For anyone always on the go, having a 2-in-1 laptop/tablets that can get you through a full day of work is critical. But which 2-in-1 will give you the most time away from a power point?
Gizmodo and Intel bring you all the information you need to select the best 2-in-1 device for your home or business. Why choose? With an Intel-powered 2-in-1 device you get laptop power with tablet fun.
A laptop rated for 8 hours of use doesn’t usually make it that long, unless you’re only doing light duties like Web browsing. Generally your laptop will need a battery life rating of at least 10 hours to make it through a full day. For more intensive tasks, we’d recommend an even longer battery life wherever possible.
While the manufacturers might claim 12 hours or more, in the real world you can expect a little less. It’s also worth noting that most of the 2-in-1s with the longest battery lives tend to have lower end Core M or Atom CPUs, so are not up to the most demanding tasks.
Some great 2-in-1s just missed out making into our top battery life round-up, so if a still very impressive 9 hours away from your charger is acceptable, the Lenovo Yoga 3 Pro and the Microsoft Surface Pro 3 are also great choices.
Need even longer battery life, or have an older model that doesn’t make it through a full day? To find out how to improve your laptop’s battery life, read our laptop buying guide.
Toshiba Portege Z20t
Featuring an efficient Intel Core M CPU, the Portege Z20t can keep on trucking for a massive 17 hours. That high end battery life comes from 9 hours of battery life in the tablet itself, whilst the rest is from an extra battery in the keyboard. Toshiba is being pretty honest with the battery life too – real world tests put it at over 15 hours for web browsing. The 2-in-1 has a 12.5-inch 1920×1080 pixel screen and includes a digitiser pen. While the tablet side is just 8.8mm thick, the keyboard takes the whole unit up to 21mm.
The tablet weighs in at 0.73kg, and adding the keyboard brings it up to 1.51kg. The Z20t comes in a range of models, with higher spec CPUs, more RAM and storage plus extras like 4G LTE mobile broadband. Prices start from around $1600, and soar up to $2300. Microsoft and Toshiba showed off a new Toshiba 4K 2-in-1 laptop at Computex 2015, but for now no information is available on its specs or release date.
HP Spectre x360
Already one of our top 5 thinnest 2-in-1s at 15.9 mm, the Spectre x360 impresses with a 12.5 hour rated battery life. Real world use is a little lower depending on use, not to mention the high spec CPUs bring it down closer to 10 if you’re really pushing the laptop hard for a long time. The x360 has a 13.3-inch screen with a high 2560×1440 pixel resolution. It’s a 360-degree hinged model, so the screen can pivot back through 360 degrees.
You can get it with a Core i5 or i7 and up to 8GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD. It weighs in at 1.48kg. The base model starts at $1499, but ramps up to $2400 if you fully equip it.
HP Pavilion X2 10-inch
The little 10.1-inch X2 hides an impressive on-battery run time, with up to 11 hours and 45 minutes possible. Real world reviews show it’s easy enough to get that from the Pavilion X2 for low intensity tasks like surfing the net, but more processor intensive use will drop it down a little. The X2 has an efficient Intel Atom Z3745D CPU, 2GB of RAM and either a 32GB or 64GB eMMC SSD. The screen is a lower than normal 1280×720 pixel resolution, but it looks just fine thanks to the smaller than normal 10-inch display size.
The X2 uses a detachable keyboard that clips on via magnets. It doesn’t have a traditional hinge, though — instead it’s got a folding section of stand that sits behind the 2-in-1 to prop it up. While not the most powerful little convertible out there, the Pavilion X2 is pretty cheap and can be bought for under $500. Microsoft also had an updated model of the X2 on show at Computex, but for now its specs and release date have not been announced.
ASUS Transformer Book T100TA
A slightly older but still very popular 2-in-1, the Transformer Book can easily exceed 10 hours of battery life for normal use. It uses a Intel Atom CPU, 2GB of RAM and a 32GB or 64GB eMMC SSD. You can also get a model with an additional 500GB HDD in the detachable keyboard. The Transformer Book has a 10.1: screen with a 1366×768 pixel resolution and runs Windows 8.1.
Shop around and you can pick one up for as little as $450. If you like the T100TA, but want something a little newer, ASUS announced the successor at Computex. It uses an updated CPU, 4GB of RAM, has high speed USB Type-C and offers up to 14 hours battery life. There isn’t an Australian price or release date yet for it, though.
Surface 3
While the Surface 3 Pro only manages 9 hours of battery life, the Surface 3 pushes that out to 10. The change is thanks to the power-sipping Intel Atom CPU, not to mention a slightly smaller screen. Still, the Surface 3 has a 10.8-inch, 1920×1080 pixel screen, up to 4GB of RAM and a 64 or 128GB SSD.
It also runs the full version of Windows 8.1, not Windows RT. The Surface 3 is also one of the thinnest 2-in-1s with decent battery life, and with the keyboard cover is 13.6mm thick. The Surface 3 starts from $699.
Dell Venue 11 Pro 10
With just enough enough juice to get you through a full day of work, the Venue 11 Pro has a 10 hour battery life. Standing out from the competition though, the battery is actually swappable. This is a feature that not enough 2-in-1s have, and can potentially let you extend the run time very easily. It’s also just 15.4mm thick and has a soft and hard keyboard, as well as a tablet dock available.
The Venue 11 Pro features a 10.8-inch 1920×1080 pixel screen, with an Intel Z3795 CPU, 2GB of RAM and a 64GB SSD. You can also spec it up further, with a Core i5 and more RAM and storage, but expect your battery life to suffer a little. Prices start from $899 and range up to a massive $2000 depending on spec.