Back in April, a mysterious “voice shortcuts” page popped up for some users in Google Assistant’s settings page. The page directed users to internal Google documentation for a feature code-named guacamole. A few months later in June, we learned that that the feature would be called “quick phrases” and allow users to ditch the “Hey Google” hotword for common voice interactions. Now, more details have emerged about how this upcoming feature will work.
According to 9to5Google, Quick phrases will let you perform a wide range of tasks without having to say the “Hey Google” hotword. For example, if you want to ask the Assistant about the weather, you won’t have to say the customary “Hey Google” first. Instead, you can just say “What’s the weather?” and the Assistant will be able to pick it up and respond.
Screenshots shared by 9to5Google shows Quick phrases will be divided across various categories such as Recommended, Alarms, Connect, General info, Lights, Media Controls, Timers, and To-Dos.
Google currently plans to add the following Quick phrases:
Set alarms: “Set an alarm for 7 a.m.”
Cancel alarms: “Cancel the alarm”
Show alarms: “What time is my alarm set for?”
Send broadcasts: “Send a broadcast”
Respond to calls: “Answer” & “Decline”
Ask about time: “What time is it?”
Ask about weather: “What’s the weather?”
Turn lights on & off: “Turn the lights on”
Turn lights up & down: “Increase the brightness”
Control volume: “Turn up the volume”
Pause & resume music: “Pause the music”
Skip tracks: “Skip this song”
Set timers: “Set a timer for 2 minutes”
Cancel timers: “Cancel the timer”
Pause & resume timers: “Pause the timer”
Reset timers: “Reset the timer”
Show timers: “How much time is left?”
Reminders: “Create a reminder”
Family notes: “Create a family note”
The Quick phrases feature is still under development and hasn’t been rolled out to users yet. It’s unclear whether the feature will be limited to newer Nest speakers and smart displays or if it will be available on older Google Home speakers as well.
The Samsung Galaxy Buds+ has been our go-to recommendation for a lot of people looking for a pair of TWS on a budget. We’ve even featured it in our best TWS earbuds compilation, which speaks volumes about how good the product was especially for its asking price. Now Samsung has discontinued selling the Galaxy Buds+ to promote the newly launched Galaxy Buds 2 as the earbuds for the masses.
You can however still pick up a pair of Galaxy Buds+ from some retailers for a cheaper price which brings up the question — which pair of earphones should you buy? Here’s the Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 vs Galaxy Buds+ comparison to help you decide!
Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 vs Samsung Galaxy Buds+ Specs
Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 vs Samsung Galaxy Buds Plus: Specifications
Let’s first talk about the cases of both earbuds. The Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 have a rectangular case, and the Galaxy Buds+ have an oval-like elliptical case with a lid that’s easier to open with one hand. Both cases are made of plastic and the Buds 2 have a white exterior with the internal compartment inside the case based on the color you pick.
The Galaxy Buds+ is slightly more pocketable due to the sleek design but neither of the two earbuds are bulky and can easily be carried around in your pocket.
Moving to the earbuds themselves, the shape remains the same across both earbuds but there is one minute change that a lot of people may find important.
The Galaxy Buds+ had winged ear tips that stay put inside the ears even during rigorous workouts. While the Galaxy Buds 2 also fit very well, the extra bit of assurance that was there with the Galaxy Buds+ isn’t there on the Buds 2. Both earphones are IPX2 rated and are good for workouts.
Sound Quality and ANC
The Galaxy Buds 2 are extremely similar to the more premium Galaxy Buds Pro in terms of sound quality, and the Galaxy Buds Pro is one of our top recommendations for a pair of TWS earbuds. The sound signature leans slightly towards the bass-heavy side but it’s something most people will like. The Galaxy Buds+ also has a similar sound signature. Most people using either of the two earphones will find the sound output to be pleasing and quite enjoyable.
The Galaxy Buds 2 has one big advantage in this department though, and that’s ANC or Active Noise Cancellation. ANC helps cancel out background noise to improve your listening experience and it works quite well on the Galaxy Buds 2. If you’re traveling in a plane or a bus, ANC can help improve your listening experience by a considerable margin and is surely a good feature to have. The Galaxy Buds+ miss out on ANC so while the listening isn’t as immersive, the silicone ear tips provide a good seal with passive isolation. If ANC isn’t a big deal for you, the sound quality on the Galaxy Buds+ is good enough for most people.
Additional Features and Battery Life
You get custom gestures on both earbuds that can be configured via the Galaxy Wearable app. You can set touch controls for play/pause, next/previous track, and even to toggle ANC on/off on the Galaxy Buds 2. Both earbuds don’t have in-ear detection so if you’re going to remove an earbud while music is playing, neither of them will pause your music automatically. You also get multi-device support with both earbuds and quick-pair when used with a Samsung device.
In terms of battery life, the Galaxy Buds+ surprisingly fare better than the Galaxy Buds 2. You can get up to a whopping 11 hours on a single charge with the Galaxy Buds+, a number that’s rare in the TWS space. On the Galaxy Buds 2, you can get up to five hours of listening time on a single charge with the case being able to charge the earbuds up to five times. When you factor in the case as well, the Galaxy Buds 2 offer better battery life, However, you will be able to use the Galaxy Buds+ for a longer duration at a stretch. Both cases charge via USB-C port and also support Qi Wireless Charging.
Which one should you buy?
The Galaxy Buds 2 are available for $149.99 and if you’ve bought a Galaxy Z Fold 3 or Galaxy Z Flip 3, you can effectively get them for free with Samsung store credit. The Galaxy Buds+ have officially been discontinued but are available to buy through various channels like Amazon quite cheaply, ideally under the $100 mark. For that price, they’re still a worthy purchase in 2021, although the lack of ANC might put some people off. If you can spend the extra, the Galaxy Buds 2 is obviously the better pick with more extra features and ANC. Unless continuous battery life for over 10 hours is must-have for you, the Galaxy Buds 2 is the more sensible option.
Today, Microsoft is releasing Windows Server 2022, making it generally available to customers around the world. Typically, Windows Server releases are somewhat aligned with consumer versions of Windows, but Windows Server 2022 is still more like Windows 10 than Windows 11. That’s probably because the use cases for Windows Server don’t really require the kind of UI refresh that Windows 11 is.
Instead, this release focuses on enhancing core features that are more important for servers. First, there are security improvements with what Microsoft calls “advanced multi-layered security”. There are two parts to this; first, there’s Secured-core Server, a type of device where Microsoft works with hardware partners to enable new hardware, firmware, and driver features to provide enhanced security. Microsoft did something similar for business PCs, which it called Secured-core PCs, and this is taking that to servers.
Additionally, Windows Server 2022 improves the speed and security of network connections with HTTPS and TLS 1.3 enabled by default, and support for DNS-over-HTTPS is also available now. AES-256 encryption support is now available for the SMB protocol, too.
Windows Server 2022 also comes with some new Azure features, like Azure Arc, which enables cloud services for on-premises configurations. Plus, there’s support for SMB Compression and an updated Windows Admin Center with an improved server management experience. Microsoft also highlighted some Azure features released over the past year, such as Azure Automanage to automate best practices for the cloud, Azure Kubernetes Service with .NET support, and more.
This release of Windows Server adds support for 48TB of RAM as well as 2,048 logical cores across 64 CPU sockets, which should enable support for even more applications. Additionally, it includes improved application support for Windows containers, adds support for IPv6 and dual-stack networking, and more.
If you’re interested in Windows Server 2022, you can head here to try it out, and find the full list of new features here. To buy it, there are three pricing options available; Essentials is designed for specialty servers and is licensed per server, while Standard and Datacenter are licensed per core and meant for large-scale applications.
Samsung has launched its latest wearables as part of the Galaxy Watch 4 series and these include the Galaxy Watch 4 and the Galaxy Watch 4 Classic. These are the first two smartwatches that come with the latest version of WearOS, albeit with a custom UI on top called OneUI Watch. It’s not just about the software though. The Galaxy Watch 4 brings a host of improvements compared to the previous generation of the Galaxy Watch even in terms of hardware.
