a laptop that you might not need from your home laptop. Some of the most important aspects include a good screen size which can be used for brief demonstrations and videos, a highly functional built-in webcam for networking conferences and extended battery life.
Of course, for business purposes, you need a good laptop backpack or over-the-shoulder bag with a laptop compartment and decent shoulder straps. Additionally, you should consider lightweight options that allow you to use your laptop like you would a desktop. Business travelers also want to pick a laptop that has increased security features like facial recognition.
Fortunately, you can find all these capabilities in the Microsoft Surface Book 2 13.5”, which is why we’ve rated it the best travel laptop for business in 2018. There is simply no comparison in the functionality that the Microsoft Surface Book 2 provides for the business traveler in 2018.
Light Weight Laptop with Tablet Functionality
Not only does the Microsoft Surface Book 2 provide a lightweight laptop with a good keyboard, but it basically allows you to use the laptop as a tablet, which is perfect for reading, video chatting and relaxing after work. The Microsoft touchpad technology provides extraordinary ability for business travelers to perform almost any task. You move quickly between tabs and pages and perform almost all tasks with your fingers that you would with the keyboards mouse. Although the Surface Book 2 doesn’t come with the Surface Pen, like its predecessor the SurfaceBook, you will likely want to purchase the pen separately, because the Surface Pen provides even more functionality in tablet mode. For the traveling professional being able to easily switch to uses a tablet allows you to make use of your Surface Book 2 in tight spaces like planes and cramped chairs.
Outstanding Battery Life
The Microsoft Surface Book 2 features a battery life of 17 hours of video playback. This is laptop has one of the highest battery life’s on the market, outperforming even top competitors like the Samsung Notebook 9 Pro and the HP Spectre x 360. With 17 hours of battery life, you’ll be less likely to lose important work or to be in a situation where you can’t plug in your laptop. The powerful battery life is very important for professionals who will be international via plane or who don’t have time or space to pack a power cord during the day. The 17-hour battery life will last you for an entire trip from the US to the UK which is outstanding for frequent flyers.
High-Resolution Screen
With an incredibly high-resolution screen that is large enough to work on most business projects. The resolution also outperforms most competitors in the 2-in-1 laptop market like the Lenovo Yoga 920 and the Microsoft Surface Book. The colors are brilliant and provide a great experience for gamers and frequent streamers who will enjoy watching movies and broadcasts on this laptop. We love that the black levels are superior to other laptops which means if you are watching movies with lots of darker scenes you’ll get a better viewing experience as you will be able to see more details during these scenes. It’s a smaller detail, but it significantly improves your viewing experience. The Microsoft Surface Book 2 has up to 267 PPI PixelSense™ Display depending on which model you purchase, the 13” features an astounding 3000x2000 native resolution at 267 pixels per inch.
Built-in Super High-Quality Webcam
The Microsoft Surface Book 2 comes with an outstanding built-in webcam which can function as a primary webcam if needed for a teleconference while you’re traveling. Both the front and rear-facing webcams are 1080 p and the front-facing webcam features 5.0 MP while the rear-facing webcam and camera 8.0 MP with an autofocusing lens. This is perfect for business travelers who need to get in contact with potential clients and colleagues at any time, but who don’t want to have to carry their external webcam everywhere with them. Fortunately, the Microsoft Surface 2 webcams function almost perfectly without the need for an external webcam.
Complete Microsoft Functionality
In comparison to other laptops, like the Google Chromebook, you’ll get access to the entire Microsoft office suite when you get the Microsoft Surface Book 2, which comes with PowerPoint and Excel. Plus, with the Surface Book 2 you’ll be able to enjoy the full benefits of Microsoft functionality, with includes being able to enjoy Windows Mixed reality anywhere, the power processor powers Windows Mixed Reality Ultra experiences. So, if you need VR capabilities for work, you’ll be able to use the latest VR software when you get a VR headset and controller for your laptop. If you are an artist or designer, the Surface Nook comes with INK technology which allows you to create 3D animations and Paint 3D. You’ll also have access to ONENOTE file sharing which makes it easy to share with any other device.
The Surface Book 2 beats the MacBook Pro

If you are trying to decide between the Surface Book 2 or MacBook Pro, the Surface Book 2 is the clear winner for the business traveler. It’s got a more powerful Intel processor and a significantly higher resolution display than the MacBook Pro. Plus you’ll experience everything with the ability of touchscreen with can significantly speed up your processes as you work on the Surface Book 2. If you decide to purchase the Surface Pen, you’ll get an even better experience than the MacBook Pro simply doesn’t offer. In terms of security, the Surface Book 2 offers facial recognition biometric security, which is much preferable and significantly faster than the Touch ID offered by the MacBook Pro.
Overall, the Microsoft Surface Book 2 is the long-awaited all in one solution that is perfect for the modern business traveler who is looking for a companion on their next business trip. It offers everything that you’ll need when traveling and its superior battery life, gaming functionality, high-resolution screen and tablet functionality will allow you to enjoy your laptop to the fullest.