I'm curious; what external devices are you always needing connected to your laptop? What is this "extra hardware" and "accessories" that you need (and which you seem to think most people also need)?
In my case, the port expander is smaller than a phone, and I rarely need it. My laptop has 2TB of drive space, so I don't need external storage except occasionally at home to do a physical backup. But my important data is frequently syncing to the cloud, so I don't need to travel with a backup drive.
So more than 99% of the time, all I need is the laptop (and usually internet, which I have via wifi or mobile phone hotspot.
And with one 65W Anker power adapter, I have 2 USB and 1 USB-C power so I can charge my laptop, phone, and a third small device if necessary.
The MB Air is very thin, pretty light, and very rigid. That makes traveling so much more pleasant compared to the bulky heavy XPS 15 I previously had. Yes, I only have 13" display now instead of 15", but the difference in screen real estate isn't very significant.
