>Most of those Chromebooks are now in landfill too, I’m sure.

Why would that be? A browser is almost all many people use a laptop for. I had to retire mine from about ten years ago but that's because it was out of support and the only reason I won't replace it probably is because I have an old spare MacBook and no one makes a particularly good Chromebook optimized for traveling.

What would "optimized for traveling" mean for you? The Chromebooks I've seen are all pretty small with a small power brick. What else do you need?

Although I go back and forth I've really liked my little 11" Asus for travel. Admittedly the delta between that and something like a 13" MacBook Air in terms of weight and size isn't that much these days and I don't even think about getting out a laptop on a plane anyway.

I've never been able to make a tablet and keyboard work for me for productivity, especially balancing them on my lap.

A lot of them got given to kids, and they tend to break fairly easily.