The 5 Best 2-In-1 Laptops - Spring 2023 Reviews

The best 2-in-1 laptop we've tested is the Microsoft Surface Pro 8 (2021), a tablet PC with a built-in kickstand and detachable keyboard. This tablet form factor lets you detach the keyboard to make it lighter and easier to hold or to save space. Its 3:2 IPS panel looks sharp and has a 120Hz refresh rate to make pen input feel more responsive. The keyboard feels good to type on, but you need to buy it separately, and the same goes for the stylus. Its 1080p webcam is excellent and among the best on the market, and you also get an IR camera for quick logins via facial recognition. The battery lasts only around seven hours of light use, but luckily, the power adapter is fairly compact, and you can also charge via its USB-C/Thunderbolt 4 ports.

As you may already know, Microsoft has released the Surface Pro 9. It's essentially the same device, just with faster Intel 12th Gen. processors. Better performance is always welcome, although if you only perform light productivity tasks, you probably won't notice much difference between the two CPU generations. That said, it's still better to go with a Surface Pro 9 unless you don't need the increased performance and can find the Surface Pro 8 at a deeply discounted price.

Looking for something a little more modest? Get the Acer Chromebook Spin 714 (2022). This Chrome OS 2-in-1 convertible feels well-built and is easy to carry around, thanks to its thin and light design. Its 14-inch display gives you enough room for split-screen multitasking, and since it's a 2-in-1, you can flip the screen around and use it as a tablet. The laptop comes with a stylus that you can use to take notes or draw, and you can dock it into its charging slot for transport. The keyboard feels spacious and tactile, although it can be slightly tiring over an extended period. As for the touchpad, it's on the smaller side, but the tracking is decent.

Configuration-wise, although this laptop is available with various Intel 12th Gen. CPUs, you might have trouble finding the configuration you want due to low availability. The Core i5 model with 8GB of memory and 128GB of storage seems the easiest to find. The Core i5 is plenty fast for anything you'd need to do on Chrome OS, but with 8GB of memory, you might experience some stutters if you're a heavy multitasker. Battery life sits around 13 to 14 hours of light use, and it takes about two hours to charge to full. Ports include one USB-A, two USB-C/Thunderbolt 4, and an HDMI port.

Our best budget pick is the Lenovo Chromebook C340 15 (2020), a 15.6-inch Chromebook with a 360-degree hinge. It's available with an Intel Pentium Gold or a Core i3 CPU, both fast enough to provide a smooth desktop experience on Chrome OS. Battery life is excellent at around 12 hours of light use or eight hours of video playback. The display gives you plenty of room for split-screen multitasking and looks relatively sharp; it just doesn't get very bright, meaning you might have visibility issues in very well-lit rooms. You get a comfortable keyboard with a Numpad, a small but responsive touchpad, and an okay webcam.

Unfortunately, you can only get a maximum of 4GB of memory, which means you might experience stutters or slowdowns if you have too many things running simultaneously.

If you need something compact that you can use to browse the web or answer a few emails on the go, get the Microsoft Surface Go 3 (2021). Like our top pick, it's a Windows tablet with a built-in kickstand and a detachable keyboard, but it's much smaller at only 10.5 inches, making it much easier to carry around. Its IPS display looks sharp, gets bright enough for use in most settings, and supports pen input. The 1080p webcam above the display is excellent, and there's also a facial recognition IR camera for quick logins. As with all Microsoft 2-in-1 tablets, the keyboard and stylus are accessories you purchase separately.

You can get the Surface Go 3 with an Intel Pentium Gold or Core i3 CPU. Both are fine for simple tasks like web browsing, emails, and video playback, but don't expect to do anything remotely intensive. If your budget allows, we highly recommend getting a model with 8GB of memory, as you'll get a much smoother experience with fewer slowdowns when multitasking. Battery life isn't that great; it lasts about seven hours of light use or a little over three hours of video playback. You can charge the device via its USB-C port, but you'd lose the only USB port available, which means you'll likely need a dock.

If you're looking for a device for media consumption, get the Lenovo Chromebook Duet 5 (2021), a 13-inch Chrome OS 2-in-1 tablet. What makes this device great for media consumption is its gorgeous OLED display. It's sharp, bright, and colorful, and like all OLEDs, it displays deep, inky blacks. The battery lasts around eight hours of video playback or 10 hours of light use, and it charges over USB-C, so you don't have to deal with a proprietary charger.

Unfortunately, while the speakers get reasonably loud, they don't have much bass and sound unnatural, so you're better off using headphones if you want the best audio experience. Wireless headphones, to be exact, because this device doesn't have a 3.5mm headphone jack and doesn't come with a USB-C audio adapter. The keyboard is included in the box, although it feels pretty cramped, meaning it isn't the best for typing long essays.