Fujitsu has quietly launched the world’s lightest laptop, but unfortunately it’s only limited to Japan for now.
The WU-X/G2 is part of the company’s Lifebook range and weighs a mere 634g without charger – about 22.4 ounces and just under 1.4 pounds.
It means this business laptop is lighter than the Apple iPad Pro 12.9 tablet which weighs 682g. Size wise, it doesn’t try any tricks; at 307 x 197 x 15.5mm, it is relatively big which allows for a bigger screen, more connectivity and, dare we say, a better keyboard with a large Enter key and physical buttons on its touchpad.
Tiny battery capacity, big battery life?
The laptop comes with a 12-generation Intel Core processor (either 1235U or 1255U) and 8GB, 16GB or 32GB LPDDR4x memory (dual channel and soldered onboard. Onboard storage ranges from 256GB to 2TB and there’s even an option for an external optical drive, still a common thing in Japan.
The display is a whopping 13.3-inch full HD matte display with a HD webcam at the top with a privacy shutter. Wireless connectivity is achieved via an Intel AX201 chipset that delivers Bluetooth 5.1 and WiFi-6.
Despite its weight, the WU-X/G2 has a full array of ports that would put laptops weighing two or three times more to shame. There’s one card reader, three USB ports, a full size HDMI port and even a Gigabit Ethernet port plus the power button doubles as a fingerprint reader. No need for a laptop docking station.
Sadly, Fujitsu didn’t resort to any magic tricks to achieve so much weight saving, instead using carbon fiber as the main material for its chassis.
One corner has been cut though, and disappointingly, it’s battery capacity. At 25WHr, it’s about a quarter of what you will find on some heavier rivals, but that’s perfectly acceptable given the fact that you should in theory be able to trickle charge it using a phone charger or even an emergency power bank. Surprisingly, the manufacturer quotes an estimated battery life of 11 hours, which we feel is highly unlikely.
One unexpected freebie is a three-year warranty and a three-year subscription to McAfee Livesafe security software. That goes towards sweetening the rather steep price of 317,222 yen (about £1950, $2,400, AU$3,400) for its top of the range model (Core i7, 32GB RAM, 2TB SSD, Windows 11 Pro).
We have asked Fujitsu for a sample for a review and will update this post if we hear anything from them.