Many designers and engineers do everything they can to lighten the load and make laptops more portable. That often comes with its own set of compromises, whether it’s in the cooling system, the sturdiness of the build, or how much battery capacity is packed away inside.

But setting all that aside, which laptops are actually the lightest of them all? We used our extensive review experience — you learn a lot as a team when you review over 400 laptops — and isolated the Acer Swift 7 as the lightest laptop you’ll find on the market today. It doesn’t stand alone, though, and so we added in five other featherweight laptops that push the limit when it comes to shedding the pounds.

Further reading

The lightest laptop you can buy: Acer Swift 7

1.96 pounds

The Acer Swift 7 isn’t the fastest laptop you can buy — it uses an 8th-gen Y-series low-power CPU whose entire purpose is to reduce heat and save on battery life. And the Swift 7 makes some compromises to be very thin and light, like packing in only 32 watt-hours of battery capacity and using very lightweight materials that are a bit too flexible.

But what it does right is keep the weight down. Fully configured with a Core i7-8500Y, 16GB of RAM, a 512GB PCIe solid-state drive (SSD), and a 14-inch touch display, the Swift 7 only weighs 1.96 pounds. And, it’s just 0.39 inches thick, making it the thinnest touchscreen laptop as well.

LG Gram

2.42 pounds

The LG Gram 15 we reviewed weighs just 2.42 pounds despite its 15-inch form-factor, which makes it an exceptionally light for its size. The 13.3-inch version trims the fat even more, getting down to a slimline 2.13 pounds.

While the screen’s 1080p resolution doesn’t match the XPS 13, MacBook, and others, it’s still reasonably sharp. Battery life is good, with most else only getting a passing grade. It doesn’t excel in any area, though it’s still the lightest 15-inch laptop you’ll find out there. And if you prefer a bit more screen space, there’s also a Gram 17-inch model that still clocks in at under 3 pounds.

Samsung Galaxy Book S

2.1 pounds

With a 13.3-inch screen and Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx, Samsung’s super-light laptop makes a good alternative for a Chromebook, and it’s designed to run optimally on LTE data for when you are on the move. The 5GB of RAM and 256GB of storage are also higher than many options at this level. Two USB-C ports are particularly welcome for dealing with accessories, and the laptop claims a battery life up to an impressive 25 hours.

Asus Expertbook B9

1.9 pounds

Previously known as the AsusPro B9, this 14-inch laptop beats out competitors like the Acer Swift 5 to become one of the very lightest in its class. The new laptop has a 10th-gen Intel Core processor, Wi-Fi 6 support, an infrared camera for face detection, and room for two large SSDs (although that last bit is sure to increase the weight). Like many on our list, it’s designed to be an ultra-portable business laptop for quick work, but it’s ready for the latest features, which gives it an advantage over some of our picks.

Although we also don’t have a firm release for the Expertbook B9 yet (likely within the coming year), you can visit the website to find out the latest details on when it will be available.

Asus ZenBook 3 Deluxe

2.4 pounds

Bill Roberson/Digital Trends

The Asus ZenBook 3 Deluxe is one of the lightest 14-inch laptops in the world at just 2.4 pounds, and yet it comes with an impressive array of hardware inside its stylish chassis. Along with its 14-inch, 1080P display, it has an eighth-generation Core i7 CPU, up to 16GB of RAM, and in our review unit, 512GB of solid-state storage too.

Its price has fallen significantly since it was first introduced, and so it’s even a bit of a bargain. It’s a little lacking in terms of ports, though it does ship with a multi-port adaptor to make it more compatible than some of its comparably-streamlined contemporaries.

Special mention: Microsoft Surface Pro 6

1.7 pounds

While the Surface Pro 6 is technically a hybrid tablet and not a laptop, it does have the ability to work very similarly to a laptop, which is why we gave it a mention on this list. In fact, hybrid tablets would probably overtake laptops on this list if we allowed for them all, considering how small and light they are.

However, hybrids are critical because a lot of people use them. If you are really short on space and need a relatively simple machine that’s effortless to tote around, a hybrid is probably your best bet, and the new Surface Pro is one of the best.

At 1.70 pounds at its lightest (or 2.4 pounds with the Type Cover included), it has a 12-inch screen with a 2,736 x 1,824 resolution, Windows 10, and a choice of processors up to an Intel i7 with up to 16GB of RAM. With a starting price of $800, it’s far from expensive either. The Surface Go is even smaller and lighter, weighing in at just 1.1 pounds.

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