Best Windows tablet or convertible according to TPCR

I thought it might be fun and useful to have people share their thoughts on what are the best tablets or convertibles out there, and why, and what could make them even better. We can make this a wiki so we can update as new models come out or opinions change. I’ll start:


Surface Laptop Studio (2021)
@JoeS

Pros
Reasonably affordable (without GPU), sufficient power for my use, quiet, upgradeable, big bright 3:2 screen, good battery life (i5), solid design, great track pad, good camera, and perhaps most importantly: easy to fold flat for annotating without having to undock or lift the device.

Cons
Things that could be improved: lower the weight, make it easier to service, put a more powerful CPU in it, give it some form of high-contrast-ratio screen, make the edges a bit less sharp


Samsung Galaxy Book 12 (2017)
@WillAdams

Pros
The perfect balance of, large, high-resolution screen, decent memory, storage, performance and battery life, and a Wacom S-Pen w/ a workable keyboard cover/case
Announcement article here.

Cons
Dated, not up-dated, no suitable replacement available. Continuing to use stylus to select text in a natural fashion, or drawing in legacy 3rd party apps requires hanging back on Window build 1703.


Microsoft Surface Pro 8 LTE
@dstrauss

Pros
Size - Light and portable (2lb 10oz with keyboard and pen)
Display - Very good 13" screen with excellent touch and pen capability
Pen - Slim Pen 2 is as good as Apple Pencil and just behind Wacom EMR
Keyboard - Excellent detachable keyboard with pen charging slot
Kickstand - Great kickstand
LTE-nice to be built in (no longer available on Intel Pro 9 model -JoeS)
Expansion - user replaceable ssd

Cons
LTE - needs to be 5g in 2023
LTE - DO NOT LIMIT cellular sku’s to 256gb
Display - need to move to AMOLED
Overpriced - Basic keyboard and pen should be included in price
Overpriced - ssd upgrades are as bad as Apple, if not worse
Mediocre Tablet - Tablet only experience far behind iPad Pro (a Windows failure)
Small Trackpad - needs to be wider and taller


For some other contenders see the Win11 convertibles and tablets thread.

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@WillAdams your Galaxy Book 12 is the 12” Intel version right? From… 2020?

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It’s the only Windows device I still have and it’s from 2018. Five years old! And it’s easily in the top two I’ve ever used. The rival is the SLS, but really they’re two different animals in my opinion.

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Microsoft Surface Pro 8 LTE

PROS
Size - Light and portable (2lb 10oz with keyboard and pen)
Display - Very good 13" screen with excellent touch and pen capability
Pen - Slim Pen 2 is as good as Apple Pencil and just behind Wacom EMR
Keyboard - Excellent detachable keyboard with pen charging slot
Kickstand - Great kickstand
LTE-nice to be built in
Expansion - user replaceable ssd

CONS
LTE - needs to be 5g in 2023
LTE - DO NOT LIMIT cellular sku’s to 256gb
Display - need to move to AMOLED
Overpriced - Basic keyboard and pen should be included in price
Overpriced - ssd upgrades are as bad as Apple, if not worse
Mediocre Tablet - Tablet only experience far behind iPad Pro (a Windows failure)
Small Trackpad - needs to be wider and taller

1 Like

I guess convertibles might be too restrictive seeing as many here have converged on a Windows tablet solutions. Title updated, post moved to the more general “Windows OS” section. Tablets and convertible candidates welcome!

@dstrauss Is there a reason why the Intel Surface Pro 9 would not be a better choice than the 8? Or is it the lack of LTE?

This. I know the SP9 has 5g, but only on ARM. I want the x86 variant. Besides, I don’t own a SP8 so I couldn’t speak to other +/- of the SP9.

BTW if you add your info to the OP, please also post about that, otherwise the thread doesn’t show as having any updates. So far we have three different people offering three different devices as The Best. Who knew personal opinion was subjective! :slight_smile: