The HP Chromebase All-in-One 22 is a well-designed, engaging Chrome OS laptop with a selection of options, together with a rotating show, for dwelling utilization.

HP CHROMEBASE ALL-IN-ONE 22 SPECS

The ($479.99) is a Chrome OS system that isn’t a laptop computer: it’s an all-in-one (AIO) desktop. As a substitute of a Chromebook for college or as a backup laptop, the Chromebase is designed in your lounge or kitchen. And it’s not your typical AIO. The HP Chromebase stands out among the many AIO crowd with a show that may rotate between panorama and portrait modes, along with operating Chrome OS as a substitute of macOS or Home windows. The rotating touchscreen panel isn’t for us, however there’s lots to love about this fashionable, cheap, and revolutionary Chrome OS pocket book. Amongst cheap AIO desktops, it receives an Editors’ Alternative award.

From Panorama to Portrait…and Once more

The HP Chromebase All-in-One 22 is supported by a cone-shaped base that additionally capabilities as a speaker. The cone is just 6.7 inches in diameter, so it ought to have the ability to match on a desk, finish desk, or kitchen counter. It also needs to combine properly with any fashionable room design as a result of to its white exterior and grey fabric-wrapped base. It resembles an outsized iPad with a sensible speaker slightly than a pc.

The show is a contact panel with a local decision of 1,920 by 1,080-pixels and a most brightness of 250 nits. The decision seems to be stretched just a little skinny over the 21.5-inch panel, in my view. When seated up shut, the display screen is sort of crisp, however it begins to appear pixelated. The decision is satisfactory for shopping the online and watching 1080p movies, however it’s inadequate for skilled media modifying. On the plus aspect, I consider HP is underselling the display screen backlight on the Chromebase. The show’s highest brightness was almost double its 250-nit score in our checks. In my sunny workplace, there’s loads of mild.

Whereas the HP Chromebase isn’t perfect for picture or video modifying, it does embody a singular function that extends its utility for on a regular basis use at dwelling. You possibly can rotate the show from panorama to portrait mode with with one finger. Merely press down on the top-right nook, and it’ll effortlessly rotate right into a vertical place.

In portrait mode, what do you do with an almost 22-inch show? It’s superior for scrolling throughout lengthy webpages and social media websites, in keeping with HP, and I agree. In portrait format, I significantly loved going by my Twitter and Reddit feeds. I additionally preferred watching YouTube movies in portrait mode as a result of it was easier to learn the feedback whereas watching them. It was improbable to learn The New York Occasions in portrait mode. The vertical association was a pure match for the location, and studying longer articles wanted much less scrolling.

Nonetheless, it’s not all wine and rotating flowers. For one factor, when you’ve got quite a few home windows open, the rotation will combine them round, and while you return to panorama mode, you’ll discover them somewhere else. Most Chrome OS customers have a single Chrome window open and multitask utilizing browser tabs slightly than working in separate home windows, so this isn’t a big deal.

You also needs to remember that whereas Chrome, the Chrome Internet Retailer, and some different apps shrink to slot in portrait mode, others don’t. In portrait mode, for instance, the Google Play retailer continues to be too enormous to suit throughout the restricted borders. And my aspirations of enjoying supersized Android video games on the show in portrait mode have been instantly shattered. The performance of the show to rework into portrait mode was not acknowledged by Android apps (loaded by way of the Google Play retailer).

There is no such thing as a solution to modify the peak of the show as a result of it’s mounted excessive on the bottom. When in panorama place, the underside of the display screen bezel is 6.5 inches above the underside of the bottom, and it takes all of that area to swing into portrait mode. The show turns clockwise into portrait mode, leaving solely 2.4 inches of area between the monitor’s backside and your desk or desk.

The contact panel has a shiny end, which could trigger glare and reflections which can be bothersome. In consequence, it’s lucky that the show has a 20-degree tilt adjustment, permitting you to set the angle precisely proper and keep away from the worst of the glare.

When in panorama mode, a 5-megapixel webcam sits above the show, whereas in portrait mode, it sits to the best. It could possibly file video at a decision of as much as 2,560-by-1,944 pixels. It could possibly file a lot clearer footage and with a lot much less noise than the abnormal 720p Chromebook webcam. It additionally works nicely in each vivid and gloomy environments, producing images with well-balanced colours and pores and skin tones. A artistic and strange two-step privateness cowl can also be included with the digicam. To show off the video however preserve the microphone on, slide it midway over. You might also mute the mic by sliding all of it the way in which closed.

The Base Is Ace

The HP Chromebase All-in-One 22 is supported by a cone-shaped base that additionally capabilities as a speaker. The cone is just 6.7 inches in diameter, so it ought to have the ability to match on a desk, finish desk, or kitchen counter. It also needs to combine properly with any fashionable room design as a result of to its white exterior and grey fabric-wrapped base. It resembles an outsized iPad with a sensible speaker slightly than a pc.

The show is a contact panel with a local decision of 1,920 by 1,080-pixels and a most brightness of 250 nits. The decision seems to be stretched just a little skinny over the 21.5-inch panel, in my view. When seated up shut, the display screen is sort of crisp, however it begins to appear pixelated. The decision is satisfactory for shopping the online and watching 1080p movies, however it’s inadequate for skilled media modifying. On the plus aspect, I consider HP is underselling the display screen backlight on the Chromebase. The show’s highest brightness was almost double its 250-nit score in our checks. In my sunny workplace, there’s loads of mild.

Whereas the HP Chromebase isn’t perfect for picture or video modifying, it does embody a singular function that extends its utility for on a regular basis use at dwelling. You possibly can rotate the show from panorama to portrait mode with with one finger. Merely press down on the top-right nook, and it’ll effortlessly rotate right into a vertical place.

