Touchscreen functionality is finally starting to become a mainstay feature in laptops. The best touchscreen laptop you can buy is the HP Spectre x360 13. It’s super fast in both laptop and tablet mode, offering fantastic performance and portability. The added ability of its touchscreen give it a unique blend of ultra-functional computing that’s hard to beat for versatility.
But it’s not the only great touchscreen laptop out there. We’ve tested dozens of convertible laptops over the years, and we’ve got great recommendations for other brands, budget levels, and form factors. Below you will find a mixture of Chromebooks and Windows 10 PCs, with great budget and 15-inch models on offer across the board.
At a glance
Product | Category |
HP Spectre x360 13 | Best touchscreen laptop overall |
Dell XPS 15 | Best 15-inch touchscreen laptop |
Acer Chromebook 15 | Best touchscreen Chromebook |
Dell Inspiron 15 5567 | Best budget touchscreen laptop |
HP Spectre x360 13
The best touchscreen laptop
Why you should buy this: You want a flexible laptop that performs great in all categories.
Who’s it for: Professionals, perfectionists, and people who want a really good laptop.
Why we picked the HP Spectre x360 13:
It’s not often that we reward any laptops a perfect review score, but finding a laptop like the HP Spectre x360 13 is a rare occurrence. This incredible laptop has a beautiful “gem-cut” design, amazing battery life, a keyboard that feels great to use, and 2-in-1 features if you want to convert it to tablet form to sketch, takes notes, etc. It has a little of everything, and manages to do it all well.
The touchscreen itself is a bright HD display that comes with a handy power saving mode that can adjust the screen so your battery doesn’t waste too much juice on it. As can be expected with HP laptops, there are plenty of security features onboard, including a facial recognition camera and a fingerprint scanner. Ports include two USB-C with Thunderbolt 3 support, USB-A 3.1, and microSD.
The model we tested offered an 8th-gen Core i7 process, 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD, but these specs can vary based on your picks, and you can make the laptop significantly more powerful if you want.
Read our full HP Spectre x360 13 review
Dell XPS 15
The best 15-inch touchscreen laptop
Why you should buy this: It’s most highly-recommended laptop, turned into a touchscreen machine.
Who’s it for: Customers wanting high performance and in a premium laptop.
Why we picked the Dell XPS 15:
The Dell XPS 13 is the best laptop you can buy — and its 15-inch cousin is just as good. The XPS 15 improves things by adding dedicated GPU and a larger screen to boot.
Like the XPS 13, you do need to opt for the more premium 4K configurations to get touch support.
If you’re looking for a more inexpensive way to get a 15-inch XPS laptop, be on the lookout for the XPS 15 2-in-1. As a 2-in-1, it will always have a touchscreen, but it will start at a more affordable $1,300 — with the added bonus of stylus support and tablet mode.
Read the full Dell XPS 15 review
Acer Chromebook 15
The best touchscreen Chromebook
Why you should buy this: Acer’s solution is the largest Chromebook to date, and is backed by premium components.
Who’s it for: Customers looking for a premium computing experience outside the Windows platform.
Why we picked the Acer Chromebook 15:
This is Acer’s largest Chromebook to date, and we thought it was a great. There’s only one configuration available, which consists of an Intel Pentium N4200 processor, 4GB of system memory, and 32GB of storage. That’s not a lot of space, of course, but Chrome OS wasn’t designed to download and install programs. On that same note, the platform now supports Google Play and Android apps, so Acer helps alleviate your storage woes with a built-in SD card reader.
Notable features in Acer’s Chromebook include a 15.6-inch screen supporting wide viewing angles, deep colors, and a Full HD resolution. There are also two USB-C ports, both of which can be used to charge the Chromebook. Meanwhile, all four USB ports are capable of video output and wired networking using a compatible adapter (although Google would likely rather you purchase a Chromecast for pushing your screen on an external display). Other ingredients include a 720p webcam and Wireless AC networking.
Dell Inspiron 15 5567
The best budget touchscreen laptop
Why you should buy this: Dell’s Inspiron 15 5567 is a decent touch-based 15.6-inch solution based on a seventh-generation CPU, and a Full HD screen.
Who’s it for: Customers seeking a touch-based laptop at affordable prices.
Why we picked the Dell Inspiron 15 5567:
Finally, we have a great touch-based laptop for those looking to save money It’s based on Intel’s seventh-generation Core i5-7200U processor, and the chip’s integrated HD Graphics 620 component. This combo powers a 15.6-inch screen with a Full HD resolution, and is backed by 8GB of system memory running at a decent 2,400MHz and a rather slow hard drive spinning at a mere 5,400 rotations per minute.
As for other features, this laptop provides three USB ports, HDMI-based video output for external monitors and HDTVs, wired networking, an SD card slot, and a 720p infrared camera that supports Windows 10 facial recognition via Windows Hello. Unfortunately, the Wireless AC component is capped at 433Mbps, which is half of what you typically see in most laptops sold on the market.
Note that if you want more oomph out of a laptop, there’s a version with a discrete GeForce GTX 1050 graphics chip for a higher price.