While the standard Galaxy Watch replaces the Galaxy Watch Active 2, the Galaxy Watch 4 Classic is a successor to the Galaxy Watch 3 from last year. If you’re wondering whether you should upgrade to the new smartwatch from Samsung or if you’re planning to get a new one and wondering to get the latest watch or to get the older one on a sweet discount, we’re here to help you out with that decision.
LTE, Bluetooth 5.0, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n 2.4+5GHz, NFC, GPS/Glonass/Beidou/Gallileo
LTE, Bluetooth 5.0, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n 2.4+5GHz, NFC, GPS/Glonass/Beidou/Gallileo
Durability
5ATM water-resistant
IP68
MIL-STD-810G
5ATM water-resistant
IP68
MIL-STD-810G
OS
OneUI Watch
Tizen OS
Hardware: Improvements all over
The new Galaxy Watch 4 Classic gets newer and better hardware both on the inside and the outside compared to the Galaxy Watch 3 from last year. The design is slightly updated and looks more formal and classy on the Watch 4 Classic. On the inside, the Galaxy Watch 4 Classic is powered by the latest Exynos W920 chipset which is based on a 5nm manufacturing process. This chip is much faster and more power-efficient compared to the Exynos 9110 on the Galaxy Watch 3.
The Galaxy Watch 4 Classic also gets more RAM and storage, 1.5GB and 16GB instead of 1GB and 8GB on the Galaxy Watch 3. More RAM helps with smoother performance and more storage means you can now install more apps and store more songs and podcasts offline on your watch. The power-efficient chip means that with almost the same capacity battery on both watches, the Galaxy Watch 4 Classic will give you better battery life.
The overall size of the dial is slightly larger on the Galaxy Watch 4 Classic but the chassis is thinner compared to the Galaxy Watch 3. This is mainly because Samsung’s new BioActive Sensor combines all vital sensors required for health tracking into one unit instead of having multiple different sensors contributing to the thickness of the watch.
Health Features
Thanks to the new BioActive Sensor we just talked about, the Galaxy Watch 4 Classic brings new health features to the table. While the Galaxy Watch 3 could measure heart rate, SpO2, and even ECG, the new Galaxy Watch 4 Classic takes it up a notch and has the ability to perform a Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis or BIA. This is used to measure body composition or in simple terms, track your BMI, muscle fat, water content, visceral fat, etc. The Galaxy Watch 4 is one of the first smartwatches to do so and is definitely a bonus for anyone who is serious about their health tracking.
Software: The latest version of Wear OS is finally here, kind of
When Google announced it was partnering with Samsung to give Wear OS a much-needed overhaul, all of us were excited to see what was coming. The Galaxy Watch 4 and Watch 4 Classic are the first smartwatches to come with the latest version of Wear OS, but with a host of add-ons from Samsung. Samsung has been using Tizen on their smartwatches and while it helped with a smoother UI and better battery performance when compared to earlier versions of Wear OS, it was lacking in the features department.
You could only use Samsung’s apps and a few third-party apps on Tizen whereas you can now download countless apps from the Google Play Store, thanks to the integration with Wear OS. Samsung, however, has heavily modified the UI and is calling it OneUI Watch. Of course, you can use the Galaxy Watch 4 with any Android device that comes with GMS core (sorry, Huawei users) but it works best with Samsung’s phones since a lot of the stock apps are Samsung’s own apps instead of Google’s and some functions are also exclusive to Samsung Galaxy smartphones. Oh, and the new Galaxy Watch 4 Classic also doesn’t work with iOS devices.
Verdict: Which one should you buy?
The answer is pretty obvious at this point. The Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 Classic is overall a better smartwatch in probably every single aspect. The Galaxy Watch 3 is also a good smartwatch, but the older CPU and limitations of Tizen OS are where it loses out in comparison to the new Galaxy Watch 4 Classic. If you’re on a strict budget though, you can still get a Galaxy Watch 3 if you don’t really use a lot of third-party apps on your watch and you mainly want a wearable for fitness tracking. Prior to the Watch 4 coming out, the Galaxy Watch 3 was widely regarded as one of the better smartwatch options around for Android users.
