HP Pavilion Aero Laptop Review

HP’s newest ultraportable, the 2.2-pound Pavilion x2, appears like one of the company’s high-end Envy or Spectre models but is part of the company’s more affordable Pavilion line. The Pavilion Aero 13.3″ starts at $749.99, but the device we reviewed costs $999.99. Compared to the multiple-award-winning Dell XPS 13, that laptop is a steal. For the same price, the HP offers twice as many processor cores, twice as much memory and storage, and twice as many connectors as the Dell. The Pavilion Aero isn’t quite as good as the XPS 13 OLED or the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon, but it’s still a fantastic value in a midrange clamshell, so it merits an Editors’ Choice award.

HP Pavilion Aero Laptop Specs

PROS

• Lightweight, coming in just under a kilogram, but still solidly constructed
• IPS screen with a matte 16:10 aspect ratio
• Excellent IO and inputs
• Quick for general purpose and multitasking use.
• Excellent thermals and a silent fan under constant load
• Reasonably priced given the nature of the item

CONS

• No choice for an IR camera or a touchscreen
• Not the most powerful way to use Ryzen
• The sound isn’t much.
• 43 Wh battery and pretty short runtimes

Price

The HP Pavilion Aero 13 can be purchased through HP and other online stores (a new window/tab will open for both). For about $839, our review device was equipped with a 13.3-inch (1920 x 1200) display, 16GB of RAM, a 512GB solid-state drive (SSD), and an AMD Ryzen 7 5800U processor. The standard color for this laptop is silver.

However, HP also offers it in white, warm gold, and pale rose gold for an additional $10 to $15. The base model costs $749 and comes with a less powerful AMD Ryzen 5 5600U processor, 8GB of RAM, and a 256GB solid-state drive. However, for an additional $100, you can purchase a 1TB hard drive model and a higher quality display (2560×1600) for $1,099 (MSRP). The processor and memory remain the same.

Performance

The Dell XPS 13, a high-end competitor to the Aero 13, features a more expensive Intel Core i7-1185G7 processor, although the Ryzen 7 5800U outperforms it. You’ll be okay with regular office/schoolwork, streaming media, or simple content production, thanks to the generous amount of processing power and memory (16GB). The battery life is excellent, lasting 10 hours and 8 minutes during our test of continuously playing a video online.

The HP Pavilion is a delight to work with, after all. The item is pleasant to hold. It’s so light you can open it with your thumb, and it still has a lock. Even though the power adapter has a barrel connector, you may still use the USB-C port to charge the device.

Keyboard

The keyboard is as comfortable to type on as you’d find on any thin laptop in this price range, and the touchpad’s precision is excellent, with no jerkiness. The palm rest incorporates a fingerprint sensor, allowing for password-free logins.

The webcam cannot be covered with a shutter, there is no quick-access key to silence the microphones, and neither a microSD nor an SD card reader is included.  However, HP deserves credit for making it so that the Pavilion Aero 13 doesn’t leave you shortchanged. This little laptop has a long battery life, an ultralight chassis, and lightning-fast processing, making it ideal for frequent travel.

Screen

Here, HP only has one screen option for the Pavilion Aero 13: a 13-inch 16:10 flat screen that doesn’t have touch. This is a good-quality screen by today’s standards. We recorded a maximum brightness of 450+ nits, which means you can use this computer in bright light if you want to.

It also has great blacks and contrast for this class. Colour range is about 100% sRGB, which is more than enough for everyday use. On the other hand, the lowest light setting is about 23 nits, which may not be dark enough for some of you in dark places. The good news is that our machine didn’t leak a lot of light.

Design

The HP Pavilion Aero 13 may look sleek and tiny, but its exterior belies its premium build quality. The 2.2-pound weight of this work of art makes it feel like a feather in my hands. It goes well with the streamlined aluminum lid that bears HP’s shiny emblem in the center. When I opened her up, I saw a tiny keyboard deck with a fingerprint reader and a glass touchpad. The display’s bezels, meanwhile, greeted me with their curvy, oh-so-thin appearance making this a perfect choice for all.

Conclusion

Regarding naming, HP could have called this ENVY, and no one would have known the difference. The logo on the lid could be more excellent than those on the ENVY or Spectre, but that’s a minor complaint. Other minor issues, like a slow fingerprint reader or the need for a microSD card reader, need to be more significant to make or break the deal.

AMD needs to work on its GPU to make its processor more balanced, but this isn’t a gaming machine, so no promises are broken. But all things considered, the Pavilion Aero 13 is an outstanding laptop. It’s so light that it almost seems fake, but the metal body gives it a good feel and keeps it in good balance. The AMD CPU is strong, and the specs are better than usual, but it doesn’t have 4GB of RAM or 64GB of storage.