Best Windows 10 Ultrabook laptops comparable to Apple MacBook between INR 1.0-1.5 lakhs in India (with reviews)

Lets just all agree on the fact that the Apple MacBook is a great piece of engineering. Now, you could argue how it falls short in one department or the other when compared to other offerings in the market, but the fact is that it is a great productivity and entertainment tool.

However, as great as the Apple ecosystem maybe, some of us just prefer the familiarity of Windows on our machines. Often, people complain about how Windows machines don’t really compare to the build, quality, and durability of a MacBook. That misconception comes from the fact that people often compare a Rs 60,000 Ultrabook to a Macbook that costs twice or thrice as much. Of course, the Windows machine is bound to fail the test. However, not all Windows machines are made equal and if you are ready to make a good investment, you can get a pretty decent Windows laptop that comes close to, or even outperforms, a MacBook.

We look at some really impressive Windows 10 laptops in the budget of Rs 1-1.5 lakhs in India. The idea isn’t to have the most powerful laptop with the most impressive graphics card out there because nobody likes a 2.5kg thick brick and spews out air at 65 degrees. Instead, we will be looking at MacBook competitors that are lightweight, yet powerful. Laptops that can let you get most of your work done without breaking a sweat and having a battery life that can last on really long flights.

There’s no dearth of machines you’ll find here and we had to pick the top ones based on ergonomics, specs, and other considerations such as durability. Before we get into our top picks, the customary preread for what can be expected in this budget.

PREREAD

Processor; AMD or Intel: While you definitely don’t need 32 cores inside your laptop, it doesn’t hurt to have a really powerful processor that is also energy efficient. We believe, it is important to have an efficient processor more than a powerful one to ensure that the battery life doesn’t take a hit and also so that it doesn’t get too warm while working.

We’re not sure if you heard, but AMD has really caught up with Intel in recent years. In fact, the latest processors from the Ryzen family outperform Intel ones on sheer performance and do it while consuming less power due to a smaller fabrication process. To make things even better, they are priced more competitively and offer a better bang for your buck.

For this budget, we recommend getting an AMD 4xxx series or Intel 10th gen series processors. Anything older is just not worth it. Also, for Intel processors, the 10th gen series is split across the more recent Ice Lake, which boasts a much more powerful GPU, and the older Comet Late. Ice Lake is also manufactured on a 10nm fabrication process which allows for higher efficiency. The Gx suffix in Ice Lake denotes the GPU (G7 being the best, followed by G4 and G1)

RAM: Not much to talk about here. 16GB RAM in this budget is a fair game. Unfortunately, not all machines offer so.

Graphics processor: We are not recommending gaming laptops on the list, but that doesn’t mean a dedicated graphics card inside your laptop won’t do you any good. Especially, for tasks like for video editing, a dedicated GPU can do wonders. If we are looking at laptops without a dedicated GPU though, AMD machines come with much better onboard GPUs than their Intel counterparts. Although, Intel has made great improvements with its Ice Lake GPUs compared to Comet Lake processors.

Display: Most people tend to overlook this aspect when this is one of the most important ones. Don’t focus too much on the resolution. Instead, the focus should be on the quality of display (probably an IPS in this budget), maximum brightness, and its ability to reproduce colors accurately.

Storage: 1TB should be the bare minimum and that too NVMe M.2.

Size: Based on our experience, we recommend 13.3-14 inches as the perfect balance between size and portability. Although, with the bezels getting thinner by the day, even 15-inch laptops can be manageable.

Brands: Yes, we are all familiar with Dell or HP, but Asus and Acer are other top brands that offer some skillfully engineered laptops. The usual stigma of the latter two being cheap brands is misplaced and, in fact, we find both these brands offering some great innovation in the price bracket.

ASUS ZenBook Duo

You would not find anything like the Asus ZenBook Duo in the market in this budget. It shares a lot with its costlier sibling, the ZenBook Pro Duo and that’s a good thing. However, there’s more character to this notebook than the dual displays alone.

