Best Portable Laptop: The Top 30 in Australia (November 2023 Update)
Best Portable Laptop: The Top 30 in Australia (November 2023 Update)
Every month, we perform a group test to determine the Best Portable Laptop of the month. This involves updating our in-depth laptop reviews with the latest pricing and availability to establish the contenders before ranking them.
In recent months, we’ve changed tack and are ranking all the portable notebooks according to our reviews’ Portability scores. This provides a much fresher list and you can easily scroll through it to find the lightweight laptop that best suits your needs and budget. We also recently learned that perennial favourites, Huawei, are currently tools-down while they make significant internal changes.
To be eligible for our group test, all of the following portable laptops must weigh less-than 1.8KG and have a battery life of at least eight hours (unless otherwise stated). Our overall, best portable laptop rank is then derived by adding together the following facets: 45% of the battery life ranking; 45% of the weight ranking; 10% of the ‘weight of power supply and cables’ ranking; plus, 5% of the build quality ranking.
What makes a perfect portable laptop?
Top 30 Best Portable Laptops1. HP Envy X360
2. HP Elite Dragonfly G4 (New Entry)
8. Dell Latitude 7330 Rugged Extreme
15. HP Spectre Foldable 17 (New Entry)
17. Lenovo Yoga Pro 7i (New Entry)
18. Acer Aspire Vero (New Entry)
29. Gigabyte Aero 14 OLED (New Entry)
FAQWhat is the best small laptop on the market?
Why are portable laptops good?
What’s the lightest laptop in Australia?
Are gaming laptops really portable?
What is a good, portable gaming laptop?
What makes a perfect portable laptop?
The perfect portable laptop eschews powerful components for a long battery life. It also has a small power supply and a thin, lightweight, robust chassis that will survive life on the road.
It should be fast enough to run all basic computer tasks (like office work) without lagging and be comfortable to use for extended periods, due to good ergonomics. It shouldn’t get too warm and its cooling fans shouldn’t get too noisy. It should also have a good webcam and microphone for web conferencing. Occasionally you’ll also find a unicorn ultraportable laptop that will play games too!
Top 30 Best Portable Laptops
Price: $1,599 | A fantastic convertible ultraportable with over 19 hours of battery life
HP Envy X360.
The all-aluminium HP Envy looks great, weighs little and has a very long battery life — that’s why it’s High Performance Laptops’ Number 1 Portable Laptop Award winner. It also converts into a tablet. It’s may look a little under-powered compared to some, newer rivals, but it’s one of the most portable notebooks we’ve ever tested and a worthy addition to anyone’s shortlist. We’ve seen its price fluctuate considerably in recent months, but it’s just dropped by $400 meaning it’s a steal in November!
- HP Elite Dragonfly G4 (New Entry)
Price: $3,945 | HP’s luxurious, business-class ultraportable is seriously desirable
HP Elite Dragonfly G4.
The HP Dragonfly has a gorgeous, thin-and-light magnesium chassis that’s also incredibly robust. On top of that, the 14-inch ultraportable only weighs 1.4KG and has a battery life 17 hours and 54 minutes. On top of that, its got HP’s Wolf Security, making it suitable for business users while the amazing speakers make it great for multimedia. It’s expensive though.
Price: $1,496 | A business classic that’s nearly perfect for portability
Dell XPS 13.
We posted our most recent review of the Dell XPS 13 on Smarthouse but we nonetheless tested it using High Performance Laptops‘ in-depth methodology. It’s an industry stalwart that impresses casual users and top executives alike with its aluminium appearance. However, its two Thunderbolt 4 ports (one of which is used by the power supply) will feel limiting to many users. The screen is also only suited to office work, too.
Nonetheless, there’s much to like, especially in terms of ergonomics (webcam, keyboard, amazing speakers) and, naturally, portability. It weighs just 1.16KG and has a battery that ran our PCMark Modern Office test for an impressive 14 hours and 13 minutes.
Price: $2,949 (Plus $430 for Signature Keyboard with Slim Pen 2) | Thin and desirable, but expensive
Microsoft Surface Pro 9.
The Microsoft Surface Pro 9 is designed for corporates who want a hybrid, mobile workforce to have a mobile tool that’s good for office work, reliable when out and about and good for web-conferencing when away from a desk. In these regards it’s a great success. It’s so easy to chuck in a bag and whip it out to start working instantly.
