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Weighing in at 2.48 pounds (1.12kg) with the keyboard base attached, the Pavilion x2 is shockingly heavy for a 10-inch notebook, especially compared to the 1.96 pound (890g) Asus Chromebook Flip. However, in the world of Windows 10 convertibles, this machine is actually lighter than the 2.82 pound (1.28kg) Acer Aspire 10 E and the 2.61 pounds (1.18kg) Asus Transformer Book TP200SA.
The Pavilion x2's screen by itself also weighs just 1.29 pounds (0.58kg), making this one of the lightest tablet-laptops I've held in a long time. This also means it weighs a tenth of a pound less than the 1.37 pound (0.62kg) Surface 3. The HP hybrid's 0.78-inch (19.81mm) thickness also places it squarely between the thinner TP200 and the chunky Switch 10 E.
Here is the HP Pavilion x2 configuration sent to TechRadar for review:
Spec Sheet
- CPU: 1.33GHz Intel Atom Z3736F (quad-core, 2MB cache, 2.16GHz with Turbo Boost)
- Graphics: Intel HD Graphics
- RAM: 2GB DDR3L SDRAM
- Screen: 10.1-inch, 1,280 x 800 WXGA WLED IPS touchscreen display
- Storage: 32GB eMMC
- Ports: 1 x USB 2.0; 1 x micro HDMI; headphone/mic combo jack; microSD card reader
- Connectivity: 802.11b WLAN and Bluetooth
- Camera: HP TrueVision HD Webcam (front-facing) with integrated digital microphone
- Weight: 2.61 pounds (1.12kg)
- Size: 10.39 x 6.81 x 0.78 inches (W x D x H) (264 x 173 x 19.81mm)
The lowest end HP Pavilion x2, which you see above, rings up for $299 or £249. In terms of specs it comes with a faster processor than both Acer ($279/£229/AU$549) and Asus' ($349/£249/AU$498) respective budget convertibles. However, this starter configuration only comes with a paltry amount of memory and storage.
You'll have to fork over $349 to bump up the storage to 64GB, which comes standard on the Australian models for AU$549. Sadly, though, RAM is stuck at 2GB and the only way to add more is cracking open the machine yourself for a DIY upgrade. The good news is every Pavilion x2 comes bundled with a free year of Microsoft Office 365 plus 60 minutes of Skype calling and 1TB of OneDrive cloud storage to sweeten the deal.
Performance
The HP Pavilion x2 isn't your go-to gaming machine, nor is it powerful enough to edit images. But it excels at being a convenient little web browsing companion for watching streaming media – though not at it's sharpest quality thanks to the sub-HD display. What's even more impressive is the long battery life you can stretch out of this 10-inch hybrid laptop.
Benchmarks
Here's how the HP Pavilion x2 performed in our suite of benchmark tests:
- 3DMark: Cloud Gate: 1,152; Sky Diver: 431; Fire Strike: N/A
- GeekBench: 745 (single-core); 2,095 (multi-core)
- PCMark 8 (Home Test): 1,106 points
- PCMark 8 Battery Life: 7 hours and 34 minutes
Based on the Pavilion x2's Cinebench scores, it's a cut above the Acer Switch 10 E and Asus TP200SA in processing power. In real world use, the HP hybrid's higher benchmark scores translate into it being a more reliable system when under a heavy load. You'll be able to open more browser tabs and pile on multitasking without experiencing much slow-down.
That said, this plucky 2-in-1 has it limits. For instance, 1080p video playback proved to be a serious strain on the machine and it was only able to play media for 5 hours and 28 minutes – conversely Asus' Transformer lasted for an additional hour and change.
I was able to get 7 hours of web browsing, word processing and some light chatting out of the Pavilion x2 with regular usage. By comparison, the Switch 10 E lasted just 10 minutes more, and the Asus Transformer got merely two minutes more. Overall, not bad for a mini Windows 10 laptop and very respectable when put side-to-side against some Chromebooks.
Bundled software
Although there is so little storage, there's a ton of software that comes preloaded on the Pavilion x2. The long list of bundled software you'll want to remove pronto includes McAfee Central, Candy Crush, WildTangent Games, TripAdvisor as well as HP's self-branded suite of cloud-connected apps. Other than the HP Support Assistant and the digital manual, you'll basically want to uninstall everything else to squeeze every megabyte you can get out of this system.
