9 finest 2-in-1 laptops in 2024: examined and reviewed
The 2-in-1 kind issue has actually come into its personal during the last a number of years. There’s actually no purpose to restrict your self to a clamshell, as there is a 2-in-1 that may meet the wants of all however essentially the most demanding customers by way of sheer efficiency.
We’ve reviewed each nice 2-in-1 you should purchase, together with Chromebooks, convertibles, and highly effective 16-inch variations. The total finest 2-in-1 in the intervening time is the Microsoft Surface Pro 9 (though that may change very quickly), with its unbelievable keyboard that is as simple to take away as it’s to kind on, a 120Hz show, and a haptic-enabled pen. It’s nearly as good a laptop as it’s a pill, which is what makes it one of the best total 2-in-1.
Microsoft Surface Pro 9
A removable 2-in-1 that is absolutely useful
- New colours look nice
- Design and construct high quality are high notch
- SQ3 is a stable different
- Type Cover keyboard is superb
- High decision webcam
- No headphone jack
- Upgrades nonetheless too costly
- Limited efficiency enhancements
Why you can purchase this: It’s one of the best 2-in-1 you should purchase.
Who it is for: Anyone who simply can’t determine between a pill and a standard pocket book.
Why we picked the Microsoft Surface Pro 9:
Microsoft has slowly advanced the Surface Pro line over time with refined, however necessary tweaks. The Surface Pro 9 is the newest mannequin, and whereas it’s miles from excellent, it represents essentially the most premium Windows 2-in-1 that at the moment exists.
It maintains the identical iconic Surface Pro kickstand and Type Cover, and so with out setting it subsequent to its predecessor, you may not discover the variations. But just like the earlier Surface Pro 9, it is manufactured from aluminum moderately than magnesium, it has smaller show bezels surrounding a bigger 13-inch show (up from 12.3 inches), and its edges are extra rounded. It’s a extra elegant and fashionable design that we like lots. It even comes with a 120Hz refresh price show and the superb Surface Slim 2 Pen.
The draw back is that Microsoft has dropped the three.5mm audio jack, a call that may hassle some. Inside, it is powered by older Twelfth-gen Intel CPUs, having skipped an replace in 2023. However, on May 20, 2024, Microsoft introduced the brand new Copilot+PC platform that mates Windows 11 on ARM with Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon X chipsets. Microsoft’s personal Surface lineup is included within the platform with a new Surface Pro (now not with a numerical designator) that makes use of the Snapdragon X Plus or Snapdragon X Elite for excellent efficiency matched with considerably higher effectivity and battery life. In addition, the Surface Pro may have a brand new OLED show possibility that guarantees shiny, dynamic, and correct colours and inky blacks.
Needless to say, we advocate that you simply contemplate the brand new Surface Pro, which is able to ship in June, 2024. Questions stay in regards to the efficiency and compatibility of Windows 11 on ARM in addition to the efficiency of Qualcomm’s chipsets. However, it is value ready to see, and we are going to replace this part as soon as we have now an opportunity to check the brand new Surface Pro.
Microsoft Surface Pro 9
A removable 2-in-1 that is absolutely useful
HP Spectre x360 14
An elegant and well-built convertible 2-in-1
- Attractive aesthetic
- Very good productiveness efficiency
- Good to nice battery life
- Excellent haptic touchpad
- Superb 120Hz OLED show
- Superior audio high quality
- No discrete GPU possibility
- A bit costly
Why you can purchase this: It’s one of the best convertible laptop computer.
Who it is for: Anyone searching for a 2-in-1 that works finest as a laptop computer.
Why we picked the HP Spectre x360 14:
The HP Spectre x360 14 marks a major revision from the superb Spectre x360 13.5, with a smoother chassis and a bigger 2.8K OLED show. It affords a compelling mixture of efficiency, battery life, and worth, and it is fairly comfy to carry and use as a pill.
The Spectre x360 14 makes use of Intel’s 14th-generation Meteor Lake chipsets, such because the 28-watt 16-core/22-thread Core Ultra 7 155H that features a Neural Processing Unit (NPU) to hurry up native AI duties. That considerably will increase efficiency over the previous-generation CPU whereas offering excellent battery life. The OLED panel is superb, with shiny, dynamic, and correct colours and inky blacks. Like all of at present’s 360-degree convertible 2-in-1s, the Spectre x360 14 works properly as a standard clamshell pocket book whereas nonetheless providing the pliability of media, tent, and pill modes.
The Microsoft Surface Pro 9 may be a greater pill alternative, however the Spectre x360 14 is superb in each different respect.
