1. The list in brief
2. Best overall
3. Best value
4. Best premium 2-in-1
5. Best 2-in-1 Chromebook
6. Most powerful 2-in-1
7. Best 2-in-1 for business
8. Best dual-screen 2-in-1
9. How to choose
10. How we test
The best 2-in-1 laptops offer the strengths of two devices in one: the power of a laptop with the accessibility of a tablet.
Built with the latest mobile PC components, the best 2-in-1s are thin and light, with gorgeous displays and efficient batteries that let you carry them through your day without worrying about finding a charger.
Thanks to the rapid advancement of mobile components and display tech, 2-in-1 laptops and tablets are thinner, lighter and more powerful than ever.
Of course, choosing the right one for your needs has gotten a lot trickier too: read on for our recommendations on the best 2-in-1s to buy right now, based on our hands-on testing and review of dozens of top contenders.
While many of these aren't quite as powerful as the best laptops, they sacrifice some function for the versatility of a form that transforms between laptop and tablet. Almost all of them come with a stylus packed in too, which is a great value add for doodlers and note-takers.
Alex Wawro is a lifelong journalist who's spent over a decade covering tech, games and entertainment. He oversees the computing department at Tom's Guide, which includes managing laptop coverage and reviewing many himself every year.
The quick list
In a hurry? Here's a brief overview of the laptops on this list, along with quick links that let you jump down the page directly to a review of whichever laptop catches your eye.
The best 2-in-1 overall
The Samsung Galaxy Book 2 Pro 360 has a ridiculous name but a gorgeous 15.6-inch AMOLED touchscreen. It's a light, speedy 2-in-1, and the included stylus is a nice touch. We actually like it better than the newer Galaxy Book 3 Pro 360, which is a bit faster but has much worse battery life.
The best value
The Acer Spin 5 is a modest workhorse with a nice 14-inch touchscreen, a packed-in stylus and great battery life. While the model we reviewed costs roughly $1,300, there is a slightly older model which can often be bought for under $1,000 — an excellent value.
The best premium 2-in-1
The Lenovo Yoga 9i Gen 8 is a slick 14-inch OLED-equipped 2-in-1 that comes with a carrying sleeve and stylus. It's a bit more expensive than our top recommendation, but if you can afford it this svelte 2-in-1's elegant chassis, excellent soundbar and higher-resolution OLED touchscreen is worth splurging on.
The best 2-in-1 Chromebook
The Chromebook Spin 714 offers great battery life and more power than most Chromebooks today, plus it comes with a stylus and mouse. It's expensive for a Chromebook, but worth it—and still far cheaper than the rest of this list.
Most powerful 2-in-1
The Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio looks striking thanks to its unique sliding 120Hz touchscreen, which can lay flat on the keyboard or tent over it like an easel. The discrete Nvidia GPU onboard renders this the most powerful 2-in-1 on this list, making it the best choice for gaming or content creation.
Best for business
The HP Spectre x360 13.5-inch is a premium 2-in-1 that's a great choice for business use thanks to its gorgeous OLED screen, plentitude of ports and great keyboard. The battery is good enough to last through a day at the office, and the included stylus is great to have. Plus, it looks great on a desk.
The best dual-screen 2-in-1
The Yoga Book 9i is a compelling alternative to foldable screen laptops because you get two 13-inch displays in one package you can use in multiple modes. There are some clever software gestures and multitasking features here, too.
The best 2-in-1 laptops you can buy right now
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The best 2-in-1 overall
The Samsung Galaxy Book2 Pro 360 ($1,249 to start) is an ultra-thin 2-in-1 laptop that's tailor-made for people who are always on the go. Like its siblings the Book Pro 360 and Book 3 Pro 360, this iteration features a gorgeous AMOLED screen that's perfect for media consumption. It's also ideal for work thanks to its speedy performance.
Though a Windows laptop at its core, the Samsung Galaxy Book2 Pro 360 comes loaded with a slew of Samsung software. This could be good or bad, depending on how invested you are in the Samsung ecosystem. If you are, then you'll find that this 2-in-1 pairs nicely with your Samsung tablets and phones. Otherwise, all of these applications are effectively bloatware.
