HP Chromebook x360 14a: At First Glance
Over the past years, the use of Chromebooks has become prevalent among students and enterprise users. Hence, making most PC brands jump on the challenge of producing more Chromebooks.
One of the several Chromebooks in the market today is the 14-inch HP Chromebook x360 14a. For a Chromebook of this caliber, the HP Chromebook x360 14a is quite affordable.
Speaking of which, in September 2021 when we published this article, the HP Chromebook x360 14a starts at a price of $224.99.
Now that you know the price of the HP Chromebook x360 14a, let’s move on to its design and performance.
HP Chromebook x360 14a: Design, Dimension & Weight
The HP Chromebook x360 14a is a sophisticated convertible made from a silver-aluminum chassis and black keyboard. Except for the slight flex on the Chromebook’s lid, it is strong enough and can withstand a fall or two.
The aluminum lid is almost understated except for the glossy HP logo embossed in a circle at the center of the lid. When you open the lid, the 14-inch display comes into view.
The display is held up by two chrome hinges with a rotating angle of 360 degrees. This implies that in addition to closing the lid, you can also rotate it backward beyond 90 degrees.
At 180 degrees, the lid is flat on a surface and the screen is in line with the keyboard. You can also convert the Chromebook into a tent mode, useful for propping up the screen while watching movies.
Moreover, you can decide to use it in tablet mode without the keyboard getting in the way. Whichever way you decide to use the HP Chromebook x360 14a, you are assured of comfortability.
One drawback of this laptop is the thick bezels. Thick bezels surround the 14-inch display making the screen look smaller.
The top bezel houses a 720p resolution camera for teleconferencing, although the quality is not impressive, it is better than none.
The HP Chromebook x360 14a has a 1080p resolution display which is applaudable for a laptop at this price range. However, the display is very dim and it lacks vibrancy.
The HP Chromebook x360 14a does not ship with a stylus pen but any other stylus can work with it. Moreover, the touchscreen display is responsive and it has enough pressure sensitivity allowing easy swipe through pages.
Moving down to the laptop’s deck, just below the screen you will find the speaker grilles and the power button by the right corner. Below these, you will find the chiclet-styled keyboard consisting of decently-sized black keys.
The keys are backlit and properly spaced as well. Additionally, the keys have nice tactile feedback and a 60 g force of actuation.
Overall, typing on the keyboard delivers a smooth and satisfying experience.
Below the keyboard, there is a 4.7 x 2.4 inches wide touchpad. which is quite responsive. Additionally, it supports Chrome OS gestures such as three-finger swipes, and two fingers pinch-to-zoom.
Moving on to the connectivity options on the HP Chromebook x360 14a, there is a respectable number of them. On the right side, there is a USB 3.0 port and a USB Type-C port for transferring data as well as charging.
There is also a Kensington lock slot next to a volume rocker. Meanwhile, on the left side, there is another USB Type-C port that you can also use for charging the laptop.
Additionally, there is a microSD card slot as well as a headphone and microphone combo jack.
In terms of size and weight, the HP Chromebook x360 14a measures 325.3 x 219.7 x 18.2 mm. It also weighs 1,492.3 g.
Comparatively, the HP Chromebook x360 14a is heavier and slightly larger than the ASUS Chromebook Flip C434. The 14-inch ASUS Chromebook Flip measures 320.04 x 203.2 x 15.24 mm and weighs 1406.14 g.
On the other hand, the HP Chromebook x360 14a is lighter than the Acer Spin 3 SP314-51-548L. The Acer Spin 3 measures 334.95 x 229.95 x 20.8 mm and weighs 1,700 g.
In summary, the HP Chromebook x360 14a has premium aesthetics with its aluminum chassis. In addition to its great build, there is a fair share of ports.
Unfortunately, although not surprisingly, there are no HDMI, Ethernet, and Thunderbolt 3 ports. I say that I am not surprised because most Chromebooks may not features these ports.
Also, the HP Chromebook x360 14a is not so portable, especially for a Chromebook. However, you can easily slide it into a backpack.
Finally, I will rate the HP Chromebook x360 14a a nine in this design and dimension review section.
HP Chromebook x360 14a: Processor (CPU) Performance
The HP Chromebook x360 14a has a wide option of processor configurations. There is a dual-core Intel Celeron N4000 with a 4 MB cache memory. The Intel Celeron N4000 processor has a base frequency of 1.10 GHz and a maximum frequency of 2.60 GHz
There is another processor configuration option with the 4 cores Intel Pentium Silver N5030 processor with 4 MB cache memory as well. The Pentium Silver N5030 processor has a base frequency of 1.10 GHz and a maximum frequency of 3.20 GHz.
