Should I get a 2-in-1 laptop/tablet or just a laptop?

[sui generis]

I currently don't have a tablet and am not really sure what people use tablets for.  I'm definitely getting a new laptop so the question just is whether I want to pay a bit more to have one that can also be used as a tablet.  Maybe I'd start discovering I preferred it (over doing similar things on my phone or traditional laptop configuration) when I got into it?  But I'm not sure and so don't know if it's worth the extra money.  If it helps, it's a gift, so I'm not actually spending my own extra money.  I also don't have a limit on how much to spend.  I just don't want to spend extra of anyone's money only to discover I don't use what the extra money provided.

So hit me - what is the value of a tablet?  What will I love to use a tablet for which a phone or a laptop are sad substitutes?  Or what new uses will I have for a tablet that I don't use a phone or laptop for at all?

[Kris]

Hm.

Well, a few years ago, my husband was trying to talk me into getting a tablet. I said, “what’s the point? It’s just a smartphone, only bigger.”

Turns out a smartphone, only bigger, is awesome. I use mine all the time at home, particularly for online research/social media stuff, and reading ebooks (the latter I highly dislike doing on my phone because it’s too small).

I personally wouldn’t want to substitue a tablet that converts to a laptop because I work from home and I think my tablet’s functionality wouldn’t be quite enough (plus I need larger screens than a tablet for that). But, if I were just using a computer at home for normal non-work-related stuff, I would consider replacing my laptop completely, assuming I could run all necessary software from the tablet.

[sui generis]

Good info, I wondered if I might use the tablet for things I do on my phone....which is a lot.

The 2-in-1s are getting pretty advanced nowadays, some with quite large screens and marketing to creative professionals and super-intense gamers that need higher resolution, better processing speeds and lots of capacity for artistic work.  I wil not be doing any of that, so I'm definitely not worried about the functionality.  Mostly just the physical use of it in tablet form (either rotating the screen or removing the physical keyboard).  Seems like it would be attractive but I never doubt my ability to just keep doing things the same ol' way even if less efficient and desriable because that's just how I do it.

[Just Joe]

A few things to consider.

A tablet is heavier than a phone. You'll want a stand or experiment with positions for it on your body. I bought a cheapish stand for ~$20 from GearBest that has a spring loaded mount and allows me to use the tablet in the kitchen, take time lapse photos with my phone, all sorts of stuff.

I consider a phone and tablet to be an item for consuming information, not making it. We bought a tablet cover for our aging tablet that included a bluetooth keyboard. Nice packaging. Keyboard is nowhere as nice as a laptop keyboard but still useful for answering emails and such. Might be just the ticket for you.

Don't buy a cheap device. Cheap devices go obsolete faster in my opinion. Any tech device becomes obsolete eventually b/c it can't run the updated software. One that has marginal abilities when new might be a slow mess in a year or so.

Years ago I inherited an Windows 7 "ultra-book" laptop. Really expensive when new, skinny, light weight laptop. Screen doesn't fold all the way around to the back like a 2-in-1 but love it to death. A used example would be cheap on eBay. Look for Samsung 15" N-series laptop. Mine has uprgaded 250GB of storage, SD slot for more storage, 8GB of RAM, etc. Its an i5 processor so still capable but not a rocket anymore either.

I dual boot Windows 7 and free Mint Linux KDE 18.3 on it. Never sluggish running Linux except when I have 100+ tabs open in Vivaldi browser... ;)

You won't be developing jet engines using CAD on this machine but its great for writing, reading, multimedia, etc. I do some smallish CAD designs on it with Solidworks or FreeCAD3D.

[sparkytheop]

A tablet will not do the things I need a laptop for, so I would not buy one in place of a laptop.  However, tablets are great for what I use them for...

Stuck waiting to get tires changes?  Load a movie onto the tablet, bring headphones and a knitting or quilting project, and enjoy the wait time.

I have a job that leaves me stuck in a shack, waiting to push a button.  I cannot leave the shack.  Sometimes I'm in the shack for an hour, sometimes 7 hours.  I bring my tablet and watch movies on that while I wait.

I might use it more if it had a keyboard, but I still prefer my laptop.  The tablet is easier to carry around though, lighter, battery lasts longer, and I can download movies from netflix and amazon prime, where I am only allowed to stream with the laptop.  I don't burn through the battery on my phone, and the tablet screen is much better for movies compared to the phone.

[Hula Hoop]

I have a combined laptop/tablet and I like it a lot.  It's a Lenovo Yoga.  I use it a lot in laptop mode for all kinds of laptop things - like what I'm doing right now and for Word docs etc.  My kids use it as a tablet for games or to watch movies.  To be honest, none of us are really into reading on the tablet due to the glare-we prefer our kindle paper whites. 

[sui generis]

Update - I got a 2-in-1 and it's going well! 

I got a Microsoft Surface Pro 7, so the keyboard is fully detachable and is very tablet like (though a bit bigger and heavier, I think).  I liked it much better than most of the other 2-in-1s I tried out, where the keyboard does not attach so that when you are using it as a tablet, your fingers are smashing the keyboard, if you are holding it in your hands.  The keyboard is deactivated in that mode, so it doesn't cause any problems, I just found it feels really weird to have my fingers smashing the keys.  And of course it makes it lighter to remove the keyboard entirely.  The keyboard on this is presumably flimsier than those other ones (and my previous laptop) but feels quite solid as I am typing right now, so I'm quite happy with that.  It has it's own stand that I use in both laptop and often in tablet mode (if horizontal). 

There are some things I don't love about it - some having to do with getting used to the touch screen I guess, some getting used to a PC again from having been on a Mac for a long time.  One thing is that it still really is a laptop with Windows, so I can't get all the apps I like on my Android phone...so I'm having to use a very subpar version of the solitaire game I like.  So....not a serious problem.

More seriously, it does just seem buggier than my Mac ever did.  Like it has facial recognition to log on, but never recognizes me.  Supposedly I can work with it more to make this feature work better.  Also, the battery life was not so great.  I changed the settings so that it would disconnect from wifi on hibernate (or was it sleep?) since I kept finding it with 70% battery after I had left it fully charged the night before and then not used it at all.  Otherwise, it's all good and I'm happy with the choice!

[iris lily]

Love my multiple IPads.

Hate my phone. Screen uselessly small.

[lexde]

I have a Surface Pro 4 and absolutely love it. I bought it about 4 years ago, used, on Craigslist for $725 (with keyboard, pen, cover, and little fabric briefcase).

I think the newer 7’s are on sale at Costco for $800 with keyboard.

I’ll buy another one of these when mine kicks the bucket, which I hope is not anytime soon.

I use it as a desktop with the Surface Dock (two monitors, USB mouse and Keyboard) and then unplug and carry it with me to court/work. Love it.

I don’t use it much as a tablet, but it’s nice to have that ability.

[lexde]

Aaaand I just saw your update. :-) Yay!

[Just Joe]

I think that is the ultimate setup - a skinny smallish portable device that docks to printer, two monitors, real keyboard and mouse. As long as it runs Linux... ;)