Straight from K-12 to the corner office? That's HP's hope for its Chromebook x360 14 G1 (starts at $498; $796 as tested), a convertible laptop that aims to expand the audience for Chrome OS from the education and consumer markets to business professionals.
The G1 is available with a speedy Intel Core i5 or Core i7 processor; has passed some of the same MIL-STD 810G tests against bumps and bruises as HP EliteBooks or Lenovo ThinkPads; and boasts impressive battery life.
But my Core i5 review unit underwhelmed, with a lackluster screen and performance barely better than Core i3 competitors we've tested.
It didn't unseat our Editors' Choice business Chromebook, the detachable HP Chromebook x2.
Not Exactly Inexpensive
The base model of the Chromebook x360 14 G1, $498 at HP.com, combines a Core i3-8130U CPU, 8GB of memory, 64GB of eMMC flash storage, and a 14-inch IPS touch screen with 1,920 by 1,080 resolution.
For $796 (which the site claims is a discount from $1,397), my test model offers the same specs except for a 1.7GHz Core i5-8350U chip with Intel UHD 620 integrated graphics.
The top of the line, equipped with a Core i7-8650U and 16GB of RAM, is a steep $1,590.
The silver-hued G1 combines a plastic bottom with an aluminum lid and keyboard deck.
Chrome and HP logos—the latter is the old-school round logo, not the stylized four slashes of recent EliteBooks and ZBooks—decorate the lid.
The system feels solid, with little flex if you grasp the screen corners or pound the keyboard, though the screen wobbles when tapped.
At 3.7 pounds, the convertible is a little heavy to hold in tablet mode, though it's lighter than the 4.0-pound Dell Inspiron Chromebook 14 2-in-1.
It's also a bit smaller, measuring 0.63 by 12.8 by 8.9 inches versus 0.7 by 13 by 9.1 inches.
The HP doesn't come with a stylus pen as the Dell does.
You'll find a USB-C 3.1 port on either side of the system, letting you plug in the AC adapter—or, with a DisplayPort dongle (not included), an external monitor—from either the left or right.
I was hoping for an HDMI port, but was disappointed.
The left edge also holds a microSD card slot, a headphone jack, and the power button, while the right edge offers a USB 3.1 Type-A port, a volume rocker, and a security lock slot.
Naturally, Bluetooth and 802.11ac wireless are standard, but I'm not sure about the G1's Wi-Fi reception.
In my home office, two rooms away from my Wi-Fi router, Chrome OS's shelf or system tray reported a weak signal.
Every other Chromebook or Windows laptop I've tested has indicated a medium or strong signal in the same spot.
Look! Real Cursor Arrows!
To my delight, the Chromebook x360 14 G1's backlit keyboard has cursor arrow keys arranged in the proper inverted T instead of most HP laptops' awkward horizontal row.
(Like all Chromebooks, however, it lacks Home, End, Page Up, and Page Down keys and replaces Caps Lock with a search/menu key.)
The keyboard boasts a terrific typing feel, with adequate travel and crisp feedback; I was cruising at a near-record pace within minutes of putting my hands on the home row.
The wide, chrome-edged touchpad glides and taps smoothly, and touch-screen operations are comfortable.
Looking at the display, however, is less so.
Even with brightness turned all the way up, it's too dim to make colors truly pop or provide ultra-high-contrast black text on white backgrounds—HP rates it at 220 nits in an age where we consider 300 a baseline and hope for 400, with a mediocre 67 percent coverage of the sRGB color palette.
For a system that hopes to compete with some impressively screened Windows business laptops, it's sad, though its 1080p resolution makes details look sharp and clear enough for everyday use.
The convertible's 720p webcam captured averagely detailed and well-lit images in my sunny office, though there was some noise in shaded areas.
The Bang & Olufsen-tuned speakers above the keyboard easily filled a room with nicely layered music tracks, short on booming bass but with good highs and no fuzzy or tinny distortion.
Fast by Any Measure
Considering Chrome OS's modest hardware requirements, the HP is arguably overpowered—I observed no slowdown when streaming a video, playing an Android game, and keeping a dozen browser tabs open all at once.
The Files app shows 44GB of the 64GB storage free out of the box, with the microSD slot and the usual 100GB of free Google Drive cloud storage for two years available if you need more space.
When switched off, the G1 took 9 seconds from pressing the power button to reaching the login screen, though that's not a critical benchmark—simply closing the lid puts the system to sleep, from which it wakes in less time than it takes to reopen the lid.
