Now that lockdown is becoming a distant memory, the best travel laptops are firmly back on our radar. From short train rides to transatlantic flights and everything in between, these laptops are handy for doing everything you can at a desk while on the go.
The best travel laptops are small, lightweight, and easy to carry, but still, pack enough power to do everything you need when you’re away.
Small and compact, the Dell XPS 1 (17) weighs just 2.59 kg (13.2022 lbs) for portability and power with excellent battery life. In our eyes, this makes it the perfect travel companion.
The screen can put out just under 450 nits of brightness, so even bright daylight shouldn’t be a problem. The addition of Intel’s 12th Gen U-series chips means everything runs super fast, and it’s powerful enough to run creative software like Photoshop. It stays cool and quiet in use, and you can expect about 13 hours of battery life with light use.
On the downside, the webcam is only 720p, which is fine for Zoom calls, but not the best picture quality. The number of devices you can connect is limited, with only two Thunderbolt 4 ports in total. But as long as those aren’t deal breakers, we think the Dell XPS 13 offers better value overall, making it our pick for the best travel laptop of 2022.
The latest version of the 1-inch MacBook Pro weighs just 4.3 kg (13 lbs), making it ideal for travel. This thin and light laptop shows off the quality you expect from Apple, touting the latest M2 chip, a beautiful 13.3-inch Retina display and the convenience of Touch ID. Our tests show it’s great for multitasking, handling creative software like Photoshop well, and it lasted 15 and a half hours on our battery test, which includes playing a looped 1080p video.
On the downside, the webcam is only 720p, and as far as connectivity goes, you’re limited to 2 Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) slots and a 3.5mm headphone jack. Plus, you’re tied to Apple’s ecosystem, which can be a good or bad thing depending on where you stand.
Google’s high-end diminutive sibling to the Pixelbook, the Pixelbook Go is a real bargain. For sheer class and ease of use, it’s a great deal and one of the best entry-level Chromebooks because of the great components you get.
Of course, being a Chromebook, this will run on Google’s Chrome OS operating system, run cloud-based apps and store large amounts of data online, so it’s crucial to provide its users with a stable internet connection. Of course, you won’t be able to run any Windows or macOS software you’re used to.
More generally, it’s designed to be slim and light, with a frame made of magnesium alloy with a matte finish that weighs 2.3 pounds and is 0.5 inches thin. On top of that, it offers a backlit keyboard and a 1080p front-facing camera; two elements you won’t find on most laptops here.
When you travel, especially when you’re crammed into tight spaces by planes, trains and cars, you need to be flexible. Helpfully, the HP Specter x360 (2021) has a hybrid design, so you can switch between working in traditional laptop mode, gaming in tablet mode, and streaming your favorite shows in tent mode.
More generally, it’s gorgeous, and its elegant gem-cut design will be the envy of everyone on your holiday. It offers a decent number of ports, so you can connect a lot of devices: a USB-A 3.1 port, two Thunderbolt 4 ports, a microSD card reader, and a combo audio jack. It also has great Bang & Olufsen speakers, a nice touchscreen display and up to 12 hours of battery life.
The Surface Laptop 4 continues Microsoft’s tradition of making great portable devices. This thin and light laptop features 11th-generation Intel Core processors, ample RAM for most computing needs, and decent storage options. It offers such great performance and has Microsoft’s impressive keyboard and trackpad.
As with most ultrabooks, there’s a lack of ports: there’s just one USB-C, one USB-A, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and the Surface Connect port. However, at under 1.27kg, this is lighter than most 13in competitors. So if weight is your number one priority, this has to be at the top of your options list.
How to Pick the Best Travel Laptop
Not every laptop makes a good travel laptop. Some are powerful but too heavy to wander around, while others aren’t powerful enough to be reliable, especially for digital nomads whose computing needs are more intensive than the average user.
The best travel laptops have to combine portability with features and durability. They need to be thin and light so that you can easily slip them into a backpack or carry-on without worrying about the added weight. Anything under 1.59 kg (3.5 lbs) is ideal. After all, traveling as lightly as possible is one of the key ingredients to easier, cheaper travel.
They must also be powerful enough to meet your needs, whatever those needs may be. If you just want to do travel research, stream movies, and chat with friends, a less powerful laptop will do just fine. But if you plan to work while traveling, not just any laptop will do. Fortunately, there are excellent mobile workstations out there with powerful processors and plenty of memory.
The best travel laptops also have to be extremely durable, tough enough to handle not only hard bumps but accidental drops as well. For example, the MacBook Pro is tough enough to survive high drops.
Long battery life is also very useful. While most coffee shops, airports, stations, trains and planes have outlets for laptop users, if you find yourself stuck somewhere you can’t charge, portable devices that can last for a while on a single charge are preferred. It doesn’t hurt to have plenty of storage too – although cloud storage (opens in a new tab) the best external hard drives are readily available if upgrading to more storage is too expensive for you.
