The Best Ultrabooks

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.

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.

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. 

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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. 

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.