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Monday, February 10, 2025

Tested & Reviewed Lightweight, Portable, and Powerful Laptops


These days, just about any skinny, mild, and fairly highly effective laptop computer is taken into account an ultrabook (aside from gaming laptops). The time period “ultrabook” might have been born out of Intel’s advertising and marketing staff to explain high-end, premium laptops, however it isn’t restricted to simply Intel-powered ultrabooks anymore. At its core, an ultrabook ought to ship excellent productiveness efficiency whereas additionally being slim, light-weight, and extremely transportable. It’s a dependable laptop computer that will not weigh you down or power you to hold a charger all over the place you go.

TL;DR – These Are the Best Ultrabooks:

The finest ultrabooks accessible right this moment could be downright suprising with simply how succesful they’re given their measurement and weight. Our general finest choose proper now, the Asus Zenbook S 16, competes with high-end desktops all whereas sipping the smallest quantity of energy and working exceptionally quietly. From budget-friendly choices to highly effective workhorses able to enhancing 4K video and past, these are the perfect ultrabooks you should purchase proper now.

1. Asus Zenbook S 16

Best Ultrabook in 2025

Zenbook S 16

Asus Zenbook S 16

The Asus Zenbook S 16 is a good Windows various to the MacGuide Pro. It’s easy to hold and a pleasure to make use of.

Size

13.92″ x 9.57″ x 0.47″ – 0.51″

Battery life

Around 15 hours

Exceptionally skinny and light-weight

Outstanding efficiency with an all-day battery

Beautiful 3K OLED touchscreen 

Impressive gaming efficiency

I examined and reviewed the Asus Zenbook S 16, and it is the perfect general ultrabook right this moment. It’s ridiculously skinny at solely 13mm at its thickest half and is sort of as impressively light-weight at solely 3.31lbs. It has unbelievable battery life, a beautiful OLED show, and the perfect gaming efficiency of any built-in GPU but, topping transportable gaming PCs just like the Asus ROG Ally X and Ayaneo Kun. It’s the complete bundle after which some.

The Zenbook S 16 nails what it means to be an ultrabook. It’s mild sufficient that you would be able to virtually overlook you’re carrying it and skinny sufficient that it simply slides right into a crowded backpack or briefcase. When it’s time to get to work, it performs among the many prime ultrabooks accessible right this moment, all whereas utilizing much less energy and producing much less noise due to its innovative AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 CPU. It even provides higher connectivity than most ultrabooks with two USB Type-C ports, a full-size USB Type-A, an SD card reader, and an HDMI-out port to make use of with a nice transportable monitor.

The show is superb, that includes a crisp 2880×1880 decision (midway between 1440p and 4K) and gorgeous colours. Since it’s an OLED, you possibly can rely on wealthy, deep blacks, and its 500-nit display is vibrant sufficient to make use of, and look good, in any atmosphere.

Topping this all out is 15 hours of battery life. The Asus Zenbook S 16 is the cutting-edge definition of what an ultrabook is supposed to be and extra.

2. HP Pavilion Aero 13

Best Budget Ultrabook

Pavilion Aero 13

HP Pavilion Aero 13

At lower than $800, this laptop computer is a killer worth.

Display

13.3” 2K (1,920 x 1,200) IPS

Size

11.7″ x 8.31″ x 0.69″

Battery life

Around 12 hours

Great stability of worth to efficiency

Fast processor and ample reminiscence

If you are searching for a extra reasonably priced ultrabook, look no additional than the HP Pavilion Aero 13. Coming in at lower than $800, this pocket book provides a quick Ryzen 7 processor and 16GB of DDR5 reminiscence to guarantee that your whole productiveness purposes run easily, even when you might want to multitask. It’s extremely skinny and light-weight so you possibly can carry it all through the day with out feeling encumbered.

When you have a look at all that it has to supply, the value is extremely cheap – stunning, even. Between its processor and reminiscence, it may be a dependable companion for nearly something however gaming (and even then, its built-in graphics aren’t any slouch should you’re content material to show down some settings).

Its greatest disadvantage is that it solely has 512GB of storage and fewer that is free to save lots of recordsdata on (Windows takes up a portion of that storage earlier than you add something of your individual). You’ll need to put money into a good exterior arduous drive if you wish to save work domestically. But provided that this laptop computer is barely about 13 inches and is exceptionally skinny and light-weight, that should not be the deciding issue.

