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Two-in-ones — also often called convertible laptops — were once more expensive than their clamshell laptop counterparts, but they’ve come down quite a bit in price. Premium models tend to start around $1,000 and typically come with features that a traditional laptop doesn’t have, such as active pen support and a touchscreen. But the feature gap between these and mainstream models from Dell, Lenovo, HP and others is now much smaller, with some starting at less than $500.
While most of the best two-in-ones are also convertible laptops — those with 360-degree hinges where the keyboard rotates around to the back of the display — there are some with a detachable keyboard and tablet mode on this list. A touchscreen hybrid laptop with a keyboard dock is more tablet PC than laptop, though. That said, they’re still good in laptop mode, and we’ve included models like the incredibly portable Surface Go 2 and Lenovo IdeaPad Duet Chromebook.
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And if you’re only thinking of a hybrid device as a detachable tablet and a laptop, here are five other uses for a two-in-one that you might not have considered.
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The HP Envy x360 13 is a great pick for an older high-school or college student or anyone looking for the best 2 in 1 laptops that are a small, stylish and easy to travel with. It’s light at just less than 3 pounds (1.3 kg) and battery life is long despite the size. It’s also available with a choice of AMD Ryzen 5-4500U or Intel 11th-gen Core processors. Essentially, you’re getting a speedy little two-in-one that’s ready for working from home or remote learning, but is also ready for your backpack.
Read our HP Envy x360 13 (2020) review.
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The 13.4-inch convertible laptop is basically a screen, keyboard and touchpad, available with Intel Core i7 or Intel Core i3 processor options. The 11th-gen Intel Core i7 processor and Iris Xe graphics I tested outperformed their ninth- and 10th-gen counterparts while still getting more than 10 hours of battery life, which definitely qualifies this device as one of the best two-in-one laptops.
Read our Dell XPS 13 2-in-1 review.
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Co-engineered with Intel as part of its Project Athena program, Acer Spin 5 features an Intel Core i7 processor and backlit keyboard fingerprint reader. The Spin 5’s updated design improves its mobility, but also adds a bright 2,256×1,504-pixel resolution, 13.5-inch touchscreen. The 3:2 screen ratio gives you much more vertical space and, since it’s roughly the size of a sheet of paper, it’s more comfortable to use for note-taking and sketching with the included active pen.
Read our Acer Spin 5 (2020) review.
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Whether you go with the 14- or 15.6-inch touch screen laptop model, you’re getting the best features Lenovo offers in a consumer two-in-one. That includes things like a 4K UHD HDR display; speakers that you’ll actually want to use; Thunderbolt 4 for power (on the 14-inch), speedy data transfers and external display support; faster integrated graphics and the option for discrete graphics on the 15.6-inch; and an included active pen stored in the laptop. And this convertible PC is still wrapped up in a sturdy but lightweight metal body that can be used in laptop or tablet mode.
Read our 14-inch Lenovo Yoga 9i review.
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Microsoft still makes the best tablet PC on the market. The latest Surface Pro doesn’t make any radical design changes from its hybrid laptop tablet predecessor, but a good performance jump with Intel’s 10th-gen processors and better battery life make this detachable laptop a more viable regular laptop replacement. The Surface Pro’s sleek detachable keyboard cover and stylus still cost you extra, but there’s usually some good bundle pricing available if you’re looking for a good budget laptop that can also be used in a tablet mode.
Read our Microsoft Surface Pro 7 review.
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This is essentially a Chromebook version of the first Microsoft Surface Go. Like the Go, the Chromebook Duet is a 10-inch tablet with a detachable keyboard and touchscreen. Unlike Microsoft, though, Lenovo includes the keyboard. It also costs much less than the Go (including the new Go 2), with laptop deals starting at $279 for a 64GB version or $299 for one with 128GB of storage. This device is essentially a smaller, albeit less powerful, Pixel Slate that makes more sense for more people with a price that’s more in line with what people expect a Chromebook to cost.
Read our Lenovo Chromebook Duet review.
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This update to Asus’ excellent Chromebook Flip C434 steps up its performance thanks to new 10th-gen Intel Core i3 and i5 processors, faster NVMe SSD storage and speedy Wi-Fi 6. It’s pricey starting at $800, but if you already know the value of Google’s lightweight operating system, the C436 is built to deliver the best Chrome OS experience in an ultraportable two-in-one design.
Read our Asus Chromebook Flip C436FA review.
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With a 4K UHD 15.6-inch touchscreen display, solid components and a sturdy, tasteful aluminum chassis, you’re not missing out on anything by going with the C630 — except maybe the higher price of a Windows system. This touchscreen laptop Chromebook keeps webpages loading fast and apps zipping along.
Read our Lenovo Yoga Chromebook C630 review.
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