The Best 2-in-1 Laptops of 2024

If you’re stuck between choosing a laptop and a tablet, you can get the best of both worlds with a 2-in-1 laptop. It functions like an ordinary laptop, but with a quick fold, it’s suddenly a tablet.

What to Look For in a 2-in-1 Laptop

Although a 2-in-1 laptop may sound wildly different from a regular laptop, it’s anything but. What makes a good laptop also makes a good 2-in-1 laptop. Of course, the defining trait is that a 2-in-1 laptop almost always has a touchscreen display.

Since that’s its most significant trait, the display should be in line with your needs. After all, when you switch from laptop to tablet, you’ll usually get closer. Therefore, the minimum resolution should be no lower than 1080p and, ideally, no smaller than 13 inches. Anything less would make it incredibly uncomfortable to use.

Speaking of the display, if your purpose for getting a 2-in-1 laptop is to edit videos, images, or art, then color gamut and color space are essential, as well as contrast. The more colors a display can output, the more true-to-life images and whatnot. In contrast, a higher ratio means darker areas will appear black instead of gray.

As a side note, a stylus packaged with the laptop will help offset the cost. For example, the Microsoft Surface Pro 11, featured on our list, doesn’t include a stylus but is compatible with the Surface Slim Pen. On the other hand, the Lenovo Yoga i9 Laptop comes with a stylus. Keep in mind that styluses are not universal!

If you’re hoping to game on your 2-in-1 laptop, GPU and CPU are, without a doubt, the most important aspects. While integrated graphics from CPUs can work fine for light gaming and creative software, a discrete GPU is needed to run games at higher frames, resolution, and graphics settings. However, a discrete GPU is usually a half-step behind its full-sized external GPU counterparts, but you’ll still get comparable performance.

Lastly, it also wouldn’t hurt to consider what operating system you want to use. Windows is the obvious winner, but a 2-in-1 laptop using Chrome OS could significantly reduce the resources needed to function. Ultimately, it would reduce the overall cost of the machine.

The Microsoft Surface Pro 11 is an interesting prospect because you’re given the reins on key features, such as storage, display, RAM, and CPU. In the end, you’ll always end up with a powerful and efficient laptop that’s well-balanced for anything you throw at it.

For instance, the choice between a Snapdragon X Elite and a Snapdragon X Plus ultimately comes down to how many cores you want or need—the X Elite having 12 and the X Plus having 10. That’s not a major difference, but those two extra cores come in handy for multitasking or editing software.

Regardless of the components you pick, the Microsoft Surface Pro’s CPU won’t suck your battery dry after an hour. It’s quite efficient, lasting up to 14 hours. Even if you put the laptop through its paces, you can rest easy knowing it’ll handle the day’s work.

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Best 2-in-1 Laptop Overall

Microsoft Surface Pro 11 (OLED)

$900 $1200 Save $300

Microsoft’s Snapdragon-powered Surface Pro 11 combines desktop-class performance with an incredible 14-hour battery life. Windows on ARM still has plenty of growing pains, but the Surface Pro 11 is still a no-brainer for casual users and some professionals.

In the budget department, the Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5i Chromebook Plus is a slimmer option in terms of features and performance. However, with Chrome OS being pretty lightweight and a good selection of ports really makes up for it.

For starters, Chrome OS is much easier on resources than Windows 11. It won’t be as taxing for the Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 50 Chromebook Plus, given its Intel Core i3-1315U and 8GB of RAM. And with Google Play being accessible natively, it grants you a wealth of apps.

Speaking of wealth, this 2-in-1 laptop also has a good set of ports. Looking to expand your storage? Use the microSD card slot. Want to connect your laptop to an external display? There are two USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 ports. There’s even a USB-A, headphone jack, and Kensington Nano security slot for good measure.

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Best 2-in-1 Budget Laptop

Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5i Chromebook Plus

With a good battery life, 14-inch display, and slim design, the Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5i Chromebook Plus is a well-rounded 2-in-1 laptop on a tight budget. It’s perfectly suited for general use, like entertainment, work, and taking notes.

