The best ultraportables are featherweight, thin laptops packing high-efficiency processors for snappy performance and all-day battery life, with cutting-edge materials trimming off the ounces. Not all models have all that, though, so which ones make the right trade-offs? That's where PCMag comes in. We've been keen reviewers for over 40 years, as luggables shrank to laptops, then to today's sleek designs. We review more than 100 laptops a year, and our analysts use their expertise, plus repeatable benchmark testing, to evaluate raw CPU and graphics speeds, display quality, battery life, connectivity, and overall value. Our current top pick for the best ultraportable for most people is the Asus Zenbook 14 OLED Touch, for its brilliant display, punchy CPU, and long battery life. We've also outlined more tested, vetted recommendations for different scenarios and budgets. Read on for those, plus deep buying advice and a handy spec comparison.

Though ultraportable laptops as a class may look sleek, quite a few key differentiators distinguish models from one another. The first to consider is price. You'll see a huge difference between a system that costs $400 and one that costs $1,300, even if they boast the same brand name and similar looks and features.

At the low end are entry-level systems that generally run $500 or less. For many casual users, this is the only price range worth looking at, but keep certain caveats in mind. The processing power, display resolution, and storage capacities are usually lower on inexpensive ultraportables, and the construction can be on the flimsy side. The weight for these models also ranges up to four pounds.

Entry-level ultraportables make solid systems for younger family members to use for homework or watching movies around the house, since they are both highly portable and relatively inexpensive. Value is a big factor in this category, as plenty of budget ultraportables can entice you with a low price. If you're not careful, you may find yourself let down by a system that's a bargain only because its manufacturer cut too many corners.

(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)

That said, the spec floor has risen in this category. As faster base parts become less expensive and more common, cheaper systems with decent build quality have become more capable. Your average $500 laptop has become quite adequate for simple tasks such as web browsing, word processing, and media viewing on the go.

Midrange systems are better, but by definition they also cost more, ranging from about $500 to $1,250. Materials and specs that were once exclusive to high-end ultraportables are now the norms in midrange systems, including features such as full HD (1,920-by-1,080-pixel) or even QHD (2,560-by-1,440-pixel) resolutions, touch displays, and metal chassis. Battery life and storage have improved, as well, making it easier to get a better bang for your buck in this price range. You'll still have to compromise in one or two areas (such as storage capacity, port options, and resolution) compared with the high-end systems, but for most shoppers, this price range represents the best mix of price and performance.

At the top of the price ladder are premium ultraportables, which we categorize as anything costing $1,250 or more. With these high-end systems come choice materials, cutting-edge components and features, and top performance that will speed up photo editing and other productivity tasks. Here, you'll also see 3K- or- 4K-resolution displays, quality sound hardware (often from familiar brands like Bang & Olufsen), spacious and speedy storage, and other exciting features, all while the system's form factor remains slim and compact.

Many premium business laptops also fall into this class, due to specialized remote management and corporate features. This pricing tier yields the best overall user experience, the most features and port options, and the fastest internal hardware, but not every premium system is created equal. And when you're spending this much money, do you want second best? If you have the budget and will be spending a lot of time on your laptop, it may very well pay to invest in quality.

Which Processor Should I Get in an Ultraportable?

For smooth performance and a good user experience, you'll want to be choosy about your processor. Even in a less-expensive system, the average processor is more capable than ever of handling routine tasks, but if you need speed, select carefully. At the top of the heap are Intel's Core i5 and Core i7 processors, which can be found in midrange and premium models.

In 2023, we saw the release of Intel's 13th Gen "Raptor Lake" CPUs for laptops, which dominated that year of ultraportables. Most ultraportables in this generation used Intel's P- and U-class chips, which are made for thin-and-light laptops that require power, but that may not have the same thermal headroom you'd find in larger systems with more robust cooling. For 12th and 13th Gen chips, the distinctions are between those 28-watt (W) "P" series and 15W or 9W "U" series processors.

