Best slim laptops: An ultimate guide for travellers

What's that one thing commuters care about the most in a notebook? It's the slimness and weight of their portable device! Continue reading this buyers' guide as we will be looking at the best slim laptops you can purchase in 2022.

Do you commute a lot? If yes, it's a no-brainer that you care about your laptop's slimness. And now that the WFH lifestyle is almost over, buyers' need for a slim laptop – with a bonus of good battery life – has increased. If you are one of them, here's our list of the 10 best slim laptops that are comfortable to carry daily.

10 best slim laptops you can buy right now

01. HP Pavilion 14 with AMD Ryzen 5500U

Ranking the #1 in our list, the HP Pavilion 14 is just 17 millimetres thin and weighs 1.41 Kg. Equipped with a Ryzen 5 550U, 8GB memory, and 512GB SSD, this machine is not just superbly portable but powerful as well. Pair it with a 14-inch FHD IPS display, and you get a laptop that doesn’t skip specs. Not to mention, it comes with Windows 11.

Features and Specifications

· Processor: AMD Ryzen 5550U up to 4.0GHz

· Graphics: Integrated AMD Radeon Graphics

· System Memory: 8GB DDR4, Dual Channel

· Storage: 512GB PCIe NVMe SSD

· Thickness and weight: 17 millimetres at 1.41 Kgs

02. Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3 with 11th Gen Intel Core i3-1114G4

Superior portability is expected from a model with "Slim" in its name. For our #2 best slim laptop, we have chosen the Lenovo IdeaPad 3, which comes with an 11th Gen Core i3-1115G4 processor. At just 20 millimetres with a weight of 1.41 Kg, this laptop can be comfortably carried in your everyday backpack. Here are the rest of the specs.

Features and Specifications

· Processor: 11th Gen Intel Core i3-1115G4

· Graphics: Integrated UHD Graphics

· System Memory: 8GB, Single Channel, SODIMM

· Storage: 512GB PCIe NVMe SSD

·Thickness and weight: 20 millimetres at 1.41 Kgs

03. LG Gram 16 with 11th Gen Intel Core i7-11165G7

The Gram series from LG is the trademark of portability! Starting off, the LG Gram 17 features an Intel Evo-certified Core i7-1165G7 paired with 16GB of RAM and 512GB of NVMe SSD. At 17 millimetres and 1.19 Kg, it's hard to believe that this is a 17-inch laptop with a 16:10 display. That too, with an incredible resolution of 2560x1600 pixels.

Features and Specifications

· Processor: Intel Evo 11th Core i7-1165G7

· Graphics: Integrated Intel Iris Xe Graphics

· System Memory: 16GB, Dual Channel, Soldered

· Storage: 512GB PCIe NVMe SSD

· Thickness and weight: 17 millimetres at 1.19 Kgs

04. HP 15s with 11th Gen Intel Core-i3 1125G4

Alongside a Core i3-1125G4, the HP 15s laptop has 8GB of memory, one empty slot and a 512GB SSD. Its price under ₹40,000 makes it one of the best slim laptops. Especially for students and professionals, this laptop not just comes with Windows 11 installed but also with an Office 2019 licence, making it a steal deal for buyers.

· Processor: 11th Gen Intel Core i3-1125G4

· Graphics: Integrated Intel UHS Graphics

· System Memory: 8GB, Single Channel, SODIMM

· Storage: 512GB SSD

· Thickness and weight: 18 millimetres at 1.69 KGs

05. Mi Notebook Ultra with 11th Intel Core i5-11300H

An Intel Core i5-11300H, 16GB RAM, and 512GB NVMe SSD can be found in other laptops too. But you cannot find the build quality in other laptops in this price segment. Except for the display bezels, everything is CNCed out of aluminium, giving it a pure MacBook vibe. Not to mention its stunning display boasting a resolution of 3200x2000.

Features and Specifications

· Processor: 11th Gen Intel Core i5-11300H

· Graphics: Integrated Intel Iris Xe Graphics

· System Memory: 16GB, Dual Channel, Soldered

· Storage: 512GB PCIe NVMe SSD

· Thickness and weight: 18 millimetres at 1.7KGs

06. HP Pavilion Aero with AMD Ryzen 7 5800U

Coming in at #6, we have another offering from HP, the Pavilion Aero. If you are looking for a premium option while playing safe under the network of HP service centres, then it's one of the best slim laptops you can buy. Although it's more on the expensive side, this device checks all boxes that a non-gamer individual ever needs from a laptop.

Features and Specifications

· Processor: AMD Ryzen 7 5800U

· Graphics: Integrated Radeon 7 Graphics

· System Memory: 16GB, Dual Channel, Soldered

· Storage: 1TB PCIe NVMe SSD

· Thickness and weight: 17 millimetres at 0.98 KGs

07. Honor MagicBook X14 with 11th Gen Intel Core i5-10210U

With just one model in the Indian market, it’s difficult for users to choose what Honor offers. However, it checks more than enough boxes for a laptop under 50K. For the money, you are getting a near bezel-less display, a full metal body, and a slim design weighing just 1.38 KGs. The rest of the specs that convinced us to rank it #7.

Features and Specifications

· Processor: 10th Gen Intel Core i5-10210U

· Graphics: Integrated Intel UHD Graphics

· System Memory: 8GB, 3200 MHz, Single Channel

· Storage: 512GB PCIe NVMe SSD

· Thickness and weight: 16 millimetres at 1.38 KGs

08. Acer Swift 3 with 12th Gen Intel Evo-certified Core i5-1240P

In our best slim laptops list, the Acer Swift 3 is the only offering with the latest Intel 12th Gen processor. Together, 8GB of soldered, single-channel memory, 512GB of PCIe Gen4 NVMe SSD, and the build quality we have always expected from the Swift series. Weighing in at just 1.2 KGs, this is the 3rd lightest laptop on our list.