3. Razer Blade 14

Best Ultrabook for Gaming

Blade 14

Razer Blade 14

With a shocking and quick QHD+ show and highly effective internals housed in a smooth chassis, this 14-inch luxurious laptop computer is prepared for any recreation.

Display

14” QHD+ (2,560 x 1,600) IPS 240Hz

Size

12.73″ x 8.97″ x 0.70″

Battery life

Around 9-10 hours

Excellent gaming efficiency

PC gaming and portability don’t often go hand-in-hand. Oftentimes compromises should be made, however with the Razer Blade 14, these are few and much between. It has managed to squeeze some insane {hardware} right into a laptop computer simply over 4lbs and nicely underneath 1-inch thick. The 14-inch 240 Hz QHD+ show is barely taller than your typical display, with a 16:10 side ratio that would take some getting used to. But it’s what’s on the within that basically blows me away.

That stable show is powered by an AMD Ryzen 9 8945HS processor with an equally spectacular Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 graphics card. This machine is prepared for no matter recreation you throw at it, and it’ll additionally deal with video enhancing like a champ. Heck, you possibly can even do some overclocking. Its 16GB DDR5 RAM and 1TB of SSD storage ensures it’ll speedily chug alongside, and Wi-Fi 7 assist helps you to take pleasure in quick connectivity in your on-the-go battle station. (Alternatively, you possibly can park this at your desk and join it on to a gaming monitor with the laptop computer’s full-size HDMI port.)

In our 2024 evaluation of the Razer Blade 14, we remarked that it was a genuinely glorious laptop computer with a particularly quick GPU. It’s costly, there isn’t any manner round that, however excels with its luxurious construct high quality and efficiency.

See extra of the finest gaming laptops to purchase proper now.

4. Microsoft Surface Laptop 11

Best for Students

Surface Laptop 11

Microsoft Surface Laptop 11

Colorful laptop computer providing a Snapdragon processor, loads of reminiscence and storage, and a stable battery life

Display

13.8″ (2304 x 1536)

CPU

Snapdragon X Plus to Snapdragon X Elite

Storage

256GB – 1TB PCIe SSD

Size

11.85″ x 8.67″ x 0.69″

Battery life

Up to twenty hours

Lots of enjoyable shade choices

Some apps aren’t appropriate

Looking for a dependable laptop computer to take to and from lessons with out destroying your again? The newest era Surface Laptop and Surface Pro 2-in-1 is it, coming absolutely outfitted with highly effective Snapdragon Plus and Snapdragon Elite processors, loads of reminiscence and storage, and battery life that may final a number of work days relying on how they’re used. For the needs of this listing, our technical suggestion is the Surface Laptop, however simply know that we give a giant thumbs as much as the Surface Pro for these of you preferring their ultrabooks to be a bit of extra convertible (and don’t thoughts shopping for a keyboard case, too).

Compared to the final era, Microsoft has made some main upgrades. These new Surfaces have extra reminiscence and storage choices, however even the bottom mannequin, which has 16GB or RAM and 256GB of storage, is sufficient for stable system efficiency. The Snapdragon Plus and Elite, which provides two extra cores, are extremely energy environment friendly. Microsoft charges this laptop computer as providing as much as 20 hours of battery life when watching video and as much as 13 hours of net shopping and productiveness, and it helps quick charging and might energy up from zero to 80% in a single hour.

The draw back is that not all apps work with the Snapdragon processors. There is built-in emulation to assist compensate for this and it really works for a lot of apps, however not all. Now that Qualcomm is within the processor enterprise in earnest, we count on the listing of appropriate apps to proceed rising over time. Until then, this is an ever-expanding list of compatible apps. Chances are, the apps you want for college are already on there.

5. Asus Zenbook S 14

Best for Business

Zenbook S 14

Asus Zenbook S 14

This extremely transportable laptop computer packs unbelievable battery life, snappy efficiency, and a wonderful OLED touchscreen show.

