FEBRUARY 2020 PCWorld 55KEYBOARD, TRACKPAD,
SPEAKERS, AND EXTRAS
The Pavilion x360’s keyboard is a cut above
those you typically see in midrange laptops.
The square, flat keys feel solid rather than
squishy, with a fairly generous amount of
travel and a satisfying mid-stroke bump that
feels almost clicky. Indeed, I found typing on
the Pavilion to be an unexpected pleasure.
The Pavilion’s trackpad is a bit on the
wide side, which meant that my palms
frequently dragged over it while I typed. That
wouldn’t be a big deal if the trackpad were
better at rejecting accidental inputs; alas, the
Pavilion’s cursor occasionally jittered across
the screen as my palm brushed the trackpad,
particularly on the right side. The accidental
trackpad inputs weren’t so bad that they
interrupted my work, but they happened
enough to be noticeable.
Back on the plus side, the
Bang & Olufsen-designed stereo
speakers are actually pretty good.
We generally expect very little
from laptop speakers, but the
Pavilion’s top-firing drivers actually
evinced some subtle detail and
even a bit of bass. While I couldn’t
crank the speakers very loud, at
least I didn’t notice any distortion
when I dialed the volume all the
way up.
This particular configuration
of the Pavilion x360 comes with a
fingerprint reader sitting just beneath the
bottom-right corner of the keyboard.PORTS
The Pavilion x360 has a solid selection of
ports given its size and price range. Starting
on the left side, there’s a USB 3.1 Gen 1
Type-A port (5Gbps), a combo audio jack,
and a laptop security slot. Also on the left side
is a good-sized cooling vent, along with the
aforementioned power button.
On the right side you’ll find a media card
reader, a USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-C port, a
second USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-A port, a full
HDMI port, and a barrel-shaped charging
connector.
There’s no ethernet port, but given that
Pavilions generally don’t have one, that isn’t
much of a shock.The HP Pavilion x360’s backlit keyboard is a pleasure to type on,
with plenty of travel and solid, tactile key caps.