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Buying Guide: 11 Great Touch-Screen Laptops
Since the introduction of Microsoft's touch-friendly Windows 8, the number of laptops with touch screens has exploded, to the point that the laptop aisle at your local Best Buy is suddenly full of offerings that let you tap, pinch, and swipe. Capacitive-touch sensing technology lets manufacturers put touch-screens into ultrabooks without losing the portable appeal, and with up to 10-finger tracking, the potential applications are wide ranging.
What does a touch screen have to offer that a regular laptop doesn't? For starters, it removes a layer of obscurity in Windows 8—the various icons, edge swipes, and horizontal scrolling was all made for touch interfaces first, and traditional PCs second. Once you've gone hands on with Windows 8's start screen, the interface becomes much more intuitive.
The surge in touch has also led to something of a renaissance in the world of laptop design. Where the traditional clamshell laptop had begun to stagnate—with the entire industry shifting towards Apple-esque minimalist designs—touch has reinvigorated the laptop, leading to a variety of designs tweaked to make the best use of this new hands-on functionality.
Manufacturers are also including new twists on old applications, like painting programs that update the old MS Paint with pressure sensitive brushes and realistic colors, letting you do more traditional art using fingers or stylus. Media players now include controls optimized for touch, and ereaders use the swiping motions to offer a more immersive way to flip from one page to the next. But the real uses of touch aren't found in these specialized instances, but in the programs you already use every day.
Ultimately, putting touch capability into a laptop isn't meant as way to replace the traditional keyboard and mouse, but to augment those familiar tools with a third, more direct, way to interact with your PC. It's the next step in interface technology, and the best way to stay caught up with today's technology is to spend some time with it—hands on.
FEATURED IN THIS ROUNDUP
Asus VivoBook S400CA-UH51
$699 list
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The Asus VivoBook S400CA-UH51 is one of the least expensive ways to get a fully functional Windows 8 ultrabook. It's a touch-screen ultrabook that gets the pricing and feature set right. Read the full review ››
Asus Zenbook Prime Touch UX31A-BHI5T
$1,199 list
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With its brilliant, touch-enabled screen, incredibly thin design, great battery life, and $1,100 price tag, the Asus Zenbook Prime Touch UX31A-BHI5T is the ultrabook to beat. Read the full review ››
Dell Inspiron 15z-5523
$1,093.99 list
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The Dell Inspiron 15z-5523 gives plenty of bang for the buck, boasting solid performance and a feature set that helps deliver a smooth and intuitive Windows 8 experience. Read the full review ››
Dell XPS 12
$1,699.99 list
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The Dell XPS 12 hybrid ultrabook/tablet features a flip-and-fold display, providing ultrabook specs and performance with tablet functionality. Read the full review ››
HP Spectre XT TouchSmart Ultrabook 15-4010nr
$1,340 list
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If you share your household with Mac users, the HP Spectre XT TouchSmart 15-4010nr is a good buy if you absolutely need Windows 8 and need to trade files. It's a decent large-screen performance ultrabook made better with the addition of a Thunderbolt port. Read the full review ››
Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 13
$999 list
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The Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 13 is a solid ultrabook, but as a tablet, it's a little too big for comfort. Otherwise, the Yoga 13 has the best hybrid design we've seen so far. Read the full review ››
Sony VAIO T15 Touch (SVT15112CXS)
$949.99 list
The Sony VAIO T15 Touch ultrabook offers solid performance, a healthy feature set, and a generous selection of software. Read the full review ››
Toshiba Satellite P845T-S4310
$910 list
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With its decent performance and admirable feature set, the Toshiba Satellite P845T-S4310 is a good option for anyone on the market for a touch-enabled Windows 8 laptop, but it's not the best value currently on the market. Read the full review ››
Asus Taichi 21
$1,599.99
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The Asus Taichi 21 offers a unique dual-display design, but the end result is a good ultrabook combined with a middling tablet, at a fairly high price. Read the full review ››
Samsung Series 5 UltraTouch NP540U3C-A01UB
$849.99 list
The Samsung Series 5 UltraTouch NP540U3C-A01UB is a solid touch-enabled ultrabook with decent performance and battery life. Read the full review ››
Google Chromebook Pixel (64GB, LTE)
$1,449 list
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The Google Chromebook Pixel (64GB, LTE) is a luxury laptop that needs Internet access to work at its best. If you already use a pricey mutli-GB Verizon 4G LTE data plan and have ready access to power, the Chromebook Pixel makes sense. However, it's got some first generation hiccups to iron out before many more convert to Chrome OS all the time. Read the full review ››