CPU

Intel Core Ultra 7 258V

Size

12.22″ x 8.45″ x 0.51″

Thinner, lighter, and extra highly effective

Improved gaming efficiency

Gorgeous OLED touchscreen

The Asus Zenbook S 14 is the smaller sibling to the No. 1 choose on this listing, however it earns a spot right here as a result of its glorious stability of processing energy and battery life. In my testing utilizing Procyon’s battery take a look at (which simulates combined productiveness use), this laptop computer ran for over 16 hours, so you possibly can rely on two or extra work days between recharges. Throughout all of this time, I discovered that it ran very easy, even when working in inventive apps like Adobe Photoshop. In the Microsoft Office suite or any of the Google Drive purposes, you might simply be fooled into pondering that you’re utilizing a laptop computer that prices twice as a lot.

Since its launch, regardless that the bigger display of the Zenbook S 16 has its personal attraction, the ultra-portability of the S 14 makes it a extra compelling alternative for carrying by way of the day. It’s extremely skinny, at lower than a half inch at its thickest level, and weighs simply over 2.5lbs. Carrying it by way of the day was virtually easy, and I by no means had any hassle sliding it right into a packed bag.

It’s even a compelling alternative for mild gaming between conferences. It makes use of the most recent era Intel Core Ultra 7 processor and makes use of Intel Arc graphics – the corporate’s finest built-in graphics but. While it will not compete with a gaming laptop computer utilizing a devoted graphics card, you could be shocked at simply how succesful it’s. If you are prepared to dial again the decision to 1200p, you possibly can simply get video games like Cyberpunk 2077 working between 30 and 60fps. And on its OLED display, you possibly can rely on an actual visible deal with.

6. Apple MacGuide Pro 16-inch (M3 Max)

Best Ultrabook for Creatives

MacBook Pro 16-inch (M3 Max)

Apple MacGuide Pro 16-inch (M3 Max)

The 16-inch MacGuide Pro with the M3 Max chip is probably the most highly effective Mac ever.

Display

16.2″ (3456 x 2234)

Size

14.01″ x 9.77″ x 0.66″

Battery life

Up to 22 hours

Incredibly highly effective for a laptop computer

Thin and relatively mild

Can simply get very costly

For inventive professionals, your best option continues to be the Apple MacGuide Pro based mostly on the testing in our evaluation of the M2 Pro. Apple provides a variety of totally different configurations however for the perfect efficiency when enhancing movies, rendering artwork property, and different heavy responsibility duties, it doesn’t get higher than the highest of the road M3 Max model. It’s extra highly effective than a laptop computer has any proper to be, which is strictly why so {many professional} creators use it.

The MacGuide Pro 16 is a good choose irrespective of which model you select, however certainly one of its property is how configurable it’s. It’s accessible with two totally different tiers of the M3 Max processor (16-core or 18-core), as much as 128GB of reminiscence, and a whopping 8TB of storage. If you desire a MacGuide Pro 16 however aren’t considering placing the pedal all the best way to the ground, the usual M3 Pro model begins a whopping $1,500 cheaper and is greater than sufficient for many creators. The greatest disadvantage is the default SSD, which is barely 512GB as a substitute of a full terabyte just like the M3 Max variations, so chances are you’ll must look into exterior storage. Every model comes with the identical stunning liquid retina display, which is extensively thought to be probably the greatest shows on any laptop computer accessible right this moment.

It’s not all about energy: The accessible software program and inventive instruments are the opposite half of what makes this such a sensible choice. Apple has been a go-to alternative for inventive purposes for a few years, so there’s a deep ecosystem of apps it doesn’t matter what your inventive bent is. You may even add licenses for Logic and Final Cut Pro once you checkout by way of Apple.

Just saying: Windows machines can nonetheless be nice for inventive work, and selecting a Windows machine additionally circumvents the MacGuide Pro’s walled backyard strategy to software program and {hardware}. It’s the MacGuide’s greatest hurdle – you’re shopping for into the Apple ecosystem, which implies usually having restricted selections for supporting peripherals. Still, it’s a sacrifice many inventive professionals discover worthwhile for its highly effective instruments.

How We Chose the Best Ultrabooks

To discover the perfect ultrabooks, we first outline what qualities an ultrabook must should, a) be an ultrabook as a substitute of a traditional, if light-weight, laptop computer; and, b) be probably the greatest selections you should purchase right this moment. Any ultrabook must be skinny, mild, and have prolonged battery life. It must be devoted to high-performance productiveness, and if it could actually play video games, that’s icing on the cake.

