HP Pavilion x360 14 (2021) Review: 2-in-1 laptop supports pen-input and Power Delivery
The HP Pavilion x360 14 is a 14-inch 2-in-1 device. It is powered by the Core i5-1135G7. The competing devices include the Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5 14ALC05, the Acer Spin 3 SP314-54N, the Asus VivoBook Flip 14 TP470EZ, and the Acer Chromebook Spin 713 CP713-2W.
Likely Competitors
Rating | Date | Model | Weight | Height | Size | Resolution | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 81.8 % v7 (old) | 07 / 2021 | HP Pavilion x360 14-dy0157ng i5-1135G7, Iris Xe G7 80EUs | 1.5 kg | 19.9 mm | 14.00" | 1920x1080 | |
| 79.2 % v7 (old) | 05 / 2021 | Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5 14ALC05 82HU002YUS R7 5700U, Vega 8 | 1.6 kg | 20.8 mm | 14.00" | 1920x1080 | |
| 86.2 % v7 (old) | 04 / 2021 | Acer Chromebook Spin 713 CP713-2W-560V i5-10210U, UHD Graphics 620 | 1.4 kg | 16.8 mm | 13.50" | 2256x1504 | |
| 79.1 % v7 (old) | 06 / 2021 | Asus VivoBook Flip 14 TP470EZ i5-1135G7, Xe MAX | 1.5 kg | 18.7 mm | 14.00" | 1920x1080 | |
| 84.2 % v7 (old) | 03 / 2021 | Acer Spin 3 SP314-54N-56S5 i5-1035G4, Iris Plus Graphics G4 (Ice Lake 48 EU) | 1.5 kg | 16 mm | 14.00" | 1920x1080 |
Case - HP uses plastic
The housing of the HP Pavilion x360 14 is made of plastic. The display lid and the chassis have a non-reflective silver-coloured surface which feels smooth to the touch. The battery is soldered-in. There is no maintenance hatch.
The build quality is solid. We did not notice any defects such as chinks where different pieces of plastic meet. However, the chassis is not very rigid. A small amount of pressure is sufficient to bend the housing in. However, the display lid is rather stiff.
The hinges can hold the display in a set position. The display lid can be opened with one hand. The opening angle amounts to 90°. When fully open, the display lid raises slightly the upper portion of the chassis.
The Pavilion x360 14 is the most compact device in our comparison chart. In terms of weight, there are no major differences between the HP laptop and the competition.
Connectivity - Pavilion x360 14 supports Power Delivery
HP’s 2-in-1 device features two USB-A ports (USB 3.2 Gen 1) and one USB-C port (USB 3.2 Gen 2). The Type-C port supports Power Delivery and can output a DisplayPort signal. There is also an HDMI port.
The Pavilion x360 14 comes with HP’s proprietary charging port. The laptop can also be charged with the help of a USB-C power adapter (45 W minimum).
Card Reader
The microSD card reader achieved very good data transfer rates with our reference-grade SD card (Angelbird AV PRO microSD 128 GB V60). When copying JPG files, we saw a maximum transfer rate of 75.3 MB/s. When copying large files, the transfer rates peaked at 85.4 MB/s.
| SD Card Reader | |
| average JPG Copy Test (av. of 3 runs) | |
| Average of class Convertible (17.7 - 209, n=30, last 2 years) | |
| HP Pavilion x360 14-dy0157ng (Toshiba Exceria Pro M501 microSDXC 64GB) | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5 14ALC05 82HU002YUS (AV PRO microSD 128 GB V60) | |
| Acer Chromebook Spin 713 CP713-2W-560V (Toshiba Exceria Pro M501 microSDXC 64GB) | |
| Acer Spin 3 SP314-54N-56S5 (Toshiba Exceria Pro M501 microSDXC 64GB) | |
| Asus VivoBook Flip 14 TP470EZ (AV PRO microSD 128 GB V60) | |
| maximum AS SSD Seq Read Test (1GB) | |
| Average of class Convertible (22.6 - 263, n=29, last 2 years) | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5 14ALC05 82HU002YUS (AV PRO microSD 128 GB V60) | |
| HP Pavilion x360 14-dy0157ng (Toshiba Exceria Pro M501 microSDXC 64GB) | |
| Acer Spin 3 SP314-54N-56S5 (Toshiba Exceria Pro M501 microSDXC 64GB) | |
| Asus VivoBook Flip 14 TP470EZ (AV PRO microSD 128 GB V60) | |
Communication
The data transfer speeds that we have measured under the optimal conditions (no other Wi-Fi-enabled devices in close proximity, a short distance between the notebook and the server PC) are very poor. The Pavilion x360 only managed to achieve speeds of 433 Mb/s in our Wi-Fi test.
