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MagyarThe Best Ultrabooks
Any notebook featuring an ultra-low-voltage processor (15 W), a touchscreen, a battery life north of 6 hours, and a case thinner than 21 mm was allowed to proudly display the Ultrabook logo on a sticker after Intel’s inception of this class of notebooks back in 2011. These days, Intel’s Ultrabook program has long expired, and technological advancements have rendered these requirements moot given that present-day ultra-thin notebooks sometimes even feature 45 W processors. Touch displays are now widely available, and convertibles both with keyboard docks (Surface Pro) or 360-degree hinges (e.g. Lenovo Yoga) are all the rage.
Accordingly, we had to create our own requirements of Ultrabooks for the sake of this list different from Intel’s initial requirements in order to better differentiate them from ultra-portable notebooks and subnotebooks. Our criteria are as follows:
- Detachables are allowed
- No size limits
- Less than 21 mm thickness
- Less than 2 kg (4.4 lbs) weight
- Browsing and/or NBC Wi-Fi test at least 7 hours
- 15 W Intel or AMD CPU
- Touchscreen
Please also consider the following lists before making a purchase:
- The Best Ultra-Portable Laptops (subnotebooks and portable laptops with a display size less than 14-inch)
- The Best Premium Business Notebooks (laptops designed for professional use)
- The Best Convertibles (notebooks with 360-degree hinge that can be transformed into a tablet)
The Best Ultrabooks
The table above contains an overview over the best Ultrabooks reviewed by Notebookcheck over the course of the past 12 months as well as still relevant and available older products. In cases of identical score the more recent device is listed first. All prices in above table and price comparisons are updated daily and can thus differ.
Editors' Comments
1st - HP EliteBook x360 1040 G5
We really liked the HP EliteBook x360 1040 G5 in our review and the attractive 14-inch convertible can secure the top spot in our ranking. It is powered by an Intel Core i7-8650U in combination with 16 GB RAM and 512 GB SSD storage.
The HP EliteBook x360 1040 G5 is not just a good choice for business users with frequent travels, but also for home users looking for a new Ultrabook. Even the least expensive SKU offers everything you come to expect from a convertible and you can save a few hundred Euros if the performance of the Core i5 is sufficient. The system cannot utilize the full potential of the i7 due to the limited cooling capabilities anyway.
The HP EliteBook x360 1040 G5 also manages very long battery runtimes, which makes it very versatile and it will easily last a full business day without recharging.
There is still some criticism, because you can hardly upgrade the device at all. The RAM is soldered and cannot be expanded. The fan noise is pretty high-pitched and a bit annoying under load. You will have to pay another 130 Euros for the HP Active Pen Stylus if you want to use an input pen.
The HP EliteBook x360 1040 G5 is a very good convertible for business users. If you want a device capable of gaming as well, you should consider alternatives with a dedicated graphics card.
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2nd – HP Elite Dragonfly
The HP Elite Dragonfly [see review here] is a light-weight business convertible based on an Intel Core i5-8265U, 16 GB of RAM, and a 512 GB SSD. Its 13.3-inch touchscreen supports stylus input and offers a good contrast ratio and acceptable overall color space coverage levels. Another highlight is its long battery life. Furthermore, the HP Elite Dragonfly comes with WiFi 6, LTE, and a wide variety of security features that users will no doubt benefit from.
HP’s Elite Dragonfly turned out to be an excellent business convertible. While it has some minor flaws, they are easy to dismiss.
The compact case comes with its own set of drawbacks. For example, Intel’s Core i5-8265U was incapable of utilizing its full turbo-boost potential, and overall maintenance options are not particularly great.
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3rd - HP Spectre x360 14t
The HP Spectre x360 14t (see review here) is a well-made convertible that easily managed to secure a spot in our top 10 list. Its case and build quality are without a doubt state-of-the-art, and its display with its almost 100% sRGB color-space coverage a pleasure to look at. However, it could have benefited from a better OEM pre-calibration.
Other benefits include a comfortable keyboard, a well-made touchpad, USB Type-A and last but not least Thunderbolt 4 including Power Delivery and DisplayPort. A microSD card reader is also available.
If you don’t expect too much and are looking for a brand-new notebook for home use the HP Spectre x360 14t will make a great companion.
The price may not be justified by its performance metrics alone. However, its build quality and top modern design more than make up for it.
We do have to criticize HP for its performance, though. Despite great components the laptop was rendered incapable of fully utilizing their full potential. Its CPU is based on Intel’s latest Tiger Lake generation, including a top-of-the-line Intel Xe Graphics GPU with 96 EUs. That said even casual gamers will find the GPU’s gaming performance to be lacking.