Additionally, there is a core i3 configuration that comes in two variants – Core i3-7130U and Core i3-8130U. The 7th Gen Intel Core i3-7130U has a 3 MB cache memory.
Also, it has a base frequency of 2.70 GHz and a maximum frequency of 4.0 GHz.
Likewise, the 8th Gen Intel Core i3-8130U processor which has 4 MB cache memory. Furthermore, the Core i3-8130U processor has a base frequency of 2.20 GHz and a maximum frequency of 3.40 GHz.
You can also get the HP Chromebook x360 14a in core i5 and core i7 models. The Intel Core i5-8350U processor has a 6 MB cache memory, a base frequency of 1.70 GHz, and a maximum frequency of 3.60 GHz.
The high-end processor configuration of the HP Chromebook x360 14a is the Intel Core i7 processor which is available in two variants – 7600U or 8650U. The Core i7-7600U has a 4 MB cache, 2.80 GHz base frequency, and 3.90 GHz maximum frequency.
Meanwhile, the Core i7-8650U processor has an 8 MB cache, 1.90 GHz base frequency, and 4.20 GHz maximum frequency.
The HP Chromebook x360 14a model I reviewed shipped with the Intel Core i5-8350U processor. To determine how powerful the processor is, I used the Geekbench 4 test.
Geekbench 4 is a cross-platform benchmark suite for evaluating the performance of a computer’s processor.
Based on the test outcome, the HP Chromebook x360 14a scored 14,776 points. This performance is impressive, it nearly triples the Chromebook average score of 5,044 points.
Additionally, the performance doubles that of the ASUS Chromebook Flip C434 and the Google Pixelbook. Specifically, the Chromebook Flip C434 and the Pixelbook scored 6,968 and 7,927 points respectively.
In conclusion, the performance of the HP Chromebook x360 14a in the benchmark test is impressive. Therefore, I will rate the HP Chromebook x360 14a a nine in this processor performance review section.
HP Chromebook x360 14a: Memory (RAM) Performance
The HP Chromebook x360 14a ships with either a 4GB, 8GB, or 16GB DDR4-2400 SDRAM. The model I tested ships with an 8 GB RAM which I had to put through a multitasking test.
The multitasking test involved loading 15 web pages on Google Chrome, four out of these tabs were playing a 1080p resolution Youtube video. Moreover, a pair of these tabs was also streaming video games on Twitch.
Impressively, the HP Chromebook x360 14a ran all these activities without a hint of lag. Also, switching between these tabs worked fast.
Additionally, the Chrome OS boots fast and launching applications is also seamless.
In addition to the multitasking test, I also performed a PCMark 8 benchmark test. PCMark 8 is a benchmarking tool for evaluating the performance and efficiency of computer systems.
Based on the test result, the HP Chromebook x360 14a scored 3,392 points which are below 3,693 points for average convertible laptops. The HP Chromebook x360 14a also underperformed when compared to the likes of the Acer Chromebook Spin 3 and ASUS VivoBook Flip 14.
Specifically, the Acer Spin 3 scored 3,650 points while the ASUS VivoBook Flip 14 scored 3,483 points.
In conclusion, the HP Chromebook x360 14a sits below the competitors in the performance chart. It also scored below the average class score.
Hence, I’ll rate the HP Chromebook x360 14a a six in this RAM performance review section.
HP Chromebook x360 14a: Storage Options & Performance
In terms of storage, the HP Chromebook x360 14a uses a 32GB or 64GB eMMC flash storage. Chromebooks are well known for their paltry hardware storage spaces.
This is because users are expected to store large files in cloud storage rather than the Chromebook’s local storage. Users of the HP Chromebook x360 14a can utilize the 100 GB storage space on Google Drive to store files, photos, and videos.
Additionally, the HP Chromebook x360 14a I reviewed shipped with a 64 GB eMMC memory. Also, there is a microSD card slot for storage expansion.
It is important to mention that the primary storage option of the HP Chromebook x360 14a and all other Chromebooks is cloud storage – Google Drive. Cloud storage is a convenient and reliable way to save your files to cloud-based storage drives.
With the use of cloud storage, you don’t have to worry about losing your data even when you change your computer.
