The thinnest laptops you can buy

The thinnest laptops of today are paper-thin compared to their predecessors, and though they aren’t literally that trim, they’re getting pretty close. In recent several years, one of the biggest advances made to the modern laptop is that the chassis continues to shrink. Best of all, battery life and performance continue to improve. It’s a no-compromise situation — and we love it.

One of the thinnest laptops around is the Apple MacBook Air M2 at just 0.44 inches thick. It’s incredibly thin but provides awesome performance and battery life thanks to Apple’s excellent M2 CPUs. There are some other excellent laptops that are also incredibly thin. Here are some of our favorites.

Apple MacBook Air M2

One of the thinnest laptops ever, and it’s a MacBook

Why should you buy this: It’s an incredibly powerful laptop packed into an incredibly thin chassis.

Who’s it for: Anyone looking for an incredibly portable MacBook without compromises.

What we thought of the Apple MacBook Air M2:

Apple’s MacBook Air M2 is a complete redesign of the venerable MacBook Air, incorporating the blockier chassis of the larger MacBook Pro machines and dropping the iconic MacBook Air wedge shape. But now it’s super-thin throughout at just 0.44 inches while weighing just 2.7 pounds.

Even though it’s incredibly thin, it’s a fast laptop sporting the Apple M2 CPU that’s a step up from the original M1 and considerably faster. It’s fanless, and so completely silent in operation, and it still manages to be an ultrafast thin and light machine. Its 13.6-inch Liquid Retina display is excellent, with a ton of brightness, wide and accurate colors, and excellent contrast. The MacBook Air M2 sports the same outstanding Magic Keyboard as its predecessor and a large haptic touchpad.

Just make sure you opt for a larger solid-state drive (SSD) than the entry-level 256GB version. You’ll get faster storage that maximizes overall performance.

Samsung Galaxy Book2 Pro 360 (0.45 inches)

An ultra-thin convertible 2-in-1

Why should you buy this: It’s one of the thinnest laptops around and offers the Windows 11 2-in-1 experience.

Who’s it for: Anyone who wants a super-thin 2-in-1 with pen support.

What we thought of the Samsung Galaxy Book2 Pro 360:

Next to the MacBook Air M2, one of the thinnest laptops available today is the Samsung Galaxy Book2 Pro 360. It’s a 13.3-inch convertible 2-in-1 with a spectacular 16:10 1920 x 1200 OLED display and an Intel 12th-gen CPU that’s just 0.45 inches thick and weighs just 2.2 pounds. Some bold color options and a minimalist design provide a laptop that’s as good-looking as it is well-built.

You still get a solid build and Samsung’s S-Pen support. If you’re a Samsung phone and tablet user, then you can integrate the Galaxy Book2 Pro 360 into Samsung’s excellent ecosystem. Ports are a little limited, with just two USB-C ports (one with Thunderbolt 4 support) and a microSD card reader. It retains the 3.5mm audio jack that Dell dropped from the latest XPS 13.

A Full HD webcam with Auto Framing and Face Effect round out the niceties. Performance is provided by 28-watt Intel 12th-gen CPUs such as the 12-core/16-thread Core i7-1260P.

Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 (0.58 inches)

The thinnest 15-inch laptop

Why should you buy this: It’s Microsoft’s thinnest Surface yet.

Who’s it for: Professionals who want extensive battery life and capable performance in a trim design.

What we thought of the Microsoft Surface Laptop 4:

Microsoft’s Surface Laptop 4 is the company’s fourth try at producing a competitive clamshell machine — which comes in both an Intel and AMD variant. This is a very thin laptop at just 0.58 inches, placing it ahead of competitors like the Dell XPS 15 and the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme. It’s not as powerful as those rivals, featuring only up to a quad-core processor, but when it comes to portability, the Surface Laptop 4 is the winner, with a light design and extensive battery life.

The Surface Laptop 4 sports the brand’s usual excellent high-resolution IPS display in the productivity-friendly 3:2 aspect ratio and a rock-solid build that screams quality. You’ll love the no-compromise keyboard and touchpad, as well as the excellent audio quality. This is one large and thin laptop that won’t force you to give anything up by fitting in a very svelte chassis.

Alienware x14 (0.57 inches)

A gaming laptop that’s both extremely thin and surprisingly fast

Why should you buy this: It’s one of the thinnest gaming laptops around, and it’s plenty fast.

Who’s it for: Anyone who wants a gaming laptop without the usual thickness.

What we thought of the Alienware x14:

Imagine packing a 45-watt Intel Core i7-12700H and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 into a 0.57-inch chassis that weighs just 4.06 pounds, and you’ll have the Alienware x14. It’s an incredible accomplishment, providing excellent gaming performance in a laptop that’s thinner and lighter than many mainstream ultrabooks.

It’s not the fastest gaming laptop, but that’s not the point. It manages to compete with some thicker and heavier laptops and, in fact, is the fastest RTX 3060 laptop we’ve tested. That’s a testament to the excellent thermal design that manages to keep the CPU and GPU cool without the usual space inside.

The 1080p display provides surprisingly wide and accurate colors and tons of contrast, making it a great display for gaming and productivity work. If you’re looking for solid 1080p gaming in an incredibly thin and light laptop, then the Alienware x14 is the best option.

Dell XPS 13 (0.55 inches)

A redesigned classic that’s extremely thin

Why should you buy this: It’s a gorgeous redesign of one of the best laptops ever.

Who’s it for: Anyone who wants a great-looking, well-built 13-inch laptop.

What we thought of the Dell XPS 13:

The Dell XPS 13 has been one of the best laptops for several years, with its iconic aluminum and carbon fiber design. Dell mixed things up in the latest generation, creating an all-aluminum design that’s thinner and lighter than before. It’s just 0.55 inches thick and weighs 2.59 pounds.

You’ll find 15-watt Intel 12th-gen CPUs inside that balance performance and efficiency, along with an excellent Full HD+ display that offers wide and accurate colors and excellent contrast. Larger internal speakers promise improved bass and increased volume, making for an outstanding media-consumption device. Up to 32GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD offer plenty of memory and storage for the most demanding productivity users.

Asus ZenBook S 13 OLED (0.59 inches)

A 13-inch laptop that’s surprisingly powerful

Why should you buy this: It’s an incredibly speedy 13-inch laptop that’s still thin and light.

Who’s it for: Anyone who wants an easy-to-carry laptop that’s fast enough for real work.

What we thought of the Asus ZenBook S 13 OLED:

Intel’s 12th-gen CPUs and Apple’s M2 processor aren’t the only fast components on this list. Asus managed to fit a fast AMD Ryzen 7 6800U CPU into an incredibly thin (0.59 inches) and light (2.2 pounds) laptop with the ZenBook S 13 OLED.

The ZenBook S 13 OLED is a sleek and trim laptop that looks great and is just as well built. Its 13.3-inch 16:10 OLED display is spectacular and enables a tiny chassis, thanks to slim bezels. Even so, it manages to perform well in multithreaded applications like Handbrake and Cinebench R23, promising relatively strong performance in creative applications.

The laptop’s keyboard is outstanding, and the touchpad is surprisingly large and incorporates Asus’s NumberPad 2.0, which embeds an LED numeric keyboard for fast data entry. The Full HD webcam rounds out the modern features, and battery life is long for a thin and light laptop with such fast performance.

Editors’ Recommendations