Not all laptops are created equal, and this is especially true if you plan on travelling with it. When trying to board your flight with just a carry on, the task is so much more difficult when you have to bring your clunky laptop along for the ride. This is especially true for low-budget airlines that have a minimal weight allowance.
If you are travelling for work or you consider yourself a digital nomad then your laptop is your lifeline. Remote work or business travel might not define you, but when asked how would you describe yourself, chances are you mention the word “laptop” somewhere in the conversation.
Your best bet is to invest in a lightweight, travel-friendly laptop or chromebook that is also durable. Here you can read about the 6 best travel-friendly laptops of 2019 based on weight, battery life, storage space, and durability.
MacBook Air
If budget is not a factor for you then the MacBook Air is the absolute best tool for working travellers. It is not the lightest option on this list weighing in at 2.5 pounds, but that is still considered fairly lightweight. The batter power can’t be beat offering 10 hours of life when fully charged. This model has 128 gigs of storage so you never have to worry about running out of space.
Dell XPS 13
Our next pick for a travel-friendly laptop is the Dell XPS 13. It weighs only slightly more than the MacBook and offers the same amount of storage space. When fully charged the battery life is 7 hours – not as good as the MacBook Air but still very reasonable. And it won’t set you back too much in terms of cost.
Microsoft Surface Pro 4
If weight is your main concern than consider purchasing the Microsoft Surface Pro 4. It is not a traditional laptop but rather a tablet that can be transformed into a laptop with a keyboard attachment. It also comes with the handy dandy surface pen that allows you to take notes and make edits directly on the screen.
The Surface Pro 4 weighs only 1.7 pounds (it is the lightest laptop to make this list) and it provides an impressive 8 hours of battery life. Storage is 128GB and it uses the Windows 10 Pro operating system. For frequent travellers this is an amazing option and won’t break the bank.
Acer Chromebook
The Acer Chromebook is certainly lightweight enough to ease the travelling process. It weighs practically nothing and is portable enough to take on any trip. The only downfall to the Acer Chromebook is that it only has 16GB of internal storage space. If you know that you’ll need to download work-related software or important documents, then this might not be the one for you.
However, if you just need to complete basic tasks with an internet connection, this is a great choice. It provides up to 9 hours of battery life, which is perfect for sitting on the beach while you work and don’t have a power source.