If you want a device that can travel or move easily, the best lightweight laptops are versatile ultrabooks weighing 1 to 2 kilograms with displays ranging from 13 to 16 inches. While they're usually much thinner and smaller overall than the best 17-inch and larger laptops, most lightweight laptops are capable of handling whatever task you throw at them without the burden of extra weight.
Most have enough processing power, RAM, and storage to handle the mundane multitasking of a typical workday, but dedicated models can rival the power of more powerful laptops or desktops with powerful processors, expandable internals, and bright, large, enhanced displays. graphics and color. rendering. These attributes are useful for creative tasks such as photo or video editing and fun gaming. Above-average battery life that goes beyond a workday is also a bonus, and some models go 18 hours or longer on a charge. Other top-notch amenities include cellular connectivity, secure form factors, and biometrics for fast, secure access.
Best for Work: Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon
What we like
- Impressive battery life
- SSD up to 512 GB
- Slim yet durable construction
What we don't like
- A special Ethernet adapter is required.
- No microSD slot
Lightweight work laptops need to travel well and keep you going all day on a single charge, and the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon fits that t-shirt description. This laptop won't be bulky when traveling as it weighs just 2.4 pounds and is just over 0.5 inches thick. A large 14" FHD, anti-glare, low power display gives you a clear view of everything you're working on, while splash and drop resistant design and an impressive battery life of up to 18.3 hours make this portable workstation capable of . .
Other useful features include a fingerprint sensor, a backlit keyboard, and a camera shutter cover for more privacy. The ThinkPad X1 Carbon can also be equipped with up to 1TB SSD and up to 16GB RAM for easy file storage and seamless multitasking. While the choice of ports is also great, this laptop lacks a microSD card and requires a proprietary Ethernet adapter if you prefer a wired connection.
Best for Travel: Microsoft Surface Pro X
What we like
- Less than 2 pounds
- Up to 15 hours of battery life
- Frameless 13" touchscreen
What we don't like
- Keyboard and pen sold separately
- Restricted ports
If you like the flexibility that a convertible laptop offers, the Microsoft Surface Pro X is a great option. While the keyboard and pen that came with it are sold separately, and you'll only have two USB-C ports to work with, the main body of the Surface Pro X can lie flat on a surface or be propped up at your preferred angle using the kickstand on the back of the device. With a thickness of 1.7 pounds and 0.28 inches and an excellent 15-hour battery life, this versatile and ultra-compact chassis makes it the perfect travel laptop.
Even though this convertible is rather small, it still offers a generous 13-inch edge-to-edge touch display with a high resolution of 2880x1920 pixels, as well as a number of other desirable assets such as an accelerometer, gyroscope, ambient light sensor, support for LTE, etc. as well as 1080p front and rear cameras with support for 4K quality on the latter. The custom Microsoft SQ1 processor with standard 8GB RAM and 128GB SSD should be fast and versatile enough for a lot of tasks, but if you need more memory and storage, configurations up to 16GB RAM and 512GB SSD are available.
Best for Students: Google Pixelbook Go
What we like
- Boots fast
- Batteries last at least 12 hours
- 1080p camera
What we don't like
- Limited choice of ports
- Memory limited to 265 GB
Chromebooks tend to be portable and student-friendly, and the Google Pixelbook Go is no exception. While an option with an upgraded processor, 4K display, and additional storage and memory may start to add up, the standard Intel Core M3 processor, 8GB of RAM, and a 64GB SSD are relatively economical. This standard configuration provides fast downloads in seconds, and there is plenty of cloud storage to meet the file storage needs of most students. As is the case with most Chromebooks, port selection is limited, but the trade-off is desirable portability at around 0.5 inches thick and just over 2 pounds.
While it's not the most advanced display in the category, the 13.3-inch HD screen will do just fine for most tasks, including video streaming. The bonus is that the 1080p webcam is a step up from most Chromebooks and Ultrabooks, which can be a great option for virtual learning. Another benefit is the long 12-hour battery life and the ability to use 2 hours after a quick 20-minute charge.
«Pretty much everything about using this quiet, slim device is a pleasure.».