To kind our listing, we first evalutate the ultrabooks that we’ve reviewed and frolicked with. With these early contenders written down, we seek the advice of different knowledgeable sources from throughout the net and look into main choices from noteworthy manufacturers (an ever-growing listing). Critical impressions from business consultants are essential, particularly as they relate to our first standards, and benchmark scores and actual world impressions are all thought of. We then flip to the neighborhood, poring over consumer opinions, Reddit suggestions, and cautionary tales to seek out the ultrabooks which might be enhancing the lives of actual customers each day.

After compiling a listing of the perfect selections, we break that down into key classes to assist suggest the perfect ultrabook to you, it doesn’t matter what type of consumer you might be. Whether you’re a piece by day, recreation by evening type of consumer, a scholar, or a enterprise skilled that wants a reliable pocket book to hold them by way of the day with out weighing them down, we now have the perfect picks, proper right here on this listing.

Things to Consider When Shopping for an Ultrabook

Buying an ultrabook just isn’t a minor funding, so that you shouldn’t rush when making your choice. Before taking a look at ultrabooks, you’ll need to set your most funds – this implies you received’t exceed what you possibly can afford, permitting you to configure the proper ultrabook to fit your wants. If you’re on a decrease funds, chances are you’ll must sacrifice extra highly effective specs. Rather than taking a look at ultrabooks with 16GB of DDR5 RAM, for instance, you might drop all the way down to 8GB of DDR5 and even DDR4 RAM to save lots of a bit of cash.

Similarly, should you’re not fussed about utilizing your ultrabook to play AAA video games, built-in graphics like Intel Iris XE Graphics or Intel Arc Graphics can be a lot appropriate. Rather than forking out on an Nvidia RTX GPU, you possibly can spend your cash elsewhere on different parts and options.

However, should you do have the funds to go huge, then you definitely’ll need to select an ultrabook that’s extra futureproof. With the most recent era of {hardware}, your ultrabook will last more and received’t should be upgraded as usually. A 14th Gen i5 or i7 CPU or an AMD Ryzen 7000 or 9000 collection processor with RTX 4000-series or AMD Radeon 7000-series GPU is a good place to begin.

FAQs

What is an ultrabook laptop computer?

Intel coined the time period “ultrabook” again in 2011 to explain laptops which might be exceptionally skinny, mild, and use highly effective {hardware}. These days, the time period will get thrown round a bit extra broadly to embody laptops that aren’t essentially probably the most highly effective, however are exceptionally transportable and are highly effective sufficient to simply accomplish day-to-day productiveness duties with ease. Most ultrabooks additionally supply prolonged battery life to allow them to reliably get by way of a full eight-hour work day with out dying on you.

Is a MacGuide thought of an ultrabook?

While a MacGuide isn’t technically an ultrabook as a result of it’s made by Apple, it could possibly be thought of a kind of ultrabook. MacBooks are highly effective but light-weight laptops working on Apple’s macOS.

Are ultrabooks good for gaming?

Ultrabooks aren’t gaming laptops, so if fragging enemies or gaining ranges is your bread and butter, you’ll be higher suited with one of many finest gaming laptops. With that in thoughts, should you’re prepared to play at decrease graphics settings or resolutions, it’s definitely doable to play video games on many more moderen ultrabooks. Intel and AMD have made strides with the built-in gaming capabilities of its processors. Cloud gaming is one other viable possibility that tends to work very nicely on ultrabooks, however requires a subscription to Xbox Game Pass, Nvidia GeForce Now, or different associated game-hosting providers.

Christopher Coke has been an everyday contributor to IGN since 2019 and has been protecting video games and expertise since 2013. He has coated tech starting from gaming controllers to graphics playing cards, gaming chairs and gaming displays, headphones, IEMs, and extra for websites corresponding to MMORPG.com, Tom’s Hardware, Popular Science, USA Today’s Reviewed, and Popular Mechanics. He is the present material knowledgeable on laptops for IGN, personally protecting most laptop computer opinions. Find Chris on Twitter @gamebynight.





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