HP CHROMEBOOK X2

HP CHROME BOOK

With the recent releases of high-end Chromebooks, HP has not missed the call and we are today to test the HP Chromebook x2 12-f001nf convertible, allegedly the most powerful manufacturer. This is what we will check through this test, a test made by Hugo who regularly follows Chromebook Live (so a big thank you to him!)! The tablet is sold with its accessories (keyboard and stylus) for € 799.

A SOBER AND ELEGANT DESIGN

From the first glance, HP leaves no doubt: we are on the high-end Chromebook. The finishes are excellent, all give an impression of great strength and the materials are premium. The hood is white ceramic, the hinge and the edges are square and aluminum. They are reminiscent of the contours that can be found on the iPhone 4, which I personally find very classy. The base is matte black. Unlike an iPad Pro or a Google Pixel Slate that have a flexible keyboard uncertain in certain positions, this Chromebook is very comfortable in use on the knees or lying on a sofa thanks to the rigidity of the keyboard.

Opening the beast is a 31.24 cm (12.3 ") diagonal (2400 x 1600) W22 diagonal (2400 x 1600) WLED touchscreen display, all made of glass. The screen format is fairly square (3: 2 ratio found on the Acer Chromebook Spin 13), a trend that most Chromebooks manufacturers currently follow since it is particularly suitable for office use (reading and writing of documents) and social networks. So we are on a higher resolution than full HD, a necessity in my opinion when you are on a screen size less than 13 inches. No worries so at this level, the image is very clear, the text is readable and the colors are really punchy. However, we would have liked to gain a few millimeters diagonal with edges a little finer, especially in our time when most recent smartphones have ultra thin edges.

On the same screen, there are two speakers oriented towards the user, which is very pleasant during the viewing of videos. They are very powerful and the sound is clear although it lacks bass, like most built-in speakers. We also have two good quality cameras with a microphone for use on a computer (mainly videoconferencing): 13 megapixels in the back and 5 megapixels in the front. On the edges of the screen are the volume buttons (also adjustable on the keyboard), the power button, a jack / mic, 2 USB Type-C and a micro SD card reader. Connectivity a little light but it's normal because we speak well of a tablet even if we can tend to forget it! The purchase of a hub (example) is strongly recommended in order to connect USB sticks and an HDMI jack. The big plus is passive cooling, so no fan and no overheating, even pushing it thoroughly and that's class (unlike Acer Chromebook Spin 13 which is also more powerful)

The keyboard is quiet, responsive and backlit, the material is a leather imitation pleasant to the touch, a sober but original design. The touchpad is ok but we would have preferred a glass overlay to gain a little precision in navigation. The stylus held by a strap firmly attached to the keyboard follows the color code of the device.

We come to the most interesting part of the Chromebook: convertibility! If I had to summarize this point in one sentence, I would say: it works well. Even very good. Although the display is firmly connected to the keyboard with two magnetic notches, detaching it from its support is easy and fast.

This allows you to switch to tablet mode in no time, useful when using portrait format or you want to get rid of the keyboard. But you can also rotate the screen before re-keying it, especially suitable for viewing multimedia content or even to go into tent mode. In this mode, you can also close the Chromebook on the keyboard, screen outward.