Web Camera
The Pavilion x360 14 comes with a bog-standard 0.9-MP web camera, which produces subpar photos and videos. The colour reproduction is especially poor with a DeltaE 2000 of 22 (the ideal value is less than 3).
Accessories
The box contains the usual accessories (warranty information, quick start guide).
Maintenance
The bottom plate of the Pavilion x360 is rather difficult to remove. To do this, all screws on the underside need to be undone. It is worth mentioning that there are screws under the rubber feet, which are quite brittle and therefore need to be removed with care (replacement feet are quite expensive). After all the screws are undone, the bottom cover can be removed with the help of a spudger or a guitar pick.
Warranty
The Pavilion x360 14 comes with a 12-month warranty. A two-year warranty extension will cost buyers an additional 50 Euros (~ $60).
Input Devices - HP’s laptop features a backlit keyboard
Keyboard
The chiclet-style keyboard offers a decent travel distance and a clear actuation point. However, the keys are a little mushy for our taste. The keyboard deck exhibits an inconsequential amount of flex when typing. The backlight, which can be adjusted via a function key, offers two luminance levels. All in all, the Pavilion x360 14 has a decent keyboard.
TouchPad
The HP laptop uses a multitouch-enabled ClickPad (11.5x7.3 cm) as a replacement for the mouse. The pad has a smooth surface, clear actuation point and short travel distance. It reliably recognises inputs, even in the corners.
Touchscreen
The 10-point touchscreen has no trouble recognising inputs. It can be operated with the fingers or the HP Tilt Pen MPP2.0 (3J122AA; €80/$95), which is sold separately. We did not encounter any issues with the touchscreen during our review.
Display - Dim IPS screen
While the brightness (246.1 cd/m²) is too low, the contrast ratio (2445:1) is quite high. When running on battery power, the maximum brightness is even lower As a rule, we consider a screen brightness of at least 300 cd/m² to be good. We did not detect PWM flickering.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Brightness Distribution: 82 %
Center on Battery: 237 cd/m²
Contrast: 2445:1 (Black: 0.11 cd/m²)
ΔE Color 5.68 | 0.5-29.43 Ø4.91
ΔE Greyscale 4.95 | 0.5-98 Ø5.2
63.7% sRGB (Argyll 1.6.3 3D)
44.2% AdobeRGB 1998 (Argyll 1.6.3 3D)
44.2% AdobeRGB 1998 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
63.7% sRGB (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
42.7% Display P3 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
Gamma: 2.17
| HP Pavilion x360 14-dy0157ng Chi Mei N140HCA-E5B, IPS, 1920x1080, 14" | Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5 14ALC05 82HU002YUS Chi Mei N140HCA-E5B, IPS, 1920x1080, 14" | Acer Chromebook Spin 713 CP713-2W-560V IPS, 2256x1504, 13.5" | Asus VivoBook Flip 14 TP470EZ Chi Mei CMN N140HCA-EAC, IPS, 1920x1080, 14" | Acer Spin 3 SP314-54N-56S5 BOE081D, IPS, 1920x1080, 14" | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Display | -1% | -3% | -8% | ||
| Display P3 Coverage | 42.7 | 42.32 -1% | 41.6 -3% | 39.25 -8% | |
| sRGB Coverage | 63.7 | 62.7 -2% | 62.1 -3% | 58.2 -9% | |
| AdobeRGB 1998 Coverage | 44.2 | 43.87 -1% | 43 -3% | 40.55 -8% | |
| Response Times | -13% | 16% | -25% | 18% | |
| Response Time Grey 50% / Grey 80% * | 32 ? | 38.4 ? -20% | 36 ? -13% | 39 ? -22% | 29 ? 9% |
| Response Time Black / White * | 22 ? | 23.2 ? -5% | 12 ? 45% | 28 ? -27% | 16 ? 27% |
| PWM Frequency | 200 ? | 25000 ? | 1000 ? | ||
