9+ Best Ultrabook Under $1000 | Unrivaled Guide 2022

Over the years, laptops have allowed an increasing number of users and professionals to carry out their activities on the move. Precisely this is the peculiar characteristic of notebooks, however thanks to the latest technologies and the advancement of miniaturization processes, the various manufacturers have managed to bring to the market computer models that are even easier to carry around than traditional notebooks.

They are the so-called ultrabooks, laptops with certain technical characteristics and which, above all, are very thin and weigh very little. Usually, they are not very powerful and are not able to completely replace a desktop, but for those who can accept the compromises they can represent the best solution. Precisely for this reason they have quickly become the ideal computers for all professionals who can or must work on the move, easily replacing a notebook for basic activities.

There are several criteria to consider when choosing a computer in this category but, do not worry, you are on the right page! Below I will explain all the main notions to know in this area, so that you can choose the Best Ultrabook Under $1000 for your specific needs. If you don’t know terms like CPU, GPU and you don’t know who the main names in the industry are, then get comfortable, arm yourself a little patience and find out everything you need to know to tackle your next purchase.

Ultrabook meaning

Technically, the term ultrabook is a registered trademark of Intel (a well-known processor company) which indicates a category of particularly small and light laptops with processors from the Santa Clara manufacturer.

In this sense they are laptops with certain characteristics: long battery life, good performance and, as is often the case on tablets, a recovery from quick standby mode. Typically they use a metal body which serves not only to reduce size, thickness and weight, but also to passively dissipate the heat produced by the internal electronics.

Ultrabooks mainly adopt Intel Core processors of different price ranges, SSD storage units (more compact than traditional hard-drives, and quieter), although recently AMD has also started to offer Ryzen processors suitable for laptops of size. Reduced thickness and weight, so you can also safely find AMD ultrabooks on the market. And not only because Apple has also decided to market its first ultrabooks with proprietary ARM processor, the so-called Apple M1 which has been included in the latest MacBook Air and MacBook Pro.

Which ultrabook to buy

Due to the miniaturization work behind a laptop of this type, an ultrabook on average has a fairly high retail price. Below I offer you a selection of products from which you can choose which ultrabook to buy , although technically some of these products are simple laptops with compact dimensions. The cheaper ones will force you to accept some compromises and models from the mid-range upwards are preferable, but don’t despair! Even if you have budget limits, there are products that can give you satisfaction if you don’t have professional needs.

How to choose an ultrabook

Choosing Best Ultrabook Under $1000  is very simple, even if you need to have some basic computer skills. It is clear that you have already established that your next laptop will need to be thin, light and easy to carry around, as well as have a good operating autonomy. As I explained above, in fact, these are all features present in ultrabooks.

I also remind you that ultrabooks are different from 2-in-1s and convertible. Aesthetically they are very similar to a traditional laptop, have a clamshell opening and have no parts that can be separated (for example the keyboard module). If you are looking for a different type of device, then, I suggest you take a look at my guide to buying the best notebooks, which addresses the topic in a more general way.

Monitor

When choosing the best ultrabook , you can’t ignore the monitor , which is a fundamental feature. Typically, this product category is offered in compact form factors, so you can find models from around 11 ” or 13 ” to a maximum of 15.6 ” . This characteristic indicates the dimensions of the installed monitor, or rather the diagonal of the panel.

Resolution

The resolution deserves a separate and more in-depth discussion , i.e. the number of pixels on the long side and on the short side of the display (an example is the resolution 1920 × 1080 , Full HD, characterized by 1920 pixels on the long side and 1080 on the short one). By multiplying the figures, however, the total number of pixels on the screen is obtained, but this is a fact that the various manufacturers hardly mention in the list of technical specifications of the products.

• HD resolution – As ultrabooks are mid-range or mid-range laptops, it is difficult to find models with HD resolution displays. In this case you would have resolutions of 1280 × 800 or 1366 × 768 pixels, but in general I do not recommend ultrabooks with similar specifications.
• Full HD resolution – this is the most popular resolution on both ultrabooks and traditional laptops, and is also widely used on desktops. The pixels are 1920 × 1080 , with an optimal image definition considering the diagonals typical of ultrabooks.
• Quad HD resolution – also known as 2K , this resolution provides a number of pixels equal to 2560 × 1440 pixels . The definition is higher than Full HD with the same diagonal, however this is not always good. Especially on models with smaller displays the interface elements can be very small and force the user to change the operating system settings, to get a better user experience.
• Ultra HD resolution – this resolution is the highest that can be found on current generation ultrabooks. Also in this case the consideration made above applies to the interface elements that can be presented with dimensions too small to be clearly distinguishable. Also known as 4K, it indicates a resolution of 3840×2160 pixels.

Ultrabooks can also feature a touch-screen monitor , which makes it possible to issue commands even with the use of a finger or a capacitive stylus. However, there are few models that offer the latter possibility, which is easier to find on 2-in-1s and convertibles.

Design

One of the hallmarks of the latest generation Ultrabooks is their design . These PCs are designed to be thin, light and elegant, perfect for portability. The outer shell is generally made of carbon fiber, magnesium alloy or aluminum alloy.

The thickness is often under 2 cm with a decidedly reduced weight compared to other portable models.

Storage memory

Another very important factor is the storage memory or the space available to store your files. In particular, Ultrabooks can have two possible variants: a mechanical Hard Disk , much older as an option, or an SSD or a solid state drive that is much more practical and faster.

