Last year at the Consumer Electronics Show, an exquisitely designed Windows laptop weighing slightly more than two pounds sparked excitement and innovation. The 2.18-pound Asus Zenbook A14, powered by Qualcomm, enthralled the largest tech showcase as the slimmest and lightest Copilot+ PC globally at that time. Among several accolades, it secured our Best of CES title in the laptop segment due to its lightweight yet robust construction, stunning OLED display, and enduring battery life. Even Oprah showed her appreciation.
In the near future, the Zenbook A14 will no longer be a rarity: Nearly every PC manufacturer showcased an impressively thin and lightweight model at CES 2026. Like the Zenbook A14, which underwent a subtle next-gen revision (and gained a sibling), the upcoming laptops showcase premium magnesium alloy bodies, OLED screens, and designs that weigh around 2.2 pounds. They make the 2.7-pound Apple MacBook Air seem cumbersome.
If 2025 marked the dawn of the ultra-thin phone, then 2026 is poised to be recognized as the year of the ultra-ultraportable Windows laptop.
Most of these incredibly lightweight Windows laptops are equipped with the new Intel Ultra Core Series 3 processors, providing greater app compatibility compared to ARM-based Qualcomm devices and boasting battery life extending up to 27 hours. The updated Zenbook A14 and the new HP OmniBook Ultra 14 will feature Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon X2 processors, with the former projected to last up to 35 hours. (The 2025 version managed about 22 hours during our tests.) The OmniBook’s specifications currently indicate “multi-day” battery life.
Stay tuned for final pricing and availability details for most of these CES laptops — and prepare for potential price increases, as the ongoing RAM shortage is anticipated to affect costs. We aim to test as many of them as we can shortly.
Acer Swift Edge 14 AI
Acer’s latest ultra-ultraportable model boasts a 14-inch 2K or 3K OLED screen featuring a 120Hz refresh rate, “multi-day” battery life, and up to an Intel Core Ultra 9 386H processor. Its shell consists of a stainless steel-magnesium alloy that complies with the U.S. MIL-STD-810H military-grade durability standard, yet it weighs merely 2.18 pounds and is 13.9 millimeters in thickness. A laser-etched geometric pattern adorns its lid, while the laptop itself remains a simple little silver charm. Expect it around Q2.
Asus ExpertBook Ultra
Asus’ latest 14-inch business laptop can be configured with an Intel Core Ultra X9 Series 3 processor, Intel’s new premium chip, and comes equipped as standard with a 3K tandem OLED display featuring a variable 120Hz refresh rate and a matte finish. (Similar to Apple’s nano-texture enhancement for the MacBook Pro, but available at no added cost.)
Remarkably, it weighs just 2.18 pounds and measures 10.9 millimeters in thickness while incorporating a haptic touchpad; Asus’ representative mentioned a divot in its battery to accommodate this feature.
The ExpertBook Ultra has a wind tunnel-like thermal design with large fans that operate quietly. The chassis is crafted from a strong magnesium-aluminum alloy with a “Nano Ceramic” coating, also employed in aircraft and Formula 1 cars, according to the representative. It is a variant of the Ceraluminum found in the Zenbook A14, yet it employs a similar bonding process and remains scratch-resistant.
Asus’s representative conveyed that the EliteBook Ultra “will fall on the higher end of the price range.” No launch date has been established yet.
Asus Zenbook A14 (and A16)
Asus has provided my cherished MacBook Air competitor with a slight next-gen refresh. The 2026 iteration of the 14-inch, Ceraluminum-clad Zenbook A14 will incorporate a new Snapdragon X2 Elite chip with enhanced AI processing capabilities, a maximum battery life of 35 hours, slimmer bezels, 24GB of baseline RAM, and a refreshed matte keycap finish. It still starts at a mere 2.18 pounds and 13.5 millimeters in thickness, featuring a 2K 60Hz OLED display.
The Zenbook A14 is also introducing a 16-inch version. The new Zenbook A16 will be the inaugural next-gen laptop available with the Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme, Qualcomm’s most potent processor to date. It will boast a 3K 120Hz OLED touchscreen and an additional SD card reader slot, and it will weigh only 2.65 pounds — making it almost an ounce lighter than the 13-inch MacBook Air and more than half a pound lighter than the 15-inch variant. It is expected to achieve at least 21 hours of battery life.
Asus has yet to establish a price.