Whereas the joy round 2-in-1 programs has cooled a bit over time, they’re nonetheless helpful options for anybody who desires a tool that may act as each a pill and a conventional laptop computer. In pill mode, they’re useful for jotting down notes and drawing footage, and of their full laptop computer configurations, they will allow you to handle e-mail and write as you’d with a conventional pocket book. Whether or not you’re a scholar, artistic or simply need a extra versatile setup, a 2-in-1 answer provides you the most effective of each worlds with out having to hold a number of units.
We have examined and reviewed a few of the high 2-in-1 choices on the market from manufacturers like HP, Microsoft, Samsung and Apple. Whether or not you’re searching for a Home windows PC that may sometimes act like a pill, or conventional slates that may be empowered with keyboard equipment, we’ve rounded up the most effective fashions to think about.
Elements to think about earlier than shopping for a 2-in-1 laptop computer
If you’re looking for a 2-in-1 system, there are some primary standards to remember. First off, take into account the kind of machine you’re searching for. Would you like one thing that may appear to be a conventional Home windows laptop computer, but in addition has a display that may twist into completely different orientations? (We regularly name these convertibles.) Or would you like a standalone pill that works with a separate keyboard attachment? Pill setups are sometimes lighter, however they’re usually more durable to make use of in your lap since they depend on kickstands or awkward circumstances.
Additionally, whereas some 2-in-1s provide built-in LTE or 5G connectivity, not everybody will need to pay the premium for it. An built-in mobile radio makes checking emails or replying to messages on the go way more handy. But it surely additionally usually prices extra — and that’s on high of what you’ll pay for knowledge. And as for 5G, you possibly can maintain off on it except you reside inside vary of a mmWave beacon. Protection remains to be spotty and present nationwide networks use the slower sub-6 know-how that’s barely quicker than LTE. For now, tethering a PC to your telephone remains to be one of the best ways to get on-line.
Relating to pill keyboards, you’ll additionally need to make peace with the truth that they’ll by no means really feel as responsive as full-fledged laptop computer choices. Their keys are shallower, and their layouts are sometimes a bit completely different than typical PCs. Once more, there’s a value for portability.
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Generally, getting a third-party pill keyboard may be simply nearly as good, and so they’re usually cheaper than first-party choices. For those who’re trying to avoid wasting cash, Logitech’s Slim Folio is an reasonably priced possibility for iPads, and should you don’t want your keyboard to connect to your pill, Logitech’s K780 Multi-Device wireless keyboard can also be choose.
Whereas we’ve sometimes made positive to incorporate a finances 2-in-1 in earlier years, this time there isn’t an excellent selection. We might often choose a Floor Go, however the newest mannequin remains to be too costly. Different alternate options, like cheaper Android tablets, are underpowered and don’t provide an excellent multitasking interface. If you’d like one thing round $500 that’s skinny, light-weight and long-lasting, you’re higher off this yr a conventional laptop computer (like these on our best budget PCs list). Alternatively, you may take into account one in all our high picks for the best Chromebooks, both as a back-to-school possibility or for primary duties.
Finest 2-in-1 laptops
Show: 14-inch OLED touchscreen | CPU: Intel Core Extremely 5 125H | Weight: 3.19 kilos | RAM: As much as 32GB | Storage: As much as 2TB
Learn our full HP Spectre x360 14 review
HP’s new Spectre x360 14 is our new high choose if you’d like a laptop computer that may sometimes flip right into a pill. It’s a fantastic pocket book that may rotate its display into a wide range of orientations: a tent mode for propping it up in mattress or on a desk and a pill mode with the keyboard tucked away neatly behind the lid. Whereas it wouldn’t fully exchange one thing like an iPad, the x360’s rotating hinge makes it extra versatile than a traditional pocket book. It’s good for diving right into a prolonged article or PDF or utilizing the bundled stylus to jot down some notes. For those who’re searching for a stable again to high school possibility with the Home windows working system and contact show, it’s an excellent selection.
The Spectre x360 14 can also be a stable laptop computer in its personal proper, with a wonderful keyboard, an extra-large touchpad and a few of the greatest PC industrial design available on the market. And with a 512GB SSD (configurable as much as 2TB), there’s loads of room to retailer all your information and pictures. It even boasts two Thunderbolt 4 ports with USB-C connectivity so you possibly can join a number of units.
- Versatile convertible display
- OLED show is extremely vibrant
- Stable CPU improve
- Begins with 16GB RAM
- Glorious keyboard
- Loads of ports
- HP’s design hasn’t modified in years
- Haptic touchpad is a bit finicky
- Common battery life
Nathan Ingraham for Engadget
Show: 11- or 13-inch 120Hz tandem OLED XDR touchscreen | CPU: Apple M5 | Weight: Beginning at 0.98 kilos | RAM: As much as 16GB | Storage: As much as 2TB
Learn our full Apple iPad Pro (M5) review
In plenty of methods, the iPad Professional M5 is overkill for many. It has Apple’s latest M5 chip and among the best screens you may get — a Tandem OLED panel with a 120Hz refresh price, to not point out assist for each contact and stylus enter. It’s additionally accessible in two sizes (11 and 13 inches), so that you get some management over how transportable you want it to be. For those who actually need a pill that may exchange a laptop computer, that is nearly as good because it will get, notably on this aspect of the Apple vs. Android/Home windows divide.
