Should You Get a Thin and Light Ultraportable ASUS Laptop?

May 5, 2023

If you’re shopping for a new laptop, you may be struggling to figure out which one is best suited for your needs. Between varying specs, form factors, designs, and physical dimensions, you might feel overwhelmed with choices.

For some users, the first consideration is the size and weight of the device. You may think that the lighter and thinner, the better. And while that may be true for many users, some should consider other options. Below are a few things to consider when trying to decide if an ultraportable laptop is the right option for you.

Thin and light laptops, also known as ultraportable, are designed to be as easy to carry around and use on the go as possible.

At ASUS, we define thin and light laptops as ones that are usually less than 2 cm thick and weigh no more than 1.5 kg. Very often, optimization for maximum portability carries the additional benefit of a strong battery to power users through their day without a hitch.To simplify your choice, we created the Zenbook laptop family. They are designed for maximum convenience of usage on the go. And to point you in the direction of most portable ASUS computers, we designed the Zenbook S line — the thinnest and lightest among the thin and light.

Thin and light, ultraportable laptops are well suited for on-the-go users and those who need a tool for common, everyday tasks. Are you one of these types of users?

Frequent Travelers

People who travel frequently will perhaps benefit from ultraportable laptops the most. After all, when flying, weight and size are important considerations.

Aside from a laptop’s weight and dimensions, travelers should consider durability. Look for devices tested to U.S. military standards. Laptops that pass stringent testing are better suited to the bumps and changing conditions that come along with traveling.

Side note: You’ll want at least one USB Type-A port. This is still the most common connectivity option, so it's key if you want to easily download pictures from your camera or use peripherals like a portable mouse. Otherwise, you may have to carry around converters, hubs or other peripherals.

Students and Casual Users

Students and casual users who use their laptops for everyday tasks like word processing, surfing the internet, videoconferencing, or watching videos will benefit from an ultraportable laptop. You can easily take your thin and light laptop and head to class, to the library or a cafe, or you can use it anywhere outdoors or indoors ― all thanks to its light and portable form factor.

Another key thing to consider is viewing quality. You can get truly incredible imagery on a laptop now, thanks to ASUS Lumina OLED displays, such as the one in the Zenbook S 13 OLED. You will greatly appreciate its vibrant, accurate colors and contrast, as well as the fluid motion— especially when watching movies.

On-the-Go Professionals

Professionals who are always on the go need a thin and light laptop. If you are often out of the office, work remotely, or simply attend a lot of meetings and constantly switch between rooms, you will want a laptop that you can easily carry in one hand and that will easily slip into your briefcase or backpack.

Aside from the weight and thickness of the laptop, on-the-go professionals will greatly benefit from the strong battery life in ASUS thin and lightweight laptops. Another important consideration for professional users is processing power. Many ASUS Zenbook laptops come with high-performance 13th Gen Intel Core H-series CPUs that make multitasking smooth and easy. All that power is neatly packed into the thin and light chassis!

Want to learn more? Read our article on how to choose the perfect laptop for business travel.

Photographers, Creative Aficionados, and Creators

Some content creators and creative professionals need a slightly more powerful laptop than everyday users do, but they don’t need the heavy processor and cooling that 3D animators or video editors need. For these users, thin and light creator laptops like the Zenbook Pro 14 OLED (UX6404) delivers exceptional performance in a very compact form factor, at just 1.6 kg and only 17.9 mm thin.

Thin and lightweight laptops are not for everyone. Smaller laptops admittedly often translate to less power and fewer connectivity options. Some users will be less concerned with size and more focused on specifications. Here are a few examples of users who may prefer a larger laptop.

Office Workers

If you have a job where you use your laptop primarily at your desk, you don’t need it to be ultraportable. Instead, you can opt for a laptop with more I/O ports, which will allow you to conveniently connect everything you need. A larger laptop will also increase display size, extending your workspace.

Mainstream laptops may also come with a more attractive price tag since they do not require advanced cooling solutions that are found in thin and light laptops.

Professional Creators

Heavy tasks like 3D design or video editing require a larger device that can handle the cooling necessary for more robust processors.

To sufficiently cool the heat that powerful components create while handling the heaviest workflows, creator laptops like the Zenbook Pro 16X OLED (UX7602) utilize fans, heat sinks, and other innovative cooling solutions like the AAS Ultra. These, however, take up space inside the chassis, which leads to a larger form factor.

Professional creators also need plenty of I/O ports to connect their peripherals and other equipment. Additional port options and larger ports like HDMI® add to the thickness of the chassis.

Gamers

Another group of users who require top-notch performance that comes with powerful cooling is gamers. As with laptops for content creators, to power through competitive sessions or to fully enjoy the beautiful scenery in AAA single-player titles, you need powerful components that create significant heat that needs to be dissipated. The fans and heatsinks that transfer the hot air out of the laptop’s body take up quite a lot of space inside a laptop chassis.

Many gamers also like to connect peripherals such as a gaming mouse, keyboard, headset, and external monitors. To get a sufficient number of I/O ports that will enable dongle-free usage requires space in the chassis as well.

Thankfully, ASUS ROG offers laptops that can handle some serious gaming while still offering portability. Take a look at the ROG Zephyrus thin and light gaming laptops. If you’re looking to game on the go, be sure to check out ROG Flow convertible gaming laptops. Or, if you always game at your desk, take a look at the ROG Strix gaming laptop powerhouse line.

A vast majority of users who need their laptops for everyday tasks or entertainment such as word processing, internet surfing, videoconferencing or watching movies will appreciate the ultraportability of thin and lightweight laptops from ASUS that carry plenty of power to enable you to multitask or without a hitch.

However, if you need professional-level performance, the laptop size, weight and thickness won’t be the primary considerations. The main reason for this? Cooling. Powerful components create more heat that needs to be dissipated, and that takes up space inside the chassis. Additionally, going thin and light also means giving up a certain number of I/O ports.

So, recommendations for various types of users are as follows:

For Ultimate Portability: Zenbook S 13 OLED

The world’s thinnest OLED ultraportable laptop.

Ideal for frequent travelers, casual users, students, and professionals on the go.

For Content Creation on the Go: Zenbook Pro 14 OLED

Professional performance in a thin and light body for creation on the go.

Ideal for photographers, videographers and editors, graphic designers, and content creators.

For Professional Content Creation: Zenbook Pro 16X OLED

No-compromise creator laptop with innovative features and all-metal design.

Ideal for professional content creators, 3D designers, and video editors.

Click the button below to discover more about thin-and-light ASUS laptops!