The highlight of my CES experience this year was not the flexible screens or the gigantic 115-inch televisions. It wasn’t even the robots that clean up after you or mow the lawn. Nor were the smarter smart glasses the stars of the show.

While all these innovations are impressive, what truly stood out to me was my ability to navigate the event — taking notes, checking emails, editing photos, and posting on social media — without needing a laptop charger.

Simply put, I was able to power through CES effortlessly. Over four full days filled with press conferences, meetings, cocktail receptions, and coffee breaks — totaling 66,326 steps — I never once felt the urge to search for an outlet.

Each day, I carried one of two laptops in my backpack. Both are part of a new generation of Windows laptops designed for long-lasting use on a single charge. They are lightweight, stylish, nimble, and resource-efficient enough to encourage you to leave your charger behind. Once you gain confidence in their all-day battery life, it’s incredibly liberating.

Windows’ Equivalent to the MacBook Air?

I refer to these as “MacBook Air for Windows” systems, as they represent the PC industry’s first serious response to the pioneering laptops Apple created using its own M-series processors. In late 2020, Apple set a new benchmark for portability with the launch of the first MacBook Air powered by the M1 chip, and they haven’t looked back since. Until now.

This latest generation of all-day Windows laptops utilizes either Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X-series, which is also Arm compatible like Apple’s M-series, or Intel’s newest Core Ultra 7 processors, codenamed Lunar Lake. Major PC manufacturers are now offering models built on both types of processors, with even more options expected after numerous CES announcements last week.

For my testing, I carried one of two similarly equipped Lenovo laptops each day: the Yoga Slim 7i (Core Ultra 7) and the Yoga Slim 7x (Snapdragon X Elite). Both laptops have the same battery capacity. The Slim 7i (starting at $1,049.99) is slightly larger and heavier than the Slim 7x (starting at $799.99), which features a 15.3-inch display, while the Slim 7i has a 14.5-inch display.

To standardize the testing conditions, I set both screens to 60% brightness. At that level, the Snapdragon-based Slim 7x consumed its battery at a rate of about 10% per hour, indicating it could last around 10 hours on a single charge. Meanwhile, the Intel-based Slim 7i used approximately 12% of battery per hour, resulting in just under 8.5 hours of continuous work.

Typically, larger displays consume more power, which could explain the difference in battery performance I noticed. Regardless, both models were fully powered and ready whenever I needed them during my lengthy days at CES.

Unmatched All-Day Power

CES provided the perfect backdrop to test these all-day battery claims due to the long days and continuous shifts between locations. Despite the possibility of tossing in a charger, the real magic comes when you venture out with a “MacBook Air for Windows” laptop — minus the backpack and charger. This way, there’s no stress about finding an outlet.

Whether I was heading from a meeting to a coffee shop or moving across campus to another class, I found the freedom to simply carry it under my arm. I even managed to sit through full-day meetings without a power adapter late last year.

Now, I find that I don’t even think about needing a charger. Leaving it behind enhances the portability of these devices even more.

The opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of YSL News.

Mike Feibus, a news columnist, is the president and principal analyst at FeibusTech, a market research and consulting firm based in Scottsdale, Arizona. Contact him via email at mikef@feibustech.com. Follow him on Twitter @MikeFeibus.