HP Pavilion Pro 14 review: OLED on the cheap

As of when this review is being written, most configurations of the Pavilion Plus 14 are heavily discounted. The best deal is the entry-level model that’s $550 at Staples (on sale from $780) with a 12th-gen Intel Core i5-1240P CPU, 8GB of RAM, a 256GB SSD, and a 14-inch 2.2K (2240 x 1400) IPS display. The Core i5-1240P is a 28-watt 12-core (four Performance and eight Efficient) and 16-thread processor running at a max frequency of 4.4GHz.

My review unit retails for $1,000 but is on sale for $850, with a Core i7-12700H (see the performance section), 16GB of RAM, a 256GB SSD, and a 14-inch 2.8K OLED display. Spend $1,130 (on sale from $1,310), and you get an Intel Core i7-1255U CPU, 12GB of RAM, a 1TB SSD, an Nvidia GeForce RTX 2050 GPU, and the 14-inch OLED display. Oddly enough, the Core i7-1255U is a 15-watt 10-core (two Performance and eight Efficient), 12-thread CPU. You can mix and match more CPU and GPU options using the configure-to-order tool at HP.com.

The Asus Vivobook S 14X is similarly priced at retail, $1,100 for a Core i7-12700H, 12GB of RAM, a 512GB SSD, Intel Iris Xe graphics, and a 14-inch 2.8K OLED display at 120Hz. For $900, you can get a Core i5-12500H, 8GB of RAM, a 512GB SSD, and the OLED display. Another laptop that’s priced around the same is the Dell Inspiron 14 2-in-1, which is $1,050 for a Core i7-1255U, 16GB of RAM, a 512GB SSD, and a 14-inch Full HD+ (1920 x 1200) display. Although the Pavilion Plus 14’s configuration options are complex and sometimes confusing, the laptop is a great value at its various sale prices.

My review unit was built around the 12th-gen Intel Core i7-12700H, a 45-watt CPU with 12 cores (four Performance and eight Efficient) and 16 threads. It’s a processor that we don’t often see in thin-and-light ultrabooks like the Pavilion Plus 14, which typically equip 28-watt Intel P-Series or 15-watt U-Series CPUs. Also unusual is that the Pavilion Plus 14 is limited to Intel’s integrated Iris Xe graphics. Usually, the 45-watt CPUs are paired with discrete graphics.

One of the most important recent advances in display technology is the widespread adaptation of OLED panels. They provide brighter and more accurate colors and deeper blacks, making for excellent productivity, creativity, and media consumption displays. If you can get an OLED display for less than $1,000, that’s a terrific value proposition, and when that display runs at 90Hz, it’s even better. Higher refresh rates help make Windows 11 a smoother experience, not to mention allowing games to run tear-free at higher frame rates (not that we’re worried about that with integrated graphics).

My review unit was configured with the 2.8K (2880 x 1800) 90Hz OLED display, and it was beautiful out of the box. If I’d spent $850 on the laptop, I’d be tickled pink with the bright and accurate colors, inky blacks, and smooth Windows 11 experience.

According to my colorimeter, HP didn’t cut any corners with the display. Brightness was excellent at 398 nits, well above our threshold of 300 nits for working in all lighting conditions except direct sunlight. Colors were wide at 100% of sRGB and 95% of AdobeRGB, and they were extremely accurate at a DeltaE of 0.78 (1.0 or less is indistinguishable to the human eye). And, of course, the contrast was extremely deep at 27,830:1, making for inky blacks.

This is a spectacular display at any price; it’s a steal at $1,000 or less. It’s a display that will please everyone, from productivity workers to creators to hardcore media consumers.

Two downward-firing speakers on the front bottom of the chassis provide the audio, putting out very low volume sound. What they lacked in loudness, the speakers made up for in quality, with clear mids and highs and a surprising amount of bass. You’ll want some headphones for music and serious binging, but for watching a video every now and then, the audio quality is fine.

The Pavilion Plus 14 enjoys a nicely sized keyboard with large keycaps, and its switches are light with a precise bottoming action. It’s almost as good as the keyboard on HP’s Spectre line and has the same row of navigation keys on the right-hand side. As I was writing this review, I found the keyboard very comfortable for longer typing sessions.

The touchpad is large and has a smooth surface that makes for precise swiping with support for the full complement of Windows 11 multitouch gestures, thanks to Microsoft Precision drivers. The buttons are responsive and quiet. You won’t find a better touchpad on many laptops costing twice as much. The display isn’t touch-enabled, unfortunately.

Windows 11 Hello passwordless support is provided by a fingerprint reader on the palm rest, which isn’t as convenient as those built into the power button. Nevertheless, it was quick and reliable during my testing.

HP built a 5MP webcam into the Pavilion Plus 14 along with some technology to improve image quality. The video was smooth and detailed, much better than the average, and good enough to make for excellent videoconferencing.

The Pavilion Plus 14 has 51 watt-hours of battery capacity, which is a little on the low side for a 14-inch laptop, and my review unit equipped a 45-watt CPU and a power-hungry high-res OLED display. I wasn’t expecting miracles in terms of battery life.

I didn’t get any. The Pavilion Plus 14 demonstrated below-average battery life in all our tests, starting with our web browsing test that cycles through a handful of complex websites, where it hit 4.5 hours. That’s around half of what we like to see in this test. In our video test that loops a local Full HD Avengers trailer, the HP managed just 7.5 hours, again well under average. And in the PCMark 10 Applications test that’s the best indication of productivity battery life, it hit just 4.75 hours, again significantly less than average.

Overall, the Pavilion Plus 14 is unlikely to get you through a full day of productivity tasks. You might be lucky to make it to lunch. The other configurations with lower-watt CPUs may do better, but my review unit configuration will need its charger kept handy.

The HP Pavilion Plus 14 isn’t the first thin-and-light laptop I’ve reviewed with a 45-watt CPU and, apparently, thermally limited performance. However, it’s much more forgivable at an $850 sale price with a spectacular 90Hz OLED display. The battery life is disappointing, but the build quality is excellent, as are the keyboard and touchpad. And as this review is being written, you can buy the Pavilion Plus 14 with a Core i5-1240P CPU and a 2.2K IPS display for as low as $550, which is a tremendous value.

The Pavilion Plus 14 is an attractive mid-range laptop even at full retail prices. And I can’t stress enough how nice it is to get such a great OLED display at such a low price.

Are there any alternatives?

There aren’t many laptops in the same price range offering 12th-gen Intel CPUs. I’ve reviewed a couple of them, and neither offers quite the same overall value as the Pavilion Plus 14.

However, if you can spend a bit more, then Lenovo’s Yoga 9i Gen 7 is a solid option. It has its own incredible OLED display and a stunning new design, it performs similarly, and it has better battery life. As a convertible 2-in-1, it offers a more flexible form factor.