| Screen | -43% | -28% | -30% | -1% | |
| Brightness middle | 269 | 236.7 -12% | 426 58% | 205 -24% | 271 1% |
| Brightness | 241 | 221 -8% | 388 61% | 186 -23% | 272 13% |
| Brightness Distribution | 82 | 81 -1% | 85 4% | 78 -5% | 92 12% |
| Black Level * | 0.11 | 0.2 -82% | 0.56 -409% | 0.22 -100% | 0.19 -73% |
| Contrast | 2445 | 1184 -52% | 761 -69% | 932 -62% | 1426 -42% |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 * | 5.68 | 7.83 -38% | 2.25 60% | 5.14 10% | 4.24 25% |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 max. * | 9.61 | 23.74 -147% | 5.29 45% | 19.57 -104% | 6.38 34% |
| Greyscale dE 2000 * | 4.95 | 8.6 -74% | 3.53 29% | 4.1 17% | 2.51 49% |
| Gamma | 2.17 101% | 1.96 112% | 2.32 95% | 2.2 100% | 2.25 98% |
| CCT | 6628 98% | 5901 110% | 6368 102% | 6807 95% | 6812 95% |
| Color Space (Percent of AdobeRGB 1998) | 44.2 | 40.3 -9% | 43.04 -3% | 37 -16% | |
| Color Space (Percent of sRGB) | 63.7 | 62.3 -2% | 62.1 -3% | 58 -9% | |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 calibrated * | 3.8 | 3.17 | |||
| Total Average (Program / Settings) | -19% /
-30% | -6% /
-19% | -19% /
-24% | 3% /
0% |
* ... smaller is better
Right out of the box, the screen offers acceptable colour accuracy. However, with a DeltaE 2000 colour deviation of about 6, the display misses the mark (DeltaE less than 3) considerably. The display is not marred by a bluish cast. A calibration could improve colour reproduction. The HP laptop can only cover 64% of sRGB, 44% of Adobe RGB and 43% of DCI-P3.
Display Response Times
| ↔ Response Time Black to White | ||
|---|---|---|
| 22 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined | ↗ 12 ms rise |  |
| ↘ 10 ms fall | ||
| The screen shows good response rates in our tests, but may be too slow for competitive gamers. In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.1 (minimum) to 240 (maximum) ms. » 44 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is similar to the average of all tested devices (20.9 ms). | ||
| ↔ Response Time 50% Grey to 80% Grey | ||
| 32 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined | ↗ 15 ms rise |  |
| ↘ 17 ms fall | ||
| The screen shows slow response rates in our tests and will be unsatisfactory for gamers. In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.165 (minimum) to 636 (maximum) ms. » 39 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is similar to the average of all tested devices (32.8 ms). | ||
Screen Flickering / PWM (Pulse-Width Modulation)
| Screen flickering / PWM not detected |  | ||
In comparison: 53 % of all tested devices do not use PWM to dim the display. If PWM was detected, an average of 8705 (minimum: 5 - maximum: 343500) Hz was measured. | |||
The Pavilion x360 14 comes with an IPS panel. Therefore, the screen content can be read from any angle. Outdoors, the device cannot be used because of a low display brightness and a reflective screen surface.
Performance - Tiger Lake is not fully utilised
The HP Pavilion x360 14 is a 14-inch 2-in-1 device. It offers enough performance for web browsing and office work.
Processor
The Pavilion x360 14 comes with Intel’s Tiger Lake-based Core i5-1135G7, which features four cores with a base clock of 2.4 GHz. Thanks to Intel’s Turbo Boost technology, the clock rate can be increased up to 3.8 GHz for all cores and 4.2 GHz for a single core. The processor supports Intel’s Hyper-Threading Technology (one core can process two threads at the same time).
