HP Pavilion x360 are Spectre-like laptops that don't break the bank

This morning, HP announced a series of new laptops for the back-to-school market or anyone who is looking for a two-in-one that won't make them broke.

The HP Pavilion x360 borrows heavily from last year's excellent Spectre series but brings the price down while amping up the color options for those who want something a little more exciting.

The x360 line-up is available in 11.6", 13.3" and 15.6" models with many configuration options depending on what you are looking for in a laptop. While the 11.6" and 13.3" versions are now lighter and thinner compared to last year the 15.6" is all new to the series.

  • The 11.6" x360 weighs 2.93lbs with a 19.3mm thin profile
  • The 13.3" x360 weighs 3.48lbs with a 19.8mm thin profile
  • The 15.6" x360 weighs 5.07lbs with a 23.9mm thin profile

Regarding colors, you get quite a few choices including Natural Silver, Modern Gold, Dragonfly Blue, Cardinal Red and Sport Purple with a new "digital thread design" with a pearl finish on the keyboard deck. Other specs include:

  • All models feature one HDMI, two USB 3.0 ports, one USB 2.0 port, SD card reader and audio combo
  • HP Fast Charge on select models, charging the device up to 90% in 90 minutes when powered off
  • Up to 512GB SSD with the option for hard drive storage up to 1TB HDD, depending on the model
  • HD and option for Full HD IPS displays on the 13.3" and 15.6" diagonal models
  • Audio expertly tuned by B&O PLAY provides superior sound quality for entertainment in any mode
  • The Pavilion x360 11.6" features up to 10 hours of battery life and up to 8GB of memory with the choice of Intel Celeron, Intel Pentium or 6th Generation Intel Core™ i3 processor
  • The Pavilion x360 13.3" packs up to 9 hours of battery life and 16GB of memory with the choice of 6th Generation Intel Core i3 and i5 processor - The Pavilion x360 15.6" notebook offers up to 9.25 hours of battery life and up to 8GB of memory with the choice of Intel Pentium or up to 6th Generation Intel Core i7 processor with optional NVIDIA GeForce 930M graphics

Pricing

  • The 11.6" HP Pavilion x360 starts at $379.99
  • The 13.6" HP Pavilion x360 starts at $479.99
  • The 15.6" HP Pavilion x360 starts at $579.99

All versions of the Pavilion x360 will be available mid-May.

Why we like 'em

Like the regular HP Pavilions announced today the x360 brings that nifty ability to turn into a tablet-like device for a more flexible experience. The colors are just outstanding, and you get the same hinge design from last year's Spectre series, which looks fantastic on these devices yet won't leave you poor.

Oh, and the 15.6" even has an ethernet port. Nice.

Our take: definitely keep in mind if you need something for school, home, or something that more affordable than a straight up Ultrabook.

Daniel Rubino
Editor-in-chief

Daniel Rubino is the Editor-in-chief of Windows Central. He is also the head reviewer, podcast co-host, and analyst. He has been covering Microsoft since 2007, when this site was called WMExperts (and later Windows Phone Central). His interests include Windows, laptops, next-gen computing, and watches. He has been reviewing laptops since 2015 and is particularly fond of 2-in-1 convertibles, ARM processors, new form factors, and thin-and-light PCs. Before all this tech stuff, he worked on a Ph.D. in linguistics, watched people sleep (for medical purposes!), and ran the projectors at movie theaters because it was fun.