Notebookcheck's Top 10 Convertible Laptops

We really liked the HP EliteBook x360 1040 G5 in our review and the attractive 14-inch convertible can secure the top spot in our ranking. It is powered by an Intel Core i7-8650U in combination with 16 GB RAM and 512 GB SSD storage.

The HP EliteBook x360 1040 G5 is not just a good choice for business users with frequent travels, but also for home users looking for a new Ultrabook. Even the least expensive SKU offers everything you come to expect from a convertible and you can save a few hundred Euros if the performance of the Core i5 is sufficient. The system cannot utilize the full potential of the i7 due to the limited cooling capabilities anyway.

The HP EliteBook x360 1040 G5 also manages very long battery runtimes, which makes it very versatile and it will easily last a full business day without recharging.

There is still some criticism, because you can hardly upgrade the device at all. The RAM is soldered and cannot be expanded. The fan noise is pretty high-pitched and a bit annoying under load. You will have to pay another 130 Euros for the HP Active Pen Stylus if you want to use an input pen.

The HP EliteBook x360 1040 G5 is a very good convertible for business users. If you want a device capable of gaming as well, you should consider alternatives with a dedicated graphics card.

Lenovo’s ThinkPad X1 Yoga 2019 [see review here] is made of premium materials that not only feel but also look great. ThinkPads have always been very well made, however with the X1 we got the impression that Lenovo’s engineers tried to one-up themselves.

Intel’s Core i7-8565U was configured with a TDP of up to 51 W resulting in high turbo boost fluctuations during our sustained load test.

The new speakers were also vastly improved over what other ThinkPad laptops have to offer. Port selection as very good albeit we mourn the loss of the card reader. Keyboard, trackpoint, and touchpad remained top notch even though keyboard travel has been noticeably reduced and might require some getting used to if you are already familiar with other ThinkPad keyboards.

No improvements have been made in regards to overall performance. The cooler, however, has been upgraded noticeably and is now spinning less often. In return, surface temperatures were slightly higher.

An improved design, a brighter display, and better speakers are the main benefits of Lenovo’s 2019 ThinkPad X1 Yoga over its own predecessor.

The HP Spectre x360 15 (review) is a well-made convertible that almost made it all the way to the top. Both case and build quality are state of the art, and the high-contrast display covered almost 100 % of sRGB and was a pleasure to look at.

Lenovo’s ThinkPad X390 Yoga [see review here] is the successor the last year’s ThinkPad Yoga 380. The case remained largely identical but the internal hardware was upgraded to reflect the latest technology available at the time of construction. The top of the line SKU includes an Intel Core i7-8565U quad-core CPU, 16 GB of RAM, and a fast PCIe SSD. The FHD IPS display was good, and given its business pedigree the ThinkPad convertible can be easily opened for maintenance or upgrades. Among others, you can replace the SSD and clean the fan. Unfortunately, the RAM is soldered to the mainboard.

The Lenovo Yoga C930 is the successor to the Lenovo Yoga 920. The case was completely revised and the placement of the speaker is still unique. Thanks to Dolby Atmos and four speakers, watching movies is very enjoyable. The 14-inch convertible is powered by an Intel Core i5-8250U, which performed well in multi-core scenarios during our review.

Lenovo unfortunately does not offer a dedicated GPU for the C930, which limits the 3D performance. This means the integrated Intel GPU takes care of all the graphics calculations.

The Lenovo Yoga C930 is a perfect working device for everyday business tasks. In addition, you can enjoy great multimedia qualities if you also want to use it for your free time. The C930 really shows its strengths during the playback of videos or music.

The Lenovo Yoga C930 is a great device. You get a convertible with solid performance figures and very good build quality. The highlight is the speaker system, which is a small sound bar inside the 360-degree hinge.

The device is shipped with an active pen, which can be stored inside the device and is charged at the same time. The display of the C930 is a minor drawback, because the average luminance of our test model could be a bit better. The quality of panel is still good with wide color gamut and the lack of PWM.

Dell’s Latitude 13 5300 [see review here] is an alternative to Lenovo’s ThinkPad X390 Yoga. The convertible offers decent performance thanks to its fast yet efficient Intel Core i5-8365U. The CPU managed to perform very well without thermal throttling too heavily. Optional extras include Thunderbolt 3, a microSD card reader, and a WWAN modem. Just like on the ThinkPad X390 Yoga Dell made sure to make maintenance as easy as possible. Battery life is quite decent as well, and it was on a par with the ThinkPad X390 Yoga once again. With 10.5 hours in our Wi-Fi test it should easily run all day long on a single charge.

Thanks to active stylus support the convertible can be used as oversized notepad as well. Unfortunately, its display was too dim, and both grayscale and colors were fairly inaccurate ex-factory.

The Dell Latitude 13 5300 is a decent device well suited for both office and home use.

Dell’s Inspiron 7486 (review) is a high-quality Chromebook competing against Google’s Pixelbook. However, the latter is much more competitively priced compared to Dell’s asking price of more than $500.

Dell’s Latitude 7400 [see review here] is a premium 2-in-1 convertible equipped with Intel’s 

Core i7-8665U CPU, 16 GB of RAM, and 512 GB of storage.

During our test, we encountered difficulties maintaining the i7’s high level of performance, which had to be throttled regularly due to high temperatures. Nevertheless, the i7 managed to outperform the i5 by between 11 and 15 percent. Whether or not this minor performance improvement is worth the price premium is up to you.

We liked the Dell Latutide 7400’s high build quality, including the choice of material. The downside to the sturdy aluminum case is the laptop’s high weight. The input devices were pretty good and well-suited for avid typists and prolific writers.

The display’s color accuracy and contrast were decent, albeit its maximum brightness was too low overall. This inadvertently also had a negative impact out outdoor usability. Battery life was decent, as were the speakers and the notebook’s low noise emissions.

Our overall rating was 87 percent, which secured the Latitude 7400 a spot in our top 10 list.

Dell’s Latitude 7400 is equipped with a fast Intel Core i7-8665U CPU, at least on paper. Unfortunately, it failed to perform accordingly during our review.

The Lenovo L390 Yoga (here in review) is equipped with a fast Whiskey Lake processor. Lenovo sticks with the excellent input devices, which are great for frequent writers. The 14-inch convertible also convinces with good performance figures. The materials are sophisticated, the convertible offers fast Wi-Fi and the ActivePen Pro can be stored inside the chassis.

All in all, the Lenovo ThinkPad L390 Yoga does not offer any surprises. Very good build quality and materials meet excellent input devices, and the performance also corresponds with the price tag.

Drawbacks include the short warranty period of just 12 months and the missing WWAN option, which would have been great for a business device. The restrained fan control results in high surface temperatures under load and the limited color gamut of the display prevented a higher rating.

The HP ProBook x440 G1 is an affordable and at the same time well-equipped device. For about 1000 Euros you get a convertible with the Intel Core i5-8250U. It is a modern processor, which is also very efficient, so you get long battery runtimes.

HP offers the device with a number of different displays. Our test model convinced with a bright backlight and wide color gamut.

All in all, the HP ProBook 440 G1 offers good system performance, so it is a reliable office companion.

If you are looking for an affordable convertible, the HP ProBook x360 440 G1 convinces with good features and long battery runtimes.