HP’s Pavilion x360 2-in-1 convertible is offered in many flavors, and our review unit (14-dh2011nr) is designed for productivity-minded executives who need something portable. Its smooth 10th generation quad-core performance and a keyboard that feels great should excite professionals who need power and style packed into a single ultraportable that easily stands out during business meetings. Given its price, we would have liked a bit more battery life, though.
The Pavilion x360 models are offered in different configurations in 11-, 14-, and 15-inch sizes, with the 14-inch configurations ranging from 8th-gen dual-core Intel Core i3 systems up to 10th-gen Core i7 quad-core Comet Lake CPUs. Here’s what’s packed in the midrange 14-inch Pavilion x360 14-dh2011nr.
HP Pavilion x360 Design
HP has been adding new design elements to its Pavilion x360 series, and this year’s model looks quite exquisite over the original model. This particular one bears the best accents, particularly the ‘hourglass’ edges that let you open the Pavilion from the front, left, or right sides. The other hallmark here must be the shiny aluminum trim and the silver lid stamped with the HP logo.
The 14-inch, 16:9 micro0edge display has reasonably thin bezels on the top and sides, but the bottom bezel is a bit chunky. Below it is an attractive grille for the Bang & Olufsen speakers, along with the brushed palm rest and keyboard. A minimalist Pavilion logo rests near the bottom-left edge of the keyboard.
Being a 2-in-1 machine, the 14-dh2011nr’s lid can swivel all the way around for use in tablet mode. You can also tent the ultraportable on a desk, or place it keyboard-down with the display tilted all the way to the back in kiosk mode. It gets a pair of sturdy hinges that do a good job holding the lid in place, although the stiff motion of the lid means that to open the laptop you need a fair amount of effort.
Measuring 12.7 x 8.8 x 0.8 inches, the Pavilion x360 is pretty thin for a 2-in-1 laptop. It weighs 3.62 pounds (or 4.19 when the power brick is included), making it a bit heavy, a which you will definitely notice when toting the convertible in a backpack.
Display
With a 1920 x 1080 resolution micro-edge display, it looks as sharp and vivid as we’d expect of a full-HD screen. It uses IPS (in-plane switching) display technology, that offers impressive viewing angles, though it slightly dims when viewed from the sides, top, or bottom.
The screen is slightly dimmer that we’d like, measuring about 245 nits, below our comfortable indoor average of 250 nits. Then again, we’ve reviewed dimmer displays on laptops in this price range, but you’ll be able to view the Pavilion’s display comfortably indoors. Outdoors viewing might as well be a different story.
Keyboard & Touchpad
The HP 14-dh2011nr’s keyboard is a cut above the rest, especially those you’d commonly find on midrange laptops. Its square, flat keys feel solid rather than the tacky, with a generous amount of travel and a satisfying mid-stroke bump that feels rather springy. If you type a lot, you’ll find the Pavilion’s keyboard a pleasure to use.
On the other hand, the trackpad is a bit on the wide side, which means your palms will frequently drag over it as you type. That wouldn’t be a concern if the trackpad were better at rejecting accidental swipes; alas, the Pavilion’s cursor occasionally jitters across the screen as your palm brushes the trackpad, especially on the right side.
This particular iteration of the Pavilion x360 comes with a fingerprint reader sitting just beneath the bottom-right corner of the keyboard
Ports & Speakers
Port selection on this x360 is robust, starting with a USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-A port, a combo audio jack, and a laptop security slot on the left side. Also, on the left side is a mid-size cooling vent, and a power button. The right side holds more ports: a media card reader, USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-C port, a second USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-A port, a full HDMI port, and a charging connector.
It doesn’t include an Ethernet port, but given that all Pavilions don’t include it isn’t much of a shock.
Sound output and quality is excellent. The Bang & Olufsen-designed stereo speakers are pretty good. We often expect very little from laptop speakers, but the Pavilion’s top-firing drivers produce lustful details and some bit of bass. While you can’t crank the speakers very loud, at least you won’t notice any distortion when you dial the volume up all the way.
HP 14-dh2011nr Performance
As expected, the performance of the HP Pavilion x360 14-dh2011nr’s 10th Gen Intel Core i5-103G1 processor is speedy and very reliable for day-to-day computing tasks. This CPU is part of Intel’s latest mobile chips that promises speedy performance and energy efficiency over last year’s mobile chips. On the Pavilion, it combines with 8GB memory and 512GB SSD storage to deliver the best of the best, albeit for basic-medium tasks.
As configured, you can juggle 30 Google Chrome tabs and stream four 1080p YouTube video simultaneously without breaking a sweat. Simply put this 2-in-1 is plenty fast for the typical productivity worker. Yes, you’d not want to use it for video editing and high-end photo editing, but for Office apps, web browsing, content consumption and the like, you’ll be super fine.
Packed with an Intel UHD 620 GPU, the Pavilion x360 isn’t cut for heavy gaming, like you’d play on the Asus TUF FX505DT-AH51 (we reviewed it here)with its dedicated Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 graphics card. In real world gaming, the 14-dh2011nr runs Dirt 3 at 26 frames per second, which is nearly half of the category average (43-fps), not to mention below the 30-fps minimum threshold for playability.
Battery Life
Unfortunately, this configuration of the Pavilion x360 doesn’t have stellar battery life. After continuously surfing the web over Wi-Fi at 150 nits of brightness, the battery survives for 6 hours 24 minutes, which is just below the 6:41 mainstream laptop average.
Bottom Line
This year’s HP Pavilion x360 is a capable mainstream laptop in that it offers remarkable performance, a satisfying keyboard, and some bangin’ speakers. However, it not easy to ignore the short battery life and somewhat dull display, not especially when you’re paying so close to premium prices.
For a few more dollars, you can get the Asus ZenBook 13 (UX333FA-AB77), with over 12 hours battery life on a single charge, a beautiful lightweight design and of course, superb overall performance. But overall, the HP Pavilion x360 14-dh2011nr is a decent laptop if only you can stand its short battery life. Not a deal-breaker at all.
Recommended Configuration
ASUS ZenBook 13 Ultra Slim Laptop (UX333FA-AB77, Royal Blue)
The Review
HP Pavilion x360 14-dh2011nr
The HP Pavilion x360 14-dh2011nr is a 14-inch 2-in-1 that offers top-notch performance, very comfortable keyboard and solid build quality at a very reasonable price. We only wish its battery life was tat impressive too.
PROS
- Attractive build quality
- Keyboard is great to type on
- Solid productivity performance
CONS
- Screen is bland and muted
Review Breakdown
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EDITORS RATING