• 14 inch Full HD (1920 x 1080 pixels) 60Hz IPS display
• 12.6 inch, 1920 x 515 pixels IPS, matte secondary display
• Intel Core i7-10510U 10th gen
• 16 GB LPDDR3 2133 MHz (soldered)
• NVIDIA GeForce MX250/MX330 – 2GB, GDDR5
• 1TB NVMe SSD
• 70Wh battery
• 1.5 kg, .78 inch thick

The notebook is packed with decent overall specs which include a 10th generation processor along with 16GB RAM. Although the RAM is soldered so there’s no chance of a future DIY upgrade. It’s also DDR3 for some reason, which is a slight disappointment. What stands out from the specs perspective is the dual-screen setup (more on that later) and the large 70Wh battery. Unfortunately, these specs take a toll on the ergonomics and the notebook isn’t the lightest or the slimmest on the list.

Display & audio: As you would have guessed, what really makes the ZenBook unique is the dual-screen setup. Talking about the main display first, the 14-inch matte panel leaves little to complain and is able to reproduce crisp colors. Matte finish also ensures that the reflections from other light sources are under control. ZenBook Duo’s display captures 107% of the sRGB gamut which is good for the budget. At 282 nits, though, the brightness is a sore point, especially, if you plan to use the laptop outdoors.

You will also find that the secondary display is more than just a gimmick. The screen can be used for quick shortcuts, making notes, numpad, or dragging apps from the main screen to the smaller screen. There are a whole bunch of other things you can do with the screen. However, like the primary screen, it isn’t too bright.

The audio is crisp and loud enough as well with little to complain.

Keyboard and trackpad: Asus had to make compromises elsewhere though to fit the secondary screen in there. The keyboard and the trackpad hare real estate along the width of the laptop which results in narrower keys and a much smaller trackpad than what you see on other laptops. The position of the keyboard also doesn’t leave any place to keep your wrists which can be tiring if you use it for a prolonged duration. The keys themselves are great and snappy though, but it can be frustrating typing on this keyboard due to space constraints. The smaller touchpad, on the other hand, results in your fingers having to swipe much more to move the cursor on the screen.

Build: The notebook meets MIL-STD-810G military standards for reliability and durability. The hinges are rather too firm and you may need both hands to open the laptop. The hinge doesn’t open all the way till 180 degrees though. However, the unique design leaves enough space between the surface the laptop is resting on and the vents to let the air circulate out easily. The bezels, while narrow, aren’t the slimmest we’ve seen in this budget.

Ports: You get a USB 3.1 Type-A port, a microSD card, and a headphone/mic jack on the right side, while another USB 3.1 Type A, an HDMI, and a USB C 3.1 adorn the left side. Surprisingly, there’s no Thunderbolt and the laptop requires a separate charging port instead of charging through USB C.

Performance: The actual performance lives up to the specs. The laptop does well in most situations and doesn’t seem to break a sweat with the usual apps and routine. It also manages to stay cool under normal load thanks to the two fans. 16GB RAM definitely helps in tasks like rendering.

Battery: The 70Wh battery also ensures that the laptop has some class-leading backup times. With the secondary display turned off, expect north of 11 hours of battery life. That drops to close to 6-7 hours when you turn on the secondary display.

HP Spectre x360

HP Spectre comes with a rather radical design that is usually appreciated by all. But that’s not all that defines this laptop. The superior display and great battery life have made sure that this laptop is seen as one of the best competitors to MacBook and the Dell XPS series.

• 13.3 inch Full HD (1920 x 1080 pixels) 60Hz IPS display
• Intel Core i5-1035G4 10th gen
• 8GB LPDDR4X-3733 dual-channel
• Intel Iris Plus G4
• 512GB NVMe SSD
• 61Wh battery
• 1.24 kg, .7 inch thick

When we say the design on this machine is radical, we mainly are referring to the chamfered edges. HP’s decision to put a USB C port on one of the chamfered corners is also bold. The brushed metal finish makes it one of the best looking laptops out there. While at 0.7 inches, it may not be the slimmest, but it’s not far off from other slim laptops.  You can rotate the screen 360 degrees to the back making the Spectre a  2-in-1.

