HP Chromebook 11a Review: Good-Looking and Affordable

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HP Chromebook 11a: At First Glance

Chromebooks are increasing in demand in the laptop market due to their affordability and portability. Also, they are more resistant to developing mechanical issues, meaning greater reliability and minimal repair bills.

Thankfully, the HP Chromebook 11a, which this review is all about, is no exception to the numerous possibilities Chromebooks offer. Basically, this HP Chromebook isn’t just lightweight and durable; it is also very affordable.

Specifically, this laptop had a starting price of $109.89 in March 2022 (when this review was published). However, though inexpensive and decent, there are some areas where this laptop lacks.

Hence, to find out more about this laptop and where it is lacking, I advise you to continue reading.

HP Chromebook 11a: Design, Dimension, and Weight

A mere glance at the HP Chromebook 11a reveals the awesomeness of HP’s design concept. Not exaggerating, though, but this Chromebook looks sleek, robust, and overly good-looking.

To be more specific, the laptop is entirely made of plastic with an attractive matte ash-grey finish. Moreover, don’t be deceived by this laptop’s plastic build because it is very sturdy and durable.

As a matter of fact, the laptop’s hinges, which are also made of plastic, are so sturdy that the lid doesn’t wobble a bit when nudged. Just to be clear, the hinges hold the laptop’s base and lid together.

Focusing more on the lid, you will see an “HP” logo neatly inscribed at the center of the HP Chromebook 11a’s lid. Moreover, this logo features glossy white and black highlights that make it really attractive and shiny.

Apart from this “HP” logo, this laptop’s lid also features a multicolor Chrome logo on the top left corner. This logo not just beautifies the laptop’s lid but also serves as first-hand information on the type of OS the laptop runs on – Chromebooks run on Chrome OS.

Moving on, when you finally open this lid, you will discover that the HP Chromebook 11a features an 11.6-inch display. This display comes with an HD (1366 x 768) resolution.

Hence, thanks to the resolution, the display should be able to deliver decent picture quality for casual video streaming and web browsing. However, the laptop’s 11.6-inch display is surrounded by thick bezels that may cause a bit of obstruction when using the laptop.

Moreover, the bottom bezel features an “HP” logo in the middle. Meanwhile, in the middle of the top bezel, there is an HP True Vision 720p HD camera with integrated dual-array digital microphones.

Performance-wise, this HD camera is good for handling video calls with family, friends, and business partners. However, this camera isn’t suitable for taking selfies due to the fact that it delivers blurry and grainy images.

Moving on, the HP Chromebook 11a comes with a full-sized keyboard. The keys on this keyboard are well-spaced, and their letterings are clearly written in white color on the top.

Also, the keys have a 1.5mm key travel, meaning the keyboard should offer a comfortable typing experience. In case you’re curious, key travel is the total distance between a key’s resting state to full depression.

Uniquely, there is a key at the top-left of this keyboard that serves as the laptop’s power button. This sounds kind of cool, right?

However, the issue with this kind of setting is that when typing, you might mistakingly press the power button. Thereby shutting down the laptop unintentionally.

That said, the HP Chromebook 11a comes with a sizeable touchpad just below its keyboard. This touchpad features a smooth and responsive surface that makes navigation and finger-gliding seamless.

That’s not all; the touchpad also comes with two dedicated click buttons. However, these buttons make some annoying cranky noise when pressed.

In terms of port selection, the HP Chromebook 11a features a limited number of ports due to its compact size. Starting with the left side of the laptop, you will find an SD card slot and one USB 2.0 Type-C port.

On the contrary, the left side of this laptop offers only a USB 2.0 Type-A port and a headphone/microphone combo jack.

For dimension and weight, the HP Chromebook 11a measures 285 x 192.8 x 16.8 mm (W x D x H) and weighs just 1070 g. In comparison, this laptop is smaller and lighter than another 11.6-inch laptop, the Dell Chromebook 11.

Specifically, the Dell Chromebook 11 measures and weighs 303.3 x 206 x 20.7 mm (W x D x H) and 1400 g, respectively.

