Best 2 in 1 Laptops

The Dell Inspiron 14 5000 is stylish, thin, light, and capable. While this is not some gaming machine yet, the hardware that this laptop's packing is no joke. There's nothing necessarily impressive about the AMD Radeon™ RX Vega 10 GPU but the AMD® Ryzen™ 7 3700U CPU is one capable unit.

Enabling 3D rendering, financial and scientific modeling, video encoding, data mining, and compiling programs, this CPU will let you juggle multiple system-intensive applications without hiccups. Working alongside the 512GB SSD and the 8GB RAM setup, the processing unit will be quick at loading apps and juggling multiple Chrome tabs without slowing down.

Sure, heavy multitasking loads might present an occasional challenge, with programs like Photoshop making the fans work overtime, but nothing that the system can't handle. Plus, since the SSD stretches its storage capacity 512 gigabytes, you'll be able to keep much more multimedia and gluttonous apps on the drive without deleting the content or uninstalling the apps every time you need to upload/install something new. Needless to say, we're not saying that this is some cutting-edge hardware that can trade blows with mid-range gaming laptops, but the model covers productivity use with ease.

The HP Envy x360 might just make its competition feel envious, at least regarding the screen. While there's nothing particularly new or interesting about the IPS panel with its native Full HD (1920 x 1080p) resolution, the anti-glare treatment and the micro-edge construction ensure that this display leaves its peers behind. While the micro-edge profile makes the on-screen action more immersive, the anti-glare coating lets you view the action even with the sun starting right at the screen. The LED backlighting that the display is adopting rates at 400 nits brightness-wise, which is not bad at all.

Still, despite its ultrathin bezels, the model's been able to accommodate a 720p webcam with an integrated privacy shutter. Once you're done using the 'cam, press the key to the power button's right and, with the faintest click, you'll see a white cover snapping shut without delay. Needless to say, this approach is much more elegant than the one that relies on physical shutters closing the webcam manually.

Visually, the company's Nightfall Black scheme lends the model an almost sophisticated look. It is not quite as whimsical as the walnut paneling that the non-convertible Envy line is offering, but a refreshing break from gray machines that dominate the laptop market nowadays.

The Dell Inspiron 14 is not the inspiration you'd expect from the name. No, this convertible laptop is pretty good, but you can probably afford something much more impressive, assuming that you're willing to spend ~200-250 extra bucks. That said, when the budget is tight and you cannot spare more than 400-450 green ones, this will have to do.

Relative to the price, this is an impressive machine. We're fine with its hardware, build, and the layout, but the viewing angles could be extended next time. As they are right now, looking at the screen from a sharp angle will not prove the most pleasant experience that you can experience (apologies, an opportunity had to be seized).

Despite what this class usually entails build-wise, the Inspiron 14 looks and feels reassuringly solid, with very little flex when you are grasping the screen's corners and none when you're pressing the keyboard deck and the aluminum palm rest. The bezels are not the thinnest ones we have seen yet but also not as thick as most laptops' coming at comparable prices. Look above and you'll find the model's webcam, offering decent native resolution (1280 x 720) and second-rate brightness, sure, but also crisp focusing as well as noise- and grain-free streaming/recording.

To the side, you'll find an HDMI port, three USB Type-A ports, one Type-C port, and the standard SD card slot and microphone+headphones combo jack addition that laptops do not come without these days. From where we're standing, this is a solid lineup and nothing important is missing (sure, an extra Type-C port would not hurt but even premium convertible laptops seldom include that).

The HP Pavilion x360 is a little weird. On the one hand, its battery life is almost absurd, delivering 13 hours straight when you set the brightness low and do not use hardware-demanding apps. But, even without jumping through these hoops, the battery will usually last ~10 hours, which is ~2 hours more than its HP relatives and the majority of convertible laptops that cost almost twice as much as this one. On the opposing hand, the model comes equipped with nothing but 128GB SSD storage-wise and you cannot expand it physically, so you'll always be installing and uninstalling different apps and/or deleting different files to make space for new ones.

The Bang & Olufsen-tuned speakers are the same double-edged sword. Looking at them from one angle, the speakers are quiet. Looking from a different angle, they're also not distorted or tinny at top volume settings. The bass is not prominent, but overlaying tracks are distinguishable. The integrated B&O Audio Control utility app provides decent music, movie, and voice presets, as well as an EQ that lets you play with these presets.

Unwrapping the appearance package, the medium-thin bezels surrounding the 14-inch screen look sleek enough, though the bottom bezel is quite thick. The IPS panel that the display adopts offers standard IPS viewing angles (178 degrees) and adequate contrast. Fine details look sharp and the brightness is acceptable, though the screen still gives off this faint economy-model vibe. The colors do not pop and the backgrounds are sometimes off-white.

The ASUS Vivobook Flip 14 is cheap, no two ways about it. Good laptops do not cost around 300 bucks, so we're not talking about anything too impressive here. No, this is a decent, passable product, not terrible considering that most smartphones these days cost more than that yet the computing this device is able to perform goes above and beyond these smartphones, including the comfort angle.

Borrowing inspiration from the much more expensive MacBook with its gray finish and notched base, the model's thin, flat, aluminum profile looks more polished and feels less cheap than you'd expect from a budget convertible laptop. The keyboard deck is thin too, featuring rounded corners and straight edges that are not tapering. There are two 360-degree hinges holding the screen, so you can choose any angle you want without worrying about the display dropping on you. Even the biggest skeptics will admit that the model's slab-like outline looks, at the very least, quite interesting. Plus, when you rotate the screen and put this device in the tablet mode, the laptop does not turn bulky and awkward like most convertibles do.

Shifting gears, this laptop has the strangest port assortment. To name one, there are no USB Type-A ports, so you will not be able to insert old thumb drives (USB flash drives) without putting a dongle between the laptop and the drive. Instead, this model's putting a Micro USB on the left side, which is a little odd. Aside from that, there's an SD card slot sitting next to the volume and power buttons. The USB Type-C port will accommodate most modern gadgets, while the microHDMI and the mic/headphones combo jack will let you connect certain monitors and, yes, microphones and headphones.