These are the best lightweight laptops for young professionals
Working on the move has become an unavoidable part of our hectic modern world. Keep your edge with these state-of-the-art gadgets...
Words: Izzie Price
Whether you’re dashing off emails from an airport lounge or scaling up your start-up from a coffee shop, the ability to work from anywhere — at any time — has become a necessity of modern business life. We took a break during lockdown, of course. Working from busy trains, planes and even Ubers took a much-needed break, and our bedrooms and dining tables took the laptop hit.
But now, we’re back to work: both to the office and to flexible, motion-orientated working patterns. As the work landscape becomes ever more mobile (both corporate and creative; flexi-working is a state from which few industries will emerge unscathed), it’s crucial to invest in gadgetry that allows for many and varied working arrangements; so here are the lightweight laptops that won’t break your back along the way.
Asus Zenbook Duo 14 (UX482)
It’s trim; it’s lightweight; in short, it’s everything you’d look for in a lightweight laptop of supreme, unrivalled quality. The brand’s stellar Zenbook range seems to be going from strength to strength, with a string of stylish, lighter-than-air portable machines; and this particular iteration is no exception.
The main selling point here is the utter lack of fuss involved, when it comes to powering up and working away. You can rest assured your working day will be blissfully calm (at least when it comes to the technological side); and it includes the new tilting ScreenPad Plus, which automatically tilts to a 7 degree angle. This makes it even slimmer (by 3mm) than the previous generation, and reduces any unwanted glare. Those ultraslim bezels, finally, give a staggering 93% screen-t0-body ratio.
Lenovo Yoga 9i (15" Intel)
As flexible as the name suggests, the popular Lenovo Yoga was a pioneer in the burgeoning ‘2-in-1’ laptop market: offering the ability to fold back its screen, and function as a tablet in times of need (which — let’s be frank — is most of the time, in our new hybrid working landscape).
The glossy 9i features a UHD display that can reach up to 15.6″; so its visuals are unparalleled. It’s lighter than the proverbial air, of course; and its supreme flexibility, all clad in an aesthetically pleasing metal chassis, will put even your most pretzel-like yoga poses to shame. When we say you can use it anywhere, we really mean anywhere; and two high-speed USB-C Thunderbolt connectors will keep you linked with the very latest state-of-the-art gadgets.
Dell XPS 13 2-in-1 Laptop
When it comes to this stellar 2-in-1 offering, there isn’t really anything it can’t offer. Its weight starts at a mere 1.32 kg (that’s light, gents); and its cool aesthetic is matched by its cool interior: the separation of the dual fans means they can cover more area, not to mention the internal vapour chamber and hidden exhaust venting: so performance is increased whilst the temperature stays blissfully chilled.
The refined InfinityEdge display has triumphantly debuted a 16:10 display. You know what this means: a vastly improved screen to body ratio, together with a supreme edge-to-edge view. And with a variable torque hinge design, your serene, efficient day on your laptop will begin the second you lift it open. It’s easily portable, yes; but if one thing’s for sure, it’s that Dell has proven the simple technological truth that going portable doesn’t mean ditching quality. Quite the opposite.
HP EliteBook x360 1040
When it comes to the title, ‘elite’ is right. In fact, there may never have been a laptop so aptly named as this particular machine. The days of planning where you’ll work depending on what your laptop can handle are long gone; this is a lightweight laptop that fits around you, not the other way round.
Lightweight’s an understatement, really; ‘ultralight’ would be a better descriptor for this wafer-thin laptop. It’s frankly amazing that such a slim machine can do the things this one can; but, then, HP isn’t a leading provider for nothing. You’ll be able to power through your workload with Windows 10 Pro; but where this laptop really comes into its own is security. The HP Sure View Reflect gives the screen a copper reflective finish when viewed from the side; so those top-secret emails can be sent and received in peace. Plus, HP Sure Sense offers outstanding protection against advanced malware.
MacBook Air
Apple’s iconic range of computers and tablets manage to be both outwardly stylish and offer the industry standard for running design and editing software. And the founding father of lightweight laptops — namely, the MacBook Air — is no different; which is why this effortlessly slender laptop is the one you’re most likely to see propped up on train tables and in cafes across the world.
The world-famous Apple M1 Chip has an 8-core CPU and a 16-core Neural Engine, which makes it both light and sleekly, speedily efficient; and with a True Tone retina display (not to mention the backlit keyboard), it’s easy on the eyes, too.
More of a books man? This autumn, immerse yourself in ‘Slim Aarons: Style’…
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