The Lenovo Yoga 9i Gen 7 is our current top pick for best 2-in-1 convertible PC on the market right now. It features a beautiful, rounded design with no sharp edges, a large 14-inch 90Hz display with a 16:10 aspect ratio, the latest 12th-gen chips from Intel, and comes will a full-sized digital pen for inking in the box!
Here are the highlights detailing what’s new with the 2022 model:
- New 16:10 aspect ratio and more display options, including 90 Hz OLED
- Smooth, rounded chassis with no sharp edges
- No siloed stylus (instead, a full-sized pen is included)
- Bowers & Wilkins tuned quad speakers
- Intel 12th Gen P-series processors
- Intel Evo Gen 3 support
- PCIe 4.0 storage (up from 3.0)
- LPDDR5 RAM (up from LPDDR4)
- 1-Click Function keys on the right side
- Full HD webcam (up from 720P)
- Trackpad is 45% larger
- Edge-to-edge keyboard
The Intel 12th-generation P-series chips found on the inside are a huge step-up in performance over last year. These chips are a doozy, with the 28-watt i7 model beating Intel’s top of the line 11th-gen 45-watt laptop processor from last year. In fact, this 12th-gen Intel chip even beats the Apple M1 in both single and multi-core performance benchmarks.
The display is also pretty great, with a 14-inch panel that’s available in a variety of resolutions, including 1080p, 2K, and 4K options. Plus, you can also spec the panel with OLED, which delivers punchy colors and deep contrast. Additionally, this laptop is HDR compatible, albeit it only in a plugged-in state.Â
For ports, we have three USB-C ports, two on the left supporting Thunderbolt 4, and one on the right being a USB-C 3.1 port. There’s also a full-size USB-A port on the left, and a 3.5mm headphone jack on the right. There are two colors available; “storm grey” which is your usual dark colorway, and “oatmeal,” which appears like a light gold.
Featuring an incredible 13.5-inch 1080p or “3K2K” 3:2 display in either LCD or OLED technologies, 12th Gen Intel Core i5 or i7 processors, up to 16GB RAM, and up to a 2TB SSD, you can’t go wrong with the new HP Spectre x360 13.5 for all of your mobile computing needs. It’s also a great 2-in-1 for web browsing, light video editing, and productivity work thanks to its 360-degree hinge.
The new model has a brand new design that ditches the old gem-cut chassis in favor of something that’s more rounded and welcoming around the edges. It’s available in three colors, those being “natural silver,” “nightfall black,” and “nocturn blue,” all of which look superb.
The only real downside about this laptop is that you can only configure it with Intels 15-watt 12th-generation chips. While still plenty powerful, Intel has new 28-watt chips that deliver much more performance in the same thermal package. With that said, you will get better battery thanks to the less power-hungry processor.
The Samsung Galaxy Book2 Pro is our pick for best ultralight 2-in-1, featuring a thin and lightweight design at just 1.91 pounds and 0.45-inches thin. It’s a gorgeous tablet and laptop combo, with Intel 12th-gen chips on the inside, a large 13 or 16-inch display, and more.
The device also has Thunderbolt 4 support and advances in the multi-media and video conferencing aspects of this device, including a 1080p webcam with 87-degree field of view, and new bi-directional AI noise cancelling for the microphones and speakers.
The Galaxy Book2 Pro 360 starts at $1,250 from Samsung’s own store.
Sporting a great, 13-inch, 120Hz 3:2 display, 11th Gen Intel Core i5 or i7 processors, up to 32GB RAM, and a 1TB SSD, you can’t go wrong with the Surface Pro 8 for photo editing and more. It’s also a great 2-in-1 for web browsing, light video editing, and productivity work if you buy the Microsoft Surface Type cover too.
The Surface Pro 8 uses a new, modern design compared to its predecessor. It has a larger display with thinner bezels, a more rounded chassis, and swaps out magnesium for aluminum for its outer shell. It features a kickstand around the back and a separate Type Cover accessory that adds a keyboard and trackpad, turning the Surface Pro into a convertible PC.