For formal benchmarks, we use Principled Technologies' CrXPRT (a suite of simulated Chrome OS productivity apps) and WebXPRT 2015 (a browser-based test of HTML and JavaScript performance).
Here's how the HP convertible compared to the abovementioned Dell Inspiron 2-in-1 and the 15.6-inch Lenovo Yoga Chromebook C630, both of which use Intel's Core i3-8130U processor, as well as the Pentium-powered Acer Chromebook 514 and the Core i5-7Y57-based Google Pixelbook.
The G1 finished in first place in both contests, but its margin of victory was less than I expected considering its quad-core Core i5 CPU compared to the Core i3 Lenovo and Dell.
This leaves me torn between recommending it as one of the fastest Chromebooks we've ever tested and hinting that you might want to save $298 by choosing the no doubt perfectly capable Core i3 model.
The HP scored another win in our battery-life test, where we loop a locally stored video at 50 percent screen brightness and 100 percent audio volume.
The Lenovo and Acer did themselves proud, but the x360 managed to get through a double workday.
To be sure, 50 percent brightness on the HP's murky screen is nothing to write home about.
Still, I saw 10 to 12 hours in anecdotal usage with brightness turned up to bearable levels.
An Enterprise Alternative
I like rooting for underdogs, and I appreciate the built-in security and slipstream updates of Chrome OS, the cost savings of G Suite, and the many manageability tools of Chrome Enterprise.
And though the HP isn't cheap for a Chromebook, it undercuts the price of comparable Windows 2-in-1s (which, of course, carry more than 64GB of onboard storage and often 16GB instead of 8GB of memory).
But while the Chromebook x360 14 G1 is worth a look, its disappointing display makes it hard to pull the trigger on a purchase order.
Consider evaluating the more affordable Core i3 model or HP's winning Chromebook x2 instead.
Pros
Sleek, sturdy design.
Snappy keyboard.
Long battery life.
The Bottom Line
Almost as elegant as the company's EliteBooks, the HP Chromebook x360 14 G1 is a classy corporate 2-in-1 let down by a weak screen.
The Core i3 config is worth checking out, but the Core i5 and i7 models are overkill.
Straight from K-12 to the corner office? That's HP's hope for its Chromebook x360 14 G1 (starts at $498; $796 as tested), a convertible laptop that aims to expand the audience for Chrome OS from the education and consumer markets to business professionals.
The G1 is available with a speedy Intel Core i5 or Core i7 processor; has passed some of the same MIL-STD 810G tests against bumps and bruises as HP EliteBooks or Lenovo ThinkPads; and boasts impressive battery life.
But my Core i5 review unit underwhelmed, with a lackluster screen and performance barely better than Core i3 competitors we've tested.
It didn't unseat our Editors' Choice business Chromebook, the detachable HP Chromebook x2.
Not Exactly Inexpensive
The base model of the Chromebook x360 14 G1, $498 at HP.com, combines a Core i3-8130U CPU, 8GB of memory, 64GB of eMMC flash storage, and a 14-inch IPS touch screen with 1,920 by 1,080 resolution.
For $796 (which the site claims is a discount from $1,397), my test model offers the same specs except for a 1.7GHz Core i5-8350U chip with Intel UHD 620 integrated graphics.
The top of the line, equipped with a Core i7-8650U and 16GB of RAM, is a steep $1,590.
The silver-hued G1 combines a plastic bottom with an aluminum lid and keyboard deck.
Chrome and HP logos—the latter is the old-school round logo, not the stylized four slashes of recent EliteBooks and ZBooks—decorate the lid.
The system feels solid, with little flex if you grasp the screen corners or pound the keyboard, though the screen wobbles when tapped.
At 3.7 pounds, the convertible is a little heavy to hold in tablet mode, though it's lighter than the 4.0-pound Dell Inspiron Chromebook 14 2-in-1.
It's also a bit smaller, measuring 0.63 by 12.8 by 8.9 inches versus 0.7 by 13 by 9.1 inches.
The HP doesn't come with a stylus pen as the Dell does.
You'll find a USB-C 3.1 port on either side of the system, letting you plug in the AC adapter—or, with a DisplayPort dongle (not included), an external monitor—from either the left or right.
I was hoping for an HDMI port, but was disappointed.
The left edge also holds a microSD card slot, a headphone jack, and the power button, while the right edge offers a USB 3.1 Type-A port, a volume rocker, and a security lock slot.
