I just tested the lightest laptop I've ever used — and it packs plenty of power

If MSI set out to purely beat its competition by developing a featherweight laptop, I’d say that goal has been successfully accomplished. At under 1kg (2.13 pounds), the MSI Prestige 13 AI+ Evo ($1,399) is the lightest notebook I’ve had the honor of using, and fortunately, that’s not its only perk.

In its compact 13-inch chassis, you’ll find an Intel Lunar Lake chip that gives the laptop a boost in performance, battery life and even graphics. Oh, and in AI, if its moniker didn’t make that clear. This is a Copilot+ PC after all, so you’ll get all the AI benefits that come with it, along with the company’s own MSI AI Engine. That’s not the reason this laptop excels, though.

It has the power to knock through multiple tasks at once, with even some photo and video editing (the 32GB of onboard RAM helps with that), offers brilliantly bright, detailed visuals with its 2.8K (2880 x 1600) OLED display and delivers enough battery life in the tank to get you through a full day.

While its size, weight and performance are ideal for on-the-go professionals, MSI clearly had to cut some corners in the build to get it so light. There’s enough flex on the lid and deck to warrant some worries about keeping it out of harm's way, and its overall frame can feel less than premium despite the price.

But that’s par for the course when it comes to an extremely lightweight laptop, as everything else, including its surprising array of ports and Wi-Fi 7 connectivity, makes the MSI Prestige 13 AI+ Evo one of the best 13-inch laptops you can get today.

MSI Prestige 13 AI+ Evo: Cheat Sheet

• What is it? An ultra-lightweight notebook sporting Intel Lunar Lake and Copilot+ PC features.
• Who is it for? Professionals and on-the-move remote workers after an easily portable laptop with efficient performance and battery life.
• What does it cost? The MSI Prestige 13 AI+ Evo is available for a fairly steep $1,399 at Amazon in the U.S. and £1,262 at Amazon in the U.K.
• What do we like? Its incredibly light and compact design, the performance it musters up for its size, its vibrant OLED display and its battery life will get you through a whole workday, and then some.
• What don’t we like? How much flex there is in the chassis even when applying a small amount of pressure and its lackluster AI features despite their inclusion in its name.

MSI Prestige 13 AI+ Evo: Specs

MSI Prestige 13 AI+ Evo: The ups

Just from the specs sheet alone, you can tell the Prestige 13 AI+ Evo is as premium as it gets. Even at its above-average price, compared to the Dell XPS 13 (2024) and MacBook Air M3, this notebook fits plenty of head-turning strengths up its sleeve.

Light as a feather

I didn’t really notice just how light the Prestige 13 AI+ Evo was until I picked up my 13-inch MacBook Air to compare the two. I mean, Apple’s laptop is specifically known for its clean, lightweight design (it isan “Air,” after all), but by that standard, the 13 AI+ Evo should be called “Air Lite.”

The 13-inch laptop is so easy to pick up, move around and pack in a laptop bag with one hand, and when traveling to and from the office, I barely noticed it was even there. Yes, I did have to check my bag one time to see if I forgot to bring it with me, but that’s more of a compliment on its lightness.

At just 2.1 pounds or just under 1kg, this is just about as portable as laptops get in my eyes. Its compact dimensions also make it slightly smaller than the MacBook Air, but not as thin — like the Dell XPS 13.

On first glance, its lid and deck make it look a tad thick, but that actually works to its advantage. The hinge acts as a way to raise the laptop at a more comfortable angle. The lid opens to a 180-degree angle, and the further back it goes, the more the deck raises to offer a slightly better typing experience. And not to worry, the rear of the lid has two rubber slots to keep it from scrapping on a surface.

The review unit I received came in Stellar Gray, and while not as sleek-looking as Apple’s Midnight finish, it’s still subtle and stylish. I also enjoy how MSI fit all it could into this laptop, including that 13.2-inch display with a 16:10 aspect ratio.

More importantly, the ports are splendid for a notebook of this stature. Coming with two Thunderbolt 4 USB-C slots with PD (Power Delivery) 3.0 and DisplayPort support, an HDMI 2.1 port and a 3.5mm audio jack on the left, and a USB-A 3.2 port and a MicroSD card reader on the right, this is exemplary for a 13-inch laptop. Take note, Apple, Dell and others.

Small design, big power

I’m always amazed by how PC manufacturers can pack commendable performance into smaller laptops, and MSI has impressed me. With an Intel Core Ultra 7 258V CPU and 32GB of DDR5 RAM as standard (it can be upgraded to an Intel Core Ultra 9 228V), the Prestige 13 AI+ Evo utilizes these specs to deliver seamless performance, greater battery life and even some good graphics.

