The term ultrabook was largely coined by Intel. With the label, Intel defines thin, light laptops with an Intel processor. Compared to common notebooks, ultrabooks are characterized by special properties. In this article, we will explain exactly what characterizes an ultrabook.
What is an ultrabook?
When Intel first defined ultrabooks in 2011, the company set out a number of requirements that this type of laptop had to meet. The aim was to develop a product that would compete with the emerging tablets and the MacBook Air, which is in no way inferior to the tablets, especially in terms of mobility. The manufacturers were given the following requirements for ultrabooks based on an Intel processor:
- An ultrabook has to be thin : less than 1 inch or 2.54 cm thick. The same performance should be achieved as a normal notebook. The ultrabook market was particularly favored by the rapid technical progress - increasingly compact hardware with better performance.
- Ultrabooks have a longer battery life than regular laptops of the same class. The criterion here was set to five hours of battery life on a single charge. The market has developed rapidly due to ever advancing technology and shrinking, more energy-efficient components.
- Intel Rapid Start, Intel Smart Response and Intel Smart Connect: The most powerful feature is Rapid Start. Essentially, this is a mechanism that enables the laptop to return from sleep to a running operating system in around five seconds or faster. The fast retrieval of the system saves energy - because it was important for Intel to be able to use the laptop even after a long period of time. This achieves a standby of up to 30 days.
Current examples of ultrabooks are, for example, the XPS series from Dell, the Envy series from HP or even ultrabooks from LG..
What are the pros and cons of an ultrabook?
Advantages
The advantages of an ultrabook are obvious: a long battery life paired with portable size and light weight. In contrast, a regular notebook requires you to lug around a lot more weight. Even the shorter-life batteries in notebooks with an additional graphics card are not always suitable for mobile use. So if you want to buy a business device that is light and compact, you are well equipped with an ultrabook.
Disadvantages
If, on the other hand, you have to do extensive graphic editing or if you want to play the latest video games on high graphics settings, the performance of ultrabooks is usually not sufficient. Here you should use a normal notebook. There are also some losses in connection options. Often HDMI or multiple USB connections are dispensed with in order to save weight. Here you either have to buy adapters or switch to other laptop models..