Best 2-in-1 Laptop for Students: HP Envy x360

As a student, you’ll need a 2-in-1 laptop with plenty of storage and a CPU that can handle multiple programs at once. You’ll also want a good webcam, just in case you need to contact professors, teachers, and classmates. The HP Envy x360 has that and more.

In the case of storage, the HP Envy x360 has a 512GB NVMe M.2 SSD, which is plenty, but more importantly, having an SSD will ensure programs, booting, and file access will feel far snappier than a mechanical hard drive.

Lastly, the HP Envy x360 has a 5MP camera, with dual array digital microphones built right in. It even has some temporal noise reduction to keep your voice audible and clear.

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Best 2-in-1 Laptop for Students

HP Envy x360

Given its CPU designed for multitasking, fast SSD, and 5MP camera, the HP Envy x360 already has the makings of a great 2-in-1 laptop for school. It has a healthy selection of ports if and when you need to expand your workspace.

For artists, any 2-in-1 laptop needs two things: a good CPU and a big enough screen. Luckily, the Lenovo Yoga 9i has the Intel Core Ultra 7 155H, with Intel’s Arc integrated graphics. It’s even loaded with 32GB of LPDDR5x memory to make the system snappier.

Of course, the crowning jewel is the display itself. The Lenovo Yoga 9i 2-in-1 Laptop has a 14-inch PureSight OLED touchscreen that covers 100% of the DCI-P3 color space. Add in True Black 500 and Dolby Vision support, and you’ve got a display that’ll make those colors pop, whether you’re editing images or drawing.

Best of all, you don’t have to splurge for a pen. The Lenovo Yoga 9i comes packaged with the Lenovo Slim Pen. When you’re done using it for the day, it can be attached magnetically for easy storage.

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Best 2-in-1 Laptop for Drawing

Lenovo Yoga 9i 2-in-1

The Lenovo Yoga 9i 2-in-1 combines powerful hardware, a great-looking OLED touchscreen, and a thin and light design to make this one of the best 2-in-1s you can buy.

Look, tablets have come a long way in the gaming department, but those chipsets can’t compare to a discrete GeForce RTX 4050 with 6GB of VRAM. Yes, that’s what this Asus ROG Flow Z13 is rocking, along with 16GB of RAM to boot.

Although the Asus ROG Flow Z13 is slim—half an inch thin, as a matter of fact—it’s more or less a master class in cooling. Asus gave the Flow Z13 a custom vapor chamber with plenty of surface area to reach the GPU, CPU, and VRM. To top it off, the CPU even has liquid metal thermal paste because you can never have enough cooling for your processor.

To be fair, you’re going to need as much cooling as possible, given the 13.4-inch 2K display. It’s not just running the laptop at higher resolutions, but running it at 165Hz, but the Asus ROG Flow Z13 does both beautifully.

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Best 2-in-1 Laptop for Gaming

Asus ROG Flow Z13

$1600 $1750 Save $150

With a discrete GeForce RTX 4050 and an Intel Core i9-13900H, there’s no game beyond your reach when you use the Asus ROG Flow Z13. And to top it off, the special attention to cooling will ensure the laptop stays cool and quiet while you play.

FAQ

What is a 2-in-1 laptop?

Simply put: a 2-in-1 laptop can be used as a tablet or laptop. It’s still a laptop, but thanks to a hinge, you can fold it and use it like a tablet.

Is there a 3-in-1 laptop?

No. About the closest you can get to a 3-in-1 laptop is one that has a video port for connecting to external monitors.

Can I remove the keyboard on a 2-in-1 laptop?

It depends on the model.

Microsoft Surface Pro 11 has a detachable keyboard, whereas the Lenovo Yoga i9 does not.

Are all 2-in-1 laptops Windows based?

Nope!

Although it’s the majority of 2-in-1 laptops to be Windows-based, plenty of models run Chrome OS. With a detachable keyboard, you could turn a iPad into a 2-in-1 laptop!