The best Windows 8 tablets, hybrids and touch screen laptops: what’s the best Windows 8 device?

Here we’ve split some of our favourite Windows 8 devices into three categories – hybrids, tablets and touchscreen laptops – so you can find which device suits best. To help you make up your mind, we’ve introduced each section with a quick look at the pros and cons of using that particular form factor.

Touchscreen laptops

When Windows 8 first arrived with its new, touch-friendly interface, most people thought immediately of tablets as the primary beneficiary – and perhaps of Transformer-style hybrid devices next.

By contrast, slapping a touchscreen onto a laptop seemed a cobbled together solution, one that wouldn’t really make the best of the radical new Metro interface. To put it bluntly, we’d been scarred by our experiences with Windows 7 and touch – the memories are still enough to send a shudder down our spines.

But then we used one. More than one. In fact, we’ve used hundreds of Windows 8 touchscreen laptops, and it’s no understatement to call the experience something of a revelation. Being able to reach out and prod on-screen buttons or lazily flick through webpages with a brush of the finger is something that soon becomes second-nature – and once you get used to it, you’ll find yourself prodding every laptop screen you come across.

You don’t need to spend huge sums on a touchscreen laptop, either. While touchscreens are a key ingredient for a premium-priced Ultrabook (and even occasionally feature on professional-class workstation laptops), it’s now possible to spend as little as £300 on a serviceable touchscreen laptop. Read on for our top choices.

Best windows 8 touch screen laptops

Asus VivoBook S200E

Price when reviewed: £450 inc VAT

A delectable 11.6in touchscreen Windows 8 laptop at an unbelievably low price.

Dell Precision M3800

Price when reviewed: £1,799 inc VAT

Loads of power and a high-DPI display packed into a slim, attractive chassis – there’s room for improvement, though.

Asus Zenbook UX301LA

Price when reviewed: £1,500 inc VAT

Cast from sheets of glass and metal, the Zenbook UX301LA is an attention-grabbing beauty – the only thing wrong is the price.

Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 15

Price when reviewed: £550 inc VAT

A stylish, attractive 15.6in laptop that’s more flexible than most, but the dismal display dulls its appeal.

Hybrids

Of all the Windows 8 devices out there, the new breed of hybrids are by far the most interesting. At first glance, these hybrid devices look almost indistinguishable from a laptop, but thanks to flip-swivel hinges and ingenious designs they can also transform into a tablet.

So far we’ve had sliding, swivelling, rotating and flipping screens – there’s plenty of experimentation, with manufacturers all hunting for that elusive design that just works.

The best examples out there are just as usable as any laptop thanks to their full-sized keyboards, and they also double as effective, if rather bulky tablets. Most of our favourites take advantage of their double-jointed stands by contorting into a variety of poses – a feat which comes in handy for watching videos in cramped spaces, or turning them into miniature touchscreen all-in-one PCs.

Up until recently, Windows 8 hybrids have been anything but a budget purchase. Now, however, some models are available for as little as £500, so you don’t have to spend a fortune. Read on for a selection of our favourite Windows 8 hybrids.

Best windows 8 hybrids

Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 2 (11 inch)

Price when reviewed: £500 inc VAT

A superbly crafted 11.6in hybrid with a gorgeous display and a well-judged specification – for a very reasonable price.

Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 2 Pro

Price when reviewed: £1,000 inc VAT

Lenovo gives its Yoga range a suite of upgrades, delivering a Haswell CPU, a big SSD and a glorious high-DPI screen for £1,000.

Dell Venue 11 Pro

Price when reviewed: £407 inc VAT

Dell’s Venue 11 Pro is a tablet to be reckoned with – but the accessories don’t come cheap.

Dell XPS 12 (2013)

Price when reviewed: £1,279 inc VAT

Dell upgrades its XPS 12 with a Haswell processor – the result is a swanky, aspirational and long-lasting hybrid.

Lenovo ThinkPad Yoga

Price when reviewed: £1,100 inc VAT

Another winner from Lenovo, with great battery life, a top screen and plenty of innovative features.

Tablets

Since Windows 8 arrived on the scene, tablets have metamorphosed into a dizzying variety of different shapes and sizes. Now, Windows 8 makes its home on everything from 8in compact tablets which you can pop in a pocket, right up to king-sized 20in 4K tablets which cost the best part of £5,000.

In many respects, though, the Windows 8 tablet is now more than capable of taking the place of a laptop, or doubling as a multi-talented netbook substitute. Many of our favourite tablets either come with docking keyboards as standard, or provide them as an optional extra, so all it takes is a clunk and a click to turn them from a tablet into a laptop. Some also come with styluses, too, so you can scribble handwritten notes or sketch onscreen in art applications.

Prices start at as little as £200 for an 8in compact tablet, and stretch up towards the £1,000 mark once you start looking at premium models with add-on keyboards, styluses and Ultrabook-class specifications. Whatever your budget, there’s plenty of choice out there, so read on for our current favourite Windows 8 tablets.

Best windows 8 devices tablets

Microsoft Surface Pro 2

Price when reviewed: £599, 64GB – £1,199, 512GB inc VAT

All-day battery life and a new kickstand help make the Surface Pro 2 one of the most compelling hybrids available.

Asus Transformer Book T100

Price when reviewed: £349 inc VAT

Thanks to Intel’s new Atom CPU, the Transformer Book T100 delivers full Windows 8.1 in a tiny, affordable package – the netbook is back.

Dell Venue 11 Pro

Price when reviewed: £407 inc VAT

Dell’s Venue 11 Pro is a tablet to be reckoned with – but the accessories don’t come cheap.

Toshiba Encore

Price when reviewed: £200 inc VAT

The first compact Windows 8 tablet we’d seriously consider buying, packing in usable performance and a generous software bundle for a very tempting price.

Toshiba Satellite U920t

Price when reviewed: £898 inc VAT

Toshiba’s convertible has a good keyboard but a poor screen, and it’s far too heavy to use as a tablet.