PC maker HP has released its first AMD-powered Chromebook. Dubbed the HP Chromebook x360 14a, the device retails for $440 and is on sale on Amazon. It is of course powered by Google’s ChromeOS platform and is specially designed for students and other educational occasions. The company says the laptop offers 12 hours of battery life per charge and weighs 1.49kg, bringing it closer to a thin and light form factor. It is sold in the colors Mineral Silver, Ceramic White and Turquoise.
HP Chromebook x360 14a specifications and features
In terms of specs, the HP Chromebook x360 14a pretty much lives up to what we’ve come to expect from affordable Chromebooks. The device is powered by an AMD 3015Ce processor with a maximum clock speed of 2.3 GHz and 4 MB of L3 cache. It is a dual-core processor with four threads that integrates AMD Radeon graphics.
As the name suggests, the laptop has a 14-inch display, but only with HD resolution. The x360 series is also part of HP’s convertible range, which means you can rotate the screen 360 degrees and use the device in a tablet-like form factor. The HP Chromebook x360 14a has 64GB of built-in eMMC SSD storage, which is expandable up to 256GB. You also get 100GB of Google Cloud storage for free with this device for one year.
It also has 4GB of RAM, which can be problematic for those looking for a fast and reliable laptop. Between Chrome and possibly a few word processing and spreadsheet apps, that amount of RAM might not be enough.
Also, the fact that this laptop runs ChromeOS means it supports Google Assistant. Google apps like Meet, Docs, Sheets, and more will also run natively on the platform. According to HP, the device will be able to charge up to 50 percent in 45 minutes.
However, this is not HP’s first Chromebook. The company also has cheaper offerings in the form of the Chromebook 11a, which is powered by an Intel processor and retails for $335. On the other hand, the HP Chromebook 14a costs $390.