Display: The display stands out with its near bezel-less design on the three edges. HP had to rework the front camera to fit it in such a narrow area. There’s a bottom chin though, but again, this laptop has more screen to body ratio than most other laptops out there.  The screen offers a peak brightness of 370 nits and covers 109% of the sRGB gamut.

Ports: The laptop offers two USB C 3.1 ports with Thunderbolt support, one of which is used for charging. To keep up with the slim profile, HP added a drop-jaw port for USB 3.1 A. There’s the usual audio jack along with a microSD port. You also get a webcam kill switch on the edge.

Keyboard and trackpad: The Chiclet-style keys on the keyboard are well-spaced out and provide a solid tactile response when pressed. The laptop also gets a new 4.4 x 2.2-inch touchpad with Windows Precision drivers, making it much better than the outgoing version which used Synaptics drivers. You also get a Stylus Pen and leather sleeve.

Battery: While HP claims a mind-boggling 22 hours of battery life on this one, realistically, you can expect north of 13 hours of battery life under moderate use. This still makes it one of the best laptops as far as battery life is concerned.

Performance: The Ice Lake i5 offers Iris Plus G4 graphics, which offers decent performance and can handle most everyday tasks easily. There’s ample storage too. But we wish, like other times on this list, that the laptop was offered with 16GB RAM instead. While the laptop does feature dual fans it tends to run hot and may get uncomfortable for your lap at times. Nothing that makes it a deal-breaker but something to keep in mind.

Dell XPS 13 9300

Dell XPS has gained the market reputation for being among the best Windows laptops thanks to its sleek design, a strong brand, powerful performance, and customizability. The new XPS improves on last year’s version with better hardware and improved design.

• 13.4 inch Full HD (1920 x 1200 pixels) 60Hz IPS display
• Intel Core i5-1035G1 10th gen
• 8GB LPDDR4X-3733 DRAM (soldered/onboard)
• Intel UHD Graphics G1
• 512GB NVMe SSD
• 52Wh battery
• 1.2 kg, .58 inch thick

Let’s talk about the design first. Dell continues to push the boundaries (literally) for edge-to-edge displays with its XPS series and the 9300 takes it to a new level. The new XPS offers a 91.5 percent screen-to-body ratio with micro bezels on all four edges. Don’t worry, there’s a camera on the top edge though. The body is crafted of aluminum (lid and edges). The inside is adorned with composite-fiber or carbon-fiber depending on the color you choose.

Display: The display packs slightly more pixels than the usual FHD displays. It’s rather bright at 500 nits and is able to reproduce 100% sRGB range. The display also comes with an anti-glare quoting which is also something not seen on the competition and does well to hide reflections. The two speakers peak at 2.5W each which gets loud enough without any noticeable sound distortion at peak. It is a 16:10 display which means you may get black bands on top and bottom when watching movies on Netflix.

Ports: You won’t find a lot of ports on this one with a total of 2 Thunderbolt  USB C 3.1, a microSD slot, and an audio jack. Unfortunately, there’s no USB A port and you have to rely on an adapter instead.

Keyboard and trackpad: The keyboard has also been improved over last year’s version while the trackpad is actually bigger. The keyboard is the scissor-switch type with 1.0 mm of travel, thus adding that reassuring feedback at every press.

Battery: The battery life is amongst the best and can easily last north of 10 hours on average use.

Performance: The laptop features the new 10 nm Intel Ice Lake processor. It does the job well but won’t set any benchmark records. We wish the laptop came with better graphics, but you have to do with UHD G1 instead. Also, for a laptop costing more than US$2,000 in India, having just 8GB RAM feels a little inadequate, given the same configuration can be had in laptops costing half as much. The laptop does feature dual fans to keep it running cool. The fan noise level remains under control and the laptop doesn’t get too hot under most loads.

Microsoft Surface Pro 7

Microsoft Surface Pro is more of a tablet than a traditional laptop. That said, it’s been a star and the pinnacle of what Windows on a perfect machine can look like. Now in its 7th gen avatar, the Surface Pro 7 is for those who want a stress free experience and extreme portability.

