Best 11-Inch Laptops | Chromebooks & Ultrabooks. 2022 Buyer’s Guide

What is the best 11-inch laptop? Well, you have several options to choose from. For watching videos and browsing the Internet, opt for Chromebooks like Lenovo C330. Equipped with the web-browser-based Chrome operating system, these laptops are fully managed in the cloud. This means that no application remains on the device, while the laptop starts faster and all updates run in the cloud.

Ultrabooks are a new generation of sleek, lightweight, and powerful laptops. Ideal for travelers, they run on Intel Core processors, have solid-state drives and durable batteries. Models like the Lenovo Thinkpad feature a convertible design and HD LED-backlit IPS touchscreen. The Apple MacBook Air is the most lightweight and high-performance laptop on the list. The device offers enhanced graphics capabilities, a built-in HD FaceTime camera, and an ultra-accurate multi-touch trackpad. And finally, you may go for a traditional 11-inch laptop like the ASUS VivoBook, which is both compact and affordable.

Best 11” Laptops Compared

Different Types of 11-Inch Laptops

Netbooks / Chromebooks

Netbooks have been on the market for more than a decade. They used to be popular as a more lightweight, simpler, and cheaper alternative to more expensive laptops. Many standard netbooks, such as this ASUS Eee PC for just $100, come with displays of 10 inches and less. As laptops became more affordable and the Apple Ipad hit the market, netbooks have turned outdated. But the story of netbooks was not over. It was Google’s Chromebooks that have breathed new life into them.

Chromebooks are perfect for browsing the Internet, watching videos, and running basic applications. One of the main perks is that they run on the web-browser-based Chrome operating system. Designed by Google, Chrome OS has both user data and applications residing in the cloud. The major downside to Chromebooks, therefore, is their dependence on a reliable Internet connection.

Keep in mind that Chromebooks are not suitable for playing heavy games or performing tasks like editing videos as they do not provide the corresponding graphics performance. Nor can you install the full Microsoft Office software on such a laptop. And yet, netbooks are a good choice for students, beginners, and those on a budget.

Today, there are plenty of nice designs on the market. For example, this sleek Lenovo Chromebook C330 is a 360-degree convertible. With a weight of 2.6 pounds, it is 1-inch and is built with a 10-point 11.6-inch touchscreen display.

Ultrabooks

This is the latest innovation in the world of laptops, with an impressive design and supreme portability. Ultrabooks are advertized — and rightly so — as a new generation of thin yet powerful enough laptops. Based on low-power Intel Core processors, they have a unibody chassis and solid-state drives. Many models come without Ethernet and HDMI ports, optical disc drives, or other features typical to traditional laptops. When compared to netbooks, ultrabooks are more expensive due to a large screen and enhanced storage capacity. Besides, they use more advanced technologies and are equipped with batteries that last much longer.

Ultrabooks are equally great for entertainment, work, and multimedia purposes. With that said, they cannot replace a desktop computer and are not good for gaming. Crafted with the stock Intel HD Graphics 4000 graphic processor, ultrabooks will not be suitable for medium-level and high-level gaming. This is because performance is sacrificed for portability. To sum up, ultrabooks are ideal for travelers who have their work mainly on the web or do light tasks.

Today, most brand-name manufacturers, like Samsung, ASUS, Lenovo, and HP, have included ultrabooks in their product lines. While the average price for such laptops is around $1,000, you may find less expensive models. For example, Amazon offers a variety of renewed laptops that look and work like new. You can buy the Lenovo Thinkpad Yoga 11e Ultrabook for just $250. This convertible laptop runs on the Intel N3150 processor, features 4GB DDR3 memory and a 128GB SSD storage hard drive. Unlike many other ultrabooks, it is made with both HDMI and Ethernet ports.

The MacBook Air

Built with improved hardware, a long-lasting battery, and enhanced security, the MacBook Air is amazingly lightweight. This combination of high performance and slim design makes it the best choice for travelers who need a portable laptop for complex tasks. The Apple MacBook Air MD711LL/B 11.6in Laptop weighs just 1.1 pounds and boasts an all-day battery life. It is faster and more secure than many other 11-inch laptops on the market, including the modern ones. Made with enhanced graphics capabilities, the laptop features a display depicting more color and a built-in HD FaceTime camera delivering clear images.

When compared to Ultrabooks, the MacBook Air has a much faster hard drive read speed. It can transfer as much as 10 Gbps versus 6Gbps on Ultrabooks. The difference is particularly noticeable when you start your laptop and open a browser. The Macbook Air is made with a screen superior to most Ultrabook displays in terms of brightness, anti-glare protection, and viewing angles. Besides, it features a more accurate and reliable multi-touch trackpad supporting rotate, scrolling, tap, four-finger swipe, and other capabilities.

On top of that, the MacBook Air is more comfortable to type on and has a full-size backlit keyboard, whereas Ultrabooks either do not have the keyboard backlighting feature at all or do not provide enough backlighting to work in the darkness. When it comes to build quality, pricier Ultrabooks would feel approximately as good as the MacBook Air. The same is applied to a processor and RAM. As for the advantages, many Ultrabooks are cheaper and offer more ports than the MacBook Air.

Traditional Laptops

Despite all the innovations, traditional 11-inch laptops are the most widespread option. This is a balanced solution because, unlike ultrabooks, they are not pricey and when compared to netbooks, they are faster and provide better performance. Another reason for their popularity is a variety of models with different specifications and features available on the market. The major downside to traditional 11-inch laptops is that they lack portability. Such devices are heavier, bulkier, and typically are not chosen by people who travel a lot. Some models are more portable than others, though.

You may go for the ASUS L203MA-DS04 VivoBook L203MA Laptop that weighs just 2.1 pounds, measures 11.3” x 7.6” x 0.7”, and has an ergonomic keyboard. It comes with the VivoBook function providing you with fast access to system settings. Ideal for budget buyers, this laptop uses inexpensive components but is a pretty capable laptop. Well, it will not handle heavy-duty gaming, but it is compact, has an HD display, and a decent battery with a 10-hour lifespan.

How to Choose an 11-Inch Laptop?

The first thing to remember is that 11-inch laptops come with more limited specifications, which is the price you pay for portability. Nevertheless, there are the minimum and recommended requirements for this type of system. For basic needs, an 11-inch laptop with the Intel Celeron N4000 CPU, 4GB RAM, 1366 x 768 display resolution, Intel UHD Graphics 500 GPU, and a 6-hour battery will be sufficient.

For more demanding tasks, you may want the Intel Pentium N5000 processor, 1920 x 1080 screen resolution, and a longer-lasting battery (up to 12 hours and more). Of course, the better the specs, the pricier the laptop is. And it would not be wise to overpay for features you do not actually need. A good example of a high-performance 11-inch model is the HP Chromebook 11-inch Laptop with a whopping 15 hours of battery life, a powerful MediaTek mobile processor, and 32 GB eMMC storage.

The form factor and built quality is another thing to consider. The trick is that they may or may not be important for you, as mostly this is a matter of personal preferences. You should decide whether you need features like aluminum chassis, backlit keyboards, glass trackpads, or glass screens. You may pick a convertible 2-in-1 Lenovo Chromebook C330 or the Samsung Chromebook 3 with an anti-reflective display.

Best-Selling 11 Inch Laptops | Comparison Table