As the name implies, the HP Chromebook x360 14 is both a laptop and tablet. A capable performer but with few unique selling points, it’s an all-around good choice for a good price.
Design
Aside from the screen, which rotates through 360 degrees on a hinge that allows it to fold back against the base of the system, the HP Chromebook x360 has a lot in common with the company’s more traditional laptops. This 14-inch system (an 11-inch version is also available) offers the standard 1,920 by 1,080 pixel resolution on its touchscreen, and the chassis is clad entirely in matte-finished aluminum, with a lid painted eye-catching white. Otherwise, you’ll find a fairly standard keyboard and touchpad, neither of which gave me any trouble, and dim keyboard backlighting.
Features
The HP Chromebook x360 14 does not include nor support a stylus, but the bigger issue is how dim the display is. Side by side against brighter machines like the Google Pixelbook or the Acer Chromebook Spin 13, the HP’s screen looks like it’s lying in shadow. Redeeming that to some degree is the inclusion of Bang & Olufsen speakers, which are located above the keyboard to fire upward instead of built into the underside of the device, a common and misguided design on other machines. With a weight of 3.5 pounds and a 19-millimeter thickness, the system’s heft is average for its size.
Specs
The 2.2 GHz Core i3-8130U CPU that powers the x360 isn’t very impressive, but the high clock speed does at least compensate for the otherwise lower-performing CPU to some degree. The included 8 GB of RAM is good, but the 64 GB of flash storage not so much — that’s low. For ports, you’ll find two USB-Cs (either can be used for charging), a full-size USB 3.1 and a micro SD card slot. That’s a strong selection and as good as it gets in the Chromebook world.
Performance
I was surprised to see the HP Chromebook x360 pump out benchmark scores that landed it in second place across the board among the five systems in this roundup. The system even handily beat out the Acer Chromebook Spin 13, despite Acer’s inclusion of a Core i5 CPU instead of the weaker Core i3 here. Against the average, the x360 was 8 percent faster on the standard Speedometer 2.0 benchmark (which measures the responsiveness of web applications). It was just 3 percent above the average on the JetStream 1.1 test but a full 14 percent faster on Kraken 1.1, both of which are more advanced benchmarks that consider graphics and audio processing, plus encryption. Those are good scores that should serve any user well.
Battery
I managed to get 7 hours of running time out of the HP x360, which is a bit short of all-day power but probably good enough for most users. Nonetheless, it’s a couple of hours shorter than the top performer in this roundup and the second shortest overall running time in the comparison.
Conclusion
At just $600, the HP Chromebook x360 14 gives you a lot for the money, and it comes in a fairly sophisticated package. But while the performance is outstanding for the price, the dim screen and lackluster battery life drag things down. And if you want a stylus, the x360 is definitely a non-starter. But more casual users looking to save some cash ought to keep it on the consideration list.