As of writing, both the Galaxy Watch 4 Classic and the Galaxy Watch 3 are retailing for the same price of $349 on Samsung’s website which seems weird and in such a scenario, there’s no doubt you should pick up the Galaxy Watch 4 Classic. If you can find a good deal on the Galaxy Watch 3 a few months down the line, you can still consider getting one with a sweet discount.
If you’re an Android user, you’ve surely been longing for a good smartwatch that can compete against the Apple Watch, and looks like Samsung finally has a winner. If you want to know how the Galaxy Watch 4 Classic compares to the Apple Watch Series 6, we have a dedicated comparison highlighting the differences between both watches. In case you decide to pick up the Samsung Galaxy Watch 4, we also have a list of the best bands for the Galaxy Watch 4, so you can choose something that better matches your style.
If you have a project or service that requires scraping search results for data, you might be interested in this API that can streamline the process. Zenserp is able to get real-time data from search results on the major search platforms. Their simple API has scalable options that make it a great solution for any sized project. You can try Zenserp for free, to see how powerful this API is.
Zenserp works with the following platforms:
Google
Bing
Yahoo
DuckDuckGo
Get detailed scrape results from APIs for specific situations. You can scrape Youtube results with the Youtube Search API, to get the latest information on video rankings for a specific search. If you need to monitor shopping results, use the Google Shopping Product Page API to gain valuable product insights and scrape product information. The Google Trends API will help you retrieve trending topics in easy-to-read JSON-format. You can also take advantage of the Google Search API for standard search, image search, news search, maps search, news search, etc.
Included Google APIs:
Google SERP API
Google Image Search API
Google Maps Search API
Google News API
Google Trends API
Google Shopping API
Reverse Image Search API
Youtube Search API
With these extensive tools, Zenserp becomes an all-in-one solution for your search scrape needs. Their API is easy to use and contains many different parameters that help you get exactly the data you’re looking for. You can try a free demo that lets you test these scraping features here.
Generous Free Plan
Zenserp believes in fair pricing. That’s why they offer you 50 API requests per month for free. No strings attached!
Request Builder
Getting started is easy. Zenserp provides an extensive request builder, that converts your requests into production-ready code snippets.
Supports All Programming Languages
Zenserp can be used with any programming language, as data can be simply retrieved by any HTTP client.
A Full Coverage Solution
Your SERP results will give you more than just organic and paid results. All snippet types are included with new ones being added regularly. If a search engine creates a new type of snippet, Zenserp will update its API to include it. If you want to see a full list of their current supported SERP snippets, see this documentation here.
You can start using Zenserp at no cost, with 50 free requests. This is a great way to try out the API and see if it’s going to work for your specific situation. If you find that this is a good solution, you can upgrade to one of their paid plans, which offers features for a project of any size.
We thank Zenserp for sponsoring this post. Our sponsors help us pay for the many costs associated with running XDA, including server costs, full time developers, news writers, and much more. While you might see sponsored content (which will always be labeled as such) alongside Portal content, the Portal team is in no way responsible for these posts. Sponsored content, advertising and XDA Depot are managed by a separate team entirely. XDA will never compromise its journalistic integrity by accepting money to write favorably about a company, or alter our opinions or views in any way. Our opinion cannot be bought.
Qualcomm today announced aptX Lossless, a new feature of aptX Adaptive that promises to deliver CD-quality lossless audio over Bluetooth. AptX Lossless claims to deliver 16bit/44.1kHz mathematically bit-for-bit CD-quality audio with bit rate scalability between 1Mb/s – 140Kbit/s. Qualcomm says no data is lost when audio is encoded and decoded with aptX Lossless. The lossless audio mode will be automatically enabled when aptX Adaptive detects the source file is lossless.
