The HP Chromebook x360 12 (2021) is a convertible 2-in-1 Chrome OS device with a tall, 3:2 touchscreen. It's compact and lightweight, making it easy to slip into your bag to take around. Its Intel Celeron CPU is powerful enough for light productivity tasks and video playback. However, it stutters if you have lots of browser tabs open, and it isn't suited for heavy workloads like 3D rendering or AAA gaming. Sadly, its battery doesn't last through a full workday, the webcam loses out on many details, and the microphone picks up some static even though voices are clear. Its glossy screen looks washed out and doesn't get bright enough to overcome direct reflections. Also, the keyboard feels somewhat tiring to type on over long periods, and the small touchpad makes dragging and dropping tedious. On the bright side, its speakers get loud and sound excellent, making it great for watching movies or listening to podcasts.
You can only get this laptop with a 12 inch, 720p IPS display, an Intel Celeron N4020 CPU with integrated Intel UHD Graphics 600, and 4GB of RAM in the Ceramic White color scheme. You can, however, choose between 32GB and 64GB of storage.
Our Verdict
The HP Chromebook x360 is only passable for school use. It's very lightweight and portable, so you can easily take it along in a small bag. Its webcam and microphone are adequate for use in online classes, and its battery lasts a maximum of seven hours of light productivity, which is fine if you have shorter school days. Unfortunately, the build quality is mediocre, its keyboard is tiring to use over long periods, and its touchpad is small enough to make dragging and dropping tedious. Since its screen doesn't get bright enough to overcome glare, it isn't suitable for doing schoolwork outdoors.
- Battery lasts through shorter school days.
- Remarkably lightweight and portable.
- Webcam and microphone are fine for online classes.
- Mediocre plastic build quality.
- Non-backlit keyboard takes time to get used to, and feels tiring over extended periods.
- Small touchpad makes using gestures tedious.
The HP Chromebook x360 is a poor laptop for gaming. Since it uses Chrome OS, you can't play any DirectX games developed for Windows. Even though you can run Linux applications, the power-efficient, dual-core Intel Celeron CPU without a dedicated GPU yields an awful experience in demanding games. You can likely only run basic Google Play Store games smoothly. Also, the 60Hz screen doesn't support VRR, and there aren't any user-replaceable parts.
- Stays silent under load.
- Power-efficient Celeron CPU performs badly.
- Can't run DirectX games.
- 60Hz refresh rate with no VRR support.
- No upgradeable parts.
The HP Chromebook x360 is decent for multimedia viewing. It's a lightweight touchscreen convertible that you can use in tablet mode, which is great for casually watching web content, film, and television in many different situations. Its speakers get loud and sound excellent, making it great for listening without headphones. Unfortunately, its glossy screen looks washed out and doesn't get bright enough to overcome direct reflections, but it does get dim enough for comfortable nighttime viewing. Also, its battery only lasts long enough to confidently get through two feature-length films before needing to plug in.
- Remarkably lightweight and portable.
- Can be used in tablet mode.
- Speakers get loud and sound excellent.
- Screen displays washed-out colors.
- Battery only lasts through two feature-length films.
- Screen isn't bright enough to overcome direct reflections.
The HP Chromebook x360 is a bad workstation laptop. You can only get it with a power-efficient dual-core Intel Celeron N4020 CPU, with no option for a dedicated GPU, so it isn't suitable for computationally heavy tasks like 3D rendering, large data manipulation, or physics simulations. Also, since it runs Chrome OS, you can't use many popular productivity applications like DaVinci Resolve or the Adobe Suite.
- Adequate port selection.
- Stays silent under load.
- Performs badly in computational tasks.
- Can't run x86 applications.
- No upgradeable parts.