HP Spectre x360 14
An elegant and well-built convertible 2-in-1
Lenovo Chromebook Duet 3
A Chromebook 2-in-1 that is extremely reasonably priced
- Good sufficient productiveness efficiency
- Excellent battery life
- Surprisingly good show
- Folio kickstand and keyboard included
- Strong worth
- Keyboard is simply too cramped
- Limited to Wi-Fi 5
Why you can purchase this: It’s one of the best 2-in-1 Chromebook.
Who it is for: Anyone searching for a 2-in-1 Chromebook that is each an ideal pill and a laptop computer.
Why we picked the Lenovo IdeaPad Duet:
The Lenovo IdeaPad Duet is a Chromebook for individuals who like pill designs and actually like Chromebook costs however are nonetheless searching for the fitting 2-in-1 PC.
The slim Duet affords a ten.9-inch 2K (2000 x 1200) display, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 7c Gen 2 CPU processor, and 4GB of RAM. Since it is a Chromebook, cupboard space actually is not a spotlight, but it surely’s good to see 64GB for many who want it for Android apps and Linux desktop software program. Ports are restricted to 2 USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 connections, certainly one of which is used to cost the pill.
While it is good that the keypad features a small touchpad for many who need it, it is nonetheless a little bit cramped for our style. However, we hardly ever see comparable specs made out there at such a low worth (and you may at all times select a special keypad if you wish to). Battery life is superb at 11.5 hours for internet shopping and 16 hours for video.
If you are searching for extra like this, we have additionally gathered a listing of the best Chromebooks.
Lenovo Chromebook Duet 3
A Chromebook 2-in-1 that is extremely reasonably priced
Apple iPad Pro
A pure pill that works nice as a laptop computer
- Sleek and fashionable design
- Bright, vivid, attractive show
- Wild efficiency from the M2 chip
- Apple Pencil hover function
- iPadOS 16 is tremendous sturdy
- Stage Manager wants extra work
- Lackluster, awkward entrance digital camera
- Prohibitively costly
Why you can purchase this: It’s one of the best 2-in-1 for pill use.
Who it is for: Anyone who needs a pill first, with laptop computer performance a handy add-on.
Why we picked the Apple iPad Pro:
Apple may not like calling the iPad Pro a “2-in-1 laptop,” however that is what it’s. That is, as long as you pair it with the superb Magic Keyboard attachment.
The iPad Pro mannequin that we reviewed use the Apple-produced ARM-based M2 processor, but it surely’s been outmoded by a brand new model introduced on May 7, 2024, and delivery on May 15, 2024. We’ll replace this part when the brand new mannequin has been reviewed. For now, although, suffice it to say that the brand new M4 chipset makes the iPad Pro much more evenly matched with fashionable laptops at many duties, that means that you simply’re now not giving up efficiency to get pleasure from a reputable pill format.
The new iPad Pro’s tandem OLED show can also be elegant, stacking two OLED panels collectively to dramatically improve brightness. It has the identical 120Hz refresh price as earlier than however provides OLED’s super-fast response instances, along with wider and extra correct colours and OLED’s inky blacks. It goes as much as 1,000 nits in customary dynamic vary (SDR) content material and as much as 1,600 in excessive dynamic vary (HDR), with a pointy 2752-by-2064 decision in barely bigger 13.0-inch show. The new Apple Pencil Pro lively pen makes for a superb drawing device, and the up to date Magic Keyboard provides the pill laptop-like performance, together with haptic touchpad help within the final variations of iPad OS.
Of course, as an iPad, it stays the best tablets go. Today, the iPad Pro is the thinnest, lightest, and purest pill expertise you should purchase, thanks largely to an enormous library of apps which can be optimized for pill utilization.
Apple iPad Pro
A pure pill that works nice as a laptop computer
Microsoft Surface Go 3
A tiny Windows 11 2-in-1 that shines
- Excellent construct high quality
- Superior show for a price range machine
- Great Active Pen help
- Small and light-weight
- Surprisingly good real-world efficiency
- Can get costly
- Mediocre battery life
- Keyboard and touchpad are cramped
Why you can purchase this: It’s one of the best small 2-in-1.
Who it is for: Anyone who needs a pill that may plug in a keyboard in a pinch — and would not need to spend a ton of money.
Why we picked the Microsoft Surface Go 3:
Affordable and slim, the Surface Go 3 provides you a traditional pill expertise with Windows 11. It’s additionally a notable improve to the primary Surface Go, which was a really transportable pill however not that nice on heavy workloads.
The newer mannequin picks up the Surface Go 2’s design and slims down the bezels whereas growing the display measurement to 10.5 inches. It additionally considerably improves efficiency utilizing new processor choices. Our choose makes use of an Intel Pentium 6500Y or Core i3 chip complemented by 8GB of RAM. The quick 128GB SSD makes it simpler to deal with work duties.
