Here's the five top portables that incorporate much of what's coming down the pike in 2016.
The melding of the laptop and tablet is a trend that will accelerate in 2016. That can take several forms: a very lightweight laptop offering tablet-like portability, a convertible with a touchscreen, or a detachable that converts into a standalone tablet.
12-inch MacBook: With a tablet-like weight of 2 pounds, this is one of the most portable laptops on the planet. By making the keys 40 percent thinner Apple is able to build a clamshell laptop that is only 0.25 inches thicker than an iPad Pro. While the keys lack the travel and "softness" of bigger laptops, the keyboard is eminently usable. Other high points include the latest MacBook Retina display (ultra-thin but bright with accurate colors and a wide color gamut), reasonable performance (considering its extremely thin design), and good battery life. It starts at $1,299. (See review here.)
Microsoft
Surface Book: In short, the ultimate 2-in-1. It's a laptop first, tablet second. Everything from Microsoft before the Surface Book was essentially a tablet with a keyboard accessory. But the Surface Book -- thanks to an innovative Dynamic Fulcrum Hinge -- is a real laptop that you can use on your lap. That sounds like a no-brainer but has been extremely difficult to achieve for so-called detachable designs. The icing on the cake is that it can also be a standalone tablet. Oh, and it's fast, packing the newest mainstream 6th Gen "Skylake" Intel laptop processors. Other notables include a 13.5-inch 3,000x2,000 resolution display (with a 3:2 aspect ratio) that's bright with good color accuracy, a giant, full-sized keyboard, a Surface Pen, good battery life with batteries in both the tablet and keyboard base, and a decent helping of ports -- including two USB 3.0 ports, a mini DisplayPort and a full size SD card slot. It's not cheap, however, starting at $1,499.
Dell
XPS 13: There's no reason for Dell to toy with a great physical design, so when it updated the XPS 13 recently it simply swapped out 5th Gen Intel processors for the newest 6th Gen silicon and changed some port specifications. That includes a new Thunderbolt 3 connector (supporting: VGA, HDMI, Ethernet and USB-A via Dell Adapter) in addition to two USB 3 ports, and an SD card slot. The good stuff remains the same: the display keeps its almost-borderless bezel, allowing Dell to build a 13-inch laptop with a chassis that approaches the size of a 12-inch laptop. To reduce weight, the keyboard and touchpad are surrounded by a carbon fiber weave, which is not only attractive but practical (the rest is aluminum). Battery life is one of the longest for a thin-and-light laptop. The 0.6-inch-thick XPS 13 starts at $799.99 for a model that’s 2.7 pounds with a non-touch 1,920x1,080 display. The higher-end, 2.9-pound XPS with a high-resolution touch Infinity Display starts $1,449.99. (For those wanting a larger version of the XPS 13, Dell has the new XPS 15.)
Hewlett-Packard
EliteBook Folio 1020: This is a very light but tough-as-nails ultraportable built to meet stringent military specifications (designed to pass MIL-STD 810G durability tests for drop, shock, vibration). HP bonds an outer layer of bead-blasted aluminum to a magnesium inner shell. The result is a laptop that is tough but very portable -- at under 2.7 pounds. Like the 12-inch MacBook it is fanless, sporting Intel's Core M processor. Other upsides include a great keyboard (one of the best I've ever used), a decent number of ports despite a 0.62-inch-thin chassis, decent battery life, an option for an excellent 2,560x1,440 resolution touchscreen, and an optional killer docking station. The Folio 1020 starts at $1,249.99. (See review here.)
Hewlett-Packard Spectre x360: This is one of the best convertibles to date. Convertibles emulate tablets by incorporating foldable touch displays. The Spectre's display can be rotated 360 degrees, allowing it to be used in “stand mode” or in tablet mode with the screen folded against the keyboard. Like Microsoft's Surface Book, HP has included a top-notch hinge. The gorgeous all-metal design is complemented by an excellent 13.3-inch 1,920x1,080 touch display with a relatively inexpensive option for a 2,560x1,440 screen. Other positives include a good keyboard and an extra-wide touchpad. It is relatively cheap with configurations under $1,000 packing Intel’s latest-generation Core i7 processors. The 3.2-pound x360 starts at $899.
