HP Pavilion x360 (2023) Review: Versatile, but leaves you wanting more

Name: HP Pavilion x360
Item: HP Pavilion x360
Author: Akash Dutta

The HP Pavilion x360 (2023) is a 2-in-1 laptop that is powered by the Intel 13th Gen Core i5-1335U processor. But is it the solution to your work and recreational needs? Find out.

By: AKASH DUTTA
| Updated on: Jul 18 2023, 18:21 IST

The HP Pavilion x360 (2023) laptop is available for Rs. 79,999. (HT Tech)

The 2-in-1 laptop market has exploded over the last few years. Today, every major company has its own series of laptops that can be used both as a traditional computer and a tablet. HP was one of the early movers in this space and introduced the Pavilion x360 in 2014. Over the years, HP has improved its design, and structural integrity as well as added better hardware to make it more versatile and cater to different people's needs. But the question is, how well does it fulfill those needs today?

Even after almost a decade of its existence, 2-in-1 laptops still witness some of the most polarizing opinions. People either love them or hate them.

So, once I got the laptop in my hands, I, too began the journey to find out where exactly I stand on the debate of 2-in-1 laptops and whether the HP Pavilion x360 (2023) has enough to truly be an all-rounder laptop. Notably, at Rs. 79,999, it is close to the price of the Apple MacBook Air 2020 with the M1 chip at Rs. 81,990.

Not sure which
laptop to buy?

So, let's get down to the brass tacks and see if the HP Pavilion x360 is worth the hype after all.

HP Pavilion x360 design

The HP Pavilion x360 offers a professional design, which is perfect for all settings. It gets a polycarbonate body, with some metal on the chassis, which is lightweight and adds to the portability. Despite using plastic, the matte finish and the soft silver color gives the laptop a premium look. HP claims that the plastic and aluminum used to manufacture the outer shell were taken from recycled materials reclaimed from the ocean, which deserves a thumbs up, at least. Additionally, the body does not flex and feels sturdy enough to be carried around. On the downside, I did find the lid to be a bit unevenly heavy, and opening the laptop singlehandedly was a bit difficult.

The laptop can be turned around at a 360-degree angle using its hinge, which allows for a tablet-like experience. You also get a decent webcam on top and a stylus that you can use for your more creative needs.

For connectivity, there is a USB Type-C port, two USB 3.2 Type-A ports, a microSD card slot, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. There is also a fingerprint sensor. Further, you get Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3 for wireless connectivity.

Overall, the design and build quality of the laptop is quite premium and, personally, I was a fan of it. Having said that, if you do not prefer simplistic-looking laptops, you may find it boring.

HP Pavilion x360 display

The HP Pavilion x360 gets a 14-inch IPS LCD display, which is touch-enabled. It has a resolution of 1920×1080p and a refresh rate of 60Hz, a standard affair for laptops in this segment. The brightness peaks at 250 nits, which is not as bright as you'd like, especially if you use your laptop in outdoor conditions.

The display gets a traditional 16:9 aspect ratio and it covers 45 percent of the NTSC color gamut. While these specifications aren't boast-worthy, they do the job and the overall viewing experience was quite nice. I spent hours doing my regular work, as well as streaming movies and shows, and at no point, the display felt inadequate. The viewing angles were great and the color reproduction was sharp and vivid.

Once you flip over your display, you can also begin using it as a tablet, provided you do not mind its weight. At this point, you can begin using its touch interface, which works normally but at times the responsiveness went a little down, which was a bit frustrating.

Overall, if you plan to buy this laptop for editing or digital art-related needs, then it may not give you value for money.

The color gamut, the brightness, and the touch responsiveness are all above average. However, for office work, entertainment, or just casual usage, these features combine together to give you quite a comfortable and fun experience.

HP Pavilion x360 performance

The HP Pavilion x360 features an Intel Core i5-1335U processor that can clock up to 4.6 GHz. There is no dedicated GPU, and you have to make do with Intel Iris XE graphics. The laptop can handle everyday tasks pretty well, and whether you're filling out spreadsheets or are going for a Netflix session, or just browsing the internet, it can do it all for a sustained period of time without lagging. The turbo-powered chipset can also clock higher speeds and take on more RAM-intensive tasks, but the experience is choppy and the device does heat up. I would not recommend this for editing work or gaming, but as long as your needs are mostly professional and entertainment-oriented, this laptop has you covered.

And because of the use case mentioned above, its 6GB DDR4 RAM (instead of DDR5) holds up fairly well. The large 1 TB of NVMe M.2 SSD also adds to its performance.

The laptop comes preloaded with Windows 11 Home, and the operating system works as intended. Everything from productivity tasks to general usage is a smooth affair and I did not notice any glitches or bugs.

My work requires me to type a lot, and I was happy to see that despite the focus on portability, the keys had enough travel and response to not feel uncomfortable. Yes, it is no mechanical keyboard but you are getting the standard treatment in the segment. The backlight also helps with extra flair and low-light conditions. The trackpad's size did feel a bit inadequate sometimes, although response and usage were not a concern.

The speakers on the laptop are downwards facing, so the sound can be muffled when kept over a soft surface. However, otherwise, the speakers are loud enough and the sound profile is good enough.

Overall, I would not consider it a performance-heavy laptop, however, it can definitely handle everyday tasks.

HP Pavilion x360 battery

The laptop is backed by a 43Whr battery that comes with a 65W charger, provided in the box. In my daily usage, which included 6-8 hours of screen time including multiple tabs on browsers, watching videos, video calls, and more, the battery lasted me around 5 and a half hours of active usage.

While I never let the laptop reach 0, I was able to charge from 10 percent to 100 percent in slightly under 2 hours, at an average room temperature.

HP Pavilion x360 verdict

I think after using the laptop for nearly a month, I understand the polarizing views. The point of a 2-in-1 laptop is supposed to be that it can function both as a traditional laptop and aid in a professional setting, as well as double up as a tablet and let users do creative stuff with it. And while HP packs a touch-enabled display and a stylus, the touch sensitivity and the color gamut lets down the more display-oriented tasks such as digital art and editing.

On the other hand, a power-efficient chipset also takes away from it being able to handle such performance-heavy tasks. So, in essence, the laptop is reduced into a work and entertainment unit.

So, if you are someone who wants to experience this technology and try out a 2-in-1 laptop, it offers a strong proposition. Overall, it is a solid option for someone that wants a laptop for their professional and entertainment needs, without leaning heavily towards performance. But if you actually wish to aim higher, then we would recommend you to look at the MacBook Air 2020, which surprisingly, still holds up in today's market.

Rating

3 out of 5

Price

INR 79,999/-

Product Name

HP Pavilion x360

Brand Name

Pros