The HP Chromebook x360 is mediocre for business use. The build quality is mediocre, the keyboard feels a bit tiring to use over long periods, and the small touchpad makes dragging and dropping feel tedious. The webcam and microphone are only okay and don't make you look or sound your best during conference calls. Also, the port selection is only okay, so you might need to use a USB-C dongle for multiple wired peripherals. On the bright side, the laptop still feels fast despite the CPU's bad performance on paper because Chrome OS is lightweight. Also, it's outstandingly lightweight and portable, so you can easily bring it around.
- Remarkably lightweight and portable.
- Adequate port selection.
- 3:2 screen means less scrolling through long documents.
- Mediocre plastic build quality.
- Battery can't last a full workday.
- Non-backlit keyboard takes time to get used to, and feels tiring over extended periods.
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
We tested the HP Chromebook x360 12 with a 12" display, an Intel Celeron N4020 CPU, integrated Intel UHD Graphics 600, 4GB of RAM, and 32GB of storage. You can only choose between 32GB or 64GB of internal storage; no other components are adjustable. Other models are available in 11 inch and 14 inch sizes, with more powerful CPUs, more RAM, and more storage. However, they have different display aspect ratios, so to avoid confusion, our review is only applicable to variants with a model number starting with "12b-ca".
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Our display and performance results are only valid for the configuration that we tested. If you come across a different configuration option not listed above, or you have a similar HP x360 Chromebook that doesn't correspond to our review, let us know, and we'll update it. Some tests, like black uniformity and color accuracy, may vary between individual units.
You can see our unit's label here.
Popular Laptop Comparisons
The HP Chromebook x360 12 (2021) and the Acer Chromebook Spin 713 (2020) are both touchscreen convertible Chrome OS devices, but the Acer is better overall. The Acer feels better built, has a better hinge, a significantly longer-lasting battery, and a much better port selection. Also, its screen is sharper, brighter, and more colorful, and Its keyboard and touchpad are much better to use. In addition, you can get it in a variety of powerful Intel CPUs, much more RAM, and faster SSDs. On the other hand, the HP is lighter and much more portable, and its speakers get much louder and sound significantly better, which is better if you just want a good-sounding multimedia device that you can easily bring around.
The HP Chromebook 14 (2021) and the HP Chromebook x360 12 (2021) are both Chrome OS laptops, but the x360 is a 2-in-1 with a 360-degree hinge, whereas the Chromebook 14 has a traditional clamshell hinge. The Chromebook 14 is better for school use, with well-spaced keyboard keys that don't cause fatigue when typing, a larger, better-tracking touchpad, and a significantly longer-lasting battery. On the other hand, the x360 is better for watching media, as its IPS screen looks much better overall, and its speakers get much louder. Also, it's more portable, and it has a better webcam and microphone.
The Microsoft Surface Go 2 (2020) is a Windows device with a detachable keyboard, whereas the HP Chromebook x360 12 (2021) is a Chrome OS laptop with a 360-degree hinge. The Surface is the better laptop overall, as it feels significantly better built, it has a sharper, brighter, and more color-accurate display and its keyboard feels much better and less tiring to type on. Also, the Surface has a significantly better webcam and microphone, it's far easier to carry around, and its battery lasts longer when browsing the web. On the other hand, the HP's speakers get much louder, it has a much better selection of ports, and its battery lasts longer when playing back video.
The Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5 14 (2020) and the HP Chromebook x360 12 (2021) are convertible touchscreen 2-in-1 laptops. However, the HP runs Chrome OS and is limited to Linux and Play Store apps, while the Lenovo is a Windows device that can run x86 and DirectX applications. This makes the Lenovo a better productivity, gaming, and workstation laptop, with a choice of much more powerful AMD and Intel CPUs, an entry-level dedicated GPU, and much faster SSDs. Also, the Lenovo has a better-feeling keyboard, a better-tracking touchpad, a much better port selection, and a much longer-lasting battery. On the other hand, the HP's speakers sound significantly better, its webcam looks better, and it stays completely silent even under load.
Test Results
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