This era of the iPad Professional can also be shockingly skinny and lightweight, so it’ll principally disappear into your bag with out including a ton of heft. In the meantime, Apple’s Magic Keyboard is sleeker than earlier than whereas additionally that includes a bigger trackpad and a really useful row of perform keys. The one actual draw back is value, with the smaller, 11-inch mannequin beginning at $999, and the 13-inch mannequin beginning at $1,299. And that’s earlier than you think about the price of issues like further storage or equipment. However should you’ve acquired the money and need a top-of-the-line pill, it’s exhausting to go fallacious with the iPad Professional M5.
Alternatively, should you recognize what the iPad Professional can do however don’t need to shell out fairly that a lot cash, the iPad Air is a extra reasonably priced possibility. We take into account it to be the most effective iPad for most individuals. Its display isn’t as good and it’s not fairly as svelte. However its M3 chip is greater than sufficient energy for many, and Apple improved its Magic Keyboard accent lately. Critically, it additionally prices practically half the worth with the 11 and 13-inch fashions beginning at $599 and $799, respectively. — Nathan Ingraham, Deputy Editor
- M5 chip is a big replace for some GPU-powered duties
- Presumably the most effective display I’ve ever seen
- Extraordinarily skinny and lightweight
- First iPad with quick charging
- iPadOS 26 is a serious enchancment
- Prohibitively costly
- Equipment just like the Magic Keyboard and Apple Pencil Professional make it price much more
SAMSUNG
Show: 12.4-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X touchscreen | CPU: Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 | Weight: 1.3 kilos | RAM: As much as 12GB | Storage: As much as 512GB
Learn our full Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra review
Whereas Home windows is healthier than iPadOS and Android for productiveness, it lags in relation to apps particularly designed for touchscreens. If you’d like a pill that has all of the apps you need, and solely want it to often double as a laptop computer, the Galaxy Tab S9+ is a stable possibility. You’ll take pleasure in watching motion pictures and taking part in video games on its beautiful 12.4-inch 120Hz AMOLED display, and Samsung consists of the S Pen, which is nice for sketching and taking notes. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip and 12GB of RAM (4GB greater than the final mannequin) maintain issues operating easily, too.
Samsung dramatically improved its keyboard case a number of years in the past for the S7+, making the Tab a fair higher laptop computer alternative. You possibly can sort for hours on this factor and never hate your self (or Samsung). The battery life can also be wonderful, so that you gained’t want to fret about staying near an outlet. The primary caveat is that Android isn’t nice as a desktop OS. And whereas Samsung’s DeX mode provides a considerably workable answer, it has loads of quirks. Equally, by selecting a 2-in-1 that’s primarily a pill, you do forgo a wealth of connectivity choices that you just’d in any other case get with a laptop computer.
- Lovely display
- Nice audio system
- Highly effective {hardware}
- S Pen is extraordinarily responsive
- Dex mode is a surprisingly highly effective multitasking interface
Picture by Devindra Hardawar / Engadget
Show: 13-inch OLED touchscreen | CPU: Snapdragon X Plus/X Elite | Weight: 1.97 kilos | RAM: As much as 32GB | Storage: As much as 1TB
Learn our full Microsoft Surface Pro Copilot+ review
The Surface Pro is every little thing we’ve wished the Floor pill line to be for years. It’s extremely quick and environment friendly, because of Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon X Elite and Plus chips. Its neural processing unit (NPU) additionally permits doubtlessly highly effective AI options, although the present crop gained’t be helpful to everybody. We’re additionally nonetheless ready to see Microsoft’s controversial Recall characteristic in motion, which has been delayed to deal with its many safety considerations.
The brand new OLED display possibility seems to be fantastic: It makes colours pop off the display and in addition ensures inky darkish black ranges. Coupled along with surprisingly highly effective audio system, the Floor Professional is a stable possibility for watching video on the go. Its versatility is likely one of the many causes the Floor Professional made it onto our listing. Pair that with its portability because of its small kind issue, and you’ve got a wonderful choose.
When it’s paired along with the brand new Floor Professional Flex keyboard ($350), you possibly can sort and mouse across the Floor fully wirelessly, which opens up completely new methods of utilizing it. So long as there’s a small desk close by, or someplace to prop up the pill, you possibly can work with only a skinny and lightweight keyboard in your lap. For those who’re searching for a enterprise laptop computer that’s light-weight and doesn’t have an enormous display dimension that can weigh you down, the Floor Professional is one you must take into account. It’s additionally good to see Microsoft pack in 16GB of RAM with the bottom Floor Professional mannequin.
Whereas we’d nonetheless wish to see the corporate bundle in a keyboard and refine its kickstand, the Floor Professional stays some of the revolutionary PCs accessible right this moment.
- Snapdragon X Elite and Plus chips are splendidly quick
- Stable battery life
- Glorious OLED display possibility
- NPU permits for highly effective AI options
- Flex keyboard makes it extra versatile
- Stable AI options
- All keyboards bought individually
- Nonetheless exhausting to make use of in your lap
- Will get costly rapidly
Current updates
October 2025: Up to date to incorporate the most recent iPad Professional.
February 2025: We’ve retitled this information to “Finest 2-in-1 laptops and tablets” to be extra correct, and we’ve additionally up to date the introduction and “Elements to think about” part to check with convertible laptops and removable pill choices.
June 2024: We up to date our high picks to incorporate the Microsoft Floor Professional Copilot+ version.
Nathan Ingraham contributed to this report.
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