Whereas the thrill round 2-in-1 programs has cooled a bit over time, they’re nonetheless helpful options for anybody who needs 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 photos, and of their full laptop computer configurations, they’ll allow you to handle e-mail and write as you’ll with a conventional pocket book. Whether or not you’re a pupil, inventive or simply desire a extra versatile setup, a 2-in-1 resolution offers you one of the best of each worlds with out having to hold a number of units.
We have examined and reviewed a few of the prime 2-in-1 choices on the market from manufacturers like HP, Microsoft, Samsung and Apple. Whether or not you’re in search of 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 one of the best fashions to contemplate.
Components to contemplate earlier than shopping for a 2-in-1 laptop computer
If you’re searching for a 2-in-1 system, there are some primary standards to bear in mind. First off, think about the kind of machine you’re in search of. Would you like one thing that may seem like a conventional Home windows laptop computer, but additionally has a display screen that may twist into totally different orientations? (We regularly name these convertibles.) Or would you like a standalone pill that works with a separate keyboard attachment? Pill setups are usually lighter, however they’re typically more durable to make use of in your lap since they depend on kickstands or awkward circumstances.
Additionally, whereas some 2-in-1s supply 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 much more handy. However it additionally typically prices extra — and that’s on prime of what you’ll pay for knowledge. And as for 5G, you’ll be able to maintain off on it until you reside inside vary of a mmWave beacon. Protection remains to be spotty and current nationwide networks use the slower sub-6 expertise that’s barely quicker than LTE. For now, tethering a PC to your cellphone remains to be one of the simplest ways to get on-line.
In the case of pill keyboards, you’ll additionally should 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 totally different than typical PCs. Once more, there’s a value for portability.
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Generally, getting a third-party pill keyboard is likely to be simply nearly as good, they usually’re typically cheaper than first-party choices. For those who’re trying to avoid wasting cash, Logitech’s Slim Folio is an inexpensive possibility for iPads, and if you happen to don’t want your keyboard to connect to your pill, Logitech’s K780 Multi-Machine wi-fi keyboard can be an excellent choose.
Whereas we’ve usually made positive to incorporate a price range 2-in-1 in earlier years, this time there isn’t an awesome selection. We’d often choose a Floor Go, however the newest mannequin remains to be too costly. Different options, like cheaper Android tablets, are underpowered and don’t supply an awesome multitasking interface. If you need one thing round $500 that’s skinny, light-weight and long-lasting, you’re higher off this yr taking a look at a conventional laptop computer (like these on our greatest price range PCs checklist). Alternatively, you may think about one among our prime picks for the greatest Chromebooks, both as a back-to-school possibility or for primary duties.
Greatest 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 overview
HP’s new Spectre x360 14 is our new prime choose if you need a laptop computer that may sometimes flip right into a pill. It’s a fantastic pocket book that may rotate its display screen 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 utterly change one thing like an iPad, the x360’s rotating hinge makes it extra versatile than a standard 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 in search of a strong again to highschool possibility with the Home windows working system and contact show, it’s an awesome selection.
The Spectre x360 14 can be a strong laptop computer in its personal proper, with a superb keyboard, an extra-large touchpad and a few of the greatest PC industrial design in the marketplace. And with a 512GB SSD (configurable as much as 2TB), there’s loads of room to retailer your entire information and photographs. It even boasts two Thunderbolt 4 ports with USB-C connectivity so you’ll be able to join a number of units.
- Versatile convertible display screen
- OLED show is extremely vibrant
- Stable CPU improve
- Begins with 16GB RAM
- Wonderful keyboard
- Loads of ports
- HP’s design hasn’t modified in years
- Haptic touchpad is a bit finicky
- Common battery life
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 Professional (M5) overview
In quite a lot of methods, the iPad Professional M5 is overkill for many. It has Apple’s latest M5 chip and top-of-the-line screens you may get — a Tandem OLED panel with a 120Hz refresh charge, 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 moveable you want it to be. For those who actually desire a pill that may change a laptop computer, that is nearly as good because it will get, significantly on this facet of the Apple vs. Android/Home windows divide.
This era of the iPad Professional can be shockingly skinny and light-weight, so it’ll mainly 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 operate keys. The one actual draw back is worth, 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 extra storage or equipment. However if you happen to’ve received the money and desire a top-of-the-line pill, it’s exhausting to go improper with the iPad Professional M5.
Alternatively, if you happen to admire what the iPad Professional can do however don’t need to shell out fairly that a lot cash, the iPad Air is a extra inexpensive possibility. We think about it to be one of the best iPad for most individuals. Its display screen 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 not too long ago. Critically, it additionally prices almost half the value with the 11 and 13-inch fashions beginning at $599 and $799, respectively. — Nathan Ingraham, Deputy Editor
- M5 chip is a major replace for some GPU-powered duties
- Presumably one of the best display screen I’ve ever seen
- Extraordinarily skinny and light-weight
- 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
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 Extremely overview
Whereas Home windows is healthier than iPadOS and Android for productiveness, it lags relating to apps particularly designed for touchscreens. If you need a pill that has all of the apps you need, and solely want it to sometimes double as a laptop computer, the Galaxy Tab S9+ is a strong possibility. You’ll take pleasure in watching motion pictures and taking part in video games on its attractive 12.4-inch 120Hz AMOLED display screen, and Samsung contains 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 couple 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 be wonderful, so that you received’t want to fret about staying near an outlet. The principle caveat is that Android isn’t nice as a desktop OS. And whereas Samsung’s DeX mode presents a considerably workable resolution, 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 simply’d in any other case get with a laptop computer.
- Lovely display screen
- Nice audio system
- Highly effective {hardware}
- S Pen is extraordinarily responsive
- Dex mode is a surprisingly highly effective multitasking interface
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 Floor Professional Copilot+ overview
The Floor Professional is every part we’ve needed 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 allows probably highly effective AI options, although the present crop received’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 screen possibility appears great: It makes colours pop off the display screen and in addition ensures inky darkish black ranges. Coupled along with surprisingly highly effective audio system, the Floor Professional is a strong possibility for watching video on the go. Its versatility is among the many causes the Floor Professional made it onto our checklist. Pair that with its portability because of its small kind issue, and you’ve got a superb choose.
When it’s paired along with the brand new Floor Professional Flex keyboard ($350), you’ll be able to sort and mouse across the Floor utterly 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’ll be able to work with only a skinny and light-weight keyboard in your lap. For those who’re in search of a enterprise laptop computer that’s light-weight and doesn’t have an enormous display screen dimension that can weigh you down, the Floor Professional is one it is best to think about. 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 one of the revolutionary PCs accessible immediately.
- Snapdragon X Elite and Plus chips are splendidly quick
- Stable battery life
- Wonderful OLED display screen 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
Latest updates
October 2025: Up to date to incorporate the newest iPad Professional.
February 2025: We’ve retitled this information to “Greatest 2-in-1 laptops and tablets” to be extra correct, and we’ve additionally up to date the introduction and “Components to contemplate” part to confer with convertible laptops and removable pill choices.
June 2024: We up to date our prime picks to incorporate the Microsoft Floor Professional Copilot+ version.
Nathan Ingraham contributed to this report.