Laptop ticks key requirements
Price and performance are what people are most concerned about in a laptop, and Patch Bowen believes he found one that fits the bill.
The HP Pavilion Aero 13 is an ultraportable laptop that has a lot going for it. The best thing about it is its price. At $2239 it is significantly cheaper than other laptops in the same class. And it performs just as well, if not better.
Instead of cost-cutting when it comes to performance, HP has done it in ways that are less impactful. Instead of a 4K UHD+ display, the Aero 13 has a lesser but capable 1920×1200 screen. Instead of facial recognition for Windows Hello, it has implemented a fingerprint scanner. And the speakers are terrible, but who uses laptop speakers these days?
For an ultraportable laptop, a 4K screen, great speakers and facial recognition are not necessary. Price and performance are what people are most concerned about, or at least should be, and on that front HP’s Pavilion Aero 13 is best in class. If I was to buy an ultraportable, this is what I would buy.
Price
The HP Pavilion Aero 13 at max specs costs $2239. This is an excellent price for an ultraportable laptop.
It is hard to qualify (especially as laptops come in many variations) but to put it into perspective, our review version of the Aero 13 has an AMD Ryzen 7 5800U processor, 16GB of RAM and 1TB of storage, all for just $2239.
The Dell XPS 13 with an intel i7-1195G7 processor, 16GB RAM and 512GB of storage costs $2318. If you want 1TB of storage, you will need to upgrade to a 4K screen, and the price will increase to $3000. The Lenovo ThinkPad x1 Nano, with similar specs, costs closer to $4000.
In comparison, HP’s Pavilion Aero 13 is very well priced.
Design
The Pavilion Aero 13 is compact and welldesigned, ideal for use on the go. Not only is this an ultraportable laptop, it’s also ultralight. It weighs less than 1kg. And it looks great too. Our review device sported the ceramic white colour scheme and it looks sleek and stylish.
Typing on this laptop was fine. The keys are well-spaced, but I would have liked it to be a bit more springy. The mouse trackpad was not as responsive as I would have liked. Clicking required more force than was comfortable, and often I would have to swipe my finger across it several times to get where I wanted to go.
The Pavilion Aero 13 supports Windows Hello, but probably not as you would expect. While there is a 720p camera at the top of the device, you can
not unlock the laptop with facial recognition. Instead, the Aero 13 uses a fingerprint scanner below the keyboard. It is quick, accurate and if it keeps the cost down, I am more than happy to forgo facial recognition.
It has a decent amount of ports here too. There is an HDMI port, 2x USB-A ports, a USB-C port, a headphone/ microphone jack and a charging port. It meant I could plug it into my TV, and I was never left wanting more ports.
Display
To get to a $2239 price point, concessions will have to be made. And in the Aero 13, most of the cost-cutting has occurred in the display.
The Pavilion Aero 13 has a 13.3-inch, 1920 x 1200, 16:10, 60Hz display. It is not bad, but it cannot compete with the highquality screens found in other ultraportable laptops like the Dell XPS 13 with its 3840×2400 UHD+ display.
For an ultraportable, it is fine. Watching YouTube videos and scrolling through social media does not require the latest and greatest 4K monitor. And again, if it keeps the price down, I am happy with that.
I liked the 16:10 display ratio. It provides more vertical space, which I think is better for work and surfing the web. The Aero 13 has a 90 per cent screento-body ratio. The bezels (frame) are slim
and unobtrusive. The display cleverly feels big without forcing an increase in the device’s physical size.
The screen has a maximum brightness of 400nits, which is high for a laptop at this price point. It was hard to see the finer details of the screen when sitting in direct sunlight, but I had no issues in bright rooms like a library or office.
Performance
Our version of the Aero 13 had AMD’s eight-core Ryzen 7 5800U processor. This is one of the fastest processors you can get in a slim laptop like this. And it did not disappoint.
For basic usage such as surfing the web or doing work, it did not falter. I never had any slowdowns or stuttering issues, even with multiple Chrome tabs open, Spotify playing, and a YouTube video going at the same time.
It also was not bad for gaming. Less graphically-intensive games like Skul: The Hero Slayer and Terraria ran smoothly at 60fps. I also tried Valheim, but it struggled, running at an average of 20fps.
Interestingly, Forza Horizon 5 (what I would consider a more graphicallydemanding game than Valheim), ran well managing 30fps with all graphics settings on low. This may have been due to game optimisation though.
If you are looking for a laptop for gaming, this is not it; however, it is nice to know it can run some less-intensive games without issues.
Video editing is a different story. It simply is not a laptop for demanding processes like rendering videos.
Because it uses an AMD processor, it means there is no Intel Quick Sync for faster encoding and decoding.
Rendering a video with this laptop took more than 15 minutes. It is just not up to the task. I do not think that is an issue, though.
If you are looking for a video editing laptop, you should not be looking at an ultraportable.
Battery
For a laptop this affordable, the battery is excellent. HP claims the Pavilion Aero 13 lasts 11 hours with moderate usage.
Throughout our testing we found this to be true. The Aero 13 lasts a long time, ideal for an ultraportable.
Audio/Camera
The worst part about the Aero 13 was the speakers. Although HP’s marketing seems to be proud of the dual speakers designed by B&O, they are rubbish.
The sound is tinny, quiet and lacks bass. You will want some headphones when using this laptop.
The Aero 13 has a 720p HD Wide Vision camera. Nothing special here, it is there if you need it but do not expect to be blown away by its capabilities.
Verdict
If you are looking for an ultraportable laptop, running Windows 11, the HP Pavilion Aero 13 is what I would recommend.
It is incredibly light and looks great, it performs far better than I expected, has very good battery life and it is well priced.
Significantly cheaper than its competitors, the Aero 13 is just as powerful and user-friendly.
At this price there has to be some costcutting and with the Aero 13 it is in the display and speakers. Neither of these features make or break an ultraportable though.
The display is a vibrant 1920 x 1200, 16:10, 60Hz screen that is easily good enough for ultraportable type uses. The speakers are the weakest point, but in today’s Bluetooth headphone world, it is not an issue.
If you are looking for an ultraportable then you will love HP’s Pavilion Aero 13, not just for what it can do but for how much it saves your wallet as well.