Chromebooks are rising up. When I first started reviewing them, Google’s Pixelbook was largely nonetheless the gold commonplace amongst Chrome OS-based gadgets that may attraction to working professionals (fairly than youthful college students, as has been the first Chromebook marketplace for years on finish). Just a short while in the past, higher-end gadgets just like the Pixelbook and Samsung’s Galaxy Chromebook had been one thing of an anomaly.

But up to now couple years, a brand new class of Chromebooks has been trickling in. We’ve been seeing dearer, better-built gadgets that concentrate on parts like display and webcam high quality on the expense of options like weight and battery life, which have historically been Chromebook staples. While HP’s $659 Chromebook x360 14c doesn’t fairly occupy what I’d characterize because the premium tier, it nonetheless goals to be a major work and productiveness driver, outfitted with Intel’s eleventh Gen processors and HP’s signature trendy construct.

Overall, I don’t suppose that is the best-value Chromebook in that group which you can purchase. It’s a bit clunky, the keyboard and touchpad aren’t my favourite, the display is glare central, and there are Chromebooks not too far off this value level that provide considerably extra. But its standout options (the audio and webcam are each surprisingly good) will attraction to some. It’s a tool I’m glad to see HP making and one I hope it’s going to enhance upon with future iterations.

The 14c’s most original draw is its construct high quality and design. This is a nice-looking and nice-feeling machine. The accents and keyboard backlight are elegant. The materials doesn’t really feel plasticky within the least. There’s little to no flex within the keyboard deck and display (a rarity amongst Chromebooks at this value level) and no display wobble that I noticed. The lid did decide up some smudges, however these weren’t very seen except I used to be actually on the lookout for them. (The fingerprint scenario was a lot better than it’s with, say, actually any darkish MSI or Razer laptop computer.)

The chassis is 3.35 kilos and 0.71 inches thick. That does make it a little bit of a clunker, and you could find thinner and far lighter fare at this value level. I’ll say, although, that the machine feels extra transportable than these numbers indicate. The rounded corners and modern look make it really feel pretty unobtrusive and stylish.

It’s additionally a really strong video conferencing software. People I zoomed with remarked that I sounded good by means of the 14c’s twin microphones. The webcam was additionally surprisingly good — in all probability top-of-the-line webcams I’ve used on a laptop computer this yr. It offered correct colours, even in not-great lighting. You can flip it on and off with a tiny bodily button on the proper aspect of the chassis. While this isn’t fairly a bodily webcam shutter, it’s nifty and simple to achieve. Even the audio was clear, with audible harmonies and no distortion, although I want it bought a bit louder.

Those are the x360’s fundamental advantages. Elsewhere, whereas there aren’t essentially any main issues, I do have some blended emotions. The touchpad, for instance, is kind of roomy and succesful in terms of palm rejection. But the sensitivity took some getting used to, and I by no means fairly got here round on it. It was so delicate out of the field that I used to be having hassle navigating, however bumping the sensitivity down a notch made the cursor really feel unusably gradual. (I do know I sound like a Goldilocks right here, however this isn’t an issue I often have with touchpads.) I had some skidding points with the touchpad’s floor as effectively, which can have contributed. The keyboard is snug and properly backlit however a bit gradual and flat for my style. I used to be a good bit below my common typing speeds.

The show is one other space the place I’ve blended emotions. Colors and saturation had been satisfactory — I didn’t have any issues with YouTube-watching and the like — and there’s stylus help. But that is nonetheless a 16:9 show, whereas a lot of our favourite Chromebooks have moved to taller shows with extra room. The panel can be dim for this class, maxing out at simply 250 nits. I used to be in a position to work indoors at medium brightness, however I needed to take care of fairly a little bit of glare, and also you may battle to see the display in brighter areas.

The specs of our check unit are, basically, high quality. The configuration I used to be despatched has an MSRP of $659.99 (at present promoting for $539.99) and features a Core i3-1125G4, 8GB of RAM, and 128GB of storage.