The processor runs for a short time at 3.8 GHz in the multi-core section of the Cinebench R15 benchmark. Then the clock rate starts to fluctuate between 1.2 GHz and 2.7 GHz. The clock speeds range from 1.7 to 4.2 GHz in the single-core section of the benchmark. When running on battery power, the performance of the processor drops significantly.
When compared to other notebooks with the Core i5-1135G7, the Pavilion x360 14 leaves a rather mixed impression. It offers a high level of single-core performance, but it achieves only subpar results in the multi-core benchmarks.
We check whether or not Intel’s Turbo Boost technology can be used over an extended period of time by running the multi-core section of the Cinebench R15 benchmark for 30 straight minutes in a continuous loop. The clock rates fall considerably shortly after the benchmark is initiated. All in all, the Turbo Boost technology is not fully utilised.
* ... smaller is better
System Performance
The system runs very smoothly. The laptop offers more than enough performance for such usage scenarios as office work and Internet browsing. The notebook achieves good results in the PCMark benchmarks. The HP laptop features 16 GB of RAM (dual-channel; DDR4 3200). The amount of RAM can be increased.
| PCMark 8 Home Score Accelerated v2 | 4132 points | |
| PCMark 8 Creative Score Accelerated v2 | 4683 points | |
| PCMark 8 Work Score Accelerated v2 | 3076 points | |
| PCMark 10 Score | 4646 points | |
Help | ||
DPC Latencies
Our DPC latency test (web-surfing, 4K video playback, Prime95) reveals that the Pavilion x360 14 is not fit for work with real-time audio and video.
| DPC Latencies / LatencyMon - interrupt to process latency (max), Web, Youtube, Prime95 | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5 14ALC05 82HU002YUS | |
| HP Pavilion x360 14-dy0157ng | |
| Acer Spin 3 SP314-54N-56S5 | |
| Asus VivoBook Flip 14 TP470EZ | |
* ... smaller is better
Storage Devices
Our review device features a 512 GB NVMe SSD from Kioxia which offers very good data transfer rates.
| HP Pavilion x360 14-dy0157ng Toshiba KBG40ZNV512G | Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5 14ALC05 82HU002YUS WDC PC SN530 SDBPMPZ-265G | Asus VivoBook Flip 14 TP470EZ Intel SSD 660p SSDPEKNW512G8 | Acer Spin 3 SP314-54N-56S5 SK hynix BC511 HFM256GDJTNI-82A0 | Average Toshiba KBG40ZNV512G | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CrystalDiskMark 5.2 / 6 | -2% | -15% | -25% | -11% | |
| Write 4K | 201.5 | 161 -20% | 200.2 -1% | 165.2 -18% | 142.5 ? -29% |
| Read 4K | 56.3 | 49.96 -11% | 58.6 4% | 55 -2% | 51.5 ? -9% |
| Write Seq | 1485 | 1840 24% | 983 -34% | 1015 -32% | 1425 ? -4% |
| Read Seq | 1624 | 1989 22% | 1623 0% | 1125 -31% | 1511 ? -7% |
| Write 4K Q32T1 | 505 | 354.1 -30% | 547 8% | 423.6 -16% | 349 ? -31% |
| Read 4K Q32T1 | 620 | 452.3 -27% | 345.1 -44% | 483.8 -22% | 563 ? -9% |
| Write Seq Q32T1 | 1520 | 1842 21% | 985 -35% | 648 -57% | 1508 ? -1% |
| Read Seq Q32T1 | 2246 | 2447 9% | 1840 -18% | 1802 -20% | 2311 ? 3% |
| Write 4K Q8T8 | 849 | ||||
| Read 4K Q8T8 | 345.9 | ||||
| AS SSD | -14% | -20% | -26% | -14% | |
| Seq Read | 2027 | 2159 7% | 1684 -17% | 1871 -8% | 2033 ? 0% |
| Seq Write | 1057 | 1753 66% | 901 -15% | 703 -33% | 1016 ? -4% |
| 4K Read | 52.7 | 30.99 -41% | 54.6 4% | 45.97 -13% | 52.5 ? 0% |
| 4K Write | 133.5 | 133.7 0% | 182.3 37% | 119.3 -11% | 131.9 ? -1% |
| 4K-64 Read | 1257 | 762 -39% | 322.4 -74% | 614 -51% | 1265 ? 1% |
