Should you buy a laptop or a tablet?

If it’s time to buy a new laptop, you might be wondering if you could save money by buying a tablet and snapping a detachable keyboard onto it instead.

This 2-in-1 option lets you use the tablet as you usually would, such as scrolling social media or watching Netflix in bed, but adding the keyboard makes it faster to do tasks such as writing documents.

In short, yes, tablets can replace laptops. We included some tablets with their official keyboard attached in our latest laptop test to see how they’d compare. Some scored very highly, and you’ll see them at the top of our test results.

Our computing expert Nick Gelling says the line between tablets and laptops has got very blurry. “There are cheap laptops that can only handle basic tasks and then you’ve got top-of-the-line tablets that, with a keyboard attached, can do everything expensive laptops can,” Nick says. “There are also fully-featured Windows laptops with detachable screens for peak versatility – but they cost a premium.”

Nick says whether you’ll be happy with a tablet and detachable keyboard instead of a laptop depends on how you’ll be using it. Here are some considerations to help you decide which is right for you.

What makes a laptop a better choice?

• The processing power of laptops lets them handle more demanding tasks such as gaming and editing video.

• Laptops will usually have a larger screen and keyboard than 2-in-1 tablets so they can be easier to work on.

• Laptops tend to have more ports, which comes in handy when you need to plug in to a monitor or external hard drive.

What makes a tablet a better choice?

• If you’re a light web user who is mainly using simple apps for email, reading, streaming video and social media, a tablet is all you need. A detachable keyboard will give you the ability to type faster than if you used the tablet on-screen keyboard.

• Tablets are usually cheaper than laptops from the same brand. So if you’re an avid Apple fan, for example, you can pay less without having to go to a cheaper brand to save money.

• Tablets are usually lighter than laptops so they’re a bit easier to slip into a handbag or work satchel. Their size also makes them easy to pull out to play a quick game or take a photo.

Nick says: “If you’ll be working on your device and typing a lot, a laptop likely makes more sense. But, if you mostly want to be entertained and keep in touch with people, you can get better bang for buck with a tablet.”

What are the best laptop and tablet brands?