Evaluation of the HP Pavilion x360

INTRODUCTION

Is this the highly adaptable, reasonably priced combination that we have been hoping for?

Hybrids. Tablets that run Windows. Laptops with two functions in one. When Windows 8 was released, there was a surge of these kinds of machines because the operating system promoted a very touch-centric interface, and it's still continuing strong. There have been a number of laptops with twisted screens that we've seen, including the Acer Aspire Switch 10, Lenovo's IdeaPad Yoga 2 11, and the Dell XPS 11. Some of these laptops have a screen that rotates 360 degrees. And now, we have the opportunity to investigate the HP Pavilion x360.

Close to being compressed

The HP Pavilion x360 is one of the more portable laptops on the market, but it is by no means the most portable option available among the Black Friday laptop offers. There is a lot of dead space surrounding the 11.6-inch monitor that has a resolution of 1,366 by 768, but the keyboard does have some space to work with. It's almost the same area as a full-sized keyboard.

Again, the thickness of 22 millimetres isn't terrible, but it's not even close to being the thinnest, and at 1.4 kilograms, it's approximately 40 percent heavier than the 11-inch MacBook Air.

However, it would be churlish to complain too much about these things because it is still relatively light, quite compact, and is constructed very nicely indeed. The whole thing feels rock solid, with the exception of a little bit of flex in the lid.

Details of the technology

The HP Pavilion x360 has relatively few features in comparison to other laptops, which is perhaps not surprising given its low price and compact form factor.

The Intel Celeron N2820 processor, which is dual-core and operates at 2.13GHz (it is capable of increasing to 2.39GHz for some intensive applications, but we wouldn't anticipate much of a performance increase from that boost), is the heart and soul of this computer.

You shouldn't put too much stock in the functionality of this chip, despite the fact that it has two processor cores and what appears to be a respectable clock speed. It is built on Intel's Silvermont architecture, which is used in the company's Atom processors – more similar to what you see in tablets such as the iPad Air or Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro 10.1 when compared to the low-cost HP Pavilion TouchSmart 15-n070sa. It has a screen resolution of 1920 by 1080 pixels.

The use of this processor, on the other hand, could have a number of benefits, one of which is that it consumes an extremely negligible amount of power, which could result in a significantly longer battery life.

The graphics are also taken care of by Intel, with integrated HD graphics; however, to reiterate, this does not come close to matching the strength of the Iris graphics featured, for example, in the 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro. DirectX 11 is supported, but once again, we're talking about more tablet capability than even a moderate gaming laptop has available to it.

Screen that is reasonable

The x360's 11.6-inch monitor supports multi-touch input, allowing users to play touch-based games as well as use the device in tablet mode in general. The resolution of 1366 by 768 is completely adequate for a device of this size (it is the same as the significantly more expensive 11-inch MacBook Air), as well as many low- or middle-tier 15-inch laptops, including the significantly more expensive Toshiba Satellite M50.

In terms of connecting to the internet, you have both an Ethernet connection (even though it's only 10/100 and not Gigabit) and Wi-Fi that supports the b/g/n standards. Bluetooth 4 is supported, which is a helpful feature because it means the technology could be compatible with the new wave of wearable devices that are being developed.

In addition, as we indicated earlier, you have one USB 3.0 port for quick access to files stored on external devices, in addition to the two USB 2.0 ports. There is a 3.5mm jack available for you to plug in your headphones, an HDMI port is available for video output, and an SD card reader enables you to upload photographs.

Pros

· Outstanding constructional excellence

· Nice price sticker

· A good keyboard that's almost the entire size.

Cons

· unable to meet expectations in terms of performance

· The lifespan of the battery should be improved.

Not amazing in tablet mode

Despite the fact that x360 sounds more like a gaming moniker than a name for a cute little portable home computer, the specifications for this laptop indicate that it is quite lightweight. This 11.6-inch machine comes in at just £350 (approximately US$565, AU$645), but we anticipate that some Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals will knock the price down even further. The machine is powered by an energy-efficient Intel Celeron CPU. Usability and value are the orders of the day.

It is available in silver or a colour that our review version is, which is a completely adorable shade of red. The exterior of the device is covered in a kind of candy apple red matte plastic, and it has silver around the keyboard and a black display bezel. The display can be folded all the way around so that it is open and flat against the rear of the machine, which is why it is called a 360-degree display. This can be done by closing the display like a typical laptop and then folding it all the way around.

Performance

Cinebench 11 scores: CPU: 0.74 points; OpenGL: 5.74 frames per second

Ice Storm received a score of 14025, Cloud Gate received a score of 1086, and Fire Strike did not perform.

PC Model 8 Home Number: 1100

Battery life for a PC Mark 8 home power-saving model: 3 hours and 37 minutes

It should not come as a surprise that the functionality of the processor in the HP Pavilion x360 leaves a lot to be desired. It has a score of 0.74 on the Cinebench benchmark, which places it substantially behind even larger laptops that are priced similarly, such as HP's own Pavilion TouchSmart 15-n070sa.

