You might think touchscreens have become the norm, but when it comes to laptops, they’re often overlooked. MacBooks have yet to go all-in on touch, though Apple has experimented a little bit, and many cheap laptops omit the feature to cut costs. But the ability to interact with the screen of a laptop can be very useful, and not just for scrolling. Most touchscreen laptops have 360-degree hinges that let you also use them like a tablet, hence the name “2-in-1.” This mode makes it easier to use your machine for binging shows, reading long-form articles or stories, and drawing. Of the many touchscreen laptops we’ve tested, these are our favorites.
Be sure to check out our guides on How to Buy a Laptop, Best Laptops, Best Cheap Laptops, Best Chromebooks, and Best MacBooks for more.
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Photograph: Lenovo
Best Overall Value
Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5
Lenovo’s been churning out some of the best value laptops for several years now, and we’re big fans of the IdeaPad Flex 5. Despite the low price, you get an AMD Ryzen 5 processor that’s powerful enough for most productivity tasks, strong battery life, and a 360-degree hinge to take advantage of the delightful 14-inch IPS display in tablet and tent modes. The latter is when you flip the screen back and prop the machine up in an upside-down V shape (great for movies). You can snag Lenovo’s Digital Pen 2 ($40) if you want a stylus for doodling or taking notes. If you think you need a little more power, the Flex 5 with the Ryzen 7 chip costs just a little more.
Specs to look for: AMD Ryzen 5, 16 GB of RAM, 256-GB SSD
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Photograph: HP
Best 2-in-1 Laptop
HP Spectre x360 14
HP has embraced the 3:2 aspect ratio for its new 14-inch 2-in-1, which makes the screen more square than rectangular. That’s great for productivity tasks, since you get more height to see content in your documents and browsers. The Spectre has a stunning display and a 360-hinge to make it easy to get comfortable with a movie or TV show. And the design itself is something different, with its distinctive sharp edges.
Like the XPS 13 Plus, this isn’t the cheapest laptop, and you are paying for some high-quality touches. The 4K panel on our test model is stunning, and the engineering to cram a USB-A port onto this super slim device is impressive. The included stylus works great too.
Specs to look for: Intel Core i7, 16 of GB RAM, 1-TB SDD
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Photograph: Microsoft
Best Compact Touchscreen
Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2
Microsoft’s Surface Laptop Go 2 (8/10, WIRED Recommends) is one of our favorite clamshell devices of the year. It isn’t perfect, but its value is unrivaled. The latest Surface student-friendly laptop offers quality design and decent performance, as well as an impressive keyboard and speakers—all for under $570. But most should opt for the $650 model, which boosts 4 GB to 8 GB of RAM. Going from a 128-GB solid-state drive to 256 GB is another bump up (to $700). All devices get an 11th-gen Intel Core i5 processor, as well as a sub-1080p display that looks completely fine on the 12-inch screen.
The only thing holding the Go 2 back is battery life. Put it this way: You will be checking the battery meter in the last couple of hours of your working day. The Surface will just about make it through, but it’s a shame to have that worry at the back of your mind.
Specs to look for: Intel Core i5, 8 GB of RAM, 128-GB SSD
