Laptop makers dropped DVD drives to cut thickness, weight, noise, and cost as streaming, app stores, and SSDs replaced discs.
CD and DVD trays once felt standard on notebooks. Today you usually get none. The shift did not happen overnight. It came from design math, cost math, and the way we now get files and video. This guide breaks down the change, points to the trade-offs, and shows workarounds if you still use discs.
Why Laptops Don’t Come With DVD Drives Anymore: The Real Reasons
Engineers chase thin, cool, quiet, and light machines. A tray with motors and a laser fights each of those goals. A slim optical unit adds height, needs power, spins at high speed, and adds fragile parts that fail with bumps. Removing it frees space for a bigger battery, better cooling, or a second SSD bay. It also trims grams and reduces vibration.
Buying habits changed as well. Movies now stream. Games and creative tools arrive through app stores. Work files move through cloud drives and USB sticks. Music comes from services, not jewel cases. That shift removed the last strong reason to keep the tray on a travel machine.
What Changed And Why
| Driver | What It Means | Laptop Impact |
|---|---|---|
| Chassis Thickness | Optical units are 9.5–12.7 mm tall and need rigid mounts. | Blocks ultra-slim designs; space goes to battery or cooling instead. |
| Weight & Noise | Spinning discs add grams, whir, and vibration. | Quieter laps and bags; fewer moving parts to break. |
| Power Draw | Motors and lasers spike power while reading or burning. | Better battery life during travel and video calls. |
| Digital Delivery | Streaming, app stores, and downloads lead the way. | Most users rarely touch discs for work or play. |
| Cost & Reliability | Extra parts mean higher BOM and more returns. | Cheaper, simpler builds with fewer failures. |
The math on thickness is easy to see. Many thin-and-light molds target under two centimeters. A slot that tall leaves little room for a strong hinge, heat pipes, speakers, and a decent battery. Builders trade that slot for parts that help every user, every day.
There is also codec licensing on the software side. Native DVD playback needs paid patents. Windows once shipped with that stack. It no longer does by default, which signals how niche disc use has become on new PCs.
From Standard To Rarity: A Quick Timeline
Thin ultrabooks set the tone in the early 2010s. Makers trimmed height and moved to solid-state storage. Apple’s Retina models dumped the tray to win space for batteries and a denser screen. Soon many Windows makers followed. By the mid-2010s, only budget and desktop-replacement lines kept the tray. Business fleets held on a bit longer for legacy media, then phased it out as cloud tools spread.
Today you can still find a few 15- to 17-inch models with a bay, but they sit in small corners of the market. Most new notebooks ship without any optical slot. External USB drives fill the gap for the rare task that needs a disc.
Why Laptops Stopped Shipping With DVD Drives: Design, Software, And Use
Design set the first limit. A tray needs a flat plane near the edge, a door or slot, and a cage that prevents flex. That cage resists twist, which matters when you pick a notebook up by a corner. Removing the cage gives engineers new freedom to shape airflow and place larger fans or vapor chambers. It also opens room for speakers that sound fuller, because they get real volume and vents, not thin slits around a tray.
Software sealed the move. Media apps now stream in seconds. Office files and PDFs live in cloud drives that sync offline. Installers arrive through vendor portals and app stores. A new PC sets up from Wi-Fi without asking for a disc. That flow is simple for a first-time buyer and faster for IT teams that image fleets.
Use cases changed too. Many people never burned a disc in the last five years. Photo backups sit on SSDs and cloud vaults with version history. Video cameras use cards, not mini-DVDs. Console games live on digital stores. When use drops, builders cut the part.
Pros And Trade-Offs Of Dropping The Tray
Upsides You Notice
- Less weight in your bag and on your wrists.
- Longer run time since nothing spins or draws peaks.
- Lower fan noise under load thanks to better airflow.
- Room for larger batteries or extra storage.
- Fewer moving parts to break in travel.
What You Give Up
- Direct play of movie discs without an external drive.
- Simple ripping of CDs or home videos from a camcorder DVD.
- Reading old install media that never got a license code.