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4th – HP EliteBook x360 1030 G4
HP’s EliteBook x360 1030 G4 [see review here] turned out to be a great device and scored very high in our review accordingly. As such, the compact 13-inch convertible easily made our top 10 list. It is powered by an Intel Core i7-8565U, a whopping 16 GB of RAM, and a large 512 GB SSD.
The HP EliteBook x360 1030 G4 is a decent convertible for everyday work. Its touchscreen is superior to other reflective alternatives.
The HP EliteBook x360 1030 G4 is not just aimed at business users on the go but also home users looking to buy an Ultrabook. Due to the limited turbo boost the system was incapable of utilizing the Core i7’s full potential anyway.
The device offered a long battery life and a very bright touchscreen display. Unfortunately, the latter’s PWM frequency of just 952 Hz was too low. Security features, such as SureView, can narrow down viewing angles but also impede upon image quality noticeably.
Our main gripe was the laptop’s poor maintainability. RAM is soldered and cannot be upgraded retroactively.
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5th – Dell XPS 13 9300
Dell’s XPS 13 9300 [see review here] offers a 16:10 display and an up-to-date Intel Ice Lake CPU including Intel Iris Plus Graphics G7 GPU. As such, the compact convertible is a true jack of all trades, although gaming should definitely not be at the top of your list.
As an alternative to Apple’s MacBook the Dell XPS 13 9300 became much more attractive this year, particularly thanks to its design and the 16:10 display.
The XPS 13 9300 is Dell’s head-on attack on Apple’s MacBook sales trying to freshen up the scene. Admittedly, if you do not depend on macOS it does a great job as it offers a long list of pros. Unfortunately, the list of cons is not particularly short either.
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6th – Microsoft Surface Pro 7
On the outside Microsoft’s Surface Pro 7 (see review here) looks like like its predecessor. As before, it feels very premium and great. On the inside, Microsoft upgrade both CPU and GPU. Due to its passive cooling the SoC has to throttle under sustained load. That said even bigger devices are not necessarily any better in this regard.
Battery life was slightly improved over its predecessor, and the new Surface Pro 7 lasted for around ten hours. This should be long enough to last a full work day, and it remains unrivaled in its class.
Microsoft remains true to its colors and left the design untouched for the 2019 model year. Looks, feel, and design are still premium, and the Surface Pro 7 offers a very good performance to boot. We still miss the future-proof USB-C and Thunderbolt 3 options. Why Microsoft refuses to include this port in 2019 is beyond us.
The top model, equipped with an i7 CPU and 1 TB of SSD storage, costs over $2,000. However, Microsoft recently got company with HP’s Elite x2 that costs around the same.
The Surface Pro 7 left a good impression on us during our review. We particularly liked the fact that the Surface Pen is now included by default. The type cover must however still be purchased separately, and will increase the giant gaping hole in your wallet even further. The device also lacks a USB-C port, which should be included given its price tag.
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7th – Lenovo ThinkPad L13 Yoga
Lenovo’s ThinkPad L13 Yoga (see review here) is the Comet Lake-equipped successor to last year’s ThinkPad L390 Yoga. It features the same excellent input devices that avid typists have learned to love. In our review, the 13.3-inch convertible impressed us with its good system performance, its high-quality materials, its fast Wi-Fi, and an ActivePen stylus that can be conveniently stored inside the device itself.
All things considered the Lenovo ThinkPad L13 Yoga offers what we would have expected. Great build quality and choice of material meet excellent input devices and a level of performance befitting of its high asking price.
Drawback include its short default warranty of just 12 months as well as the lack of WWAN option, which would have made this an excellent business laptop. Its unobtrusive fan control resulted in high surface temperatures under load, and its poor multi-core performance prevented a higher rating.
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8th – Acer Spin 5 SP513
One of the Acer Spin 5’s (see review here) most important benefits is its great price-performance ratio. Overall, the device managed to secure top or very good spots in many categories resulting in an overall very good rating. Performance is solid thanks to Ice Lake albeit sustained load resulted in thermal throttling. That said the device remained cool and quiet under regular everyday load. Build quality and choice of material are excellent. The aluminum case is robust but also significantly deeper than most of its competitors.
The Spin 5 SP513 is a well-made addition to Acer’s line-up. Our only real gripe was the PWM controller regulating the display’s brightness.
Avid typists will find the keyboard to be acceptable, and creatives will benefit from the convertible’s included stylus. The display was solid albeit users sensitive to PWM should probably look for alternatives. Our review sample’s PWM frequency was comparatively low, which might cause issues for sensitive users.