Surprisingly, it is also a significant distance behind the Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 2 11 that we evaluated, despite the fact that both of these machines utilise the Silvermont architecture for their processors. Even though it earned lower than some Core i3 Intel chips found in full-fledged laptops in the Cinebench tests, its Pentium-branded processor achieved a score of 1.77, which is higher than the scores achieved by those chips.

The same thing happens with the graphics, as the score of 1086 on the 3D Mark Cloud Gate test is extremely low. This score is significantly lower than the score achieved by the HP Pavilion TouchSmart 15-n070sa, which has a price that is comparable. You won't have too many worries if you stick to simple mobile games from the Windows Store like "Cut the Rope," but you won't be able to play nearly any games that are more difficult than that.

The application in real life

What exactly does all of that imply in terms of its practical application? Editing videos and performing other labour-intensive activities are pretty much out of the question on this machine, unless you have uncovered an untapped reservoir of limitless patience within yourself. The things that you are able to operate on this machine are somewhat restricted. However, 11-inch laptops that cost less than 400 pounds have never really been intended for that use anyway.

The HP Pavilion x360 is completely functional for general use; however, it can be very slow at times, which can be very annoying. You'll definitely notice that doing pretty much anything involves a wait, either for the hard drive to kick in or for the weak processor to work its way through the task. HP's typical suite of annoying software additions does not help, but what you will notice is that doing pretty much anything involves a delay.

Things like unzipping files take an unexpectedly long time, and even loading webpages is not particularly quick at all. But, as we've said before, it's not a catastrophically buggy or crashy experience; everything is just a little bit sluggish.

flaws in tablet performance

The height and weight are not ideal for tablets; for example, the iPad Air has a thickness of 7.5 millimetres and a weight of 469 grams, while this tablet has a thickness of 22 millimetres and a weight of 1.4 kilogrammes. Although these two pieces of hardware couldn't be more dissimilar, the x360's shortcomings as a tablet eventually make it a less desirable purchase.

The screen doesn't help matters either; the resolution is fine, and when watched head-on, the colours are nice and bright enough; however, the screen itself isn't very helpful. However, the viewing angles aren't great, which means that it can be difficult to see what's on the screen even if you put the device in tablet mode and put it down on a convenient surface.

Having said that, the usability of the laptop is actually pretty excellent. The keyboard is very comfortable to use, and it takes up 97% of the space of a full-size keyboard. The keys have a moderately limited travel, but they provide a satisfactory amount of feedback, and it is simple to write without making any mistakes.

Mediocre battery

Despite the fact that it has a CPU with a low power consumption, the x360 failed to satisfy us with its battery life. When put through PC Mark 8's battery test, which includes things like web browsing, typing, and video conferencing, it lasted for 3 hours and 37 minutes on its Power Saver setting, which isn't the worst we've ever seen.

On the other hand, the battery life of the Lenovo Yoga 2 11 was almost twice as long, surpassing the record of 6 hours. When viewed in that light, HP has, to some extent, dropped the ball here.

We enjoyed

The red, silver, and black design is fantastic, and it appears that the build quality is very high as well – significantly higher than the majority of computers that are priced similarly.

The usability is also really remarkable; between the smooth trackpad, the comfortable keyboard, and the responsive touchscreen, you won't experience any frustration from not being able to control the x360 in the appropriate manner.

And the price is reasonable – if you do end up choosing to purchase the Pavilion x360, we are confident that the price will be a major factor, and it is rare to get a laptop that is as smart and as usable for well under $400. The Pavilion x360 is one of the rare exceptions to this rule.

We detested

It has a significant lack of power for applications, which is disappointing in and of itself; however, when combined with the slow speed of the hard drive, it can be extremely frustrating to use for extended amounts of time. It is typically capable enough for very light use, but it is never better than that capability.

The screen is adequate in terms of resolution, but it is a little underwhelming in terms of viewing angles and general quality. This is an area where you can't cut corners if you want people to use it as a tablet, so it's important to pay attention to these details. The same can be said about the battery life; while Lenovo has nailed it, HP has failed to meet our expectations in this regard.

The truth of the matter is that it isn't that great of a tablet; ergonomically, it's far from ideal, and it's so much heavier and thicker than an iPad Air or a Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1. The reality of the matter is that it simply isn't that great of a tablet.

Final judgement

Because it is a combination device, the Pavilion x360 is ultimately doomed to fail because of this feature. In comparison to laptops of a similar price, it has insufficient processing capacity, and it is neither as responsive nor as lightweight as dedicated tablets. It is not a particularly convincing illustration of either of these two concepts, despite the author's best efforts.

Its usability, attractive and sturdy design, along with its impressive price tag, mean that it shouldn't be completely dismissed; this is particularly true if you really want a device that can be used as either a laptop or a tablet. Even so, the Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 2 11 is the notebook that we would recommend to you in this case.

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