Home > Best Small Laptops > Best Mini Laptops (10-inch)
If you are looking for a second computer or a laptop that you can carry anywhere to check emails, surf the web, and make video-conferences, the best mini laptops are perfect for you!
Mini laptops are the kingdom of detachable laptops and long-lasting batteries. They convert to laptop or tablet, whatever you need.
Our Top 3
#1 – Microsoft Surface Go |
#2 – Lenovo Yoga Book C930 |
#3 – Asus Transformer Mini T103HA |
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High-End Mini Laptop![]() |
Innovative & Versatile![]() |
Quality at Good Price![]() |
10″ HD | 10.8″ HD | 10.1″ HD |
Pentium 4415Y with 8 GB of RAM | Intel i5 with 4 GB of RAM | Intel Cherry Trail with 4 GB of RAM |
128 GB SSD | 256 GB SSD | 128 GB eMMC |
Up to 8 hours | Expect 9 hours | Up to 11 hours |
Jump to our Review | Jump to our Review | Jump to our Review |
What is a mini laptop?
A mini laptop is a small and light laptop. It’s the smallest laptop screen size on the market. Don’t expect your 10-inch screen laptop to be very powerful, but it’ll be suitable for data entry or web browsing, with an autonomy of a full working day. The best 10-inch laptops are also often called Chromebook or Notebook.
While in the past this category was reserved to strictly low-budget laptops, you’ll now find everything here, from budget 2-in-1 laptops to mid-range notebooks.
Why choose a mini laptop?
In this case, mini laptops are so popular because of their portability. They are more compact and easier to carry than others. With their small display & reduced thicknesses, they don’t take much desk space and are easy to carry in your bag.
Also, the best 10-inch laptops have the advantage of being very quiet. Not to mention that they consume much less power than other types of computers. The top mini laptops are even more advantageous than tablets since some are budget 2-in-1 notebooks that can transform into an intuitive tablet.
Some models also offer autonomy for a full day of use. It will all depend on how you use your 10-inch windows laptop. We have just listed some criteria below to help you better orient yourself.
How to choose the best mini laptops?
As we noted earlier, there are several models of mini laptops. Depending on your needs and budget, one model may be more suitable than another. For this purpose, among the criteria to be taken into account when choosing your mini portable PC, design and performance are the most important.
Design
For good mobility, choose a computer that weighs no more than 2,20 lbs. Most models are made of plastic but are still fairly solid. For optimal sturdiness, a mini laptop with an aluminum shell is your best choice.
Also, make sure to choose the best mini laptop with the right keyboard. Since they are smaller than traditional laptops, the keys should be well-spaced & big enough to allow a smooth and fast typing. As for the touchpad, it must be responsive and very precise.
Performance
You don’t choose a mini laptop to get top-of-the-line performance. They are made for web-browsing and light office work, although they are getting better year after year.
As for the RAM, 4 GB is usually enough for light use – less if it’s a Chromebook. But if you are using it for work, some high-performance models offer up to 8 GB. It will depend on the use you intend to make with your mini laptop.
Display
Since it’s a small display, make sure its resolution is high excellent to view content in HD. On the more budget models, you’ll get a decent display, but don’t expect a bright & super colorful one. But if you put the price, you’ll get a display as good as any other notebook.
Storage
The storage you need depends on what you use it for. For basic needs, 32 to 64 GB of physical storage is sufficient, especially if it is a Chromebook.
For more intense work and if you intend to install quite a few applications on your mini Windows laptop, you should consider at least 128 GB of storage space.
The connectors
Most recent models are well equipped with connectors. For comfortable use, your mini laptop must necessarily have built-in WiFi and Bluetooth, two to three USB ports, and SD card readers.
An HDMI output is useful for connecting your mini laptop to your TV. A jack is also required to connect headphones.
Autonomy
Generally, a 10-inch mini laptop does offer great autonomy. More than enough for listening to music, surfing the internet, and watching videos on YouTube. Some models can run for more than 10 hours. This is ideal for those who are often on the go, but they usually cost more.
The benefits of mini laptops are well established. If you’re looking for an easy-to-carry device, this is it. However, there are several types. Consider the criteria above and you’ll get the best mini laptop for your needs.