In conclusion, the HP Chromebook 11a offers an attractive design with a robust plastic build quality. Moreover, this Chromebook is one of the lightest and most portable Chromebooks ever.

However, due to its compact size, the laptop offers a limited amount of ports. Hence, I will rate the HP Chromebook 11a an eight out of ten in this design review section.

HP Chromebook 11a: Processor (CPU) Performance

One of the key areas where the HP Chromebook 11a shows supremacy over other Chromebooks in its category is the processor. Specifically, this laptop comes with a powerful 8-core MediaTek MT8183 processor.

This processor offers a cache memory of 2 MB and operates at a standard frequency of 2.0 GHz. Performance-wise, due to the specs of this CPU, it should be able to handle most computing tasks.

Hence, the HP Chromebook 11a will be able to effortlessly handle office-related tasks like word processing and web browsing. That’s not all; the laptop should also be able to decently multitask and run intensive applications such as Corel Draw.

To further verify the processor performance of the HP Chromebook 11a, I will now be discussing the laptop’s result on a Geekbench 4 test. Geekbench 4 is a cross-platform app-based benchmark test that measures how fast a computer can process data under intensive workloads.

Furthermore, a high score on this test indicates good processor performance. Therefore, from the Geekbench 4 test result, the HP Chromebook 11a scored 4968 points.

Impressively, this laptop’s score surpasses the 1204 points achieved by one of its closest competitors, the Lenovo Chromebook S330. It is worth mentioning that this Lenovo Chromebook uses a 4-core MediaTek MTK 8173C processor.

All things considered, I will rate the HP Chromebook 11a a nine out of ten in this processor review section.

HP Chromebook 11a: Memory (RAM) Performance

The HP Chromebook 11a comes with an LPDDR4-3733 SDRAM memory type. Furthermore, this laptop features one memory slot and a standard memory of 4 GB RAM.

Sadly, this memory is onboard, meaning it is soldered directly on the laptop’s motherboard. Hence, the laptop’s standard memory cannot be replaced or upgraded.

Besides, even though the laptop’s memory isn’t “onboard,” you will still not be able to upgrade it. This is because the maximum memory that the HP Chromebook 11a supports is also 4 GB.

Nevertheless, since Chromebooks aren’t meant to handle intensive workloads, 4 GB RAM should be enough to keep this laptop running smoothly. As a matter of fact, with this amount of memory, the HP Chromebook 11a should be able to handle light multitasking.

Speaking of which, this HP Chromebook should be able to work effectively while 15 Chrome tabs and a YouTube video are running concurrently. However, switching between the Chrome tabs and video might cause the performance of the laptop to reduce a bit.

Moving on, I will now provide the PCMark for Android test result of the HP Chromebook 11a to further verify its memory performance. The PCMark for Android test is an app-based benchmark test that measures a computer’s memory performance by simulating real-world productivity tasks.

Moreover, the higher the score on this test, the better the memory performance of the computer. Hence, according to the results from the test, the HP Chromebook 11a scored 6699 points.

Comparatively, this laptop performed significantly better than the Lenovo Chromebook S330. Specifically, on the PCMark for Android test, this Lenovo Chromebook scored 3678 points.

As a result, I will rate the HP Chromebook 11a an eight out of ten in this memory review section.

HP Chromebook 11a: Storage Options and Performance

The HP Chromebook 11a, like most Chromebooks, comes with an eMMC storage drive. Furthermore, this Chromebook’s storage drive supports a maximum storage capacity of 32 GB.

Obviously, this amount of storage space is very limited and would barely be sufficient for most users. As a matter of fact, there are numerous smartphones out there that offer larger storage space, like 64 GB or 128 GB.

However, before you get utterly disappointed, you need to know that Chromebooks aren’t particularly meant to save files on their local storage drive. Specifically, Chromebooks normally come with a default 15 GB and an optional 100 GB of free Google Drive storage.

Thankfully, the HP Chromebook 11a isn’t an exception. To activate the free 100 GB storage on your Chromebook, check out how to activate 100 GB of free Google Drive storage on a Chromebook.

