Why are laptops getting bigger and heavier again? Blame VR.

LAS VEGAS — Despite declining PC sales, laptops have made serious progress over the last few years.

Apple's MacBook Air and Intel's Ultrabook initiative pushed PC makers to build ever thinner and lighter laptops with sturdier, premium materials like metal instead of plastic. It's been a great half decade of innovation.

But if you've been paying attention to the slew of new laptop announcements at CES 2017, you'll notice a new trend taking shape: Laptops are getting bigger and heavier again, to the point where they're anything but portable.

Why's this happening? Blame it on VR.