Can any laptop truly last a full workday?

Yes. The MacBook Air M3 and ThinkPad X1 Carbon consistently deliver 12-16 hours of real productivity use. That covers an 8-hour workday plus evening use without charging. A few years ago this was impossible — modern chips are dramatically more efficient.

Does lowering brightness help battery life?

Display brightness is the single biggest battery drain. Reducing from 100% to 50% can add 2-3 hours of use. Also close unnecessary browser tabs, disable Bluetooth when not using it, and avoid video playback on battery.

Best Laptops with Best Battery Life 2026