| 4K-64 Write | 736 | 394.6 -46% | 803 9% | 367.1 -50% | 635 ? -14% |
| Access Time Read * | 0.068 | 0.072 -6% | 0.151 -122% | 0.084 -24% | 0.1078 ? -59% |
| Access Time Write * | 0.182 | 0.172 5% | 0.045 75% | 0.038 79% | 0.2783 ? -53% |
| Score Read | 1512 | 1009 -33% | 545 -64% | 847 -44% | 1520 ? 1% |
| Score Write | 975 | 704 -28% | 1075 10% | 557 -43% | 869 ? -11% |
| Score Total | 3221 | 2212 -31% | 1881 -42% | 1792 -44% | 3125 ? -3% |
| Copy ISO MB/s | 1564 | 1148 -27% | 1058 -32% | 1168 -25% | 1232 ? -21% |
| Copy Program MB/s | 569 | 490.2 -14% | 422.8 -26% | 459.8 -19% | 511 ? -10% |
| Copy Game MB/s | 1184 | 1068 -10% | 850 -28% | 283 -76% | 879 ? -26% |
| Total Average (Program / Settings) | -8% /
-10% | -18% /
-18% | -26% /
-25% | -13% /
-13% |
* ... smaller is better
Continuous read speed: DiskSpd Read Loop, Queue Depth 8
Graphics card
Intel’s Iris Xe Graphics G7 (80EU) is responsible for video rendering. It supports DirectX 12 and can achieve core clocks of up to 1300 MHz. In our gaming stress test with The Witcher 3, the integrated GPU operated at maximum clocks only for a short time. The GPU performed as expected in the 3DMark benchmarks.
| 3DMark 11 Performance | 5926 points | |
| 3DMark Ice Storm Standard Score | 78426 points | |
| 3DMark Cloud Gate Standard Score | 15376 points | |
| 3DMark Fire Strike Score | 3671 points | |
| 3DMark Time Spy Score | 1425 points | |
Help | ||
Gaming Performance
HP's 2-in-1 device can achieve playable frame rates in many titles—on low settings and at low resolutions. However, the GPU clocks drop considerably after a few minutes of gameplay. These drops in peformance can render some games unplayable.
| The Witcher 3 - 1366x768 Medium Graphics & Postprocessing | |
| Average of class Convertible (28 - 257, n=42, last 2 years) | |
| HP Pavilion x360 14-dy0157ng | |
| Average Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 80EUs (21.8 - 56.9, n=103) | |
| Asus VivoBook Flip 14 TP470EZ | |
| Acer Spin 3 SP314-54N-56S5 | |
| X-Plane 11.11 - 1280x720 low (fps_test=1) | |
| Average of class Convertible (20.7 - 143.4, n=63, last 2 years) | |
| Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5 14ALC05 82HU002YUS | |
| HP Pavilion x360 14-dy0157ng | |
| Average Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 80EUs (9.12 - 74.4, n=109) | |
| GTA V - 1366x768 Normal/Off AF:4x | |
| Average of class Convertible (46.6 - 175.4, n=45, last 2 years) | |
| Average Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 80EUs (28.9 - 133.8, n=84) | |
| HP Pavilion x360 14-dy0157ng | |
| Far Cry 5 - 1280x720 Low Preset AA:T | |
| Average of class Convertible (15 - 135, n=39, last 2 years) | |
| Average Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 80EUs (14 - 63, n=50) | |
| Asus VivoBook Flip 14 TP470EZ | |
| HP Pavilion x360 14-dy0157ng | |
| Dirt 5 - 1280x720 Ultra Low Preset | |
| Asus VivoBook Flip 14 TP470EZ | |
| Average Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 80EUs (32.1 - 38, n=3) | |
| HP Pavilion x360 14-dy0157ng | |
We use the video game known as The Witcher 3 to check whether the frame rates can be maintained consistently over an extended period of time. For this, we run the game on the highest graphics settings at Full HD resolution (1920x1080) for one hour. Over the entire run of gameplay, the player-controlled character stands still. After 6 minutes, the core clocks fell from about 1300 MHz to 1000 MHz. This led to a corresponding drop in performance.