The P series is meant for premium power machines, while the U series is destined for traditional ultraportables, with the lowest-wattage chips meant for tablets and foldables. The more powerful "H" and "HX" series chips are less commonly found in ultraportables, reserved for larger systems and gaming laptops. Most laptops pair these chips with 16GB of main system memory, though budget-friendlier models will stick with 8GB.

Here in 2024, those 12th and 13th Gen Intel chips now co-exist in new laptops with the latest iteration of Intel chips, dubbed Core Ultra (or "Meteor Lake" during development). They are here in a limited way, mostly in a subset of premium ultraportables, with updated architecture and a new naming convention.

(Credit: Molly Flores)

If you aren't set on using Intel CPUs, you may be more interested in the many models that feature AMD processors. AMD chips are usually designed to compete directly with Intel, so you'll see chip designs that match the Intel CPUs mentioned above. Particularly, the Ryzen 7000 and "Hawk Point" Ryzen 8000 series drive speedy productivity performance without the need for bulky fans or beefy batteries.

If you aren't sure how to judge the chip used in the system you're considering, take a look at our reviews (particularly the results of our benchmark tests) to see how it will fare in real-world conditions. Like Intel's Core line, AMD's Ryzen chips now come in U-series designs (for ultraportables) and H-series ones (for thicker, more powerful laptops). We have a deeper explainer on laptop processors here if you want to dive into the real nitty-gritty.

Finally, at the low end, are Intel's now-phasing-out Pentium processors and new "vanilla" chips dubbed "Intel Processors" in its N series. These budget processors are inexpensive and energy-efficient, but they're often paired with lesser RAM allotments (as low as 4GB). Power users will find themselves frustrated by slow performance. You can probably make do if you're a casual user and not multitasking much. Still, consider one of these only in the very cheapest laptops.

None of this applies to Apple laptops. Apple shifted away from Intel hardware a few years back, moving in stages to its own processor designs for the entire MacBook line. The latest MacBook Air and MacBook Pro models use the newest M3 chips from the third generation of Apple's homegrown CPUs. Given their tested performance, we've been impressed with every processor in the Apple Silicon lineup, making these recent MacBooks a safe bet for shoppers who can afford them and are cool with macOS.

(Credit: Brian Westover)

Also, with the M3, M3 Pro, and M3 Max now in the wild, Apple uses its own-design processors in all of its current-model laptops. That makes for less complexity when choosing among Apple models, but if you're currently a Windows user, you will have to decide whether the M3's impressive speed (especially with specially written native software) is worth making the switch to macOS.

Which Graphics Processor (GPU) Should I Get in an Ultraportable?

Also important is the graphics processor, aka the GPU. Most ultraportable systems rely on integrated graphics, whose graphics processing hardware is silicon on-die alongside the CPU cores. (Gaming laptops, on the other hand, use a dedicated GPU, a separate chip devoted to rendering graphics with higher frame rates and more detailed textures.) The integrated graphics capability fits productivity and casual media work, but not running current PC games or powering involved photo and video editing.

Since 2022, Intel has equipped most of its CPUs with Intel Iris Xe graphics, first introduced in 2020 on its higher-end chips. While initially reserved only for Intel's top-end Core i7 and Core i9 CPUs, Intel has made Iris the standard integrated GPU for all Core chips in recent years.

(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)

However, Intel's latest Core Ultra processors step up the integrated graphics even more with Intel Arc Graphics, a scaled-down version of Intel's dedicated Arc GPUs. The performance edges closer to what you'd get from a low-end dedicated GPU a few years back.

Additionally, Apple has pushed integrated graphics to new performance heights on the latest M3 processors. Top-end Mac laptops no longer use discrete third-party GPUs; all have multi-core GPU hardware on the same chip die as the CPU, sharing in the main system memory. These combined CPU/GPU hybrids blur the line between integrated and discrete graphics, but the difference is still easy to see in the price tag, especially in high-end current MacBooks. At the entry level, though, the performance of the base M3 chip is quite similar to Intel's current Iris Xe Graphics.

