A 2-in-1 laptop offers the best of both worlds: a good laptop experience for longer working and gaming sessions where a decent keyboard is required, and a tablet, making it great for media viewing, scrolling through social media feeds and touch-screen gaming.
But the best 2-in-1 laptops aren’t quite the same as the best laptops or the best tablets. They’re something in between and finding one that has the best bits of both device types isn’t easy. There are some great devices out there, though.
Whether you need high performance, long battery life, a great display or a combination of everything, here are five of the best 2-in-1 laptops you can buy.
Surface Go
Size: 10-inches
Resolution: 1,800 x 1,200
Battery life: Up to nine hours
The Surface Go is the baby of Microsoft’s Surface line, which means it has the weakest hardware, but also by far the most affordable price. At around $400 for the base version, it comes with a decent Intel Pentium Gold CPU, up to 8GB of RAM, and options for storage that stretch up to 128GB of high-speed SSD space. It’s not breaking records, but it’s an impressively capable little device.
This isn’t going to be a great piece of kit to edit video on and it’s certainly not something you would use for high-end gaming, but it’s a tablet with a full-fat Windows 10 experience (though it ships in S mode, you can change it) offering the full suite of Windows applications and services. You’ll want to pay the $130 extra for the excellent Type Cover keyboard attachment to give you full laptop-like functionality, but that still keeps the price well below that of the Surface Go’s contemporaries.
With optional LTE connectivity, a USB-C port and a detailed display with a great contrast ratio, the Surface Go is a fantastic little 2-in-1 that can works well as both a laptop and a tablet at a very affordable price.
Dell XPS 15 2-in-1
Size: 15-inches
Resolution: 1,920 x 1,080
Battery life: Up to 16 hours
Dell’s iconic XPS laptops are stellar almost across the board, but the Dell XPS 15 2-in-1 is easily one of the best convertible laptops in the world. It doesn’t have the latest hardware like some of its smaller siblings, but it has a unique hardware profile which makes it a fantastic option for anyone who wants to work and play on a solid 2-in-1 design.
Packing an eighth-generation Intel Kaby Lake G CPU under the hood, this 2-in-1 combines Intel processing power with AMD graphics for a uniquely versatile machine. That makes it decent at playing entry-level indie titles and older AAA games, as well as being fantastically nippy for web browsing and managing your photo libraries. Combined with up to 16GB of RAM and up to 256GB of super-fast NVMe storage, this 2-in-1 has one of the most capable hardware lineups in this list.
The 1080p screen might be a deal-breaker for some, but you can upgrade it to a 4K panel if you don’t mind sacrificing the excellent battery life, which in ideal circumstances can last well beyond a single workday.
The only real downside with it is the weight. At just over 4.3 pounds, it’s not svelte and you can feel that in tablet mode, but if you need a 2-in-1 that is mostly a laptop and sometimes a tablet, then this 2-in-1 could be for you.
Surface Pro 7
Size: 12-inches
Resolution: 2,736 x 1,824
Battery life: Up to 10.5 hours
The flagship of Microsoft’s Surface line at the start of 2020, the Surface Pro 7 evolved what was already a classic design into something a little more modern and a little more capable. It’s not the most futuristic-looking devices, with somewhat chunky bezels, but that does make it easier to grip in tablet mode, and the overall design of the Pro 7 is excellent, in both build quality and component choice.
Under the hood, you’ll find up to a quad-core 10th-generation Core i7 Intel Ice Lake processor, with 11th-generation Iris Plus graphics. That’s not only a capable, efficient processor but impressively capable GPU too, making this a device that you can work and play on with ease. Esports titles and older AAA games will play just fine on this device, and thanks to its highly pixel-dense display, you can expect your games and work to look fantastic too.
This generation finally added a USB-C port, so alongside more typical USB-A and headphone ports, you’ll find plenty of accessories that you can add to this without needing to break out an adapter.
As with the Surface Go, you’ll want to buy the Type Cover to give this convertible laptop full laptop-functionality, but by making it an extra the Surface Pro stays extremely light when in tablet mode, as just 1.7 pounds.
HP Spectre X360 13
Size: 13-inches
Resolution: 1,920 x 1,080
Battery life: Up to 22 hours
If you want a striking design for your convertible laptop, then the HP Spectre X360 13 is it. Combining angular lines, with a unique color profile and fantastic built quality, this is a 2-in-1 that makes a statement. It stands out from the crowd of black and silver laptops with its subtle gold accents and has powerful, capable hardware under the hood too.
The latest configuration sports a 10th-generation Intel Ice Lake CPU (up to Core i7) with the option of two or four cores, and Intel Iris Pro graphics, making this a professional looking 2-in-1 that is more than capable of doing some Esports gaming in the off-hours. With up to 16GB of memory and up to 2TB of super-fast NMVe storage, the Spectre X360 absolutely zips along, whether in tablet or laptop mode.
At 1080p, the stock screen isn’t the most detailed, but there is the option of a 4K AMOLED panel which looks fantastic but does eat into battery life, so you’ll need to weigh up that consideration against your budget when it comes to configuring your particular model.
Battery life is excellent whatever hardware you pick though, and you’ll have no trouble making it through a full workday with this laptop. It does get a little toasty, so you may want to consider a laptop cooling pad when using it over extended periods or for intense tasks, but it’s an excellent 2-in-1, no matter what you want to use it for.
Surface Book 2
Size: 13.5 or 15-inches
Resolution: 3,000 x 2,000
Battery life: Up to 17 hours
The original battery life king of 2-in-1s, the Surface Book 2 is a little older than some of the other top 2-in-1s, but it hasn’t fallen far behind and still offers a compelling mix of hardware performance, portability and detail to make it one of the most exciting convertible laptops you can buy today.
Inside it packs an Intel Core i5 or i7 CPU from the seventh and eighth generation and up to 16GB of memory. That’s combined with an optional Nvidia graphics card — either the GTX 1050 or 1060 depending on the physical size you opt for. That makes this 2-in-1 more than capable of handling even midrange games with ease at great frame rates.
This is a stealth gaming 2-in-1 in all but name.
The display is one of the best out there, with a high resolution in the productive and versatile 3:2 aspect ratio — great for browsing websites in both laptop and tablet mode.
But one of the most exciting features of the Surface Book 2 is that its display is entirely detachable. That does mean you sacrifice GPU power and some battery life in tablet mode, but it drops the weight from 3-4 pounds to well under two pounds when in tablet mode. That makes it possible to turn this otherwise powerful and sturdy laptop into a lightweight and portable tablet in seconds.