Web-based work is an essential part of the daily workflows of knowledge workers and office professionals in almost every sector of the economy. Modern browser-driven apps, extensions, and native app integrations help people communicate, collaborate, create content, conduct specialized tasks like research and data analysis, and much more. For workers who spend a significant part of each day online, every extra bit of browser performance and system responsiveness can help them avoid the slowdowns and distractions that hinder productivity.

For organizations looking to equip their teams with new business laptops that offer enhanced performance at a good price, it can be difficult to sort through a crowded market. Objective performance data and product comparisons can help buyers make the best choices for future success.

We used industry-standard web-browsing and productivity benchmarks to assess the performance of two laptops: an HP EliteBook 1040 G10 Notebook PC powered by an Intel Core i7-1370P vPro processor and a 14-inch Apple MacBook Pro powered by an Apple M2 Max processor (the fastest available at the time of our tests). We found that the Intel processor-powered HP EliteBook produced similar or better performance scores on each benchmark than the MacBook Pro. In our browser-performance comparisons, the EliteBook scored 16 percent higher than the MacBook Pro when we tested both systems with the Chrome browser and 20 percent higher when we tested with each laptop’s native browser. Those types of performance advantages can translate into faster and more productive experiences for EliteBook users while they work online.

The HP EliteBook we tested—which was $950 less expensive than the MacBook Pro—included the business-class security and manageability features of HP Wolf Security for Business and the Intel vPro platform, which includes Intel Active Management Technology (AMT), Intel Endpoint Management Assistant (EMA), and more. These technologies were not available on the Apple MacBook Pro.

The HP EliteBook we tested provides users with a 13th generation Intel vPro processor, web-browsing and productivity performance advantages, and more management features than the Apple MacBook Pro—for almost $1,000 less per system. For laptop buyers in the market for professional-grade systems that can give workers a performance boost without busting the budget, the HP EliteBook 1040 G10 Notebook PC may be a good fit.

For more details about our HP EliteBook and Apple MacBook Pro performance comparison tests, check out the report and infographic below.