Naturally, Bluetooth and 802.11ac wireless are standard, but I'm not sure about the G1's Wi-Fi reception.
In my home office, two rooms away from my Wi-Fi router, Chrome OS's shelf or system tray reported a weak signal.
Every other Chromebook or Windows laptop I've tested has indicated a medium or strong signal in the same spot.
Look! Real Cursor Arrows!
To my delight, the Chromebook x360 14 G1's backlit keyboard has cursor arrow keys arranged in the proper inverted T instead of most HP laptops' awkward horizontal row.
(Like all Chromebooks, however, it lacks Home, End, Page Up, and Page Down keys and replaces Caps Lock with a search/menu key.)
The keyboard boasts a terrific typing feel, with adequate travel and crisp feedback; I was cruising at a near-record pace within minutes of putting my hands on the home row.
The wide, chrome-edged touchpad glides and taps smoothly, and touch-screen operations are comfortable.
Looking at the display, however, is less so.
Even with brightness turned all the way up, it's too dim to make colors truly pop or provide ultra-high-contrast black text on white backgrounds—HP rates it at 220 nits in an age where we consider 300 a baseline and hope for 400, with a mediocre 67 percent coverage of the sRGB color palette.
For a system that hopes to compete with some impressively screened Windows business laptops, it's sad, though its 1080p resolution makes details look sharp and clear enough for everyday use.
The convertible's 720p webcam captured averagely detailed and well-lit images in my sunny office, though there was some noise in shaded areas.
The Bang & Olufsen-tuned speakers above the keyboard easily filled a room with nicely layered music tracks, short on booming bass but with good highs and no fuzzy or tinny distortion.
Fast by Any Measure
Considering Chrome OS's modest hardware requirements, the HP is arguably overpowered—I observed no slowdown when streaming a video, playing an Android game, and keeping a dozen browser tabs open all at once.
The Files app shows 44GB of the 64GB storage free out of the box, with the microSD slot and the usual 100GB of free Google Drive cloud storage for two years available if you need more space.
When switched off, the G1 took 9 seconds from pressing the power button to reaching the login screen, though that's not a critical benchmark—simply closing the lid puts the system to sleep, from which it wakes in less time than it takes to reopen the lid.
For formal benchmarks, we use Principled Technologies' CrXPRT (a suite of simulated Chrome OS productivity apps) and WebXPRT 2015 (a browser-based test of HTML and JavaScript performance).
Here's how the HP convertible compared to the abovementioned Dell Inspiron 2-in-1 and the 15.6-inch Lenovo Yoga Chromebook C630, both of which use Intel's Core i3-8130U processor, as well as the Pentium-powered Acer Chromebook 514 and the Core i5-7Y57-based Google Pixelbook.
The G1 finished in first place in both contests, but its margin of victory was less than I expected considering its quad-core Core i5 CPU compared to the Core i3 Lenovo and Dell.
This leaves me torn between recommending it as one of the fastest Chromebooks we've ever tested and hinting that you might want to save $298 by choosing the no doubt perfectly capable Core i3 model.
The HP scored another win in our battery-life test, where we loop a locally stored video at 50 percent screen brightness and 100 percent audio volume.
The Lenovo and Acer did themselves proud, but the x360 managed to get through a double workday.
To be sure, 50 percent brightness on the HP's murky screen is nothing to write home about.
Still, I saw 10 to 12 hours in anecdotal usage with brightness turned up to bearable levels.
An Enterprise Alternative
I like rooting for underdogs, and I appreciate the built-in security and slipstream updates of Chrome OS, the cost savings of G Suite, and the many manageability tools of Chrome Enterprise.
And though the HP isn't cheap for a Chromebook, it undercuts the price of comparable Windows 2-in-1s (which, of course, carry more than 64GB of onboard storage and often 16GB instead of 8GB of memory).
But while the Chromebook x360 14 G1 is worth a look, its disappointing display makes it hard to pull the trigger on a purchase order.
Consider evaluating the more affordable Core i3 model or HP's winning Chromebook x2 instead.
Pros
Sleek, sturdy design.
Snappy keyboard.
Long battery life.
The Bottom Line
Almost as elegant as the company's EliteBooks, the HP Chromebook x360 14 G1 is a classy corporate 2-in-1 let down by a weak screen.
The Core i3 config is worth checking out, but the Core i5 and i7 models are overkill.