It even has support for the new Microsoft Surface Slim Pen 2 with haptic support. It can also be had with LTE, though no 5G model is available.
It also has two Thunderbolt 4 USB-C ports, a Surface Connect port, a headphone jack, and an upgradable SSD. There’s also Windows Hello facial recognition and some of the best cameras on a Windows PC today, excellent for video calls while working from home.
If you’re looking for a 2-in-1 that also has power under the hood, the Surface Laptop Studio is the device for you. Featuring an Intel H35 series Intel core i5 or i7, up to 32GB RAM, and an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti, the Surface Laptop Studio can be your perfect on-the-go workhorse for video and photo editing, creativity work, and more.
Featuring a 14.4-inch 120Hz display, one of the best keyboards we’ve ever tested, and a haptic touchpad with adjustable levels of intensity, the Surface Laptop Studio is a one of a kind. The display can be pulled forward into stage mode, great for watching content on the couch or a place. It can also be laid flat, which Microsoft calls studio mode.
In studio mode, you can take advantage of the Microsoft Slim Pen 2, which also supports haptics. The laptop features two Thunderbolt 4 USB-C ports, a Surface Connect port, and a headphone jack.
If you’re looking for something designed for the workplace in mind, Lenovo has you covered with the new ThinkPad X1 Yoga. Available with a 14-inch 16:10 display and new 12th-gen Intel Core P-series chips, this is a great choice for the workplace, designed from the ground up for business and productivity tasks.
Additionally, this laptop can be configured with up to 1TB PCIe storage, 16GB RAM, and has a 57Wh battery for all-day usage. It’s housed in a classy, metal chassis which weighs just 3 pounds, great if you’re always in the move between meeting rooms or office locations.
We’ve also got built-in Iris Xe Graphics, great for light graphics work in Photoshop for example.
The Surface Pro X was the first to ship with Microsoft’s new 2-in-1 design. It includes the same kickstand and 2-in-1 form factor with an optional Type Cover accessory for a keyboard and mouse, but with a large 13-inch display and slimmed down the bezels too, just like the Surface Pro 8.
The only differences between the Pro 8 and the Pro X is that the Pro X is slimmer, has a 60Hz display panel (instead of 120Hz,) and runs Windows on ARM. Windows 11 on ARM PCs has come a long way, so the Surface Pro X can run pretty much all the same apps as the Surface Pro 8, but with slightly reduced performance as many apps still need to run in an emulation layer.
That said, battery life on the Surface Pro X is better than the Surface Pro 8, thanks to the ARM architecture.
The 10.5-inch touch display on the Surface Go 3 is 1920×1280, and there’s a front-facing webcam tucked in at the top that’s great for video calls. Inside, get an Intel Pentium Gold Processor 6500Y with 4GB or 8GB RAM with 64GB or 128GB storage. Or, upgrade to an Intel Core m3 processor with 8GB RAM and 128GB or 256GB storage, with optional LTE.
The Surface Go 3 is perfect for students and businesses looking to get work done when out and about. Its small form factor makes it super convenient to carry around, in or out of a bag. Plus, it’s cheap, starting at just $400. For that price, you’re getting the same premium design found on the Surface Pro, including the same kickstand and Type Cover setup.
It has Windows Hello and excellent webcams. It features a USB-C port, Surface Connect, and a microSD card slot as well for expandable storage. We love the Surface Go, and think it’s the best $400 Windows PC you can buy.
Bottom line
We think the Lenovo Yoga 9i is the best 2-in-1 convertible PC out there right now. It’s an excellent laptop, a great tablet, and it’s all inside a beautiful premium piece of kit with the latest specifications, a high-quality display, and an excellent keyboard and trackpad set. It even has pen support and a 16:10 touch screen. There’s really not much we can fault here. Be sure to check out our best Windows 11-ready laptops too.
