HP’s latest Chromebook Plus drops to a price that makes more sense

Ah, the HP Chromebook Plus x360 14c – a device that is frustratingly great at getting so much of the Chromebook Plus equation right while missing on a few things that could have easily made it an absolute superstar. It’s a Chromebook that really does hit high points in many respects, but the few spots it lacks make the regular $699 asking price a bit too steep for me to ever recommend. But bring that price down by $240? Now you’re talking!

In my review of this Chromebook, I lauded the good stuff. The aesthetics, the feel, the looks, and the form factor are all really great. I love that HP finally included a 16:10 screen on this version of the x360 14c and I love that they kept the exceptional keyframe and giant, smooth, glass trackpad. They even improved the upward-firing speakers to be some of the best you can get.

And when you add a solid 1080p webcam, fast Chromebook Plus internals (12th-gen Core i3, 8GB of RAM and 256GB of NVMe storage), you get a Chromebook that – on paper – looks like an absolute stud. When I first saw the release notes on this one, I really thought HP had gone and built the best mid-high-range Chromebook we’ve seen.

And then the caveats showed themselves. While the screen is fine, it also sticks with the infuriating 250 nits of brightness HP can’t seem to escape with their non-Dragonfly Chromebooks. And the bottom chassis – while rigid and solid on previous x360 14c models – is one of the flimsiest I’ve used in a while. Both of these issues are things HP clearly knows how to avoid, and I have no clue why they were overlooked in this otherwise-fantastic Chromebook.

So you can see why the standard $699 price tag gives me pause. For many users, I do understand that the overall brightness of the screen isn’t a huge hangup and for all those that will keep this device mainly on a lap or desk, the firmness of the chassis isn’t a concern. After all, when it’s on a desk, you actually can’t tell there’s an issue. But I still have a hard time recommending a device with these sorts of flaws at a $699 price. There are simply too many options out there.

But today is different! Today, a $240 discount makes these issues palatable, and it makes the HP x360 14c Chromebook Plus a device that feels incredibly right for the money. At this price – $459 – you get to enjoy all those superlatives I listed above and when the chassis feels a bit less rigid than you like or the screen struggles a bit in really bright settings, you can know you got a killer deal on it and it likely won’t bug you at all.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it until I no longer run Chrome Unboxed: price informs opinions. When a Chromebook costs less, you judge it less harshly. That’s just the truth. And when a device like this that has a few of those caveats that make the full price tough to stomach goes on such a wild sale, it changes the entire conversation. If you’ve been looking at this one and haven’t been totally sold due to the price, now is your time to save big.