What is the lightest Mac Laptop available?

What is the lightest Mac laptop available and what screen size and battery life do you get at that weight? Thansk.

 

If you mean current, the lightest Mac laptop is the MacBook, which weighs in at 5.2 pounds and is 1.08" thick and has a 13.3 inch screen. Apple quotes up to 6 hours of battery life for this laptop, but more realistic use is normally in the 3.5-4.5 hour range, depending on what you're doing.

The MacBook Pro 15" model is 5.6 pounds and 1" thick. Apple quotes up to 5 hours of battery on this, but also expect more like 3-4 in real use.

If you mean including somewhat older laptops, the 12" PowerBook G4 was 4.6 pounds and 1.18" thick. You can find them somewhat cheap, but the downside is that they don't have Intel chips.

 

Do you have any idea why they weigh so much? one would expect a 13" PC notebook to weigh a poound less than that.

 

In the case of the MacBook, one thing to consider is the materials it is made of, particularly the polycarbonate, which can be a bit heavier than other materials.

Secondly, the only 13" notebooks that are usually significantly lighter than that are the more expensive ones that usually have lighter weight bodies, thanks to materials like carbon fiber, etc. Sony's SZ series is a good example of that, and is in the 3.7-4.1 pound range.

More comparable is something like Sony's C series 13.3" laptop, which is made of more traditional plastics, etc. and weighs in at 5.02 pounds (not counting the AC adaptor), and is also considerably thicker than the MacBook or the Sony SZ.

Granted, there are exceptions, such as Asus's W7J, which is 4.3 pounds or so (although I don't know the weight of it's AC adaptor), and is still fairly inexpensive, certainly compared to the Sony C series. It does get a fair bit thicker though..... 1.18"-1.45" compared to 1.08" for the MacBook.

There's generally always tradeoffs when it comes to these things.

I definitely would factor in the AC adaptor though. The MacBook ac adaptor is pretty tiny compared to what what you carry around with something like the Sonys or the Asus. It's at least a consideration when factoring in overall weight.

Asus W3J:


MacBook adaptor:

 

It's also probably worth mention that there have been rumors floating around for a while now that Apple is working on a new thin and light laptop (probably in the pro line), specifically that might take the place of the old 12" PowerBook G4. Haven't seen anything concrete to prove it, but a lot of people have felt that the MacBook Pro line has been missing a "thin and light" notebook for people who don't want a 15" or 17" MBP, and for whom the 13.3" MacBook isn't adequate.

 

I agree. The Macbook is considered somewhat heavy compared to other (admittedly high-end) 13.3" notebooks, but considering it's target market (students and first time Mac owners) value and durability were probably given higher priority.

If you compare it with the iBook G4, the results are much more favourable compared to the 12.1" model at 4.9 pounds or the 14.1" model at 5.9 pounds.

 

Not true:
- Sony has a non-premium line of the SZ series which is 3.7 lbs and is not carbon fiber of the premium
- Fujitsu offers 14" laptops at 4.2-4.5lbs (the Fujitsu S7xxx series) as well as 13" laptops at 3.7-4.1 lbs (their S2xxx and 6xxxx series) usies standard materials
- Sharp has a 13" laptop that is 3.7 lbs, uses standard materials

Its a bit strange because Apple actually used to be known for ultraportable laptops about a decade ago and then just abandoned any idea of making lightweight laptops.

Its a bit of a shame. With their shift to Intel I was ready to by a Mac, but all I am finding is 5lb+ beheomoths that are just not on my agenda. Considering that apple is one of the largest laptop competitors around that lack of choice is pretty dissapoiinting.

I will go ahead and get a regular PC laptop instead, since I have no time to wait around and see if Apple come up with with one in six months or whatever. Maybe will consider it next time around if they have added more choices to the product line.

 

Sorry, I shouldn't have said "only"..... I'm aware there are other 13" notebooks that are lighter (I even mentioned the Asus, but didn't go back and edit it). But my point was that most of those lightweight 13" notebooks are generally more expensive; I know some aren't made from such exotic materials but they are still made of higher quality and more expensive components (like Sony's non-premium SZ that you mentioned, which still costs in the $2000 range).

Anyway, yes, if the weight of the laptop itself is the biggest concern for you, any of those laptops you mentioned will be fine.

I will say again though that I think the size and weight of the power adaptor is still worth keeping in mind. When I owned my Vaio S360, as much as I liked the form factor of the laptop itself, I didn't like how much room the power adaptor and it's cables took in my bag.

The MacBook and MacBook Pro's compact power adaptors with their great cable management really stand apart comparitively.

Anyway, Apple did make a somewhat lightweight laptop until recently, the 12" PowerBook G4. I do suspect that the rumors of a new thin and light MacBook Pro probably will come to pass, but I understand your point that you can't wait around and see when that might happen.

Also, I'd hardly call the 15" MacBook Pro or the 13.3" MacBook "behemoths". At 1" thick, they are very compact for the most part, and even at a weight of 5.2 and 5.6 pounds, I still found both of them to be quite easy to carry around. As I mentioned above, the compactness of the power adaptors compared to the large power adaptor my Sony Vaio S360 had, for example, also made a difference.

-Zadillo

 

Hmm, the only way you get a 3.7 pound SZ is with the Premium model what starts at over $2K The Standard models with a configuration similar to a MacBook are also in the $1700 range - quite a bit more expensive than the MacBook. And the MacBook is considerably smaller (in every maximum dimension).

I have a MacBook and a Premium SZ and while I love the weight of the SZ, the MacBook is smaller, thinner, and (for me) much more productive. I really don't like that extra pound and a bit (it feels like more) but its worth it to me.

If you want a Premium SZ I know where you can find one cheap ;-)

 

Depends on how you look at it. At the moment I am using a Panasonic W5 that comes in at 2.8 lbs and has a real-life battery length of 9 hours. In other words I can use for example it on the train to work and back for 2-3-4 days without needing to add more power.

But if the laptop is designed to last very short then yes, you end up needing power ie to carry a charger.

Also the size of charger is I think dependent on the laptop design itself. If it needs 19 volts then you need a heavier charger. U;traportables use low voltage CPU's and only need a 16 volt charger, which is lighter. So for long-timeultra portable users you rarely see big chargers anyway.

I just want a few more screen pixels than the W5 has so that is why I started looking around for a new laptop - and opened up my search to include Apple. But no, I dont think I can wait about for Steve to drop a new product when he feels like it.

 

Cool, good luck with whatever you end up going with.

 

The Asus W5F might be closer to what you are looking for.