To deliver CD-quality lossless audio, aptX Adaptive works in tandem with “Qualcomm Bluetooth High Speed Link” technology to deliver data throughput beyond 1Mbits/s. In congested environments, it smoothly scales down to 140kbits/s to avoid audio dropouts and glitches.
Note that aptX Lossless isn’t a new Bluetooth codec. Rather it’s part of the aptX Adaptive codec. For starters, aptX Adaptive is a highly scalable Bluetooth codec, offering variable bitrate, low system latency, and high data throughput.
AptX Lossless offers the following features:
Supports 44.1kHz, 16-bit CD lossless audio quality
Designed to scale up to CD lossless audio based on Bluetooth link quality
Users can select between CD lossless audio 44.1kHz and 24-bit 96kHz lossy
Auto-detects to enable CD lossless audio when the source is a lossless audio
Mathematically bit-for-bit exact
Bit-rate: 140 kbit/s – >1Mb/s
“With many leading music streaming services now offering extensive lossless music libraries, and consumer demand for lossless audio growing, we’re pleased to announce this new support for CD lossless audio streaming for Bluetooth earbuds and headsets, which we plan to make available to customers later this year,” said James Chapman, vice president, and general manager, Qualcomm Technologies International, Ltd.
AptX Lossless technology will be available to customers in “late calendar 2021.” It will also be part of Snapdragon Sound, a new audio platform that Qualcomm announced in March this year. The platform brings together the core audio and connectivity solutions of Qualcomm under one umbrella.
Last year, Qualcomm introduced aptX Voice, a new feature of the aptX Adaptive codec that claims to deliver significantly improved voice call quality over Bluetooth.
In the world of laptop reviews, HP’s Pavilion brand is something we don’t talk about a whole lot. When it comes to technology, we tend to focus on flagship products like HP’s Spectre or Dell’s XPS. Sometimes we’ll take a step below that with a Lenovo Yoga 7 series or an HP Envy. Pavilion is more mainstream, which is why you’re going to be surprised by just how good the HP Pavilion Aero 13 really is.
I’ve reviewed a few Pavilions in the past, the last one of which was a $700 PC that had 4G LTE connectivity. They always have a lot of value, and are decent PCs. The Pavilion Aero isn’t just decent. It’s a really good HP laptop, and it’s something I personally would use as my daily driver, something I don’t often say about mainstream devices.
It weighs in at under a kilogram, hence the Aero branding. That’s not all that’s great though. It’s got an AMD Ryzen 7 5800U CPU and 16GB RAM, so the performance is there too. It even has a pretty great FHD display, something I was particularly surprised by.
3-cell, 43Wh Li-ion polymer
45W Smart AC power adapter
Ports
(1) SuperSpeed USB Type-C 10Gbps signaling rate (USB Power Delivery, DisplayPort 1.4, HP Sleep and Charge)
(2) SuperSpeed USB Type-A 5Gbps signaling rate
(1) HDMI 2.0
(1) AC smart pin
(1) headphone/microphone combo
Realtek Wi-Fi CERTIFIED 6 (2×2) and Bluetooth 5.2 combo (Supporting Gigabit data rate)
Webcam
HP Wide Vision 720p HD camera with integrated dual array digital microphones
Audio
Audio by B&O; Dual speakers; HP Audio Boost
Color and material
Natural silver magnesium-aluminum Thixomolding cover and keyboard frame, natural silver base
Input
HP Imagepad with multi-touch gesture support; Precision Touchpad Support
Full-size, natural silver keyboard
OS
Windows 10 Home
Price
$999.99
Design: The HP Pavilion Aero 13 weighs under a kilogram
Much like when I reviewed the Samsung Galaxy Book Go, taking the HP Pavilion Aero 13 out of the box was a real “wow” moment. Like I said, I’ve reviewed Pavilions before, along with other PCs in the mainstream range. It’s pretty straightforward. You usually get the same U-series processor, RAM, and storage you’d get with something premium, but the laptop is thick, heavy, and comes with a subpar display.
The HP Pavilion Aero 13 is a phenomenal product that feels more premium than it should.