However, there’s no getting away from the fact it’s very expensive compared to rival ‘laptops’ and having to pay a whopping, additional $430 for the keyboard and stylus, can stick in the craw. It also has a long footprint which makes it difficult to actually rest on your lap. Still, it’s so easy to rip-off the keyboard and use it as a bona fide, lightweight tablet, we can’t not like it.
Price: $2,817 | Great portable performance
Acer Swift 5.
It’s difficult to find the touchscreen-wielding Acer Swift 5 (with our review specs) in the stores or even listed on Acer’s online store. On the surface it looks and feels very good but the lightweight chassis’ plastic nature can feel a bit cheap underneath. Still, if you can find one at a good price — like this overseas model on Amazon — there’s much to like in terms of portable performance. It only weighs 1.29KG and the power supply and cables only add another 300g. The small(ish) 55Wh battery also managed to last for an impressive 14 hours 12 minutes too.
Price: $2,609 | A portable convertible that’s packed full of features and back on sale in November
Lenovo Yoga 7i.
At $3,000 the Lenovo Yoga 7i represented very good value by having to heaps of features, excellent ergonomics and impressive portability. At **$2,609**, it’s a bargain. It’s been one of our Top 10 best laptops and one of our bust Best Business Laptops to boot. We’re also fans of Lenovo’s genuinely green credentials which offset all carbon throughout the laptop’s lifespan, from distribution, to construction, to lifetime energy usage and, finally, recycling. The only thing it’s not great at is gaming.
The fact a 16-inch laptop made it this far up the list is incredible. It’s also partly why we’ve given it a special dispensation to compete in this group test, as it breaks our 1.8kg cut-off point by busting the scales at 2KG. However, note that the power brick and cables weigh a paltry 174g which means it’s not the heaviest combo here. Finally, the Yoga 7i ran our battery test for an amazing 18 hours. These results and the giveaway price make it hugely desirable.
Price: $1,299 | A perennial portable favourite, but this latest version has some issues
MSI Prestige 14 Evo.
The MSI Prestige range has traditionally offered amazing portability, stunning looks and even gaming prowess in a corporate-friendly chassis. This new model cuts out the the gaming and the looks. But, it’s still powerful, portable, ergonomically pleasing and well worth considering.
Our review spec is hard to find now, but you can pick up a 13th-Gen version for much less money now. That buys you a 1.23KG Evo-certified laptop with an impressive 10 hours and 46 minutes battery life.
Price: Over $10,000 | If you need an industrial-strength laptop for the field, this is it
Dell Latitude 7330 Rugged Extreme.
It might not be particularly light, fast or in any way cheap, but if you need a laptop that could survive on a battlefield, this is it. It also has a super-bright screen for very sunny days and two, hot-swapbatteries for continuous battery life if you need more than the existing 20 hours 11 minutes! The latter is why we forgave its 2.3KG bulk.
Dell doesn’t give a price for our spec — you have to call them up and negotiate one. Naturally, it’s not for everyone, but for some fields and industries, it will be essential enough to render the price inconsequential.
Price: $2,499 (£1,300) | One of the best laptops we’ve ever used. But, it’s very new and hard to find
Acer Swift Edge 16.
This brand new entry from Acer is one of our favourite laptops ever. The OLED screen is fast enough for casual and competitive gaming and it supports HDR which makes watching multimedia an immersive joy. The speakers are surprisingly good and it’s generally a joy to interact with. Oh, and it’s got a 16-inch chassis that weighs just 1.24KG! The phone-type power supply only adds another 182g, too.
On top of that, it’s the first laptop with AMD’s A.I. smarts built in to the processor and it’s comparatively powerful when compared to most other laptops on this list. In November, it’s very new in Australia and so we’re still pushing for local pricing.
We’re also still settling on a final battery-life score: Acer says 10 hours, but our in-house testing is stuck at 9 hours. That’s still a full day out of the office, but we think it can do more with updated software and so we’ll re-test. Either way, it’s a fantastic, portable workhorse. Keep checking Acer’s online store for availability.
Price: $1,129 | Another impressive Asus Vivobook that comes in at a very-low price
Asus Vivobook S 14.
The Asus Vivobook S 14 is a good, general-purpose laptop. It might not stand-out in one (physical) area but it has few weak points and offers a well-rounded combination of ergonomics, features and performance. It weighs a modest 1.65KG but the battery life is an impressive 15 hours and 39 minutes.
It might not be our Best Value Laptop Award winner right now, but it used to be and its November sale price still means it offers outstanding value. So, hurry up if you want a bargain laptop.
Price: $1,699 | A great ultraportable that can suit many tasks
Asus Zenbook 14 OLED.
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