Despite the middling webcam and Samsung bloatware, the Samsung Galaxy Book2 Pro 360 has a lot going for it and is a 2-in-1 we highly recommend to those who are in the market for a powerful, portable laptop that pairs nicely with Samsung devices. While Samsung has since released a successor in the Galaxy Book3 Pro 360 (farther down this list), its upgraded CPU is a little anemic and it actually has worse battery life than its predecessor. Both are great, but we still like to recommend the Book2 Pro 360 since it's such a standout performer and now often available at a deep discount.
Read our full Samsung Galaxy Book2 Pro 360 review.
The best value
The Acer Spin 5 is a modest 2-in-1 machine, eschewing aesthetics (it’s literally only available in gray) in favor of strong performance and a bright, vibrant display. It also comes with a stylus, which is always nice.
This laptop nails the fundamentals, delivering performance that’s in line with its price, a bright, vibrant display, and strong battery life (with a bit of care). The $1,399 model we reviewed is great, but if it's too pricey for your budget you can find an older model for $1,000 or less that's an excellent value.
Read our full Acer Spin 5 review.
The best premium 2-in-1
The Lenovo Yoga 9i Gen 8 improves upon its excellent predecessor, delivering better battery life and performance in the same premium 2-in-1 chassis. It's a bit more expensive than our general top pick the Galaxy Book Pro 360, but in return you get a higher-resolution screen, better speakers and a bit more power under the hood.
While it's still far from the longest-lasting laptop on this list, the Lenovo Yoga 9i Gen 8's 10+ hours of tested battery life ensure it should last you through a day of work or school. It's easy to carry all day too thanks to its relatively light chassis with its rounded corners, and the carrying sleeve and active stylus included with every purchase are a nice touch.
Factor in the great speakers and a vivid 14-inch OLED touchscreen and you start to see why this is a compelling convertible, even if it can't match the performance of more traditional clamshell laptops in key areas.
Read our full Lenovo Yoga 9i Gen 8 review.
The best 2-in-1 Chromebook
The Acer Chromebook Spin 714 ($729 to start) is a powerful 2-in-1 Chromebook with good battery life and a handy stylus, making it a great tool for getting things done on the go.
The HDMI out and USB-A port mean you still have basic connections without needing a dock or adapter cables, but USB-C and Thunderbolt 4 are also on tap for current- and next-gen devices.
The 16:10 display looks good in person and is bright enough, even if it can't compete with other premium Chromebooks in that department. The included mouse and stylus give you lots of options for getting work done in either laptop or tablet mode. And with Wi-Fi 6E, you're set up to take advantage of the fastest wireless networks. Most importantly, the battery should last you an entire workday.
Read our full Acer Chromebook Spin 714 review.
The most powerful 2-in-1
Microsoft's Surface Laptop Studio is a reimagined Surface Book with a more MacBook Pro-like design and an eye-catching hinged display. This is Microsoft’s flagship device for Windows 11, which promises to make Windows a more inviting place for both work and play. Like Windows 11, the Surface Laptop Studio is advertised as a one-stop shop for productivity, entertainment and creative work.
And for the most part, it is all that: its 11th Gen Intel CPU and 16+ GB of RAM gives you enough power to tackle most work, and if you splurge for a model with the discrete Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 Ti GPU the Surface Laptop Studio also doubles as a decent machine for gaming or video editing on the go. We've also heard it's an ideal choice for college engineering programs which require laptops that both have a discrete GPU and can be used with an active stylus. While you have to pay extra for the Microsoft Surface Slim Pen 2 stylus, its haptics make writing or drawing on the Studio's 14.4-inch 120Hz touchscreen feel great.
However, it's a bit pricey when you kit it out, and despite its great components the Surface Laptop Studio delivers subpar performance compared to similarly-priced clamshell laptops. But few laptops can match its intriguing sliding hinged display, which can be tented over the keys like an easel or slid all the way flat to turn the Studio into a heavy tablet.
Read our full Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio review.
