Picture of LG Gram
Just 8 years ago the average thickness and weight of business grade laptops was greater by a factor of 2, twice as heavy and twice as thick. When we look at new laptops, as we would, we notice that there are hardly any new laptops left on the market that weigh over 2kg. We reached a moment in tech history where: what was consider an "ultra-thin" or "ultra mobile" laptop a decade ago has now become the main stream standard. When the MacBook Air came out in 2008, such a form factor was revolutionary. Fast forward just 12 years, and that form-factor is now the standard for laptops. Nowadays, the ultra-thin category is dominated by models as light as the LG Gram at 1.1kg, or the Dell XPS 13 at 1.3kg, of the Surface Laptop at 1.5kg, which is now considered on the bulkier side of things.
Comparison of Laptop Size and Weight
There is a lot to appreciate about the fact that laptops have generally gotten much smaller, narrower, and lighter. It is much easier to just tote them around. Plop in and out of bed without them ever feeling obtrusive or cumbersome. On the other hand, I do enjoy a bit of heft, so older laptops don't yet bother me. I really think some older laptops like the EliteBook 8470p have brilliant industrial design. So I am not itching for a major upgrade to replace my HP EliteBook 8470p or my MacBook Pro Early 2011 anytime soon.
Close-up Picture of EliteBook 8470p Showing Height
Both are excellently crafted devices for their age. 9 years ago, the machined and chisel metallic body, that both of the laptops have were smart-looking and futuristic for their time. Neither yet looks overly dated or old looking. At least, they don't look noticeably dated until you put them side-by-side with a more modern, business class laptop.
Close-up Picture of EliteBook 8470p showing Design
When I compare my old EliteBook 8470p from 2011 to the more modern ThinkPad T470 from 2017, I realized that in a span of 5 years computing power hasn’t really gotten much stronger in terms of over speed and performance. The i5-6300U chip that’s inside T470 in comparison to the older i5-3320M in HP we see that overall performance has increased that much. Checking on CPU Benchmarking tests, the 6300U only realizes minimal gains. However, that not exactly a full picture which shows how this new chip is much better.
Picture of the ThinkPad T470p
ULV class chips like 6300U shine in other areas such as miniaturization and energy efficiency. They are worth it! The areas where newer chips defeat older chips is in terms of gains such as lower operating temperatures, quieter fan operation, and unending battery life. ULV class chips also means these laptops can have much thinner, much lighter, and much more mobile bodies. Judging from all of this, stepping back and looking at the bigger picture, I am actually glad that manufacturers focused a bit less on power upgrades and seemed to have focused making laptop computers lighter weight, less power-hungry, and more power-efficiency in terms of battery life.
Picture of Screenshots of Benchmarks
The development of thin and light laptops is hard to put into words because things like mobility aren’t easy to describe on a spec sheet. How much a computer weighs, and its exterior dimensions does not accurately describe what its like to hold a laptop in your hand. Nonetheless, manufacturers focused on mobility. Laptops should be light and easy to carry around.
Picture of Thinkpad T470
I would always have to commend Apple’s product strategy. In retrospect, MacBook Air was a good bet, and turned out introduce an innovation for all laptops. There lightweight laptops turned out to be very popular. Thin and light laptops completely shifted the laptop market.
Low key, one of the greatest developments in laptop technology is that year after year they continue to get lighter and more mobile. I am glad to see that year after year, manufacturers are still attempting to make them lighter and easier to carry around. The MacBook Air was the first major laptop to do that, and yet here we are 12 years later and every laptop is thin and light.
Picture of HP MacBook Air
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