Chromebooks have evolved quite a bit since their inception over a decade ago. However, the target demographic hasn’t changed all that much; students on a budget make up the bulk of Chromebook users. Two primary factors driving the appeal of Chromebooks are their prices and simplicity of ChromeOS – the operating system Chromebooks run on.
Last year, Google introduced Chromebook Plus branding exclusively given to laptops with more powerful specs (I was at that launch and covered one of the first Chromebook Plus laptops ever made; check out my review here). The new HP Chromebook PLUS x360 is among those more powerful laptops but has a mid-range $599US price putting it against some competitive Windows laptops. Should students or casual laptop seekers bite? In this review I was able to secure a loaned of this HP Chromebook Plus through Google so I’ll try it out at home to see what it’s like to use. I’ll show you some of the special features that it has, both being an HP model, and what some of the newly created Google Chromebook Artificial Intelligence features it has are. I’ll wrap things up with the pros and the cons and let you know if I think this might be a good Chromebook for you.
Let’s start with what you’re getting. I’ll go over the basics of this laptop first, and then dive into some of the AI specific features.
HP Chromebook PLUS x360 Review
Summary
The HP Chromebook PLUS laptop x360 is light and versatile to open up and position, and its AI features are easy to use. However, the perfomance and design of the hardware itself mean that the 2-in-1 design is doing a lot of heavy lifting for its price.
Pros
- 2-in-1 covertible laptop
- Light and thin, easy to open up
- Google AI baked into system, free for 12 months
- AI features pretty seamless to use
Cons
- Subpar storage, speed, and growth adaptability
- Awkward widescreen tablet/folding keyboard layout
- Expensive for a Chromebook
- $20-$26 monthly fee once 12 moths of free AI ends
HP Chromebook PLUS x360 Specs
The HP Chromebook PLUS x360 is a 2-in-1 laptop with a 360-degree hinge so you can fold the keyboard over and use it as a tablet as well. It will also sit slightly opened, making it an ideal movie viewing tablet for the business traveler.
It runs on an Intel Core i3-N305 processor with 8 cores and 8 threads capable of boosting to 3.8 GHz. Combined with 8 GB of LPDDR5 RAM, the HP Chromebook PLUS x360 should have no trouble opening dozens of tabs even after installing some Chrome extensions including ad blockers.
One weak spot of the spec sheet is the nominal 128 GB storage space because the operating system and other user data use about 30 GB leaving you with less than 100 GB for apps and offline Google Drive storage. While I don’t expect most Chromebook users to immediately fill up that space, many cheaper laptops offer quadruple the amount of space. To make matters worse, this Chromebook uses UFS storage which means some users might find it slower than NVMe storage commonly found on modern laptops.
Display
The HP Chromebook PLUS x360 features a 14-inch touch IPS display with a Full HD 1080p resolution.
For media consumption, this is ideal as you can enjoy most landscape videos and many movies without black bars. However, for word processing and browsing the Web, the 16:9 aspect ratio is a bit lacking by today’s standards. Laptops in the price range with a 16:10 aspect ratio add an extra 120 pixels vertically contributing to better screen real estate. You’ll quickly realize the annoyance of the display’s aspect ratio when you try to fold the keyboard deck back and try to use it in portrait orientation. There’s a reason why you don’t see many dedicated tablets with a 16:9 aspect ratio.
My other issue with the display is its brightness. Having a max brightness of just 250 nits isn’t a good look for a $599 laptop. Using the laptop indoors is just fine with some ambient lighting, but you’ll likely struggle using it outdoors during those sunny days. The 62.5%s RGB color gamut also means that this isn’t the budget laptop anyone should use for serious graphics design or photo editing.
Keyboard and Touchpad
The chicklet-style keyboard on the HP Chromebook PLUS x360 is decent. It looks clean and fully backlit with large “Ctrl” and “Alt” keys on the lower left. The up and down arrow keys are smaller than the left and right keys which could take some adjustment if you are used to the usual layout. The touchpad, which HP refers to as the “HP Imagepad” (eye roll) is pleasantly large and supports multitouch gestures.
