CNET reviews: Best lightweight laptops
MacBook Air is only 2.7 pounds but more powerful than its predecessor thanks to Apple's M3 silicon chips. Credit: CNET/Josh Goldman
Some laptops are designed to be left at home, acting like desktop computers that you can lug from room to room. Other laptops place a priority on portability, where they are light enough to be tossed in your bag for daily commutes and regular travel, allowing you to return home at the end of the day without a sore shoulder.
These are CNET editors' favorite lightweight laptops we’ve tested in the past year, and they span a variety of screen sizes, from 13 to 16 inches.
WHAT M3 MacBook Air (2.7 pounds)
THE COST From $1,099
AVAILABLE FROM apple.com
For Apple's latest MacBook Air, little has changed from its predecessor beyond a move from Apple's M2 silicon to M3 chips. The performance differences between the two are modest, but graphics performance gets a notable bump. The biggest feature additions are faster Wi-Fi 6E support and the capability to run dual external displays, albeit at the cost of having the Air's lid closed.
The 13.6-inch Liquid Retina display is beautiful, and the MacBook Air chassis is both thin and rigid. With its mix of portability and build quality, performance and battery life, the M3 Air is the best laptop for most people.
WHAT Microsoft Surface Laptop 7 (2.96 pounds)
THE COST From $909.99
AVAILABLE FROM microsoft.com
The Surface Laptop 7 reverses earlier Arm-on-Windows efforts that were plagued by lackluster performance and limited compatibility. This time around, performance has improved, and so has compatibility plus its battery life is bonkers.
That luxuriously long run time combined with a sub-3-pound weight makes the 13.8-inch Surface Laptop 7 a near-perfect travelmate. (If only there was an OLED display option.) You’ll need to do a compatibility check for your mission-critical applications before embracing the Arm-based Surface Laptop 7, but if you can get past those hurdles, then you’ll get a lightweight and long-running Windows ultraportable.
WHAT Lenovo Yoga 9i 14 Gen 9 (2.9 pounds)
THE COST $1,449.99
AVAILABLE FROM lenovo.com
Lenovo's premium two-in-one convertible is extremely thin, light and compact. It doesn't look drastically different from Lenovo's midrange Yoga 7 convertible but is significantly lighter. The lighter weight has the obvious advantage of easing your burden when traveling with the machine, but it also makes the two-in-one more manageable in tablet mode.
Also elevating the Lenovo Yoga 9i is its high-res 2.8K OLED display and the impressive sound you get from its unique, rotating soundbar hinge. Its audio/video output is outstanding and gives this versatile machine a boost as an entertainment device.
The following CNET staff contributed to this story: senior editor Matt Elliott, managing editor Josh Goldman and copy editor Jim Hoffman. For more reviews of personal technology products, visit cnet.com.
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