(Credit: Molly Flores)

If you want to do more with media and play games at higher settings and frame rates, you'll need a discrete graphics chip, like the mobile versions of Nvidia's GeForce RTX graphics cards. These GPUs require more power and cooling, and as such are generally only seen in gaming laptops or bulkier desktop-replacement notebooks. By and large, they're seen in relatively few ultraportables. The most travel-friendly systems are not suited to gaming, so don't expect the integrated graphics to suffice for playing much more than a few less-demanding games on lower-detail settings.

How Much Storage Should I Get in an Ultraportable?

Speedy hardware is all well and good, but you also need somewhere to keep all your digital stuff. For almost all ultraportables now, this means a solid-state drive (SSD). These compact, flash-based storage devices are weight savers and immune to data loss from shock or bumps because they don't have any moving parts, which is ideal for systems doing a lot of traveling.

Nowadays, almost all SSDs in laptops (when they're not soldered down) use an SSD form factor called M.2, which is much smaller than your traditional 2.5-inch SATA SSD. Smaller connectors allow smaller designs, which makes them a perfect fit for an ultraportable. Now, most such M.2-connected drives use a PCI Express (PCIe) bus connection for faster data transfer, and thus faster overall performance. Very thin ultraportable designs, though, may just solder the storage directly to the motherboard for even greater space efficiencies. (You can't upgrade those SSDs. What you buy is what you're stuck with.)

(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)

A 256GB or 512GB capacity for SSD storage is common on midrange and high-end ultraportables. It's nice to have a bit more than 256GB, but boosting SSD capacity still tends to be pricey, and the cost can jump if you opt for a larger 1TB option if the manufacturer offers it. A 512GB drive is a good happy medium for most; a 256GB drive will suffice for many users, though, especially if you won't be storing large media projects on this type of computer.

While SSDs are the most common storage format for ultraportables, you will see two other storage options used on less-expensive systems. Some low-cost ultralight laptops use an embedded MultiMediaCard (eMMC), a form of solid-state storage sometimes (mis)identified as an SSD in product specs but with flash memory like the kind used on memory cards. As such, it's slower and a lot smaller in capacity (32GB to 128GB) than a standard SSD. You'll generally find this type of storage only on the very cheapest Windows laptops and in many Chromebooks.

Finally, a (very) few budget-minded systems still use old-school spinning hard drives, though the presence of one as the boot drive signals an older or remaindered model at this point. These drives are less expensive than SSDs, and they offer substantially more room for your files for the money—you will often see hard drives with capacities of 500GB or more. You won't get nearly the same speedy performance as with an SSD, but lots of storage space is a plus. Given ever-thinner designs, however, makers of ultraportables have almost entirely phased out bulky hard drives at this point.

What Is the Best Kind of Display in an Ultraportable?

Let's go from what's inside a typical ultraportable to the most visible aspect of the exterior: the screen.

Ultraportables' displays come in an increasingly varied array of resolutions, from now-humdrum 720p (1,366 by 768 pixels) in the very cheapest budget models, to full HD (1,920 by 1,080 pixels) as the mainstream norm, to Ultra HD or 4K (3,840 by 2,160 pixels), with a few nonstandard resolutions peppered between full HD and UHD.

Lower-resolution screens are most frequently found in entry-level systems simply because they're the least expensive option. They work well enough for reading and typing text, and YouTube often defaults to something lower than full HD, anyway, so less discerning users can get by just fine. But a 1,366-by-768-pixel screen is best avoided in a new laptop with a screen 13 inches or larger.

Full HD (often referred to as 1080p or 1200p) screens are what you should expect on many budget systems, all midrange models, and some premium ultraportables. The 1080p display is standard enough that even most cheaper options now offer them, a far cry from the situation just a few years ago when a much grainier 1,366 by 768 was the norm. These displays are better equipped for multitasking since you can fit more readable text and two side-by-side windows onto a 13- or 14-inch 1080p screen. This is a sharp, true full-HD resolution, ideal for most daily use and video playback.