Best for Gaming: Razer Blade Stealth 13
What we like
- Sturdy yet lightweight construction
- Bright FHD display
- Upgradable SSD
What we don't like
- Average battery life
- Thicker bottom panel
If you've always dreamed of a lightweight gaming laptop, Razer has combined the appeal of thin ultrabooks with the graphics and processing power of gaming-ready machines in the Razer Blade Stealth 13. It features a sleek and durable aluminum and anodized aluminum chassis. not too bulky at about 0.6 inches thick and 3.2 pounds. The 13-inch FHD display is matte, supports refresh rates up to 120Hz, is surrounded by razor-thin top and side bezels, and is tuned to sRGB for color accuracy and brightness. Oddly, the bottom bezel is significantly larger, which our tester felt was an unfortunate loss of valuable real estate. He also noted that battery life was less than impressive, but recharged quickly.
Stealth 13 is positioned as a gaming laptop, and it is. In terms of performance, this is a powerful processor with a tenth generation Intel Core i7 processor, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 Max-Q graphics, as well as 16GB of RAM and a 512GB upgradable SSD. For overall ease of use and productivity, this compact laptop offers other useful features such as biometrics for instant access to facial recognition and multiple ports for connecting to games or other peripherals.
«The Razer Blade Stealth 13 is a beautiful ultrabook crafted from a unibody anodized aluminum chassis ».
Best battery life: Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Nano
What we like
- Weight less than 2 pounds
- High performance CPU and GPU
- Great keyboard
- Excellent battery life
- Loud, clear sound
- Windows Hello support
What we don't like
- Mediocre display
- Terrible Wi-Fi performance
- High price
- Limited connection
The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Nano is built for travelers and frequent flyers. It's very light, weighing less than two pounds, and it lasts eight to nine hours on a single charge. However, it also delivers excellent performance, especially in graphical workloads where it is amazingly suited to a 13-inch laptop.
This is a great laptop for productivity. ThinkPads are known for having best-in-class keyboards, and the X1 Nano doesn't disappoint.It also has a TrackPointer and an IR camera that supports Windows Hello for quick login with facial recognition. However, our reviewer found the display a little disappointing, as it couldn't keep up with Apple's MacBook Air or the new OLED display in the Dell XPS 13.
However, the X1 Nano would be competitive were it not for a major issue: price. This laptop costs just north of $1,450 and will rise from there. Whichever specs you choose, the X1 Nano will be several hundred dollars more expensive than the equivalent MacBook Air or Dell XPS 13. It's hard to justify if portability isn't your top priority.
"I've seen eight to nine hours of battery life in everyday work, including web browsing, document editing, and light photo editing."
Best for Writers: ASUS ZenBook UX333FA
What we like
- Long battery life
- Numeric keypad
- Elevated keyboard for ergonomics
What we don't like
- Small touchpad
If you've been typing for hours on your laptop, ergonomics can be an issue. The ASUS Zenbook UX333FA solves this problem with a unique hinge that raises the keyboard slightly when the lid is opened for a better typing angle. It also serves the dual purpose of increasing cooling power and improving sound quality (for the bottom speakers). If you're a fan of dedicated numeric keypads, this laptop offers one on the touchpad, which can feel a little cramped if you prefer the more spacious touchpads.
The display is especially large, at 13.3 inches diagonally and with subtle bezels that let you focus on your work. Long potentially 14-hour battery life and hardware that includes an Intel Core i5 processor, 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD are also useful features for hassle-free hours of recording or multitasking on the go. At only about 2.6 pounds and 0.67 inches thin, you shouldn't have trouble finding room in your bag for this portable laptop.
Best for Coding: Huawei Matebook X Pro
What we like
- Bright 3K display
- Impressive Equipment
- Long battery life
What we don't like
- Odd camera placement
If you're a Windows user and a programmer who loves the MacBook aesthetic, consider the Huawei MateBook X Pro, a lightweight and attractive alternative. Design-wise, this laptop is similar in size and weight, measuring 0.57 inches thick and weighing 2.93 pounds. It's not supremely lightweight, but the functional internals and display make up for that extra weight. The choice of processor ranges from an Intel Core i5 or i7 with up to 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD, as well as an NVIDIA GeForce MX15 graphics card that allows it to handle memory-intensive tasks such as video encoding and editing, as well as with some light games.
