Touchscreens Are Nice. But Are They Worth It on a Laptop?

Do you want a lightweight ultrabook or a performance-heavy beast? Should you go for Mac or Windows? SSD or HDD? A touchscreen or a regular laptop? The questions never end when choosing the best laptop for you. 

At first glance, a touchscreen laptop seems like a no-brainer. It’s cool. It’s futuristic. You can tap, swipe, zoom, scroll, and doodle if you feel artsy. But do you need it? Or are you just signing up for a more expensive gadget with features you might never use?

Let’s break it down!

READ ALSO: Everyday Laptops vs. Gaming Laptops: Is the Extra Cost Really Worth It?

A touchscreen laptop is precisely what it sounds like: one that allows you to interact with your screen using your fingers or a stylus (like a tablet). It usually comes with a hinge that allows you to fold it back into a tablet-like mode, similar to 2-in-1 laptops. Some models are hybrids, meaning they detach entirely from the keyboard. Others tilt far back for flexibility.

In contrast, a regular laptop relies strictly on the good old keyboard, trackpad, and optional mouse, with no touch input. Just click and type.

Touchscreen laptops shine brightest in certain scenarios, like in these real-life examples:

If you love to scribble notes, draw mind maps, or annotate lecture slides, a touchscreen laptop paired with a stylus is golden. It mimics pen-and-paper in a digital format, and apps like OneNote, Notability, or Samsung Notes make it super smooth.

But if all you do is type essays and browse Google Scholar, you might never use the touchscreen beyond an occasional swipe.

Designers, illustrators, architects, and touchscreens (especially with stylus support) give you the kind of control and flexibility that trackpads can’t. Think drawing directly on the screen using Adobe Photoshop or Illustrator. Huge win.

However, a regular laptop might be fine if you use Canva or edit photos occasionally.

You’re in a meeting, flipping your laptop around to present slides or sketching quick ideas to show your team. A touchscreen laptop that folds into “tent” or tablet mode can make you look effortlessly professional.

Again, this might be overkill if you don’t need that kind of interaction or rarely leave your desk.

• Intuitive Interaction: It's like your phone or tablet. Tap, swipe, or pinch-to-zoom. It’s fast and feels natural.

• Great for Creativity: Drawing, sketching, annotating, and designing are easier.

• Flexible Modes: Tent, tablet, stand, whatever suits your mood or task.

• Handwriting Recognition: Apps can convert scribbled notes into typed text (which is as cool as it sounds).

• Speedy Shortcuts: Sometimes tapping an icon is quicker than dragging your cursor.

• Battery Drain: Touch functionality sucks more battery. If you’re often unplugged, this could be a dealbreaker.

• More Expensive: Touchscreen versions are usually costlier than their regular counterparts.

• Glossy Screens: Most touchscreens are glossy and reflect light like crazy. Not fun if you’re outside or near windows.

• Smudges Galore: Say goodbye to your crystal-clear display. Fingerprints are inevitable.

• They just work. No fuss, no fancy flips, just a solid keyboard and a reliable screen.

• Better battery life. No touchscreen sensors draining power.

• More affordable. Same specs, lower price—what’s not to love?

• They're often lighter. Since there’s no extra touch hardware, they’re typically easier to carry (not all, though).

• Matte screens = less glare. For the win.

Price: ₦300,000  Where To Buy: Shop Jumia

• No touch interaction (obviously).

• Limited versatility in posture or form; what you see is what you get.

• Can feel a bit “dated” if you’re all about modern tech.

Touchscreen or not, your laptop's performance depends on its processor (Intel i5, i7, Ryzen), RAM (8GB, 16GB), and storage (SSD vs. HDD).

The only difference is the extra power demand for the touchscreen. So, if you’re eyeing a touchscreen model, ensure it has a decent battery and efficient hardware to back it up.

Touchscreen laptops tend to have shorter battery life because the digitiser (the part that makes it touch-responsive) is always “on,” even when you’re not using it. Adding stylus support or higher-resolution touch displays (such as 4K) results in a larger battery life impact.

Regular laptops last longer between charges, especially if you go for models with energy-efficient chips and matte displays.

READ ALSO: Which Laptops Have the Best Battery Life in 2025?

You’re paying for the touch because touchscreen models usually cost more, even if the specs are identical. Sometimes, there is an extra ₦50,000 to ₦150,000 in Nigeria (or $100–$300 globally), depending on the brand and features.

So will you use the touchscreen often enough to justify the extra cash?

Here are some categories where touchscreen laptops shine:

1. 2-in-1 Convertibles – Flip-and-fold laptops like the HP Spectre x360, Lenovo Yoga series, or Dell XPS 2-in-1. Great for flexibility lovers.

Price: $999.00  Where To Buy: Shop: Amazon

2. Detachables – Think Microsoft Surface Pro. Great for portability and stylus use.

3. Chromebooks with Touch – Affordable and practical for students.

If you’re going touchscreen, go all in. Half-baked touchscreen laptops with poor touch optimization are just frustrating.

• You’re a student who likes digital note-taking.

• You’re a creative professional, designing, drawing, or editing.

• You travel and do presentations or collaborative work.

• You love flexibility and modern tech experiences.

• You’ll use the touchscreen regularly.

• You browse, stream, write, or code.

• You don’t use the screen for anything but clicking and scrolling.

• You want maximum battery life and portability.

Ultimately, the debate about the touchscreen vs. regular laptop isn’t about which is generally better. It is about which is better for you. 

If you need those features, Touchscreen laptops offer versatility, convenience, and modern interactivity that’s hard to beat. A touchscreen can be a game-changer for creatives, students who take notes by hand, and professionals who multitask across apps and presentations.

But if your daily grind is mostly emails, typing, browsing, or streaming movies, a regular laptop might serve you without the added cost, weight, or fingerprint smudges.

Choose based on your lifestyle, not what looks fancy in the store. The best laptop is the one that works for you, not just one that works in theory.