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Specs for the Top 12 Best Mini Laptops
Graphics 10-inch Processor Intel Atom, Intel Cherry Trail, Intel i5, and similar RAM 1 to 8 GB Storage 16 to 256 GB Battery life 6 to 15 hours OS Windows 10, ChromeOS, Android Thickness / Weight 0.32 to 0.9″ / 1.15 to 3.08 lbs Price Range $, $$, $$$
Top 12 Best Mini Laptops
1 – Microsoft Surface Go – 10″ HD
“High-End Mini Laptop”
If you’re looking for a high-end mini laptop, the Microsoft Surface Go has to be on your list. We’re definitely not in the low-cost, budget 2-in-1 category, but you still get a lot for your money.
The device is superb, the screen & the keyboard are very good, and you can comfortably use it for both work – in PC mode – and fun with the tablet mode. All this on a tiny device weighing just over 1 lbs, so you don’t have to worry if it will fit in your bag.
Microsoft took advantage of its experience with the other Surface products. This little machine has all the quality of its bigger brothers, and once again Microsoft created a product that is one of the best in its category. It’s also a real working alternative to the iPad Pro, which ultimately costs less.
Pros
|
Cons
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Graphics | 10″ HD touchscreen (1800 x 1200) |
Performance | Pentium 4415Y with 8 GB of RAM |
Storage | 128 GB SSD |
Battery life | Up to 8 hours |
OS | Windows 10 |
Thickness / Weight | 0.32″ / 1.15 lbs |
Price Range | $$$ |
2 – Lenovo Yoga Book C930 – 10″ HD
“Innovative & Versatile”
With its Yoga Book C930, Lenovo signs one of the most innovative laptops of the past years. First of all, let’s say that it is small, incredibly thin & light, and it’s definitely a powerful mini laptop with its i5 processor!
This machine innovates as much by its look as by its functions. Surprisingly, this machine does not have a keyboard… but instead incorporates two touch screens, one of which is based on e-ink technology – like e-readers have – that allows you to display a virtual keyboard or to use as a drawing pad.
The ‘real’ screen, is a 10.8-inch “classic” IPS-type active matrix. Thanks to a hinge that can rotate 360 degrees, these two screens can be adjusted to use the Yoga Book like an ordinary laptop, or folded one over the other to transform the machine into a tablet, but also into an e-reader or a drawing board.
It’s definitely an interesting & innovative machine that, while it might not be perfect for people that type long essays – the keyboard offers very little tactile feedback – is interesting and worth considering.
Pros
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Cons
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Graphics | 10.8″ HD touchscreen (2560 x 1600) |
Performance | Intel i5 with 4 GB of RAM |
Storage | 256 GB SSD |
Battery life | Expect 9 hours |
OS | Windows 10 |
Thickness / Weight | 0.38″ / 1.7 lbs |
Price Range |
3 – Asus Transformer Mini T103HA – 10″ HD Detachable
“Quality at Good Price”
This Asus Transformer Mini is simply the best mini laptop on the market! Quite solid – and sleek – with its magnesium allow, it has a great bright screen and surprisingly good speakers. While its keyboard is not nearly as good as a one on a full-size laptop, it’s actually quite decent for that category. Probably the best of all mini laptops. The Transformer Mini could be more powerful, but the long battery life makes up for it. There are also a lot of ports to extend the storage and plug all sorts of stuff. Read our full review.
Pros
|
Cons
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Graphics | 10.1″ HD touchscreen (1280 x 800) |
Performance | Intel Cherry Trail with 4 GB of RAM |
Storage | 128 GB eMMC |
Battery life | Up to 11 hours |
OS | Windows 10 |
Thickness / Weight | 0.32″ / 1.74 lbs |
Price Range | $$ |
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4 – HP Mini 5103 – 10″ HD
“Business Mini Laptop”
The HP Mini 5103 has a solid design with a black finish and a chiclet keyboard that is 95% the size of a classic model. It’s also a more robust netbook thanks to its metal construction, perfect for someone always on the road that tends to bump it on tables.
The HP Mini 5103 has a Broadcom Crystal HD Enhanced Video Accelerator module, which plays HD videos correctly using playback software that supports hardware acceleration. That means that it’s a better multimedia mini laptop than most on this list. Also, it incorporates a multi-touch touch screen with a standard resolution of 1366×768.
