Sep 19, 2022 9:00 AM

The Best Touchscreen Laptops

These 2-in-1 and clamshell computers upgrade the norm with touch displays, 360-degree hinges, and detachable keyboards.

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4 / 8

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.

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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
$650 at Amazon (14 Inch, 5000 Series)
$700 at Amazon (16 Inch, 7000 Series)
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
$1,400 at HP

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
$700 at Amazon
$1,000 at Microsoft (256 GB)
Photograph: Asus
Best Touchscreen for Gaming
Asus ROG Flow X13
Asus introduced the Flow line as a slimmer take on its gaming laptops, with a focus on external graphics card (eGPU) integration. The X13 can get extremely pricey, up to $2,600 when paired with an eGPU. But as a productivity machine with a boost from its internal Nvidia graphics card to allow for some basic to intermediate-level gaming, it’s a strong proposition and a rival to Razer’s Blade Stealth 13.
Those considering boosting this with an eGPU should take a look at the low-spec GTX graphics card options. For a stand-alone machine, you can pick up this device with a 3050 Ti. The X13 displays range from a 4K 60-Hz option to an FHD+ 120-Hz panel. It’s worth noting that this machine can run hot and loud when pushed, which also has a negative impact on battery life. But for a super portable but powerful gaming machine, that’s a necessary sacrifice.
Specs to look for: AMD Ryzen 9, Nvidia RTX 3050 Ti, 16 GB of RAM, 1-TB SSD
$1,450 at Amazon
$1,600 at Best Buy

Photograph: Apple
Best Touchscreen With a Detachable Keyboard
Apple iPad Pro (2021, 5th-Gen 12.9 Inch, 3rd-Gen 11 Inch)
If you’re looking for something extremely adaptable, the 12.9-inch iPad Pro (8/10, WIRED Recommends) might be the touchscreen machine that ticks all the boxes. It is super slim and has a great Mini LED display with wonderful black levels. When paired with a keyboard, the large panel makes it easy to get work done on iPadOS. It isn’t the cheapest entry into a touchscreen laptop experience or even an iPad, but it’s a combination that offers a lot of flexibility.
The new M1 chip allows for some decent gaming, a ton of browser tabs, and editing streams of 4K video. Despite its raw power, iPadOS remains limited by access to certain software you can only get on Mac or PC. The high $1,099 starting price may be a bright too much for many, but it’s a tremendously powerful and portable machine that could suit you nicely if you’re constantly on the go.
$799 at Apple
$1,031 at Amazon (11-Inch)
$1,099 at Target (12.9-inch)
Photograph: Asus
Best Touchscreen Chromebook
Asus Chromebook Flip C434
The C434 shows there can be a strong middle ground between bargain basement and luxury. Asus has created a movie-watching, productivity-inducing wonder with a 360-degree hinge. Plus, it is stylish and a good performer. Your favorite TV shows and flicks are presented on a bright 14-inch, 1080p panel. Despite its low specs—an Intel Core m3 chip and just 4 GB of RAM—this device handled browsing on up to 25 tabs before we noticed a slowdown, which is plenty for most. Battery life isn’t an issue, with upwards of 10 hours on offer.
Specs to look for: Intel Core m3, 4 GB of RAM, 64-GB eMMC storage
$358 at Amazon (8 GB RAM)
$570 at Best Buy (4 GB RAM)

Photograph: Dell
Best Luxe Touchscreen
Dell XPS 13 Plus (2022)
The Dell XPS 13 Plus (7/10, WIRED Recommends) took one of the best productivity laptops around and gave it a design shakeup. All the new features work well, and it’s a delightful refresh. You get more than enough power for a ton of browsing, Google Docs, and the like. The XPS 13 Plus does run hot more often than we’d like, so anyone who thinks they’ll push this hard may want to reconsider. But for average productivity tasks, this is a classy and modern machine.
The price does get high fast, so you might want to stick with the 12th-gen Intel Core i5 option alongside a 1080p display to keep it palatable. But if you’re looking to go all out on this luxury machine, you can opt for a Core i7 and 4K OLED. RAM can go up to 32 GB and storage up to 2 TB.
Specs to look for: Intel Core i5, 8 GB of RAM, 512-GB SSD
$1,399 at Dell (Core i5)
Photograph: Qi Yang/Getty Images
Touchscreen Laptops, Explained
Is a touchscreen worth it?
Touchscreens are often a nice-to-have capability for traditional clamshell devices—an additional method of navigation with easy reach from your keyboard. For the basics, the touchscreen experience on Windows 11 and Windows 10 is decent but, for more complex touchscreen activities, it still isn’t top-notch.
For 2-in-1 laptops, there are two critical perks. First, they offer the ability to use the machine more like a tablet—taking the trackpad out of reach and requiring you to interact using the touchscreen. Some 2-in-1 devices can be cumbersome in tablet mode, but it’s useful for movie nights or YouTube binge sessions. The second is a stylus. Many 2-in-1 touchscreen laptops come with a stylus or promote stylus compatibility. This lets creatives get up close with their designs—with the right device, as results can vary.
How much does a touchscreen cost? They’ve become extremely popular with high-end Windows laptops, with the majority of devices that cost $800 or more featuring one. Below that mark, it’s a lot less common, and you’ll see the option to add a touchscreen for about $50 to $100 more. It’s not a huge leap, so unless you’re looking for the very best price, it’s likely worth upgrading the screen for added convenience.

Adam Speight is a product writer at WIRED UK. He writes reviews and features for the Gear section, along with rigorously testing a wide range of devices for our buyer guides, WIRED Recommends. He’s all about consumer tech, but particularly laptops and phones. For the Gear team, he’s reported on... Read more

Writer and reviewer