While we’re nearing the release of our full review of the amazing HP Elite Dragonfly Chromebook, I can confidently say that its predecessor – the HP Elite c1030 – is just as great to use on a daily basis. Sure, the Dragonfly has a few new tricks up its sleeve and a faster processor on paper, but there’s no denying the appeal of the c1030 as a solid, attractive, capable daily driver for tons of Chormebook users out there.
At its inception, the HP Elite c1030 was – like its Dragonfly offspring – most definitely on the expensive side. At well over $1000 out of the gate, the c1030 stayed in the enterprise-only realm for most people for a long time. It was only when HP released their consumer-focused version at Best Buy that things got a little more interesting for normal Chromebook buyers. Dubbed the HP x360 13c in consumer channels, the $949 offering was a tad bit more palatable and had great specs to go with the top-notch build quality.
HP x360 13c Chromebook Specs
- Chrome OS
- Intel® Core™ i5-10210U
- 8 GB DDR4-2666 MHz RAM
- 256 GB PCIe® NVMe™ M.2 SSD
- 13.5″ diagonal (1920 x 1280), edge-to-edge glass display @ 400 nits, 100% sRGB
- Intel® Wi-Fi 6 AX201 (2×2) and Bluetooth® 5 combo
- 2 x USB-C, 1 x SS USB-A, 3.5mm audio
- 1 microSD media card reader
- Audio by Bang & Olufsen; Dual speakers
- 2.99 lbs
Still, with these sort of specs and an all-aluminum chassis, the price was pretty steep for the general Chromebook crowd. We knew, however, that the arrival in more-standard channels meant we’d eventually see deals on this device, and that began happening within about a month of the device’s availability. The first price cuts were small, but larger ones followed, pushing this excellent Chromebook down to mid-range price points on a regular basis. The largest discount happened back in May as the HP x360 13c fell to a whopping $400 off.
This time around, the reduction isn’t quite that steep, but it is impressive nonetheless. Right now, Best Buy has the HP Chromebook x360 13c on sale for a solid $300 off the $949 MSRP. That means for $649, you can get your hands on one of the best overall Chromebooks available right now. Compared with the Elite Dragonfly Chromebook, you can expect a less-capable webcam, a lack of wireless charging for your USI pen, and less-impressive speakers. But in the grand scheme of things, those are small trades when you look at the price of this Chromebook and what it is capable of.
For $649, you are getting a gorgeous 13.5-inch 3:2 400 nit screen, probably my favorite build quality in a Chromebook aside from the Pixelbook and Pixelbook Go, a fantastic keyboard/trackpad, and very fast internals. No, this Chromebook isn’t as fast as the Elite Dragonfly, but in daily use, I promise you’ll never think about that. I’ve gone back to this Chromebook time and again as my daily driver, and I still love it to this day. The high price used to be a deterrent, but that’s not the case any longer. Grab this one while you can, because this is a crazy deal on a very good Chromebook.
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