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The Best 4Reviewed by Mike Hunter·May 24, 2026

Best Thin and Light Laptops

Top 4 thin and light laptops reviewed and ranked.

Quick answer

Apple MacBook Air M4 is our top pick for thin and light laptops — an averaged 4.7/5 across 3 published reviews at about $999. Runner-up: Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 13 (~$2,299.99).

Read the Apple MacBook Air M4 review →$999 · Check Price on Amazon

At a glance

Tap any product for the full review
1Apple MacBook Air M4Top Score
(3 sources)
$999Best for: Students, writers and everyday users who want the longest battery life and a silent, premium ultraportable, and who are comfortable in the Apple ecosystem.
$999 · Check Price on Amazon
2Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 13
(3 sources)
$2,299.99Best for: Business travelers and professionals who want the lightest possible 14-inch Windows ultraportable with the best keyboard, port selection and enterprise security.
$2,299.99 · Check Price on Amazon
3Dell XPS 14 (9440)
(3 sources)
$2,049Best for: Creators and power users who want a premium 14-inch Windows laptop with an OLED option and discrete graphics, and who can live with shorter battery life.
$2,049 · Check Price on Amazon
4ASUS Zenbook S14 (UX5406)
(3 sources)
$1,499Best for: Value-minded buyers who want a light Windows OLED ultraportable with great battery life for everyday work, and don't need heavy multi-core power or a top-tier webcam.
$1,499 · Buy at shop.asus.com
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Reviews aggregated from
NotebookCheckTechRadarTom's HardwareLaptop MagReviewedWindowscentralTom's Guide

The full ranking

How we rank →
Apple MacBook Air M4
#1 · Top Score
Best for: Students, writers and everyday users who want the longest battery life and a silent, premium ultraportable, and who are comfortable in the Apple ecosystem.
Apple MacBook Air M4
from 3 sources$999as of Jun 7

The MacBook Air M4 is the best lightweight laptop for most people, pairing silent, efficient M4 performance with 15-plus hours of battery life and a premium 2.7 lb build. Reviewed gave it a perfect 5/5 and Notebookcheck scored it 90%, both calling it best-in-class. The catches are limited ports, GPU throttling under load, and that it runs macOS.

Strengths
  • — Outstanding real-world battery life of 15+ hours in testing
  • — Silent, fanless design with strong everyday M4 performance
Watch-outs
  • — Fanless design throttles under sustained GPU loads and gaming
  • — Only two Thunderbolt ports plus a headphone jack
$999 · Check Price on AmazonFull review →vs. Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 13 →
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 13
#2
Best for: Business travelers and professionals who want the lightest possible 14-inch Windows ultraportable with the best keyboard, port selection and enterprise security.
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 13
from 3 sources$2,299.99as of Jun 7

The ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 13 Aura Edition is the best premium thin-and-light for business users, shaving weight to about 2.16 lbs while keeping the legendary keyboard, port selection and build. Notebookcheck scored it 90% and PCMag handed it a five-star Editors' Choice. The main trade-offs are a steep price and Lunar Lake performance that trails some cheaper machines.

Strengths
  • — Extraordinarily light at roughly 2.16 lbs, the lightest X1 Carbon ever
  • — Gorgeous 14-inch 2.8K (2880x1800) OLED at 120Hz with 400 nits
Watch-outs
  • — Premium price, often more than a comparable MacBook
  • — Lunar Lake multi-core performance trails some cheaper rivals
$2,299.99 · Check Price on AmazonFull review →vs. Apple MacBook Air M4 →
Dell XPS 14 (9440)
#3
Best for: Creators and power users who want a premium 14-inch Windows laptop with an OLED option and discrete graphics, and who can live with shorter battery life.
Dell XPS 14 (9440)
from 3 sources$2,049as of Jun 7

The Dell XPS 14 (9440) is the most powerful and feature-rich pick here, offering an optional OLED panel, RTX graphics and a striking aluminum design. TechRadar called it a stunning real MacBook competitor and Windows Central praised its display and quad speakers (Ausdroid 88%, 91mobiles 85%). Battery life and weight are the trade-offs for that extra power.