(Credit: Molly Flores)

Ultra HD is currently the resolution of choice for the highest-end ultraportables and models for content-creation pros. As 4K screens have four times the resolution of a full HD display, you can fit a lot onto them. The sheer number of pixels requires more power, however, and 4K-equipped systems usually see a significant drop in battery life compared with similar full HD systems. You also have the question of content. Although 4K TVs and displays are becoming increasingly common, 4K content streaming is far from universal (this is slowly improving on some streaming services), and gaming at 4K is way more than any ultraportable can support. At present, these displays are best suited to uses like photo and video editing, but they do look stunning.

Many premium laptops now use QHD or QHD+ screens, which are resolutions that fall between 1080p and 4K. They represent a nice middle ground between expensive, power-draining 4K resolutions and sharp, better-than-HD picture quality, so you should be happy to see QHD or QHD+ on a laptop you're considering buying. In addition, an increasing number of light-laptop makers have moved their ultraportable models to screens with squarer aspect ratios, such as 16:10 or 3:2, away from the much more common 16:9. That's a trend we saw ramping up a couple of years ago, and it's continuing. Additionally, brilliant OLED display technology is making its way into some of our favorite laptop lines.

The other feature to watch for is support for touch input. While touch-capable displays were uncommon just a few years ago, they're now much more of a thing in ultraportables, even in the entry-level and business-laptop categories. Touch technology is useful on a bus or train where you may not have elbow room to use a mouse or touchpad, making it a good match for ultraportables. Even if you don't regularly use touch in your day-to-day computing and don't plan to incorporate it, it may be worth having just so you don't regret the decision not to get it down the road.

Should Your Next Ultraportable Be a 2-in-1?

More and more ultraportables are being released as what we call "convertible hybrids," or 2-in-1s. Some 2-in-1s rotate around the hinge, while others have a separate keyboard base that detaches from the screen. In the former case, these mash-up machines let you enjoy both laptop and tablet functionality, thanks to hinges and swiveling joints that let you bend the display back around to use without a keyboard. More and more manufacturers are adopting the rotating non-detachable design.

(Credit: Molly Flores)

Rotating-hinge convertible devices are laptops first, but they aren't limited to traditional clamshell designs. Because they feature specialized hinges and touch screens, you can also prop them up like a tent, or turn the keyboard facedown so the screen is better positioned for watching a movie or giving a presentation. While convertibles are a category in their own right, the ability to shape-shift naturally lends itself to making a good travel laptop, so you'll see that some of our highest-rated ultraportable laptops are convertibles, too. (See our guide to the best 2-in-1 convertible laptops and detachables.)

Should You Consider a Lightweight Chromebook?

Depending on what you do with your computer, you might find a Chromebook to be one of the best values in ultraportables. A Chromebook is a bare-bones laptop that runs Google's ChromeOS. It limits you to using web apps and Android apps.

(Credit: Molly Flores)

Running ChromeOS means that you won't have access to traditional Windows software, so if that's central to how you work and play, a Chromebook isn't for you. But if you use a web-based email client such as Gmail or Outlook for communications, rely on Google Drive for doing your work, and spend most of your time watching videos on YouTube or playing web games, and you don't expect your needs to change, chances are you'll get along just fine with a Chromebook. Considering that computers of this type can be extraordinarily affordable (most cost $500 or less), you could outfit your family with several Chromebooks for the cost of one high-end Windows ultraportable.

Ready to Buy the Right Ultraportable for You?

With ultraportables available now that are thinner, lighter, and more powerful than ever, you'll find something in this vibrant class of laptops to suit your usage habits and travel needs. For more detail, check out our component-by-component spec breakout of the top ultraportables we've tested. We refresh the list constantly to include the newest products, but because of the large number of laptops we review every year, not every top-rated product makes the cut. Rest assured, though: These are all winners in their own ways.