In portrait mode, what do you do with an almost 22-inch show? It’s superior for scrolling throughout lengthy webpages and social media websites, in keeping with HP, and I agree. In portrait format, I significantly loved going by my Twitter and Reddit feeds. I additionally preferred watching YouTube movies in portrait mode as a result of it was easier to learn the feedback whereas watching them. It was improbable to learn The New York Occasions in portrait mode. The vertical association was a pure match for the location, and studying longer articles wanted much less scrolling.

Nonetheless, it’s not all wine and rotating flowers. For one factor, when you’ve got quite a few home windows open, the rotation will combine them round, and while you return to panorama mode, you’ll discover them somewhere else. Most Chrome OS customers have a single Chrome window open and multitask utilizing browser tabs slightly than working in separate home windows, so this isn’t a big deal.

You also needs to remember that whereas Chrome, the Chrome Internet Retailer, and some different apps shrink to slot in portrait mode, others don’t. In portrait mode, for instance, the Google Play retailer continues to be too enormous to suit throughout the restricted borders. And my aspirations of enjoying supersized Android video games on the show in portrait mode have been instantly shattered. The performance of the show to rework into portrait mode was not acknowledged by Android apps (loaded by way of the Google Play retailer).

There is no such thing as a solution to modify the peak of the show as a result of it’s mounted excessive on the bottom. When in panorama place, the underside of the display screen bezel is 6.5 inches above the underside of the bottom, and it takes all of that area to swing into portrait mode. The show turns clockwise into portrait mode, leaving solely 2.4 inches of area between the monitor’s backside and your desk or desk.

The contact panel has a shiny end, which could trigger glare and reflections which can be bothersome. In consequence, it’s lucky that the show has a 20-degree tilt adjustment, permitting you to set the angle precisely proper and keep away from the worst of the glare.

When in panorama mode, a 5-megapixel webcam sits above the show, whereas in portrait mode, it sits to the best. It could possibly file video at a decision of as much as 2,560-by-1,944 pixels. It could possibly file a lot clearer footage and with a lot much less noise than the abnormal 720p Chromebook webcam. It additionally works nicely in each vivid and gloomy environments, producing images with well-balanced colours and pores and skin tones. A artistic and strange two-step privateness cowl can also be included with the digicam. To show off the video however preserve the microphone on, slide it midway over. You might also mute the mic by sliding all of it the way in which closed.

Testing the Chromebase All-in-One 22: Pentium Pep in Chrome OS

Our HP Chromebase All-in-One 22 overview unit has a dual-core Intel Pentium Gold 6405U CPU, 4GB of RAM, and 64GB of eMMC storage because the entry-level mannequin within the sequence. On HP’s web site, you’ll be able to choose a configuration with the Core i3-10110U processor, as much as 16GB of RAM, and a 256GB SSD. As a result of the HP Chromebase is the one Chrome OS-based AIO desktop we’ve examined, we’ll be utilizing laptop-format Chromebooks to guage its efficiency. From the Qualcomm Snapdragon-based to the Core i5-based Google Pixelbook Go, I selected quite a lot of Chromebooks.

Check System Configurations

We put Chromebooks by their paces with three totally different efficiency benchmark suites: one for Chrome OS, one for Android, and one for web. The primary, Principled Applied sciences’ CrXPRT 2, assesses how quickly a system can full widespread duties corresponding to making use of picture results, charting a inventory portfolio, analyzing DNA sequences, and constructing 3D shapes utilizing WebGL. The second, UL’s PCMark for Android Work 3.0, makes use of a smartphone-style window to do numerous productiveness duties. Lastly, Basemark Internet 3.0 combines low-level JavaScript calculations with CSS and WebGL content material in a browser tab. All three produce numerical outcomes; the bigger the quantity, the higher.

The HP Chromebase was accomplished amid the pack on these assessments. It trailed the Core i3-based Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5 and Core i5-based Google Pixelbook Go, ended ahead of the IdeaPad Duet 5 and Celeron-based , and was neck-and-neck with the Pentium Silver-based .

The Chromebase appeared snappy in my testing, from shopping the online by a dozen Chrome tabs to streaming 1080p video to enjoying Android video games. The Pentium Gold CPU and 4GB of RAM are adequate for many dwelling customers to function the light-weight Chrome OS easily.

The CPU and GPU are the main target of two extra Android benchmarks. Geekbench from Primate Labs makes use of all accessible cores and threads to simulate real-world purposes corresponding to PDF rendering, speech recognition, and machine studying, whereas GFXBench 5.0 stresses each low-level routines corresponding to texturing and high-level, game-like picture rendering that workout routines graphics and compute shaders. GFXBench counts frames per second, whereas Geekbench provides a numerical rating (fps).

On Geekbench, the HP Chromebase underperformed, ending second solely to the Chromebook 11 and far behind the Chromebook x360. Outdoors of the Pixelbook Go, not one of the Chromebooks posted body charges that may elevate a gamer’s eyebrow on GFXBench. The HP Chromebase, then again, continues to be able to operating informal Android video games.

In Chrome, I’m Portray a Portrait

I doubt I’d repeatedly swivel the HP Chromebase’s show into portrait mode, however I may think about myself doing so whereas scrolling by Twitter and Reddit, or whereas studying The New York Occasions. Rotating between panorama and portrait modes could be clunky when you have got quite a few home windows open, however it works properly while you solely have one Chrome window open, which is how I spend most of my time with Chrome OS—and as I’m positive you do, too.