Ultrabooks are very stylish and well-designed, but they offer more than just nice aesthetics. But which one is best for you? In this article, we’ll break down the top 5 best ultrabooks on the market this year based on price versus performance and the situations they’ll be used in. So whether you’re looking for an ultrabook for school, work, casual use, or anything in between, stay tuned; we’ll have the perfect option for you. The products are in no exact order, so be sure to stay tuned till the end so you don’t miss anything.
First up is the Dell XPS 13, our pick for the best ultrabook for most people. The Dell XPS 13 comes with Intel’s latest 11th generation CPUs that offer speedy, efficient computing performance and long battery life. And at 2.8 pounds, it’s one of the most portable ultrabooks you can get. The XPS 13’s 13.4-inch touchscreen display offers two configuration options. Choose from a 3.5K OLED with a resolution of 3456 by 2160 or the UHD Plus version with a 3840 by 2400 resolution. The keyboard offers enough travel to keep you feeling comfortable, larger, more responsive keys, and a touchpad that feels quite solid with smooth, accurate operation. When it comes to the internal hardware, you could choose to go with an Intel i3, i5, or i7 processor, each of which is the latest Tiger Lake 11th generation. Integrated graphics are in place, and you can select either Intel UHD or Iris Xe graphics. One of the most important components in determining your system’s performance is the amount of RAM you have installed, and with the XPS 13, you can go with either 8 or 16 gigabytes. For internal storage, you can select an SSD with as little as 246 gigabytes of storage, all the way up to a full terabyte. A simple selection of ports includes two Thunderbolt 4 ports, a 3.5mm headphone mic combo jack, and a microSD card slot. Battery life will give you up to 12 hours on a full charge, easily taking you through a full day of work. If you’re shopping for an ultrabook with a premium look and feel that offers options to tailor the display and internal hardware, the Dell XPS 13 is the best choice for you. This incredibly thin and light Ultrabook is super easy to take anywhere, has a bright, color-accurate display, and is able to handle any task you throw at it.
Next up is the HP Spectre X360 14, our pick for the best overall ultrabook. The HP Spectre X360 14 combines elegance with powerful performance, gorgeous visuals, and long battery life in a 2-in-1 design that adapts to the way you work. The Spectre X360 14 features an aluminum chassis with sturdy hinges that enable you to transform the X360 into a tablet and back again. And when you’re in tablet mode, you’ll get a better overall experience using the included HP Zenvo Tilt Pen. Use the tilt pen for easier interaction and a more natural feel, similar to pen and paper. While the display size of the Spectre X360 is basically the same size as the Dell XPS 13’s display, the X360’s 13.5-inch WUXGA 1920×1280 touchscreen display offers a 3×2 aspect ratio. This gives you additional height for better browsing, working with spreadsheets, or other productivity applications. The keys on the backlit chiclet-style keyboard offer shallow travel, but the action is snappy and bouncy, giving a good level of comfort while using it. The trackpad supports gesture controls, including pinching to zoom, swiping and tapping the screen, and quick scrolling. Computing power stems from an Intel i7 processor with integrated Intel Xe graphics. 16 gigabytes of system RAM are in place, and for file storage, the Spectre x360 gives you plenty of capacity with a 1TB SSD. Connectivity options include two Thunderbolt 4 ports, DisplayPort 1.4, HDMI 2.0, a super-speed USB Type-A port, a headphone mic combo jack, and a microSD card reader. You’ll get up to 12 hours of battery life, and fast charging is also supported, providing about 50% of a full charge in just 45 minutes. If you’ve been shopping around for the best overall two-in-one, your search ends with the HP Spectre X360 14. It offers excellent performance and all-day battery life, and the included Zenvo Tilt Pen offers greater value and will make your interaction in tablet mode a lot more intuitive.