HP Mini 5103 is more responsive than many of its competitors. Good point also regarding the webcam that is better than most, so it’s great for video-conferences.
Pros
|
Cons
|
Graphics | 10.1″ HD screen (1366 x 768) |
Performance | Intel Atom N 550 with 2 GB of RAM |
Storage | 160 GB SSD |
Battery life | Up to 8 hours |
OS | Windows 10 |
Thickness / Weight | 0.9″ / 3.08 lbs |
Price Range |
5 – Lenovo Miix 320 – 10″ Detachable
“Solid Windows 10-inch”
Lenovo managed to create one of the best mini detachable laptops on the market with the Miix 320. It feels pretty solid in hand, even if made all plastic and the performance are quite acceptable for that kind of device.
The screen is full HD & pretty vivid and the audio loud enough to comfortably watch movies. It does get pretty warm at times, but other than that this is a great product. Read our full review.
Pros
|
Cons
|
Graphics | 10.1″ touchscreen (1920 x 1200) |
Performance | Intel Atom x5 with 4 GB of RAM |
Storage | 64 GB eMMC |
Battery life | Up to 12 hours |
OS | Windows 10 |
Thickness / Weight | 0.68″ / 2.2 lbs |
Price Range | $$ |
6 – Asus Transformer Book T101HA – 10″ HD Detachable
“The Classic Low-Cost Detachable Notebook”
As the pioneer of mini detachable laptops, Asus has been producing the Transformer Book for a few years now. And it shows. The Transformer Book T100HA is a well engineered mini laptop that detaches into a tablet.
Its attractive design is of good quality, as is the screen. Performance is good for that a laptop that small and the battery life is very satisfying. Unfortunately, the speakers – as it’s the case with most of the competition – are weak.
Oh, and if you are tired of silver-looking mini laptops, the T100HA is also available in pink and blue! If you want one of the best budget mini laptops, you should consider the this one!
Pros
|
Cons
|
Graphics | 10″ HD touchscreen (1280 x 800) |
Performance | Intel Cherry Trail with 4 GB of RAM |
Storage | 64 GB eMMC |
Battery life | Up to 12 hours |
OS | Windows 10 |
Thickness / Weight | 0.72″ / 2.28 lbs |
Price Range | $$ |
# 7 to 12 Best Mini Laptops
7 – Lenovo Yoga Book – 10″ HD
“Great for Artists and Designers”
This is a rather interesting mini notebook and it’s definitely one of its kind. Instead of having a ‘normal’ keyboard, its equipped with a halo keyboard.
This type of keyboard has some advantages and disadvantages. For disadvantages, typing on it feels a weird and not as easy as a ‘real’ keyboard since you get less feedback. You do get used to it, but I wouldn’t recommend it for writing essays. And as for the advantage, holding it in tablet mode doesn’t feel weird at all because your fingers don’t press against any keys, and it’s a great product for designers & artists since you can use it as a drawing pad (pen included)a.
It made of a magnesium aluminium alloy that makes it both light and sturdy. Also, the display is sharp and the performance is acceptable despite having a low-end CPU. In short, it is one of the best convertible laptops under 500.
Pros
|
Cons
|
Graphics | 10.1″ HD screen (1920 x 1200) |
Performance | Intel Atom with 4 GB of RAM |
Storage | 64 GB eMMC |
Battery life | Up to 15 hours |
OS | Windows 10 |
Thickness / Weight | 0.38″ / 1.52 lbs |
Price Range | $$$ |
8 – Asus Chromebook C100PA – 10″ HD Convertible
“Versatile Mini Chromebook”
This multi-mode laptop to tablet by Asus is a market favorite for a reason. It’s versatile built allow you to use it as a ‘real’ laptop, as a tablet, in tent and in stand mode, my favorite for watching movies or following recipes. With a sleek solid metal body, speedy performance, long battery life, decent audio and versatile design, it’s really one of the best mini laptops on the market. Unfortunately, it comes with ChromeOS so it’s much less versatile than its Windows competitors.