Strengths
  • — Stunning optional OLED display with excellent quad speakers
  • — Discrete NVIDIA RTX graphics option for light gaming and content creation
Watch-outs
  • — Battery life is the weakest of this group at around 6-9 hours
  • — Heavier at about 3.7 lbs than the ThinkPad and MacBook Air
$2,049 · Check Price on AmazonFull review →vs. Apple MacBook Air M4 →
ASUS Zenbook S14 (UX5406)
#4
Best for: Value-minded buyers who want a light Windows OLED ultraportable with great battery life for everyday work, and don't need heavy multi-core power or a top-tier webcam.
ASUS Zenbook S14 (UX5406)
from 3 sources$1,499as of Jun 7

The ASUS Zenbook S14 (UX5406) is the value OLED ultraportable, pairing a stunning 3K 120Hz OLED with a 2.6 lb Ceraluminum body and nearly 14 hours of battery for less than the ThinkPad. Notebookcheck scored it 88.1% and Laptop Mag called it near-perfect. Weak multi-core performance, a mediocre webcam and soldered components are the trade-offs.

Strengths
  • — Gorgeous 14-inch 3K (2880x1800) OLED at 120Hz
  • — Very light and thin at about 2.6 lbs in a premium Ceraluminum chassis
Watch-outs
  • — Multi-core CPU performance lags AMD Zen 5 and Snapdragon rivals
  • — Display brightness (around 380 nits SDR) trails some competitors
$1,499 · Buy at shop.asus.comFull review →vs. Apple MacBook Air M4 →

Spec comparison

4 products
SpecApple MacBook Air M4Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 13Dell XPS 14 (9440)ASUS Zenbook S14 (UX5406)
CPUApple M4 (10-core)Intel Core Ultra 7 258V (Lunar Lake)Intel Core Ultra 7 155HIntel Core Ultra 7 258V (Lunar Lake)
RAM16GB unified (up to 32GB)Up to 32GB LPDDR5X16-32GB LPDDR5X16-32GB LPDDR5X
Storage256GB SSD (up to 2TB)Up to 1TB PCIe Gen 5 SSD512GB-1TB SSD512GB-1TB SSD
Display13.6-inch Liquid Retina, 2560x166414-inch 2.8K OLED, 120Hz14.5-inch FHD+ or 3.2K OLED14-inch 3K OLED, 120Hz
Weight2.7 lbs (1.24 kg)2.16 lbs (982g)3.7 lbs (1.68 kg)2.6 lbs (1.18 kg)
Battery15+ hours real-world9-11 hours real-world6-9 hours real-world~14 hours real-world
Ports2x Thunderbolt 4, MagSafe, headphone2x Thunderbolt 4, 2x USB-A, HDMI 2.13x Thunderbolt 4 (USB-C)—
Wireless—Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4—Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4

Frequently asked questions

What is the best thin and light laptop?
Apple MacBook Air M4 is our top pick for thin and light laptops, with an averaged rating of 4.7/5 from 3 published reviews. The MacBook Air M4 is the best lightweight laptop for most people, pairing silent, efficient M4 performance with 15-plus hours of battery life and a premium 2.7 lb build. Reviewed gave it a perfect 5/5 and Notebookcheck scored it 90%, both calling it best-in-class. The catches are limited ports, GPU throttling under load, and that it runs macOS.
What's the runner-up if the top pick is unavailable?
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 13 (around $2,299.99) rates 4.6/5 in our analysis. The ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 13 Aura Edition is the best premium thin-and-light for business users, shaving weight to about 2.16 lbs while keeping the legendary keyboard, port selection and build. Notebookcheck scored it 90% and PCMag handed it a five-star Editors' Choice. The main trade-offs are a steep price and Lunar Lake performance that trails some cheaper machines.
How does Verdict rank these products?
Every rating on Verdict is the numerical average of scores published by independent review sites, YouTube reviewers, and Reddit buyer reports. No editor adjusts the order — the ranking is whatever the source data produces. See our methodology page for the full process.
When was this guide last updated?
This guide was last re-checked in May 2026. We re-run our research pipeline for each category on a rolling basis so prices and rankings reflect current market reality.

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