Battery Life and Charging
If those figures don’t quite meet your expectations, don’t worry! The HP Chromebook PLUS x360 supports fast charging taking about 45 minutes to charge from 0% to 50%. The best part? It only requires the included 45W USB-C power adapter, which means any powerbanks you have with a 45W or greater USB-C port should charge the Chromebook just fine.
Chromebooks generally have a longer battery life than similarly-priced Windows laptops and the HP Chromebook PLUS x360 is no exception. HP’s officially estimates around 10 hours of battery life so you can expect roughly 8 hours depending on usage and extensions installed.
Ports, Webcam, and Mic
The HP Chromebook PLUS x360 has a USB-C port on each side with the right-side also featuring a 3.5mm headphone jack and a full-size USB port. The top bezel of the screen houses HP’s True Vision 1080p camera with a physical camera shutter, which I really appreciate. The dual array digital microphones also help with video conferencing.
AI Features
I was invited to Google headquarters in New York to get the news about the latest built-in AI features firsthand. At the event, Google announced that Gemini, the company’s AI engine will now be baked in to all Chromebook Plus laptops. Gemini will be able to help with idea generation, organizing your day, and can even help you write content, or help you read and summarize materials you find on the web.
AI Generative Imaging for wallpapers, video calling backgrounds
Generative imaging will now also be available on Chromebook Plus laptops. You can use generative imaging to do two things. The first one is create customized wallpapers. The other is to allow you to use Google AI to create custom video calling backgrounds.
The idea is when you log into a video conferencing solution you should be able to use professional looking but personalized backgrounds. And because this is now baked into the operating system, that means you can use it on any page or platform on your Chromebook Plus: not just Google Meet but on Teams, or Zoom too.
Creating your own backgrounds or images is super quick and easy. You can simply click on the Gemini button in the taskbar and request whatever style of photo or image you’re looking for. The more direction you give it and the more specific you are, the more likely you are to be happy with the end result. Like my mid century office background.
Help Me Write
Google execs also shared about another new feature which will use AI to help you write on a Chromebook Plus.
Help me Write can prompt you whether you’re starting from scratch, or even if you’ve got copy to work with it can make improvements too. One of the unique things about this feature is that it doesn’t happen in a separate app or window, it happens where you’re already working.
I tried it out while writing this review… [more] and found that Gemini was actually able to write me some human-sounding copy…
Google wants this so it can meet users where they are while they’re creating. This means you no longer need to select text, right click and get all these options to improve it…. Or to copy this send it off to a sidebar app, edit things and then bring it back.”
Google Chromebook Plus AI assistance with writing is designed to work with all kinds of platforms and apps including documents, and web pages.
Help Me Read
There’s kind of a flipside to this feature as well with help me read. Help me read will allow you to load up a webpage for example and have Google AI assistant summarize it for you. Help Me read was demoed for me at Google HQ at the press conference I went to, but it’s not available until later in 2024 so I was not able to test it out on my loaner Chromebook.
Magic Editor for Photos
After the news conference I was let looks with some of Google’s team to see these tools and a few others firsthand… like Magic Editor for photos, which has previously only been available on Pixel phones. Magic Editor lets you fix, tweak and enhance photos in all kinds of ways.
I got to explore this in more detail during my review and I have to say, I love the experience of editing photos on a much larger screen. It’s easy to do, and seems reasonably quick, and the edits are pretty amazing.
Cost of AI features
An important point to all of this AI goodness is that it doesn’t come without a cost. These new features are available on a host of new Chromebook Plus laptops and tablets as part of a package called Google One AI Premium. For now the plan will be free for 12 months if you buy a new Chromebook Plus. The plan includes access to Gemini Advanced, 2TB of storage and use of Gemini in Docs, Sheets, Slides, Gmail and more. After that year, it will run $19.99/monthUS/$26.99CAD, which is not insignificant, but at least the 12 months free will really give you a solid chance to try it out, maximize it and determine if it’s going to be worth it for you.
For the AI Initiated
If you are fully onboard the AI train, the HP Chromebook PLUS x360 is worth considering too because it barely meets the minimum system requirements of Google’s recently announced Gemini support for Chromebooks. It is worth noting that the Intel Core i3-N305 lacks a dedicated NPU or AI processor, but Google’s AI features mostly rely on the cloud and could serve as a decent entry-level device for prompt engineers.