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9th - Lenovo ThinkPad X13 Yoga
Lenovo’s ThinkPad X13 Yoga (see review here) is made of premium high-quality material that not only feels great but also looks fantastic. A ThinkPad’s build quality is traditionally already at a very high level, and the ThinkPad X13 Yoga offers the same pros and cons as the Lenovo ThinkPad X390 Yoga, both of which are based on the same platform.
On the inside we find an Intel Core i7-10510U that managed to maintain its high level of performance even under sustained load as we found no fluctuations and accordingly no decrease in performance.
Lenovo’s ThinkPad X13 Yoga is not only visually very similar to the ThinkPad X390 Yoga but also offers an overall comparable level of performance.
The ThinkPad X13 Yoga’s main strengths are its plentiful connectivity, including Wi-Fi 6 for improved wireless transfer speeds, its keyboard, its trackpoint, and also its high-quality touchpad.
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10th – Huawei MateBook X Pro
Huawei’s MateBook X Pro (see review here) is a 13.9-inch touch display subnotebook equipped with Intel’s 10th generation Core i7 and a Nvidia GeForce MX250 for 3D acceleration. Under modest load it utilizes Intel’s integrated iGPU.
The Huawei MateBook X Pro offers a simple design and elegant case. Its Core i7’s performance is not particularly great, which means you might just as well go for the i5 SKU.
In our review we praised its elegant design and excellent case, its bright 3K display, and its input devices that are more than adequate enough for avid typists on the go. It also offers a long battery life to support its mobility claims. The MateDock 2, a USB-C dock with various useful ports such as HDMI or VGA, is included by default.
Performance did not improve over its own predecessor, which means that the 2020 model remained far behind its capabilities. The display, regardless of how great it was, was highly reflective and thus severely impeded working under challenging lighting conditions.
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Recent Ultrabook Awards
Top 10 Ultrabooks in Comparison
Test Results
| HP Elitebook x360 1040 G5 | HP Elite Dragonfly-8MK79EA | HP Spectre x360 14t-ea000 | HP EliteBook x360 1030 G4 7YL44EA | Dell XPS 13 9300 Core i7-1065G7 | Microsoft Surface Pro 7 Core i5-1035G4 | Lenovo ThinkPad L13 Yoga 20R6S00800 | Acer Spin 5 SP513-54N-79EY | Lenovo ThinkPad X13 Yoga 20SX0004GE | Huawei MateBook X Pro 2020 i7 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Display | ||||||||||
| Display P3 Coverage | 64.26 | 68.99 | 65.85 | 69.32 | 66.3 | 66.03 | 68.07 | 69.38 | 67.21 | 66.6 |
| sRGB Coverage | 94.14 | 99.38 | 98.17 | 92.2 | 97.26 | 93.76 | 94.67 | 99.56 | 98.12 | 99.44 |
| AdobeRGB 1998 Coverage | 65.46 | 70.86 | 67.86 | 72.92 | 68.47 | 66.91 | 70.24 | 71.03 | 68.99 | 68.55 |
| Response Times | ||||||||||
| Response Time Grey 50% / Grey 80% * | 70.8 (34.8, 36) | 60.8 (30.8, 30) | 62 (32, 30) | 74 (30, 44) | 50 (22, 28) | 34.8 (16.8, 18) | 40 (21.6, 18.4) | 49 (22, 27) | 56 (26.8, 29.2) | 49.6 (23.6, 26) |
