I spent weeks using a tiny 2-in-1 Windows laptop — are these untapped iPad alternatives?

Chuwi Minibook X 2-in-1 laptop on a blue gradient background shown open in traditional clamshell form and in tablet format with screen facing up.

The most common laptop screen sizes from major manufacturers typically range from 12 to 16 inches. Recently, they’ve been joined by an emerging class of handheld gaming PCs, like the Steam Deck, that stretch from about 7 to 9 inches.

This screen size was also popular among the oft-derided displays of late-2000s-era netbooks, which Laptop Mag eulogized in 2009. However, we're seeing it again in a breed of mini-notebooks from companies such as the GPD Win Mini from Hong Kong’s GPD or the OneXfly from One Netbook; some are aimed more at general purposes than gaming.