This is, on no account, essentially the most highly effective Chromebook you should buy (there are fashions on the market with Core i5 processors for not an excessive amount of extra), but it surely blew by means of my pile of Chrome tabs and varied apps, together with Twitter, Messenger, and Gmail with out points. Zoom calls overtop all this, which might make some lesser-powered Chromebooks stumble, had been a non-issue.

More impressively, the x360 14c did this with little warmth and nearly no fan noise. I truly wasn’t satisfied this factor had a fan after a day or so of testing as a result of I used to be working a reasonably heavy load and actually not listening to something. When I put my ear very near the underside of the deck, although, I might hear constant whirring and occasional whine.

Still, loads of Chromebooks that home extra highly effective chips (together with Acer’s Chromebook Spin 713) have always blazing followers. If you’re principally working in Chrome (as I do), you shouldn’t want extra highly effective specs than this, and also you shouldn’t want to fret about annoying followers all through your day. If you’re working extra intense applications, one thing just like the Spin 713 will probably provide you with sooner efficiency.

Battery life was additionally acceptable, although unexceptional for a Chromebook. I averaged six hours and 24 minutes of constant work. That’s about an hour worse than what we noticed from the Spin 713, and loads of finances Windows laptops last more. And it wasn’t the quickest charger, juicing as much as simply 55 p.c in an hour of sunshine Chrome use.

Final consideration: the Chromebook x360 14c runs Chrome OS, as different Chromebooks do. This working system improves each time I check it and has reached some extent up to now yr or so the place I nearly by no means run into main issues. Some Android apps that had been a catastrophe on this machine (Messenger, for instance) are actually useful. Others (like Slack) have simply been faraway from the Play Store.

For somebody like me who largely works in Chrome and doesn’t typically desire Android apps, the expertise isn’t a lot totally different from utilizing Windows (particularly since Microsoft has additionally moved all of the icons to the middle of the Windows 11 taskbar). The limiting issue for me is that there are nonetheless every kind of applications you may’t run on Chrome OS and not using a bunch of additional work — I’ve to make use of Slack in my browser, for instance, and I a lot desire having the desktop shopper. And sure applications you may need to use, akin to varied members of the Adobe Creative Suite, don’t have browser equivalents in any respect.

The Chromebook x360 is a high quality machine, but it surely’s not one of the best one you should buy. For comparability, we are able to look to the Chromebook Spin 713, at present our high Chromebook decide. This machine (there’s just one eleventh Gen mannequin) is at present going for $699 at Best Buy, about $40 dearer than the x360’s MSRP and $160 greater than its discounted value on the time of this writing. (I’ve seen the Spin 713 on sale for as little as $569 up to now.) That affordability is most of the benefit the 14c has over the 713 — Acer’s machine offers you a stunning, a lot higher-resolution, brighter, glare-free, 3:2 show, extra storage, a extra highly effective processor, Thunderbolt 4 help, a implausible keyboard and touchpad, and a thinner and lighter chassis. The 14c has a greater webcam, higher audio, and a nicer-looking chassis, however I believe it’s nonetheless in a decrease tier.

Those who’re actually wed to the $659 listing value may also take into account Lenovo’s Flex 5 Chromebook. Its Core i3 SKU is at present listed at $564.99. This machine has an equally sturdy construct to the 14c and performs simply as effectively, but it surely’s nonetheless a lot lighter and has a keyboard and touchpad that I a lot desire. It’s extra of a toss-up between these two, a truth which in the end showcases how nice of a deal the Spin 713 is.

With all that stated, I like what HP has accomplished right here. It’s made a tool that appears and feels a lot nicer than every kind of different gadgets you’ll encounter within the higher echelons of the Chromebook market. I like that the digicam, microphones, and audio system — usually uncared for in laptops throughout the board — have clearly gotten vital funding. I believe the 14c is only some tweaks away from being a terrific laptop computer — however these are essential tweaks, and it’s not fairly there but. I don’t suppose it presents a better-value package deal than different Chromebooks you should buy. There are simply too many issues that rivals do higher.