You can expect at least a full day of battery life from this lightweight laptop, though Huawei says it's capable of up to 14 hours of office work or up to 15 hours of web browsing. There's also a handy fingerprint/power button that offers instant access to the device if you don't like passcodes or facial recognition. One odd feature that takes some getting used to is the placement of the camera on the top row of the keyboard, which can make it difficult to find the right angle for videoconferencing.
Huawei MateBook X Pro Signature Edition Review – «The Huawei MateBook X Pro Signature Edition is solidly equipped with a powerful front panel and is powered by an 8th Gen Intel Core i7-8550U quad-core processor with 16GB of RAM »
What we like
- Powerful and fast processor
- SSD storage up to 8 TB
- Retina display
What we don't like
- Heavier build
- Expensive
The Apple 16-inch MacBook Pro isn't a lightweight ultrabook or the most affordable option in the lightweight laptop class, but with all the power you have at your fingertips, it's a manageable 4.3-pound workhorse. You have the choice of an Intel Core i7 or i9 processor with 16GB of RAM (expandable up to 64GB) and a standard 512GB or 1TB SSD that can be upgraded to an impressive 8GB of SSD storage. This processing power and storage is enough to support everyday multitasking and the most demanding creative projects such as 3D rendering, professional video editing and game development.
Of course, visual tasks require a high-quality display, and the bright 16-inch 3072x1920 Retina display is the largest among the brand's laptops. It uses P3 wide color gamut for realistic video and photo reproduction. You can also expect up to 11 hours of battery life, touchpad convenience with secure Touch ID access, and a Thunderbolt 3 port that supports up to two external 6K displays.
Best for Photo Editing: Apple MacBook Pro 13-inch (M1, 2020)
What we like
- Apple M1 chip
- Up to 20 hours of battery life
- SSD up to 2TB
What we don't like
- Not all applications are optimized for the M1 chip
- Lack of ports
If you want the functionality of the 16-inch Apple MacBook Pro in a slightly more portable form factor, the 3-pound 13-inch MacBook Pro with M1 chip is a worthy alternative, especially if you need a photo-editing machine. go. Like the 16-inch variant, this device features a vibrant Retina display with P3 wide color gamut technology, which Apple says displays 25% more colors than sRGB. The new 8-core M1 chip is an impressive addition, delivering lightning-fast performance with support for up to 16GB RAM and up to 2TB SSD.
This special chip has a catch: not all applications that run on MacBooks with Intel chips are optimized for models with the M1. But popular photo-editing programs like Lightroom and Photoshop are covered by their own apps or with the help of the Rosetta 2 translator, which bridges the gap in use without crashing. This latest iteration of the 13-inch MacBook Pro has a limited selection of ports (only two Thunderbolt ports), but also boasts plenty of amenities, including a convenient touch bar with Touch ID access and customization shortcut slots, and the longest battery life of any MacBook. - up to 20 hours.
Apple MacBook Pro 13-inch (M1, 2020). - "This year's MacBook represents the best we've seen from Apple laptops for some time.»
Final verdict
The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon is an excellent choice for its lightweight yet durable build and capable specs for office multitasking. For specialized creative tasks on the go, it's hard to beat the 13-inch Apple MacBook Pro (M1 2020) with its incredible new processor, exceptional Retina display, and super-long battery life.
What to look for in a lightweight laptop
Screen size: smaller 11-inch or 13-inch displays can be quite adequate for most tasks and are more portable at 2 to 3 pounds (or less). Larger displays of 15 inches or more can be found if you need or need a larger screen. The trade-off for a bigger screen is a bit more, but it's worth it.
Battery life: many lightweight laptops also have consistent performance. If you'd rather spend less time recharging or looking for an available power outlet while traveling, some models have increased capacity to 11 hours or more.
Processor and memory: Ultrabooks or lightweight convertible laptops can usually handle any kind of routine computing task you throw at them, but if you have special needs like photo editing, video editing, or gaming, you'll need to look for more powerful processors and extra RAM that can support more complex software or complex tasks.