The best 2-in-1 for business
The HP Spectre x360 is our top recommendation if you want a 2-in-1 for business. This convertible looks great thanks to its elegant finish and angular edges, not to mention the vivid OLED touchscreen. The keyboard feels great to type on, and the packed-in stylus is a welcome touch.
Under the hood, the Spectre packs more than enough power to handle office work and the battery is good enough to last you through a day of meetings. The port array is also pretty good, and well-spaced around the laptop, though if you want to do presentations you'll have to rely on Bluetooth or USB-C, as there's no HDMI out.
Read our full HP Spectre x360 review.
The best dual-screen laptop
The Lenovo Yoga Book 9i could start a trend for 2-in-1 laptops. Uniting two 13.3-inch OLED displays in one device, the Yoga Book 9i offers a bevy of different usage modes meant to boost your productivity. This notebook can function as a traditional Windows 11 laptop or tablet, plus it can go into tent mode for presentations.
Thanks to the included folio kickstand, you can use the Yoga Book 9i with two displays stacked on top of each other or spread the two panels side by side. If you’re not keen on typing on a touchscreen, you can use the included attachable Bluetooth keyboard.
The Yoga Book 9i is a Swiss Army knife of a laptop given all its modes. Though it’s expensive at $1,999, it offers enough singular value to be included in this list.
Read our full Lenovo Yoga 9i review.
How to choose the best laptop for you
How to choose the best 2-in-1 laptop for you
Performance: If you only need something basic for surfing the web and checking email, consider a 2-in-1 Chromebook like the Lenovo Chromebook Duet. If you need more power to multi-task, run demanding applications, or edit photos/videos, look for a 2-in-1 packing the latest Intel CPUs, like the Samsung Galaxy Book Pro 360 or Lenovo Yoga 9i.
Graphics and gaming: To function as both tablets and laptops, 2-in-1s are typically designed to be as thin and power-efficient as possible, so they don't pack discrete GPUs and thus aren't great at running the latest games. However, they can usually run older games pretty well, so if game performance is important to you, your best bet is to look for a 2-in-1 with the latest Intel CPUs to take advantage of their integrated graphics (currently Intel Iris Xe) hardware, then splurge for extra RAM and storage. A great display will also help your games look their best.
Size: Consider how portable you need your new 2-in-1 to be: is this a laptop you occasionally want to use as a tablet, or vice versa? If you prefer the lighter weight and smaller size (typically) of a tablet, and can live with having a flimsy/detachable keyboard, then something like the Apple iPad Pro 2021 (12.9-inch) or Microsoft Surface Go 2 is a good choice. If you'd rather have the larger screen and extra power/versatility of a laptop that doubles as a tablet, and don't mind the extra size and weight, consider something like the Samsung Galaxy Book Pro 360 or Lenovo Yoga 9i.
Operating system: 2-in1s mostly come with three varieties of operating system: Windows 10 (most 2-in-1s), iPadOS (for iPads), and Chrome OS (2-in-1 Chromebooks). Windows 10 is the most common, while iPadOS is more useful to folks already tied into Apple's ecosystem. Chrome OS is a lightweight operating system built to allow for cheap, fast systems, though it has gotten a bit more robust over the years with support for full Android apps.
How we tested these laptops
How we test the best 2-in-1 laptops
To find the best 2-in-1 laptops we run every machine through a rigorous suite of benchmarks and real-world tests to gauge how it will perform during everyday use.
We measure the average brightness and color quality of each laptop's display using our in-house light meter and colorimeter. For general performance, we run our machines through tests that include Geekbench 5 (CPU performance), as well as various 3DMark tests to measure graphics capabilities. We also run a file transfer test to measure how fast a machine's hard drive is, and a custom battery test that has the machine browse the internet over Wi-Fi until it runs out of juice.
Since these aren't dedicated gaming laptops we don't run benchmarks for popular games (like Far Cry: New Dawn); 2-in-1 laptops don't have discrete GPUs, as a rule, and thus will rarely deliver satisfactory performance in modern 3D games. However, they are capable of running older or less demanding PC games, so we do run a benchmark test to measure their performance in Sid Meier's Civilization 6: Gathering Storm.
For more information, check out our how we test page for Tom's Guide.