• 12.3 inch Quad HD (2736 x 1824 pixels) 60Hz IPS display
• Intel Core i5-1035G5 10th gen
• 8 GB LPDDRx 1866 MHz dual-channel
• Intel Integrated Iris Plus graphics
• 256GB NVMe SSD
• 775 g, .3 inch thick

The Surface 7 Pro is not a workhorse that will set benchmarks on fire. Instead, it is a machine that will get the job done comfortably as long as the job is browsing the internet, playing your favorite movies and shows, or working on light productivity apps. You will also require a keyboard that needs to be bought separately.

Display & audio: With that addressed, let’s talk about the things we like. To start, that screen is gorgeous. The colors pop and look pleasing to the eye and the 400 nits brightness is ahead of other laptops in this budget. You also get a 10-point touch screen which can also be used with a Microsoft Pen for so much more. The screen can reproduce 97% of the sRGB gamut, which, honestly, is okay but we’ve seen better.

The audio experience suffers from the tiny speakers and the is flat and nowhere near loud. You can also forget any meaningful bass from these speakers.

Build: The build, however, is great and has that premium finish to it all around. The aluminum finish feels good to hold in hand and is comfortable. However, the bezels on the screen seem to be from bygone years and look awkward on a machine this recent.

Ports: You get a handful of ports which include a USB-C port (USB 3.1), a USB A port (USB 3.0), a microSD reader, and an audio jack. The USB C doesn’t support Thunderbolt and you can’t charge the tablet using this port either.

Keyboard and trackpad: The Type Cover keyboard and trackpad are a joy to use and the keys provide strong feedback and response as you’d expect from a good quality keyboard. However, we feel with a top-heavy design with this cover, using the tablet as a laptop on your lap can be a bit of a challenge. You might need to keep it on a flat surface most of the time to get any useful work done.

Performance: The performance is adequate for the specs as we mentioned before. The Ice Lake processor along with that GPU can also allow you to play some recent games at moderate settings. It also manages to keep thermal loads under check, with the tablet/laptop never getting too hot to hold.

Battery: The battery life is decent with close to 8 hours of use on WiFi. It’s down compared to last year’s model, but not the worst on the list.

Microsoft Surface Laptop 3

The first thing you notice about the Surface Laptop 3 is that it has a 3:2 screen ratio which makes it different from anything else in the market right now. That’s not necessarily a bad thing though. Microsoft has made a number of improvements over the last year’s model including support for faster ports.

• 13.5 inch Quad HD (2496 x 1664 pixels) IPS display, 10 point touch
• Intel Core i5-1035G7 10th gen
• 8 GB LPDDR4X 1866.7 MHz, Dual-channel
• Intel Integrated Iris Plus graphics
• 256GB NVMe SSD
• 1.28 kg, .57 inch thick

The laptop is made out of an aluminum body with a glass screen that looks and feels premium to hold, not unlike other machines on the list. The hinges are well built too and the lid can be opened using one hand. Although, it doesn’t rotate all the way back till 180 degrees.

Display & audio: The pixel-packed display is pleasing to the eye and shows popping colors. It’s a 3:2 display and unless you need a laptop for only watching movies, the design should grow on you. That said, the thick bezels around the display are definitely an eyesore. Surface Laptop 3’s display covers 121% of the sRGB color gamut, which is among the best on the list.

The audio experience is decent too and much better than the Surface Pro 7.

Keyboard and trackpad: The keyboard is among the best in the budget and much better than what the 2019 MacBook as to offer. It’s a delight to use and coupled with an impressive trackpad, this makes the whole experience much richer.

Ports: Ports are one area where the laptop leaves a lot to be desired. On the left side, you get a USB 3.1 Type-A port, a USB Type-C input, and a headphone/mic jack. On the right, there’s a magnetic Surface Connect port for charging. There’s no Thunderbolt, no card reader, and no ability to charge your laptop using USB C.

Performance: The performance of the machine doesn’t disappoint. The processor lives up to the task and the Iris Plus graphics can handle causal games at ease. Although, we’re not too fond of the fact that it comes with just 8GB RAM and 256GB storage.

Battery: Lastly, the battery life is decent as well. A single charge with moderate use can last you around 9-10 hours. Still not past the MacBook Pro, but getting close.