Next up is the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9, our pick for the best ultrabook for business. With more than 15 hours of battery life, generous screen real estate, and great usability, the 9th generation Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon remains the ultrabook of choice for productivity on the go. If your primary uses are editing documents, working with spreadsheets, or writing code, you’re going to want a laptop that feels comfortable to work on and helps you get more done in less time. Lenovo’s ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9 definitely fits that bill. Flipping up the lid reveals the 14-inch IPS touchscreen that offers FHD resolution and 400 nits of brightness, making it suitable for most lighting conditions. Unlike the more shallow key travel offered by both the Dell XPS 13 and HP Spectre X360, the ThinkPad X1 Carbon has excellent key travel with roomy key spacing. The trackpad is very responsive and supports finger gestures and swipes. To control the cursor and scrolling, you can also use the red trackpoint button that’s centered between the G, H, and B keys. Business users will also appreciate the X1 Carbon’s security features, including a fingerprint reader, a shutter on the webcam, and a Kensington Lock slot. Internal hardware includes an Intel i7 processor backed by Intel integrated Iris Xe graphics. 16GB of RAM is installed, and for storage, there’s a 512GB SSD. Connectivity options include two USB-C Thunderbolt 4 ports, two USB-A ports, an HDMI 2.0 port, and a 3.5mm mic headphone combo jack. Battery life is exceptional and is rated for up to 16.7 hours on a full charge, which is great if you’re a frequent business traveler. If you’re looking for a powerful ultrabook that’s well-suited for business use, the 9th generation Lenovo ThinkPad X1 carbon laptop is a solid choice. This laptop is built to last, offers several useful security features, and has the portability that makes it perfect for commuters, business travelers, or anyone who wants productivity on the go.
Next up is the Dell XPS 179710, our pick for the most powerful ultrabook. The Dell XPS 179710 is an impressive ultrabook that’s a capable choice for creative professionals looking for a powerful machine with a large display that will make their intensive workloads a little lighter. You’ll get workstation-grade power in a thin, sleek chassis, and with the Infinity Edge display, the thick bottom bezel is greatly reduced, giving you more screen area that’s just as perfect for serious multitasking as it is for enjoying your favorite movies and TV shows. The 17-inch UHD Plus touch display has a resolution of 3840 by 2400, a 16 by 10 aspect ratio, and is even brighter than the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9 at 500 nits. The keyboard offers deep 1.3mm travel, and the comfortable feel you’ll get from using it is enhanced by its snappy feedback and soft touch coding. The large 6-inch by 3.5-inch touchpad supports gestures and offers smooth operation. For great performance, the XPS179710 runs an Intel i7 processor that will give you the computing power you need for almost any task. This ultrabook goes beyond the integrated graphics that we saw with the HP Spectre X36014 and the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9 with a discrete NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 graphics card. To keep the system fluid, the XPS 17 is equipped with a whopping 64GB of RAM, and for internal storage, a 4TB SSD is installed. If you want to keep the price down, there are lower configuration options available, starting at 16GB of RAM with a 1TB SSD. For connecting peripherals and other devices, this Ultrabook is equipped with four Thunderbolt 4 ports and a universal audio jack. Battery life will give you about 8 hours of uptime. If you’re looking for an ultrabook with a large screen and plenty of computing power, it’s hard to beat the Dell XPS 179710. Not only is it powerful, but it’s thin and light too, so you can plow through your productivity and creative tasks on the go.
Last but not least, the Asus ZenBook 13 is our pick for the best ultrabook for the money. With stellar performance from an Intel i7 processor, the latest Asus ZenBook 13 is an excellent blend of lightweight and maximum performance in an ultrabook. With a thickness of just half an inch and weighing in at just two and a half pounds, this is a seriously lightweight ultrabook. Opening it up shows the 13.3-inch Full HD OLED display that delivers excellent brightness and stunning color. One of the display’s most prominent attributes is its contrast ratio. At one million to one, the ZenBook 13 offers many times the contrast of a typical LED panel, creating inkier blacks and richer colors. The ability to display the entire DCI-P3 color gamut will definitely appeal to professionals who need super-accurate color correction. The keyboard is comfortable and stable, with 1.4mm of travel, which is on par with the Dell XPS 1797 X’s 1.3mm. The touchpad is large, which is nice, and tapping and clicking prove to be fairly accurate. The touchpad also offers a handy calculator function, with virtual buttons embedded in the pad that light up when you press the upper right corner. Internal hardware includes an Intel i7 processor, and like the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen9, HP Spectre X360 14, and Dell XPS 13, it is equipped with integrated graphics, in this case Intel Iris Plus graphics. 16GB of RAM is installed, and for file storage, the ZenBook 13 offers a speedy 512GB SSD. The port selection includes two USB-C ports, a USB-A port, a full-size HDMI 2.1 port, and a microSD card reader. The battery capacity will give you up to 13 hours of use on a full charge. If you’re looking for an ultrabook that’s super light, has very good battery life, and has all the power you need to handle your multitasking and productivity work, the Asus ZenBook 13 is a solid choice. The only downside is the lack of a 3.5mm headphone jack, but that’s nothing a pair of Bluetooth headphones can’t handle.