Very often these, the SSDs, are interchangeable and give the possibility to store much more data. Among the most popular formats on the market there are undoubtedly the 125, 256 or 512 GB memories up to computers that also have 1 or 2 TB memories.

RAM

RAM is also a factor to keep an eye on when choosing a PC. In particular, this is an internal memory which, working in synergy with the CPU, allows you to store temporary data and keep them in the archive until the computer is turned off. The more RAM there is in the computer, the faster the device will work with multiple applications and programs at the same time.

Ultrabooks generally start from a minimum of 4 GB of RAM but, our personal advice, it is always good to focus on products that have 8 or 16 GB in order to have a performing and fast product.

Drums

The battery is also of course a key feature in an ultrabook , and is the component that allows you to use the device on the go, when you don’t have electricity. Ultrabook manufacturers indicate the specifications of the integrated battery with different units of measurement, and among the most used we have the milliampere hours (mAh) . Sometimes you can find the number of cells in the battery pack, or units of measurement such as Wh ( Watt / hour ) or V ( Volt ) (to get the mAh just divide the Wh by V, and multiply the result by 1,000).

In any case, the higher the number, the greater the autonomy you can expect from that product, but it’s not that simple! The real battery life, in fact, is also decided by the energy consumption of each single component present in the ultrabook.

Ports

On an ultrabook the question of the ports is very delicate, given that the dimensions are small and there is not much space for any connectors, especially if these are of considerable size. In the newer and thinner models, there is not even room for USB Type-A ports (the traditional sized ones), but we only have USB Type-C ports for reversible connectors.

Furthermore, the USB ports are not all the same: the second generation USB 3.1 can transfer data up to 1250MB / s, while the first generation ones (which are often referred to as USB 3.0) reach a maximum of 625MB / s. Then there are the USB 2.0 that stop up to 60MB / s.

On an ultrabook, however, it is very difficult to find the Ethernet port or ports for external monitors . USB Type-C with Thunderbolt 3 functionality is often used to connect external monitors, but you may also find an HDMI or DisplayPort in mini or micro variants. Ultrabooks often use Wireless solutions, precisely because of the shortcomings in terms of physical connectivity: always check for support for Wi-Fi standards (preferably AC dual-band 2.4 / 5GHz, or Wi-Fi 5) and Bluetooth (from version 4.0 and up).

Operating system

To work an ultrabook needs an operating system , that is a basic software that interfaces with the individual components present in the system. To do this, the operating system uses drivers and other code developed to operate at a low level with the installed hardware. These processes are invisible to the user, who sees only a simplified graphical interface with different applications that allow him to perform operations through his computer. There are several operating systems on the market, often with their own applications and compatibility, but the files are often “universal” and can be viewed or edited by all computers (eg JPGs for photos or MP4s for videos).

• Windows – is the most popular operating system on ultrabooks and the latest version available on the market is Windows 11 . It has a very large number of applications and games and has a customized store from which to download the most advanced ones.
• macOS – a highly rated operating system on ultrabooks, available only and exclusively in the Apple MacBook family. Developed internally by Apple and officially working only on the products of the Cupertino giant, it is characterized by great ease of use and synergy with Apple products (eg iPhone and iPad).
• Chrome OS – not too popular in Italy, but some very cheap ultrabooks use the Chrome OS operating system . It is developed by Google and is based on the use of cloud services (but not only). It is characterized by lightness but in terms of applications it is lower than the other operating systems available on the market.
• Linux – Some compact laptop models may integrate a Linux operating system distribution . Among the most famous, for example, I mention Ubuntu , a distribution that is edited by Canonical and that you can find on one of the products that I will suggest later.

Accessories

Accessories can also be an important plus. What we advise you to evaluate, first of all, is the keyboard of your new PC. Make sure this is solid and that the keys respond well to pressure.

In addition to the keyboard, it is good to check that your Ultrabook has a webcam (now almost all models have it) and an input for CD and DVD.

Brand

As we anticipated at the beginning of this guide, the term Ultrabook was once associated with a single brand: Apple . the MacBook Air from Apple was in fact the only laptop that could be defined as such for performance and features.

Over time, however, many other brands have distinguished themselves. Among these certainly Microsoft, Huawei, HP and Asus.

CPU

As we said at the beginning, Ultrabooks are laptops that only mount Intel CPUs . The CPU is nothing more than the computer processor or the brain that allows the optimal execution of all general operations. All this happens thanks to factors such as the number of cores present in the processor and the calculation frequency.

When evaluating your Ultrabook take into account the fact that Intel Cores are divided into various families named by the letter “i” followed by a digit. This is the i3, i5, and i7 which indicate low-end, mid-range, and high-end products respectively. When you read, for example, that a notebook is equipped with an Intel Core i7 processor , you will know that it is a very high quality product.
These figures may in some cases be followed by a letter. In the case of Ultrabooks, for example, the letter U is generally present.
In any case, keep in mind that the best products always have high-quality Intel processors to ensure high performance.

In some cases the CPUs also integrate the GPUs or video cards . These, as far as Intel Core processors are concerned, are of the highest quality.

Price

How much does it cost to buy an Ultrabook?

An important factor to take into account is undoubtedly the price . As you may have understood by now, Ultrabooks are high-end devices that guarantee users really high performance. Precisely for this reason, the price of these devices is also generally higher than other products.

For a mid-range model you have to consider a cost starting from a minimum of $ 600 / $ 700 . Higher-end products start at $ 1000 , up to as much as $ 4000 in some cases.

Frequent questions