Unfortunately, I was unable to perform our traditional storage benchmark test here. Notwithstanding, I will rate the HP Chromebook x360 14a an eight in this review aspect because of the ease and accessibility of using Google Drive.
HP Chromebook x360 14a: Graphics Card Performance
The graphics of the HP Chromebook x360 14a is handled by an integrated Intel UHD Graphics 620. The graphics card has a base frequency of 200 MHz which can be increased to 750 MHz via Turbo boost.
In order to gauge the graphics performance of the Chromebook, I used the 3DMark benchmark test. 3DMark is a benchmarking tool that’s used to evaluate the 3D rendering ability of a graphics card.
From the test result, the HP Chromebook x360 14a scored 79,389 points. This performance is far behind the 148,932 points average class score for convertible laptops.
Additionally, the performance of the HP Chromebook x360 14a is also behind that of the Acer Chromebook Spin 3. Specifically, the Acer Chromebook Spin 3 scored 87,599 points.
The Acer HP Chromebook x360 14a is not a gaming laptop because it lacks a dedicated graphics card. The best you can get from the HP Chromebook x360 14a in terms of playing games are android games like Temple Run.
You can also run cloud games such as Google Stadia seamlessly on the HP Chromebook x360 14a. The Google Stadia played quickly on the Chrome browser, playing via WiFi.
The game also delivered a smooth performance.
Finally, the graphics performance of the HP Chromebook x360 14a is below the average class score and that of the competitor I pitched it against. Hence, I will rate the HP Chromebook x360 14a a seven in this graphics performance review section.
HP Chromebook x360 14a: Battery Life & Performance
The HP Chromebook x360 14a is powered by a 2-cell 47 WHr lithium polymer battery. The battery is advertised to provide up to 12 hours of battery life under standard operations.
To determine if the battery lasts up to 12 hours as claimed, I performed a battery rundown test. The battery test involved continuous surfing of the web over WiFi while the screen brightness was set to 150 nits.
Consequently, the HP Chromebook x360 14a lasted 9 hours 18 minutes which is an impressive feat for a Chromebook. Its battery performance is just about the Chromebook’s average battery life of 9 hours 20 minutes.
Additionally, the HP Chromebook x360 14a lasted longer than the Acer Chromebook 15 and the Pixelbook. Specifically, the Acer Chromebook lasted 9 hours 7 minutes while the Pixelbook lasted 7 hours 43 minutes.
The battery life is a bit shorter than what Acer claimed but 9 hours of battery life is good enough for most users. However, the only nitpick I could drive at is that the HP Chromebook x360 14a does not have a fast charging ability.
It takes about 3 hours to get this Chromebook completely charged.
Finally, due to the above performance of the HP Chromebook x360 14a, I’ll rate it an eight in this battery life review section.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes the HP Chromebook x360 14a is a touchscreen. It is responsive to the touch enabling easy swipe between pages. However, it does not ship with a stylus pen.
A Chromebook is a lightweight device. In contrast to laptops that run on either Windows or Macbook OS, Chromebooks run on Google Chrome OS. Also, Chromebooks are less expensive than laptops.
Yes, the HP Chromebook x360 14a has a white backlit keyboard.
Yes, the HP Chromebook x360 14a has a 720p resolution front-facing camera. The camera quality is not that impressive but it is sufficient for your basic conferencing needs.
In some ways, Chromebooks are better than Windows laptops. For instance, updating the Windows OS has been a nightmare for some users.
Therefore, users tend to avoid Windows updates as much as possible.
Meanwhile, the Chrome OS updates automatically every six weeks without delay in activities. Also, due to the automatic updates and verified boots of Chromebooks, they are more secured than Windows laptops.
Additionally, migrating to a new device is easier on the Chromebook than it is on a Windows laptop. This is because your files and apps are saved to the cloud storage and can be recovered from any device unlike Windows laptops, the process of backups and restore could make you lose data.
Another advantage is that Chromebooks tend to be cheaper than regular laptops.
Conclusion
If what you need is a portable and affordable computer for performing light tasks, the HP Chromebook x360 14a will sufficiently serve that purpose. It has a vibrant display, a beautiful chassis, and a comfortable backlit keyboard.
It is also more affordable and lighter than some laptops. However, it is less powerful than full-blown Windows or macOS laptops.
In conclusion, HP Chromebook x360 14a is a nice laptop alternative. However, it isn’t for everyone.
People that need only a light computer will get sufficient value for a price below $300.
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