That’s simply not the case here. Made out of magnesium-aluminum, it’s super light but still feels more premium than it should. For a full-powered PC, it’s just about as light as it gets. Fun fact — HP doesn’t actually list the weight of this laptop, as you might have noticed from the spec sheet above. The company only says it’s less than 2.2 pounds.
Using a laptop like this makes a difference. When it’s in your backpack, it feels like nothing is there. You’ll leave your home and double-check your bag to make sure you didn’t forget your laptop. That also means it’s easier to carry around long-term, and it’s easier on your back. None of this is new, but it’s incredibly rare at this price point.
It comes in four colors — Natural Silver, Warm Gold, Ceramic White, and Rose Gold. The one HP sent me is Natural Silver, which is fine. I’m never really thrilled with silver laptops, but it’s also the most popular color. HP discontinued Natural Silver in the Spectre x360 one year and had to bring it back by popular demand.
The lid is stamped with the circular HP logo that’s found in entry-level to mainstream devices. In fact, it’s the one way to look at the Pavilion Aero and know it’s not meant to be premium like a Spectre or an Envy.
On the right side, there’s a barrel charging port and a USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A port, which gets 5Gbps speeds. The USB Type-A port uses a dropjaw hinge, allowing HP to fit the larger port into the thinner chassis. And yes, there’s a barrel charging port, meaning that it comes with a barrel charger. I didn’t use the charging port even once while reviewing this laptop.
Instead, I used the USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C port, which is located on the left side. Yes, there’s only one USB Type-C port, and no, it’s not Thunderbolt. Remember, this is an AMD machine, so Thunderbolt isn’t happening. Also on the left side, there’s an HDMI 2.0 port tucked in the thickest part of the base, another USB Type-A port with a dropjaw hinge, and a 3.5mm audio jack.
For a total count, that’s two USB Type-A ports and one USB Type-C port. For most use cases, that’s totally fine, although a lot of modern work flows might depend on dual USB Type-C ports. Of course, you could always use the barrel charger to free up the USB port.
Display: The FHD screen on the HP Pavilion Aero 13 is actually pretty good
When I saw the specs of the HP Pavilion Aero 13, my first question was what the compromises would be to get there. After all, you don’t slap Pavilion branding on a relatively low-cost machine that weighs under a kilogram and still packs a lot of power. A big thing that usually takes a hit is the display. On entry-level to mainstream laptops, you’ll often notice the screens have a narrow viewing angle.
That’s not the case with the HP Pavilion Aero 13. The screen on this machine is actually pretty good. There’s no touch, which isn’t surprising, and it’s not something I miss on a clamshell anyway.
From my testing, it supports 100% sRGB, 76% NTSC, 81% Adobe RGB, and 83% P3. That’s pretty good for any screen, let alone one on a laptop that starts at $749.99.
That’s not even the whole story. It’s just the thing I led with because it was something I totally didn’t expect. There’s more.
The HP Pavilion Aero 13 has a 13.3 inch 16:10 1,920 x 1,200 display. The 16:10 aspect ratio has been becoming increasingly popular in the premium segment over the past year, as it offers a taller display with more surface area. Now, it’s making its way to the Pavilion Aero. There’s no option for a touchscreen or HP’s Sure View privacy display, but interestingly, there’s a 2,560 x 1600 option, and here’s the kicker — it only costs an extra $30 to have it configured with the higher-resolution display.
It comes with 400 nit brightness, and given that it’s a matte anti-glare display, it’s pretty good for all lighting conditions. It’s quite impressive.
While I keep talking about how HP didn’t make compromises in certain areas, this is not a compromise-free machine. It’s still got a 720p webcam, and there’s no option for an IR camera for facial recognition. The lack of an FHD webcam is still notable; remember, you can buy a phone for a third of the price that has a far superior front-facing camera. It’s just that no one pushed the PC market in that direction until the working from home boom with COVID.