The Surface Go 3 has ports for USB-C, a hidden microSD card slot to broaden storage, and a headphone jack. The battery is rated for 10 hours, an enchancment on the primary Go’s battery life, however nonetheless would not impress in comparison with different picks on our record.
Microsoft Surface Go 3
A tiny Windows 11 2-in-1 that shines
Surface Laptop Studio 2
A robust 2-in-1 with an modern design
- Beautiful PixelSense Flow show
- Robust hinge design
- Comfortable keyboard and trackpad
- Sharp webcam
- Expensive
- Mediocre battery life
- Middling efficiency in Recommended mode
Why you can purchase this: It’s essentially the most highly effective 2-in-1.
Who it is for: Business and artistic professionals with cash to spend on one of the best.
Why we picked the Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio 2:
The Surface Laptop Studio is an modern pull-forward 2-in-1 design in an all-metal chassis with highly effective parts inside. It’s not a direct alternative for the Surface Book 3, but it surely’s taken its place on the high of Microsoft’s Surface lineup. It’s just lately been up to date to its second era, with much more energy inside.
It options 45-watt Intel H-series Core CPUs, together with an non-obligatory Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 GPU, making it essentially the most highly effective 2-in-1 in our lineup. It can deal with demanding productiveness workflows whereas managing much less demanding artistic duties as properly. It also can do some gaming in a pinch.
You’ll admire the 14.4-inch 3:2 show at a excessive 2,400 x 1,600 decision and 120Hz refresh price, and the panel helps the Microsoft Surface Slim 2 Pen’s haptic suggestions. With as much as 64GB of RAM and a 2TB SSD, the Surface Laptop Studio 2 is a transportable workstation in a 2-in-1 kind issue.
Surface Laptop Studio 2
A robust 2-in-1 with an modern design
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Yoga Gen 8
A business-oriented 2-in-1 with out compromise
- Iconic design
- Robust and well-built
- Thin, transportable 2-in-1
- Expensive
- Not essentially the most highly effective
Why you can purchase this: It’s one of the best 2-in-1 for enterprise.
Who it is for: Businesspeople who want a transportable 2-in-1 that your IT division will approve of.
Why we picked the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Yoga Gen 8:
The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Yoga adopts the corporate’s iconic ThinkPad line to the convertible 2-in-1 kind issue. It’s a strong laptop computer, like all ThinkPads, but it surely’s distinctive within the line by way of its fashionable, but conservative design that appears nothing like the same old black-on-black ThinkPad. And that is an excellent factor.
It’s additionally a skinny 2-in-1 at simply 0.60 inches thick, making it comfy in pill mode. The included lively pen attaches magnetically to the fitting facet of the show and works properly. Performance is sweet for productiveness duties, and battery life is phenomenal.
Add within the ThinkPad security measures and non-obligatory service protection, and the ThinkPad X1 Yoga Gen 8 is a 2-in-1 that businesspeople would like to personal.
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Yoga Gen 8
A business-oriented 2-in-1 with out compromise
HP Spectre x360 16 2024
A 16-inch convertible 2-in-1 with some energy inside
- Good construct high quality
- Attractive aesthetic
- Excellent OLED show
- Great keyboard
- Exceptional haptic touchpad
- Not quick sufficient for creators
- Large chassis
- Tablet mode is cumbersome
Why you can purchase this: It’s one of the best 2-in-1 for enterprise.
Who it is for: Businesspeople who want a transportable 2-in-1 that your IT division will approve of.
Why we picked the HP Spectre x360 16:
The 2-in-1 laptop computer is most frequently 14 inches or smaller, due primarily to its supposed use in a pill format. Larger tablets are sometimes too cumbersome to make use of in hand, and have to be positioned on a flat floor to be comfortably used. The Spectre x360 16 is not any completely different, with its comparatively massive measurement that is as a result of a 16-inch show and heavy weight of 4.3 kilos.
However, the Spectre x360 16 affords one factor most 2-in-1s do not: a discrete GPU that hastens gaming and artistic apps. The Spectre affords simply the entry-level discrete Nvidia GeForce RTX 4050, however that is sufficient for less-demanding 1080p gaming and for rushing up apps like Adobe Premiere Pro greater than built-in graphics can.
In addition, you get a beautiful OLED show possibility at a high-res 3K (2880 x 1800) decision and working at a quick 120Hz. The keyboard and big haptic touchpad are second to none, and it is fairly reasonably priced at a beginning worth of $1,250.