Features and Specifications

· Processor: 12th Gen Intel Core i5-1240P

· Graphics: Integrated Intel Iris Xe Graphics

· System Memory: 8GB, Single Channel, Soldered

· Storage: 512GB PCIe NVMe SSD

· Thickness and weight: 16 millimetres at 1.2 KGs

09. Asus ZenBook 13 OLED with 11th Gen Core i5-1135G7

So, which one's the 2nd lightest laptop? Weighing in at just 1.14 KGs, the ZenBook 13 OLED looks fantastic, with its FHD OLED display offering vibrant colours and deep blacks. With the 2021 lineup of its popular ZenBook series, Asus has done an incredible job by bringing an OLED display to this price segment, paired with a premium build quality.

Features and Specifications

· Processor: 11th Gen Intel Core i5-1135G7

· Graphics: Integrated Intel Iris Xe Graphics

· System Memory: 8GB, Single Channel, soldered

· Storage: 512GB PCIe NVMe SSD

· Thickness and weight: 14 millimetres at 1.14 KGs

10. Apple MacBook Air with Apple Silicon M1

Last but not least, we have one of the best-selling laptops from Apple, the MacBook Air with the M1 chip. With its new silicon, Apple has yet again redefined performance and efficiency, breezing through intensive applications while still delivering 18 hours of battery life. With a thickness of just 16 millimetres, it's the best-performing laptop of all.

Features and Specifications

· Processor: Apple Silicon M1 Chip

· Graphics: Integrated 7-core GPU

· System Memory: 8GB, Dual Channel, Unified

· Storage: 256GB SSD, Unified

· Thickness and weight: 16 millimetres at 1.29 KGs

Price of best slim laptops at a glance:

3 Important Features For Consumers While Buying The Best Slim Laptops

Thickness and weight: Portability is what consumers look for the most; after all, it’s a laptop. Any model that's less than 17 millimetres thin and weighing in below 1.5 Kgs is an incredible value for students and office commuters.

Performance: However, slimness shouldn't come at the cost of performance. Look out for models that have Intel Evo certification, ensuring that you do not just get ultimate portability but also a great performance on your thin and light.

Battery life: Another important aspect for travellers and daily commuters is battery life. While MacBooks stay at the pinnacle of battery performance, if you prefer Windows, then an Asus ZenBook or an Acer Swift is worth considering.

The Best Value For Money Slim Laptop

While the lack of service centres is still a concern, the Mi Notebook Ultra has every reason to be in your bag. With an 11th Gen Core i5 CPU, 16GB of RAM, and an aluminium chassis, it radiates a pure MacBook vibe for just ₹60,000.

The Best Overall Slim Laptop

If your budget is not your limit, nobody’s stopping you from getting a MacBook Air with Apple’s latest M1 SoC. While you still get only 256GB of storage in the base variant, you can easily add more with an external Samsung T7 Portable SSD, thanks to MacBook's dual Thunderbolt 4 ports delivering up to 40Gbps of bandwidth. But the reason you should choose a MacBook is because of its lightweight form-factor paired with powerful internals. Not to forget Apple's industry-leading battery life. Get it up to 100% in the morning, and it will easily run you throughout the day.

How To Find The Best Slim Laptops?

The best slim laptops are easy to find from manufacturers such as Apple, Asus, Acer, and Lenovo. Although you can get some pretty sleek laptops from the MacBook, ZenBook, Swift, and Slim series, finding a laptop that balances well between portability and performance is not easy. One thing to look for is the Evo certification from Intel ensuring that a particular notebook passes quality assurance metrics such as battery life, performance, thickness and weight, and other niche features. Once you see that Evo sticker, you can buy that laptop with your eyes closed.

Frequently Asked Questions

Question 01: What are the best slim laptops in India?

Answer: The best slim laptops in India that don't compromise on performance, build quality and battery life are Dell XPS 13, Apple MacBook Air, LG Gram 17, Microsoft Surface Laptop 4, Asus ZenBook 13 OLED, and many more.

Question 02: What are slim laptops commonly called?

Answer: Ultrabook is a term tossed by Intel to certify laptops that meet certain thinness, weight, battery life, and performance requirements. However, with a decade of evolution, almost every laptop nowadays is an ultrabook.

Question 03: How much memory is enough for a laptop?

Answer: While 8GB of system memory had been enough for slim laptops for many years, now that AMD’s integrated Radeon graphics reserves 2GB of memory for GPU, it’s highly recommended to choose a laptop that has 16GB RAM.

Question 04: Is 2 Kg too heavy for a laptop?

Answer: Unless it's a gaming or workstation device that requires discrete graphics adding extra weight, then 2 Kgs is surely heavy for a laptop for some people. Commuters usually choose laptops that are 1.5 Kgs in weight or less.

Question 05: Should I buy a laptop with Intel Evo branding?

Answer: Intel Evo isn’t a feature on notebooks; it’s a certification that assures great performance, lightweight form-factor, and solid battery life. However, it’s a mandate that an Evo-certified laptop must have an Intel processor in it.

Conclusion

In this guide, we listed the ten best slim laptops that are not just portable to carry daily to school and the office but also great at delivering performance, battery life, and robust build quality. That too, on a reasonable budget.

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