Hardware Specs And Software Signals That Pushed The Shift
Intel’s early ultrabook spec capped many designs at about 21 mm thick, a tight fit with a 9.5–12.7 mm tray plus mounts. See Intel’s ultrabook thickness guideline for context on that push toward thin and light.
On the software side, Windows no longer bundles full DVD codecs in base builds. Microsoft offers a paid add-on for people who still need the feature. The policy appears in the Windows DVD Player app note, which also explains the legacy free upgrade path.
Still Need Discs? Practical Paths That Work
Plenty of simple options handle the odd disc. A small USB DVD writer costs little and lives in a drawer until needed. Media players handle DVDs on both Windows and macOS. You can also rip audio CDs to lossless files once and stream them from your phone or laptop.
For work archives, turn old install discs into ISO images, store them on a NAS, and mount them when needed. For home movies stuck on mini-DVDs, copy the VOB files with an external drive and save them as MP4 for long-term use. Keep the discs as a cold backup in a case away from heat and sunlight.
Disc Tasks And Today’s Best Options
| Task | Best Option | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Watch A Movie DVD | External USB DVD drive + media app | Simple, cheap, works on most PCs. |
| Rip Audio CDs | External drive + ripping app | Save to FLAC/ALAC for lossless files. |
| Install Old Software | Create or mount ISO files | Store images on NAS or cloud. |
| Backup Home Videos | Copy VOB files, convert to MP4 | Keep discs as a cold backup. |
| Blu-ray Playback | Use a Blu-ray USB drive | Third-party players may need keys. |
Buying Tips If You Still Want A Built-In Tray
Hunt for large chassis models from value brands and business lines. Check photos for a square slot on the side and look for “DVD-RW” in the spec sheet. Expect a thicker case and less room for a second fan or big speakers. If the model boots from SATA only, note that NVMe speeds will not apply, which affects large file moves.
Weigh that trade against the cheap and flexible route: a separate USB drive. You can share one between several PCs, and replace it if the laser fades without touching your laptop. That setup keeps your daily carry slim while still handling a rare disc day.
Care Tips For External Drives And Discs
- Use a short, good USB cable to avoid power dips.
- Place the drive on a solid surface before inserting a disc.
- Clean discs with a soft cloth from center to edge, not in circles.
- Store media upright in cases; heat and sunlight shorten life.
- Rip once to lossless formats, then back up to two places.
The Bottom Line On Laptops Without DVD Drives
Tray-less notebooks reflect clear trade-offs. Builders gain space, quiet, and battery life. Buyers get lighter bags and faster setups through downloads and cloud sync. People who still use discs are not stuck: external drives, ripping tools, and ISO images bridge the gap with little cost or fuss. That is why DVD trays faded from new laptops, and why they are not likely to return.
Where DVD Drives Still Make Sense
A few roles still benefit from a bay. Repair benches that image old PCs keep one for quick reads of legacy discs. Media archivists sometimes need exact sector copies that match a disc release. Field work on closed sites, where downloads are blocked, may use discs for sealed kits. Niche gaming rigs with space to spare also ship with an optical bay by tradition.
Even in those spots, a USB unit often wins. It moves between stations, stays off until needed, and fails independently. A dead internal tray takes the whole laptop down for service; a dead external tray goes in the bin while work continues.
What About Blu-Ray On A Laptop?
Blu-ray uses a different protection scheme and needs player software with the right keys. Many notebooks never shipped with that stack preinstalled. If you plan to watch HD discs, pick a USB Blu-ray drive and confirm that your app handles menus and region rules. Expect more setup time than a plain DVD, and check CPU load during playback on older chips.
Setups That Replace The Old Disc Workflow
Install media: keep vendor ISOs on a shared drive, then flash to USB with a media tool. Music: rip once to lossless and stream from a home server. Movies on DVD: use a living room player, or transcode where local law allows. Training footage: move to MP4 playlists on a secure share.
Backups are simple too. A small SSD in a USB case copies a full photo library in minutes. Off-site copies live in cloud storage with version history and link sharing. That beats stacks of burned discs with faded markers and missing cases.