Sure, it may not quite beat the top two 13-inch laptops on the market today, according to Geekbench benchmarks, but it still packs quite a punch. It’s somewhat similar to the recent 15-inch Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Aura Edition, too

On-paper results aside, this laptop showed no signs of slowing down when going about my workday. From opening over 20 tabs on Google Chrome, with Netflix, a YouTube video, plenty of Google Docs and Sheets and more, to even some light photo editing and uploading, the 13 AI+ Evo stuck the landing.

Graphics power has also seen a nice update. Not exactly “gamer-level,” as that will be reserved for RTX 50-series GPUs, but it’s still able to manage over 40 frames per second while running Civilization VI: Gathering Storm. But just 22 fps when playing more demanding titles like Borderlands 3.

Still, this translates to faster performance in apps like Photoshop, making the Prestige 13 AI+ Evo a viable option for editing tools.

OLED in beautiful color

Sorry, do you see that color gamut coverage? Those numbers are insane, but I believe them when looking at the Prestige 13 AI+ Evo’s 13.2-inch 2.8K (2880 x 1600) OLED panel. It only maxes out at 60Hz, but that’s hardly a bother for what this laptop is used for. From clear details in images to rich colors and deep contrast, while watching videos on YouTube, this is a stellar display through and through.

Testing out how to display looks when streaming shows, I decided to throw on one of the top shows on Netflix right now: “American Primeval.” The vast, beautifully dreary landscape of the American West depicted in the show shined on screen, with the constant dirt, mud and blood across our main protagonist’s face showcasing the gritty, troubled times he lives in.

Even at a smaller 13-inch size, I was thrilled to do all my usual tasks on this OLED display, and wouldn’t be surprised if it’s just mainly used to make the most out of TV shows and movies, too. Quite easily a treat for the eyes.

A fine battery life

Will the MSI Prestige 13 AI+ Evo last as long as the best laptops for battery life? No, but it does come quite close to one of its contenders. I was able to get a full day of use doing general tasks, such as scrolling websites, watching shows and typing away on documents. If it can get through a full workday without needing a charge, that’s good battery life in my books.

With over 14 and a half hours of battery life, the 13 AI+ Evo has a lot of energy in the tank to last a long while before needing to be plugged in.

MSI Prestige 13 AI+ Evo: The downs

Despite the plentiful perks the MSI Prestige 13 AI+ Evo delivers, it’s not without a few caveats. And it appears its favorable lightness may be a contributing factor to one of its flaws.

Flex in the frame

I’m a huge fan of being able to take this laptop anywhere without it feeling like a burden, but I’m scared that the amazing display it boasts will crack if it accidentally stumbles or there’s pressure placed on top of it.

Both the lid of the laptop and the keyboard area has quite a lot of flex, and that’s just from noticing it when lifting the lid or typing. There’s no sense of sturdiness like other 13-inch laptops I’ve used, and its material feels cheap — and that goes against its $1,399 price.

It’s not a dealbreaker in any sense, as what MSI has done to achieve such a light weight laptop is a clear advantage, but it does mean I’m more cautious around where I place and handle the 13 AI+ Evo.

AI isn’t the key here

I’ve said it in my Acer Swift 14 AI review and I’ll say it again, AI indicators on laptops these days are a tad misleading. All the Copilot+ AI features are here, which is nice to see, but they aren’t the sole reason to get a laptop. Then there’s the MSI AI Engine, which adds a few more helpful tools, but I wouldn’t say they’re worth branding the laptop as “AI+.”

Don’t get me wrong, AI on these laptops often does its job in the background to offer better performance, battery and more, the 13 AI+ Evo’s supposed AI features seem more rudimentary than anything else.

There’s the AI Engine that automatically adjusts hardware settings for the best performance and experience depending on what you’re doing, AI Noise Cancelation Pro for better voice calls in meetings, Studio Effects for cleaner-looking visuals when on camera and Smart Brightness that adjusts the screen’s brightness based on ambient light levels. I mean, I’m sure I’ve seen these features on laptops before the AI craze swept in.

It’s far from a bad thing to have these features available, but these tools aren’t the key reason to get an AI laptop. Instead, get the Prestige 13 AI+ Evo because it's just a great laptop.

MSI Prestige 13 AI+ Evo: Verdict

I can see the MSI Prestige 13 AI+ Evo making a name for itself as the new go-to 13-inch laptop for many, with its incredibly lightweight and compact design, superb 2.8K OLED display and great performance thanks to Intel Lunar Lake. Even when up against tough competition in the Dell XPS 13 and MacBook Air, it holds its own.

Its chassis could use better materials and it’s a little heavy-handed with its AI branding for what it offers, but these can’t take away from MSI’s achievement of fitting a gorgeous screen on a compact, featherweight laptop. The MSI Prestige 13 AI+ Evo’s price is a tad higher than some 13-inch laptops of the same caliber, so it will be even better at a discount, but either way, it sure it won’t disappoint.