Keyboard: It doesn’t have a backlight
The keyboard on the HP Pavilion Aero 13 is pretty good. It’s comfortable, it’s accurate, and despite the narrower screen that results from the taller aspect ratio, the keyboard feels like it’s full-sized since it’s edge-to-edge. The company actually sent out the EliteBook 840 Aero G8 to reviewers at the same time, so I’m looking at two mainstream ultra-light PCs, the EliteBook being made for businesses. The EliteBook also has a superior keyboard.
The Pavilion Aero has a very good keyboard for a consumer PC. However, the EliteBook has a keyboard that’s more similar to what you’d find on an EliteBook 1000 series laptop. That means it’s one of the best keyboards on the market.
If you didn’t catch the header of this section, the keyboard isn’t backlit. It is available as an option, but it’s really one of those things I take for granted in modern laptops. It’s like if I bought an inexpensive 2021 model car and it didn’t have power windows.
It’s got a Microsoft Precision touchpad, and next to it, a fingerprint sensor. The fingerprint sensor comes standard, which actually surprised me a bit, but thanks to that, you do get to use biometric authentication to log into this laptop.
Performance: It has AMD Ryzen 5000 processors
The model HP sent me includes an AMD Ryzen 7 5800U processor, 16GB RAM, and a 512GB SSD, so it’s pretty sweet. AMD has been doing really good work over the last few years, pumping high performance into relatively low-priced devices. The Pavilion Aero 13 even uses the better versions of the two processors offered — the Ryzen 5 5600U and Ryzen 7 5800U, rather than the Ryzen 5 5500U and Ryzen 7 5700U.
Note with the previous generation, the higher-end processor number meant it had simultaneous multithreading (SMT), but this year, SMT is in both versions of the chips.
The 7nm processors seem to do great on battery life, as I got over seven hours at 50% brightness and the power slider on one notch above battery saver. The battery is 43WHr, which really isn’t very big for a laptop, so getting over seven hours of real-world usage is super-impressive.
Performance is great too, although I didn’t find it always beat Intel. I’d actually say the two are on par with each other. The big problem with AMD is it doesn’t perform well when on battery life. I ran into a lot of issues when working while doing battery testing. It just seemed to choke up more than it would when it’s plugged in.
This is a productivity machine though. It’s not designed for photo editing, although with the screen being as good as it is, you could certainly do that. But instead, it’s designed for people like me that work with a dozen browser tabs open, and use other apps like Slack and OneNote. It definitely gets the job done, and does the job well, especially with 16GB RAM.
For benchmarks, I used PCMark 8, PCMark 10, 3DMark, Geekbench, and Cinebench.
Note the last-gen Ryzen 7 in the Yoga Slim 7 was boosted to 28W, which is why it still competes so well.
Conclusion: Should you buy the HP Pavilion Aero 13?
The short answer is yes, you should buy the HP Pavilion Aero 13. It’s just a phenomenal product. When I wrote up my first impressions, I said it feels more premium than it should. That’s been the theme of this whole review.
Hands down, the HP Pavilion Aero 13 is the best you can get for the price.
Here’s the bad. It doesn’t have a backlit keyboard by default, there’s no IR camera for facial recognition, and the webcam is 720p. First of all, if you buy this laptop, just make sure you configure it with the backlit keyboard; I’d go for the 2,560 x 1,600 display too, although you’d be sacrificing some of the fantastic battery life. To me, the biggest issue, as with many laptops, is the 720p webcam. Two years ago, no one cared about webcam quality (no really, no one cared; that’s how Dell got away with putting webcams below the display on its XPS laptops). We’re still dealing with the repercussions of that today.
Let’s get back to the good, because this laptop is fantastic. The biggest praise I can give it is I’d happily use this as my daily driver. It has everything I want in a laptop (except 4G LTE, which was in the last Pavilion I reviewed), such as an ultra-light build that feels premium, a great keyboard, and even a great 16:10 display. On top of that, it has the power and storage I need with an AMD Ryzen 7 5800U, 16GB RAM, and a 512GB SSD.
When you think of everything the HP Pavilion Aero 13 offers, all for under a thousand dollars, it feels like a no-brainer. Hands down, it’s the best you can get for the price.
