Finest ultraportable laptops 2023: Finest total, greatest battery life, and extra

If portability is a prime precedence of yours, then investing in an ultraportable laptop computer is the best way to go. This class of laptops are exceedingly skinny, light-weight, and customarily have good battery life. Nonetheless, whereas they could share sure important traits, ultraportables can nonetheless differ enormously. From the components they use, to the trade-offs they make to realize ultraportability, to the construct high quality, it’s vital to know what mixture of options make one of the best ultraportable laptops.
Battery life, ergonomics, and specs are all worthy of consideration. Mainly, the laptop computer must carry out effectively and journey simply. However when you’re feeling overwhelmed by all the alternatives on the market, don’t sweat it, as we’ve accomplished a lot of the heavy lifting for you. See our suggestions beneath for the ultraportable laptops that our professional reviewers have deemed greatest.
For much more shopping for suggestions, see our roundup of one of the best laptops, which covers the total vary of laptop computer sizes, costs, and functions.
Up to date 01/24/2023: Try our newest overview of the HP Dragonfly Folio G3. Whereas costly, it’s a compelling enterprise 2-in-1 with a well-designed keyboard and trackpad in addition to respectable efficiency. Additionally, be certain to check out our overview of the Acer Swift Edge. At solely 2.5 kilos and 0.55 inches thick, it’s impossibly slim and light-weight. It additionally comes with a stunning 16-inch 4K OLED show.
Dell XPS 13 Plus – Finest ultraportable total

Professionals
- Quick CPU
- Beautiful 3.5K OLED
- Nice audio
Cons
- Solely two USB-C Ports
- Middling battery efficiency
- No headset jack
MSRP:
From $1,299 | Mannequin reviewed $2,099
Between the modern efficiency and a surprising OLED panel, the Dell XPS 13 Plus is the cream of the crop amongst ultraportables. The Intel Core i7-1280P CPU has a formidable 14 cores, which implies you may anticipate quick processing efficiency. It’s greater than able to whizzing via photograph modifying work in addition to general-use duties. This machine additionally comes geared up with Intel Xe graphics, 16GB of RAM, and 512GB of SSD storage. Along with the spectacular inner elements, we actually favored the 13.4-inch OLED touchscreen. It has a decision of 3456×2160, so you may anticipate a pointy and vibrant image. That stated, connectivity is restricted and battery life is mediocre. For those who can forgive these limitations, then the Dell XPS 13 Plus is an efficient choice for most individuals.
Learn our full
Evaluate Dell XPS 13 Plus 9320
HP Pavilion Plus 14 – Finest finances choice

Professionals
- OLED show is attractive
- Glossy, all-metal chassis
- Robust multimedia efficiency
Cons
- Woeful battery life
- Onboard reminiscence can’t be expanded post-purchase
- Low distinction between keys and key symbols
The HP Pavilion Plus 14 is essentially the most budget-friendly choice on this checklist. The OLED show is beautiful and the all-metal chassis is each sturdy and stylish. Beneath the hood, you’ll discover an Intel Core i7-12700H CPU, Intel Iris Xe built-in graphics, 16GB of RAM, and 1TB of PCIe NVMe SSD storage. That’s sufficient energy for productiveness work, to not point out general-use duties. The 14-inch OLED show has a decision of 2880×1800, a side ratio of 16:10, and a 90Hz refresh fee. In accordance with our tester, the show produces “unimaginable distinction and deep blacks” in addition to a “sharp image” total. That stated, battery life is lower than stellar. However when you’re trying to avoid wasting cash on an ultraportable with respectable specs, then the HP Pavilion Plus 14 is effectively value contemplating.
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Evaluate HP Pavilion Plus 14
Samsung Galaxy Book2 Professional 360 – Finest battery life

Professionals
- Giant, high-contrast OLED display screen
- Improbable battery life
- High-notch Twelfth-gen Core efficiency
Cons
- Common keyboard
- Webcam doesn’t fairly ship as anticipated
- Fingerprint reader wanted re-authentication
- Tons of further apps
For those who’re on the hunt for an ultraportable with glorious battery life, the Samsung Galaxy Book2 Professional 360 could also be your greatest guess. After we ran our battery benchmark, which cycles via a bunch of various duties and movies, the Professional 360 lasted 14 hours on a single cost. And, regardless of the hefty 67 watt-hour battery inside, the machine itself nonetheless manages to weigh just a bit over three kilos. As for the interior elements, it has an Intel Core i7-1260P CPU, Intel Iris Xe built-in graphics, 16GB of RAM, and 1TB of SSD storage. That’s loads of oomph for multitasking, media modifying, spreadsheet work, and so forth. The 15.6-inch AMOLED show has a decision of 1920×1080, which is completely wonderful for many duties. For ports, you’re getting three USB Sort-C, one microSD, and one 3.5mm audio jack. For those who’re a frequent traveler and want a laptop computer that’ll final you greater than a full work day, the Samsung Galaxy Book2 Professional 360 is a good selection.
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Evaluate Samsung Galaxy Book2 Professional 360
Lenovo Slim 7 Professional X – Finest for gaming