Pros
|
Cons
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Graphics | 10.1″ HD touchscreen (1280 x 800) |
Performance | Rockchip with 4 GB of RAM |
Storage | 16 GB eMMC |
Battery life | Up to 9 hours |
OS | ChromeOS |
Thickness / Weight | 0.61″ / 1.96 lbs |
Price Range | $$ |
9 – HP Pavilion X2 – 10″ Detachable
“Sleek design”
The HP Pavilion X2 is quite a good detachable laptop. It has a sleek design and decent performance, despite only having 2GB of RAM. The 10.1″ touchscreen is bright and responsive and the battery life is great. With those two large speakers on the side of the screen – I like the look! – you’d think that it would be great a multimedia laptop, but it’s not really the case… the sound is somehow weak nonetheless.
Pros
|
Cons
|
Graphics | 10″ touchscreen (1280 x 800) |
Performance | Intel Atom with 2 GB of RAM |
Storage | 32 GB eMMC |
Battery life | Up to 11 hours |
OS | Windows 10 |
Thickness / Weight | 0.78″ / 2.54 lbs |
Price Range | $$ |
10 – Acer Aspire Switch 10 – 10″ HD Detachable
“Well-designed”
The brushed aluminium design looks good even if some other mini laptops are more attractive. It’s well engineered by keeping the keyboard and screen together with a strong magnetic hinge. It’s a little heavier than the competition and the speakers are somewhat weak. The Acer Switch 10 has a good responsive touchscreen protected by Gorilla Glass and the keyboard and touchpad are satisfying for that kind of notebook. Performance is at par with the rest, not very fast!
Pros
|
Cons
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Graphics | 10″ HD touchscreen (1280 x 800) |
Performance | Intel Atom Z3735F with 2 GB of RAM |
Storage | 32 GB eMMC |
Battery life | Up to 8 hours |
OS | Windows 10 |
Thickness / Weight | 0.4″ / 2.6 lbs |
Price Range | $$ |
11 – RCA Viking Pro – 10″
“The mini laptop for kids”
This is definitely not a laptop you want to bring to a clients’ meeting, but if you’re looking for a laptop for your kid, it might actually be a good choice. It’s not powerful and the screen is not as good as the rest of the best mini laptops on this list, but for the price, it’s actually a good laptop for children to play their games and watch their favorite cartoon. And if you want a colorful laptop, this one offers a few choices!
Pros
| Cons
|
Graphics | 10.1″ touchscreen (1280 x 800) |
Performance | Quad-Core with 1 GB of RAM |
Storage | 32 GB eMMC |
Battery life | Up to 6 hours |
OS | ChromeOS |
Thickness / Weight | 0.39″ / 2.8 lbs |
Price Range | $ |
Other similar versions (prices may vary)
12 – Acer One 10 – 10″ HD Detachable
“Low Price but Good Quality”
It’s definitely not the most powerful laptop / tablet on the market, but at the price it is sold, it delivers a lot. Everything is pretty good from the screen to the audio. The drawbacks are its camera that’s not the best, especially if you expect to use it as a photographic device, it’s quite heavy (2.8 lbs) for the size and the average battery life.
Graphics | 10.1″ HD touchscreen (1280 x 800) with Intel HD 400 |
Performance | Intel Atom x5 with 2 GB of RAM |
Storage | 32 GB eMMC |
Battery life | Expect 6 hours |
OS | Android |
Thickness / Weight | 0.81″ / 2.8 lbs |
Price Range | $ |
Erik is the owner and main editor of lptps.com. He has been working in computers and information technology for more than 20 years. He’s a business analyst, developer, and avid traveler.
4 Comments
Anonymous
Would be nice to find ones with two fullsized USB connections
Erik
It would indeed, but I guess they just don’t have enough space.
The closest you’ll find to two full-size USB is The Asus Transformer Mini with one full-size USB and one micro-USB.
John
10″ is full size.
Where are the 7-8 inch laptops?
Erik
Hi John,
10-inch is considered a mini laptop. A full-size laptop would have a 12-inch or bigger screen. The easiest way to see that is to look at the keyboard: under 12-inch, you can’t find a full-sized keyboard. The typing speed with a 11-inch and less drastically reduces.
If you want a 8″, I suggest you look at tablets to which you can attach a keyboard. Unfortunately, we don’t review those.
I’ve answered your full laptop recommendation request, I hope it helps!