Who should buy it?
If you never used a Chromebook before, read my Acer Chromebook 314 laptop for more information on Chrome OS. Generally, if you often browse the Web and use Web applications like Sheets, or Docs and don’t need the extra power user stuff found in Windows, a Chromebook could fit the bill. However, many manufacturers including HP offer cheaper laptops with similar spec sheets, but without the touchscreen and ability to transform into a tablet. So before you even consider this particular HP laptop, try to imagine how—or if– you’ll use the touchscreen, or the awkwardly long tablet.
Yes, Chrome OS does support Android apps on the Google Play Store, but not all of them. Check the individual apps you plan on using on this Chromebook on the Play Store and head to the “Chromebook” section of the reviews to see the customer reviews from those users. Android apps work best with the touchscreen, but you still have to take the 3.32-pound weight into account. You cannot detach the keyboard so the tablet posture will feel bulky and unwieldly to use. This is something you might be able to handle if you don’t have any dedicated tablets or large phones, but if you do, you might just find the extra weight unbearable.
Overall Thoughts: HP Chromebook PLUS laptop x360
While the HP Chromebook PLUS x360 isn’t the most expensive 2-in-1 convertible Chromebook, $599 feels a bit too high for the weaknesses I’m finding with it. In fact, you can spend a little bit more on a Windows laptop that features double the RAM with far more storage space, a speedier processor, and superior display. These little details matter a lot because you can’t upgrade this laptop. The specs may serve your use case today, but what about next year? Or three years from now?
This has always been my issue with Google’s student-focused approach to Chromebooks. Students won’t stay students forever and needs and use cases will eventually evolve. Even if my list of cons aren’t dealbreakers, you are going to wish this HP Chromebook had a better display or a thinner body for tablet use at some point. The strengths of the HP Chromebook PLUS x360 are enough to please a very small crowd, but for most folks, I either recommend spending less on a non-touch Chromebook or more on a Windows 2-in-1 with a proper display and form factor.
Let’s go over the pros and the cons.
On the pro side, having a two in one convertible laptop and tablet combination might be handy for the right person. This Chromebook is quite light and thin and travels well, and you can spread it open for watching videos conveniently.
Having Google’s new set of AI features baked into this Chromebook plus is also a huge selling feature, and probably this laptop’s biggest selling point, if I’m being honest. And the fact that you get 12 months of AI services for free with your purchase is a great way to test out artificial intelligence and see if it’s going to work for you. The AI features are pretty impressive and I can see myself leaning into each of them quite a bit. I love how seamless all of the new tools are and I don’t need to swap constantly between apps or websites to use the artificial intelligence.
With that said I’m really going to have to pay close attention to how much I’m using these features over the next year to see if the $20-$26 monthly fee is truly going to be worth it after the honeymoon period is over.
I’m going to move into a section here that I call the ‘Meh’ features; neither pros nor cons but just things that seem average.
The screen is just fine with its HD resolution, the backlit keyboard is cool, and the privacy shutter on the camera is handy. The battery life is average for a Chromebook and the charging time is fine.
On the cons table, the storage, speed, and growth adaptability of this laptop seem kind of subpar particularly when compared to competitors. I also feel like the awkward widescreen (or tallscreen) tablet layout and bulkiness of folding back the keyboard will have people who were hoping for a true tablet wishing they owned a true tablet instead.
I feel like HP is trying to use the folding tablet configuration as a way to justify the higher than average price of this Chromebook, which runs about $599US or $899CAD. For folks who are looking for a tablet option I’d be more inclined to point them in the direction of something like the ASUS Chromebook CM3001DM2… which I’m reviewing.
In short if you are still considering this Chromebook, I would highly recommend going to a store to really try it out and get a feel for it. If you like the design and don’t mind the bulk, it might be worth considering for you. If you’re just looking for an inexpensive laptop for school, travelling for work, or for the kids, there are any number of other cheaper options that come close to matching the specs of this one. For that reason I would advise you to take a pass on the Chromebook +360 unless you have a specific use case for it.
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