Professionals
- Engaging, strong design
- Skinny profile, low weight
- Pleasurable keyboard and touchpad
- Wonderful processor efficiency
Cons
- No Thunderbolt 4, Ethernet, or devoted video-out
- Show is sharp, however falls behind OLED alternate options
- Battery life is barely behind the pack
MSRP:
$1,399 (baseline) | $1,765 (as reviewed)
The Lenovo Slim 7 Professional is one thing of a jewel among the many sand dunes in that it’s an ultraportable able to working video games. It has a discrete graphics card, which normally takes up fairly a little bit of area inside a laptop computer. Nonetheless, the 7 Professional nonetheless manages to remain comparatively light-weight at somewhat over three kilos. It additionally has a spacious keyboard with full-sized keys. In accordance with our tester, the “key really feel is superb regardless of modest key journey, with a brief however exact throw that bottoms out in a springy, tactile motion.” Whereas we love the keyboard and strong design, let’s take a fast peek at a very powerful bit: the center. It’s packing an AMD Ryzen 6900HS CPU, an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 with 55 watt TDP, 32GB of RAM, and 1TB of SSD storage. This laptop computer is packing quantity of energy and may be capable of deal with some gaming in addition to productiveness duties.
Learn our full
Evaluate Lenovo Slim 7 Professional X
Acer Aspire Vero 14 – Finest eco-friendly choice

Professionals
- Peppy efficiency
- Robust battery life
- Thunderbolt 4
- Eco-friendly supplies
- Handy, quick fingerprint reader
Cons
- Bloatware
- Weak audio system
- Soldered-on RAM, not upgradeable
In a aggressive subject of ultraportables the Acer Aspire Vero 14 stands out because of its use of post-consumer recycled plastics. Acer has opted to take a singular angle on the design of the Vero 14, which can enchantment to these involved with utilizing extra eco-friendly supplies. Not solely are the usage of recycled supplies a draw, however the design of this ultraportable itself is enticing and features a few distinctive touches. And whereas Acer might have coasted with the eco-friendly enticing design, they determined to truly give it some strong efficiency, too. That includes a Core i7 processor, Iris Xe built-in graphics, 16GB of RAM, and a welcomed 1TB M.2 NVMe SSD, the Vero 14 is a horny ultraportable for the eco-conscious.
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Evaluate Acer Aspire Vero 14
How we examined
The PCWorld staff places every Home windows laptop computer via varied benchmarks that check graphics and processing efficiency, battery life, and so forth. The thought is to push the laptop computer to its limits after which examine it in opposition to others we’ve examined. Under, you’ll discover a breakdown of every check and the the reason why we run them.
Home windows laptops
- PCMark 10: PCMark 10 is how we decide how effectively the laptop computer handles general-use duties like internet shopping, phrase processing, spreadsheets, and so forth. It’s how we simulate on a regular basis use in a selected timeframe.
- HandBrake: HandBrake is extra intensive than PCMark 10. It measures how lengthy a laptop computer’s CPU takes to encode a beefy 30GB file. That is extra like a stress check.
- Cinebench: Cinebench is a short stress check of the CPU cores. It does this by rendering a 2D scene over a brief time period. This benchmark exhibits us how effectively the CPU splits the workload.
- 3DMark: 3DMark checks if 3D efficiency stays constant over time by working graphic-intensive clips. These benchmarks are used on gaming laptops.
- Video rundown check: To gauge battery life, we loop a 4K video utilizing Home windows 10’s Films & TV app till the laptop computer dies. For those who’re an everyday traveler, you’ll desire a battery that may last more than a full work day.
[Looking for something different? Check out our roundup on the best 2-in-1 laptops]
Ultraportables are recognized for being travel-friendly machines because of their slender profiles. Nonetheless, there’s extra to them than their minuscule dimension. For those who’re contemplating shopping for an ultraportable, however don’t know the place to begin, we’ve assembled an easy-to-follow FAQ part. We’ll go over every little thing from battery life to specs.
FAQ
What’s an ultraportable?
Merely put, an ultraportable is a laptop computer that’s compact and light-weight. They normally weigh about three kilos and the display screen dimension is 14-inches or smaller. They’re designed for individuals who take their laptop computer with them wherever they go. Nonetheless, as a technique to cut back the dimensions of those machines, laptop computer producers typically eradicate USB ports and connectors.
How a lot energy do I would like?
For on a regular basis use, we suggest a Twelfth-gen Intel Core i5 CPU, 8GB of RAM, and 512GB of SSD storage. That’s zippy sufficient for spreadsheet work, checking e-mail, and so forth. For those who fancy your self an influence person, we’d recommend springing for a Twelfth-gen Intel Core i7, 16GB of RAM, and 1TB of SSD storage. There aren’t too many ultraportables on the market with discrete graphics, as that might add vital heft to a slimmed-down machine.
What about battery life?
Relating to ultraportables, battery life is among the extra vital elements to contemplate. Whether or not you’re touring for work or private causes, you don’t need to be caught with a lifeless laptop computer. We’d suggest a laptop computer that may final anyplace from 12 to 14 hours on a single cost. That’s greater than a full work day.