In addition to its Google Drive storage, the HP Chromebook 11a also features a microSD card reader for storage expansion. Hence, with this Chromebook, you have four storage options at your disposal – 32 GB eMMC, default 15 GB Google Drive storage, optional 100 GB Google Drive storage, and a microSD card reader.

At this point, I would have loved to share the CrystalDiskMark test result of the HP Chromebook 11a to verify its storage performance. Sadly, this benchmark test doesn’t support laptops that use an eMMC storage drive – it only supports laptops with either SSD or HDD.

Hence, I was unable to obtain the HP Chromebook 11a’s CrystalDiskMark test result. In that case, I will be rating the laptop based on its storage options.

Thus, to conclude this storage review section, I will rate the HP Chromebook 11a an eight out of ten.

HP Chromebook 11a: Graphics Card Performance

For handling graphics-related tasks, the HP Chromebook 11a features an ARM Mali-G72 MP3 GPU. This GPU is an integrated graphics card that is has a standard frequency of 850 MHz.

Moreover, as an integrated GPU, the ARM Mali-G72 MP3 is embedded into the laptop’s processor. Hence, to carry out graphics-related tasks, the graphics card has to share the system memory with the processor.

As a result, with this GPU, the HP Chromebook 11a might not be able to smoothly handle graphics-demanding games or applications. Nevertheless, the laptop should be able to run low-end android games with ease.

For example, while playing Armajet, this laptop delivered an impressive frame rate of 50 fps.

Moving on, I will now share the HP Chromebook 11a’s result on a GFXBench 5.0 benchmark test to further verify its graphics performance. For clarity, the GFXBench 5.0 is a cross-API benchmark test that measures the graphics rendering and gaming performance of a computer.

Specifically, this benchmark test evaluates how a computer can perform under intensive graphics workloads and simple graphics workloads by simulating games. Hence, the test offers two results which are the low-level game routine result and high-level game routine result.

Furthermore, the higher the “fps (frame per second)” on this test, the better the graphics performance of the computer. Hence, based on the test results, the HP Chromebook 11a delivered 8 fps on the low-level game routine.

Meanwhile, on the GFXBench 5.0 high-level game routine, this laptop delivered just 3 fps. Comparatively, the HP Chromebook 11a was outperformed by the Dell Chromebook 11 3100, which uses an Intel UHD Graphics 600 GPU.

Specifically, the Dell Chromebook 11 3100 delivered 8 fps and 9 fps on the GFXBench 5.0 low-level and high-level game routine, respectively. Thus, I will rate the HP Chromebook 11a a seven out of ten in this graphics card review section.

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HP Chromebook 11a Battery Life and Performance

The HP Chromebook 11a comes with a 2-cell 37 Wh Li-ion polymer battery. This battery was advertised by HP to last up to 15 hours and 45 minutes.

However, to verify this claim by HP, we will now be discussing the laptop’s performance on a battery rundown test. This test involves continuous web surfing using a WIFI connection until the laptop dies.

Thus, at the end of the test, the HP Chromebook 11a delivered a battery life of 8 hours and 58 minutes. Although this battery life is good, it is not on par with HP’s 15 hours+ claim.

Nevertheless, when compared to the Lenovo Chromebook S330, the HP Chromebook 11a has longer battery life. To be more precise, according to the same battery rundown test, the Lenovo Chromebook S330 delivered a battery life of 7 hours.

In conclusion, even though the HP Chromebook 11a’s battery life isn’t on par with HP’s claim, it is very impressive. In fact, the laptop has a longer battery life when compared to one of its closest competitors.

Therefore, I will rate the HP Chromebook 11a an eight out of ten in this battery review section.

Frequently Asked Questions

Conclusion

The HP Chromebook 11a is one of the lightest Chromebooks ever, weighing just 1070 g. Furthermore, this laptop is very affordable, robust, and overly good-looking.

Besides, the laptop comes with a powerful processor as well as an impressive battery life. Also, this laptop offers numerous storage options, including a free 100 GB of Google Drive storage.

However, the Chromebook comes with a limited amount of ports and memory. Nevertheless, if you need an “on-the-go” Chromebook for basic tasks, you should consider purchasing the HP Chromebook 11a.

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