HP Spectre x360 16 2024
A 16-inch convertible 2-in-1 with some energy inside
HP Spectre Foldable PC
An ultra-expensive foldable 2-in-1
- Exquisite design
- Solid construct high quality
- Excellent foldable OLED show
- Great keyboard
- Plenty of usable codecs
- Above-average battery life
- Extremely costly
- Tablet mode is overly massive
- Clamshell show decision is comparatively low
Why you can purchase this: It’s one of the best 2-in-1 for enterprise.
Who it is for: Businesspeople who want a transportable 2-in-1 that your IT division will approve of.
Why we picked the HP Spectre Foldable PC:
There’s a more moderen class of laptop computer that goals to transcend the 2-in-1 to supply an extra mode. Dubbed 3-in-1s, laptops just like the Spectre Foldable PC supply “desktop” mode to go together with tent, media, and pill modes.
As its identify implies, the Spectre Foldable PC has a foldable show, particularly a 17.0-inch 3:4 OLED display working at 2.5K (2560 x 1920) that folds down the center. Place the removable keyboard on high of the underside fold and it is a clamshell laptop computer. And when unfolded the show can be utilized as a really massive pill or within the desktop mode talked about above.
HP’s design is impeccable, and the pill feels naturally balanced due to batteries which can be cut up into every fold. The keyboard and touchpad are wonderful, and the Spectre Foldable PC affords ok productiveness efficiency, with surprisingly good battery life. Its solely actual detrimental is its excessive worth of $5,000, which limits its market significantly.
HP Spectre Foldable PC
An ultra-expensive foldable 2-in-1
Frequently Asked Questions
What’s a 2-in-1 laptop computer?
A convertible 2-in-1 laptop computer can convert from a standard clamshell laptop computer to a pill. In some instances, it is a bit of a misnomer — 360-degree convertible laptops just like the HP Spectre x360 14 will also be utilized in tent and media modes. The keyboard will not be detachable.
A removable 2-in-1 laptop computer is a tablet-based gadget with a removable keyboard accent. In most instances, the keyboard is an extra price, as seen with the Surface Pro household. You can preserve the keyboard hooked up and flip it round so you should utilize the display as a pill.
The most important benefit of a removable 2-in-1 is portability — tablets are extraordinarily skinny, mild, and simple to hold round. They additionally work one of the best for drawing and taking notes on the pen-enabled show. On the flip facet, they have a tendency to have much less highly effective {hardware} than convertibles.
The 360-degree convertible 2-in-1, however, is not fairly as helpful as a removable, but it surely tends to work higher in clamshell laptop computer mode — particularly when utilizing it on the lap, the place it is extra steady than most removable 2-in-1s. The {hardware} tends to be higher because of the lack of area constraints seen with skinny tablets.
Should I get a 2-in-1 or a standard laptop computer?
Recent 360-degree convertibles like our favourite HP Spectre x360 14 make for nice clamshells — the truth is, it is an ideal competitor to the Dell XPS 13 even in the event you by no means find yourself flipping the show round. Modern 2-in-1s are quick, have lengthy battery life, and sometimes get pleasure from even higher shows than the everyday clamshell laptop computer.
If you want the quickest gaming laptop computer or skilled workstation that makes use of essentially the most highly effective CPUs and GPUs, then a 2-in-1 PC is not for you. That’s as a result of 2-in-1s are typically thinner and lighter as a result of they can be utilized as slates. That creates some limitations in simply how briskly a 2-in-1 can carry out in comparison with conventional laptops.
Does Apple make a 2-in-1 laptop computer?
Technically, no, Apple would not supply the normal 2-in-1 laptop computer. Its MacBooks are clamshell-only.
However, Apple advertises its iPad Pro as a removable 2-in-1, though it makes use of the cellular iPadOS as a substitute of MacOS for desktops and laptops. Like Microsoft’s Surface Pro, the keyboard is an adjunct, which provides to the bottom worth. And as a result of the iPad Pro makes use of a cellular working system, you may’t set up conventional desktop software program — which is the place Microsoft trumps Apple with the Surface Pro 9, for instance.
Still, Apple is enhancing how properly the iPad works as a laptop computer by enabling mouse help and improved file system help within the new iPadOS.
Can a 2-in-1 laptop computer be used for gaming?
A giant disappointment for devoted players is that many 2-in-1s lack the capability for super-advanced CPUs and GPUs. You can use a 2-in-1 for gaming, however you received’t get the identical high-quality graphics or body price that you simply’re used to on an actual clamshell laptop computer.
The Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio 2 has an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 GPU that makes it greater than quick sufficient for contemporary video games at 1080p and moderately-high graphics settings.