MSI Prestige 14 A10RB

We wish more people knew about MSI in India. It’s a great brand that not only makes some excellent gaming laptops and graphic cards, but also sleek notebooks filled to the brim with cutting edge tech. The A10RB happens to be one of those machines that packs much above its weight in a body that weighs under 1.3kg.

• 14 inch Full HD (1920 x 1080 pixels) 60Hz IPS display
• Intel Core i7-10510U 10th gen
• 16GB LPDDR4-2666MHz RAM
• NVIDIA GeForce MX250/MX330 – 2GB, GDDR5
• 512GB NVMe SSD
• 50Wh battery
• 1.3 kg, .63 inch thick

The raw specs don’t seem to disappoint. The Comet Lake 10th generation processor along with 16GB RAM should be good enough to not only handle your everyday use but also allow basic video editing and entry-level gaming with that card.

Build: The construction is all metal, which gives it a premium and sturdy look. The hinges are firm and the lid can be easily opened with one hand. The bezels are narrow on the sides but not the narrowest on the top and bottom of the screen.

Ports: You get two USB C 3.1 ports supporting Thunderbolt, LED indicators, and a MicroSD card reader. The right side houses a 3.5mm audio jack and two USB-A ports which are unfortunately limited to the older USB 2.0 standard. The laptop charges over USB C and can be charged using the 90W adapter or any power bank, which is great.

Display: The display is a 14 inch full HD IPS panel with a 60Hz refresh rate. The display can be opened 180 degrees flat and produces excellent colors and covers up to 100% of the sRGB color space. Although, it isn’t the brightest panel and might appear somewhat dim to some users.

Keyboard and trackpad: The keyboard is built well and the buttons have great tactile feedback as you type. The wide trackpad seems to do reasonably well too and has good tracking precision and palm rejection.

Performance: Speaking about actual performance, the laptop does well but is held back by its single-channel RAM. While some users might appreciate the empty RAM slot for a future upgrade, the lack of dual-channel memory holds back the laptop from achieving its true potential. And while the performance would be better than most other laptops on the list here due to the raw specs, the laptop doesn’t do a great job at managing and dissipating all that heat it generates while crunching numbers. Under heavy loads, it can get quite warm and uncomfortable to use.

Battery: The battery life is mediocre though and manages to last 4-5 hours under moderate-heavy use.

Dell XPS 13 7390

XPS 7390 is 2019’s offering for the XPS line of laptops from Dell. That doesn’t make it any less capable though. While it doesn’t quite match up to the XPS 9300, it more than compensates for the lack of features in the lower asking price.

• 13.3 inch Full HD (1920 x 1080 pixels) 60Hz IPS display
• Intel Core i5-10210U 10th gen
• 8GB DDR3-2133 RAM
• Intel UHD Graphics 620
• 512GB NVMe SSD
• 52Wh battery
• 1.29 kg, .5 inch thick

The XPS 13 continues to use the 5-year-old winning formula from Dell as far as the design goes. The carbon fiber panel inside feels comfortable to rest your palms on while typing. The lid cover and underside are crafted from aluminum.

Display: The display is capable of covering 95% of the sRGB gamut, which is not the best we’ve seen here. The peak brightness of over 400 nits works in the laptop’s favor though.

Keyboard and trackpad: The keyboard is excellent with a good balance of sleek, firm, and feedback. While the trackpad is again up to the job, the newer model comes with a larger trackpad that’s much better to use.

Ports: You won’t find a lot of ports on this one with a total of 2 Thunderbolt 3 USB C, a microSD slot, and an audio jack. Unfortunately, there’s no USB A port and you have to rely on an adapter instead.

Performance: The innards don’t impress much though. It comes with a Comet Lake processor and a rather disappointing GPU. The same specs also can be had in laptops half the price. Even the RAM speed doesn’t instill a lot of confidence. However, with dual fans and twin heat pipes, things remain fairly under control even in high-stress tasks. The fan can at times get loud enough even when running simple tasks.

Battery: The battery life isn’t among the best but should last you 8-9 hours on typical use.