| Response Time Black / White * | 34.4 (18.8, 15.6) | 33.8 (17.2, 16.6) | 39.6 (21.6, 18) | 44 (22, 22) | 33.2 (16, 17.2) | 26.4 (13.2, 13.2) | 28 (15.6, 12.4) | 28 (16, 12) | 28 (11.2, 16.8) | 30.8 (14, 16.8) |
| PWM Frequency | 735.3 (100) | 952 (100) | 2500 (25) | 21550 (24) | 25000 (50) | 208 (90) | 29070 (40) | |||
| Screen | ||||||||||
| Brightness middle | 416.3 | 411 | 443.5 | 542 | 607.6 | 480.4 | 340 | 454 | 401 | 557 |
| Brightness | 400 | 388 | 394 | 653 | 595 | 485 | 336 | 426 | 383 | 532 |
| Brightness Distribution | 89 | 87 | 78 | 70 | 96 | 91 | 90 | 91 | 91 | 87 |
| Black Level * | 0.29 | 0.22 | 0.17 | 0.22 | 0.4 | 0.48 | 0.18 | 0.33 | 0.16 | 0.33 |
| Contrast | 1436 | 1868 | 2609 | 2464 | 1519 | 1001 | 1889 | 1376 | 2506 | 1688 |
| Colorchecker DeltaE2000 * | 2.69 | 1.8 | 2.7 | 4.72 | 3.23 | 5 | 1.3 | 1.27 | 2.6 | 1.4 |
| Colorchecker DeltaE2000 max. * | 4.95 | 4.1 | 4.36 | 10.5 | 8.67 | 7.72 | 2.8 | 2.42 | 4.2 | 2.5 |
| Colorchecker DeltaE2000 calibrated * | 2.13 | 1 | 2.61 | 1.01 | 2.44 | 0.7 | 0.78 | 0.9 | 0.7 | |
| Greyscale DeltaE2000 * | 2.9 | 2.5 | 3.4 | 7.71 | 5.5 | 5.9 | 1.9 | 1.07 | 3.3 | 2 |
| Gamma | 2.4 92% | 2.26 97% | 2.09 105% | 2.31 95% | 2.12 104% | 2.38 92% | 2.15 102% | 2.39 92% | 2.01 109% | 2.14 103% |
| CCT | 6623 98% | 6448 101% | 6144 106% | 6670 97% | 6413 101% | 7805 83% | 6735 97% | 6530 100% | 6076 107% | 6689 97% |
| Color Space (Percent of AdobeRGB 1998) | 60.1 | 64.7 | 62.1 | 63 | 63 | 60.3 | 64.1 | 65 | 62.7 | 62.5 |
| Color Space (Percent of sRGB) | 94.5 | 99.3 | 98.5 | 100 | 97.5 | 93.2 | 99.6 | 100 | 98.1 | 99.5 |
| Noise | ||||||||||
| off / environment * | 28.3 | 29.5 | 25.8 | 30.3 | 28.3 | 29.3 | 26.9 | 29.3 | 29.6 | |
| Idle Minimum * | 28.3 | 29.5 | 25.9 | 30.3 | 28.3 | 29.3 | 26.9 | 29.3 | 29.6 | |
| Idle Average * | 28.3 | 30 | 25.9 | 30.3 | 28.3 | 29.3 | 26.9 | 29.3 | 29.6 | |
| Idle Maximum * | 28.3 | 30.3 | 25.9 | 30.3 | 28.3 | 29.3 | 27.8 | 31.4 | 30.3 | |
| Load Average * | 32.6 | 31.6 | 26.4 | 31.2 | 32.5 | 32.7 | 30.5 | 33 | 38 | |
| Load Maximum * | 36.6 | 31.6 | 41.5 | 32.8 | 39.3 | 32.7 | 32.4 | 34.9 | 38 | |
| Witcher 3 ultra * | 36.9 | 39.3 | 38 | |||||||
| Heat | ||||||||||
| Maximum Upper Side * | 38.2 | 41.1 | 40.4 | 39.3 | 46.6 | 43.6 | 49.3 | 38.7 | 43.8 | 44.7 |
| Maximum Bottom * | 48 | 47.5 | 52.8 | 40.8 | 44.8 | 47.8 | 62.9 | 40.2 | 65 | 42.6 |
| Idle Upper Side * | 23.6 | 26.4 | 27.2 | 26 | 29.8 | 32 | 24.7 | 27.8 | 29.2 | 28.2 |
| Idle Bottom * | 26.6 | 29.7 | 29.2 | 26.5 | 29.8 | 32.4 | 25 | 27.3 | 32.7 | 28.1 |
| Battery Runtime | ||||||||||
| Reader / Idle | 1673 | 2185 | 729 | 1336 | 912 | 1301 | ||||
| WiFi v1.3 | 623 | 605 | 707 | 564 | 763 | 597 | 459 | 645 | 491 | 622 |
| Load | 187 | 166 | 145 | 177 | 116 | 123 | 148 | 173 | 146 | |
| Power Consumption | ||||||||||
| Idle Minimum * | 2.7 | 3.5 | 3 | 3.4 | 4.2 | 4.5 | 3.7 | 2.8 | 3.4 | 4.3 |
| Idle Average * | 6.5 | 5.1 | 5.1 | 7.8 | 6.9 | 9.2 | 6.2 | 5.4 | 4.98 | 8.5 |
| Idle Maximum * | 11.5 | 8.1 | 6.4 | 10.3 | 7.5 | 9.6 | 11.2 | 7.6 | 8.1 | 12 |
| Load Average * | 38.7 | 35.6 | 39.6 | 36 | 33.3 | 42 | 44.3 | 36.6 | 37.2 | 54.8 |
| Load Maximum * | 50.5 | 44.7 | 56.2 | 49.5 | 48.4 | 63.5 | 65 | 37 | 63.3 | 61.5 |
| Witcher 3 ultra * | 39.6 | 37.1 | 47.1 |
* ... smaller is better
