The HP Spectre x360 13.5 and the Lenovo Yoga 9i Gen 7 are two of the best convertible 2-in-1s available. There’s just enough difference to pick a winner.
The convertible 2-in-1 laptop market has two obvious leaders. There’s the HP Spectre x360 13.5 and the Lenovo Yoga 9i Gen 7, both of which have shown up on our list of best laptops overall because of their incredible build quality, outstanding good looks, and solid performance.
Even though they’re similar machines, they’re not identical. It’s hard to pick a winner between the two, and in the end, you can’t go wrong with either.
The least-expensive HP Spectre x360 13.5 that you can buy costs $1,000, with a 15-watt 10-core/12-thread Intel Core i5-1235U CPU, 8BG of LPDDR4 RAM, a 512GB PCIe Gen4 SSD, and a 13.5-inch 3:2 WXUGA+ (1920 x 1280) IPS display. At the high end, you’ll spend $1,770 for a Core i7-1255U (faster clock speed than the Core i5), 32GB of LPDDR4 RAM, a 2TB PCIe Gen4 SSD, and a 13.5-inch 3:2 3K2K (3,000 x 2,000) OLED display.
The Yoga 9i Gen 7 starts at $1,160 for a Core 28-watt 12-core/16-thread Core i7-1260P, 8GB of LPDDR5 RAM, a 256GB PCIe Gen4 SSD, and a 14-inch 16:10 WUXGA (1920 x 1200) IPS display. The most you’ll spend is $1,850 for the Core i7, 16GB of LPDDR5 RAM, a 1TB PCIe Gen4 SSD, and a 14-inch 16:10 WQUXGA (3840 x 2400) OLED display.
That makes the Lenovo slightly more expensive than the HP, but both are solidly in premium 2-in-1 territory.
Both machines underwent serious redesigns in their latest generations. The Spectre x360 13.5 rounded off the sharp edges and flat sides of the Spectre x360 14 while retaining its overall gem-cut design and elegant, good looks. The Lenovo Yoga 9i Gen 7 underwent an even more significant aesthetic upgrade, morphing from a rather pedestrian 2-in-1 with a minimalist design to one that rounded off the edges and created a stunningly cohesive new look. Both laptops are lookers, and which is more attractive comes down to personal taste.
In terms of their build quality, it’s another tie. Each is constructed of CNC machined aluminum and is solid as a rock with zero bending, flexing, or twisting. These are two of the best-built 2-in-1s you can buy.
The Spectre x360 13.5 has an excellent keyboard, with large and comfortable keycaps and plenty of key spacing. The switches provide plenty of travel with snappy response and a confident bottoming action. It’s one of the best keyboards on a Windows laptop. The Yoga 9i Gen 7’s keyboard, on the other hand, is quite shallow with a soft bottoming action.
