Chrome OS is best known for the Chromebooks, but is also used for desktops and all-in-one PCs. Such a device is called a Chromebase and HP is expanding its Chrome product portfolio with the HP Chromebase 22. We tested the all-in-one PC with its striking design. Read our verdict in this HP Chromebase 22 review.
HP Chromebase 22
Price € 749,-
Operating system Chrome OS
Display 21.5 inch (1920 x 1080 pixels) touchscreen
Processor Intel Core i3-10110U (2.1 GHz base frequency, up to 4.1 GHz Turbo Boost)
Memory 8GB RAM
Graphic Intel UHD Graphics
Storage 256GB SSD
webcam 5 megapixel camera
Connections 2 x USB-C (Gen 1), 2 x USB 3.2 (Gen 2), 3.5mm headset jack
wireless Wi-Fi 6, bluetooth 5.0
Dimensions 50.76 x 17.45 x 45.44 cm
wireless Wi-Fi 5 (2×2), Bluetooth 5.0
Website www.hp.com
7 Score 70 
- Pros
- Beautiful design
- Good webcam
- Rotatable screen
- Negatives
- Not adjustable in height
- All connections on the back
- Slow hardware for desktop
HP has for the Chrome base 22 opted for a striking design to which the reactions varied. The computer is packed in a fabric-covered pylon against which the screen is placed. In addition to the computer, this foot also contains the speakers.
The device runs on Chrome OS which mainly revolves around browser Chrome and web apps. You can also use some web apps like Google Docs offline. In addition, Chrome OS also supports Android apps where the integrated Play Store is based on Android 11. Linux support is also there, but that’s more for advanced users.
Google now clearly indicates how long a Chrome OS device is supported. This Chromebase has update support until June 2028.
Fortunately, HP has not saved on the number of connections, because you can connect enough peripherals with two USB-C and two USB-A devices. Those two USB-a ports also support the Gen2 speed of 10 Gbit/s so that you can use it for external storage. The USB-c ports support the Gen1 speed of 5Gbit/s, but are suitable for connecting a screen via DisplayPort 1.2.
You can also connect a pair of headphones, the connection is on the back. The on-off switch is also clumsily on the back, while the volume control is again on the side. The speakers can be loud and sound clear, but they don’t have a very impressive bass response. Just good sound for the size. The stereo separation is not very convincing, because the speakers are fairly close to each other.
One configuration
In the Netherlands, the Chromebase is sold in one configuration that costs 749 euros. For a Chrome device, this configuration with a Core i3-10110U, 8 GB RAM and a 256 GB SSD has sufficient hardware. The processor is a dual-core example where I would actually expect a quad-core processor in a desktop.
It is also a somewhat older generation and also an extra energy-efficient chip. Something faster should be fine for what the Chromebase costs. In other countries, cheaper configurations with a slower Pentium processor and less memory are also available.
Screen a little too low
The screen is a 21.5 inch screen with a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels. The brightness is not that high according to the specifications, but the test sample can still be quite bright and has a screen that can be brighter for indoors than you usually would like. It’s not a very special screen, but the color reproduction and viewing angles are just good for the type of device. The screen has a glossy finish, but in practice you are less bothered by this than with some other glossy screens.
That finish is not for nothing, because it is a touch screen that you can operate with your fingers. The dedicated Chrome OS stylus pens will not work on this screen.
Unfortunately, the screen is not adjustable in height and for me the screen is positioned too low to work ergonomically on my desk. It is possible to rotate and tilt the screen vertically, but the base is so large that a height adjustment in the normal horizontal position would not be out of place. It seems that HP has designed this Chromebase mainly for children, since the product page focuses extensively on digital lessons.
It is handy that you can also use the screen vertically, which is nice for websites where the content always scrolls through (such as Twitter). The top of the screen will of course also be a lot higher.
Good webcam with trick
A 5 megapixel webcam is placed above the screen and it offers good image quality. Images are sharp and you are well in the picture in all lighting conditions. The only downside is that the exposure is boosted just a bit too exaggerated, so that the lightest parts in the image are too white and lose contrast. Think of a white cabinet or white elements on a white wall. But in the end it’s all about you video calls well in the picture and that works great.
By default, the camera films in Full HD, but you can also choose 1440p or even slightly higher. HP has provided the Chromebase with a built-in webcam cover that you operate with a slide on top of the screen. That slide works smoothly and also contains a handy trick. If you close the slider halfway, only the camera will be turned off and you will see a white grid in front of the camera. However, you can slide the slider even further and then the microphone will also be switched off.
You will see a microphone on the grid in front of the camera. The webcam is also quite usable if you use the screen in the vertical orientation, although you will of course be filmed a bit from the side.
Good keyboard, mediocre mouse
The quality of the supplied input set varies. The keyboard is quite good for a supplied copy, feels sturdy and is neatly designed. The keystroke is a bit on the heavy side for a chicklet keyboard and when tapping the keyboard makes a bit more noise than it should. You can use a different keyboard, but then you will miss some special keys to control the brightness of the screen, for example. That’s why I would just use the keyboard.
I would replace the mouse. This one is big enough in shape, but it’s just too flat for my taste, has a very unpleasant scroll wheel and no scroll buttons. On the other hand, the keyboard does have a back button, so that might be enough for you. Both keyboard and mouse are connected via bluetooth and work on two AAA batteries.
Performance
The processor is therefore a modest dual-core processor (with four threads). However, in practice this does not appear to be very bad for the work that you mainly do with a Chrome OS device in the browser. Chrome OS is a light operating system and multi-tab browsing and working with Google Docs, for example, just works smoothly. You can also use many Android apps.
The PCMark benchmark that we often use for Windows PCs does not work under Chrome OS. There are two benchmarks in the form of CrXPRT and Geekbench 5 that we have also used on previous Chrome devices. In the benchmark CrXPRT, this Chromebase scores 245 points, while in CrXPRT 2 a score of 108 points is achieved. In Geekbench 5, the Chromebase scores 964 points in the single-core test and 1954 points in the multi-core test. These scores are higher than most regular Chromebooks we tested.
The Chromebase contains a WiFi 6 card from Intel and thus achieves the expected speeds of over 800 Mbit/s in combination with a WiFi 6 access point, while a WiFi 5 access point achieves about 420 Mbit/s. Those are great speeds.
Conclusion
The HP Chromebase 22 runs on Chrome OS and therefore has the limitations that come with this platform. On the other hand, Chrome OS is simple, safe and virtually unbreakable. It is therefore an excellent operating system for a young or older target group. Even if you can handle your own work with almost only the Chrome browser, this is a handy device.
The hardware is well finished and looks good, although the screen is a bit on the small side and a height adjustment was useful, which I think was also necessary. The hardware is not very powerful, but for Chrome OS it is sufficient and there is enough memory and storage.
The device is a bit too expensive in my opinion, but with the HP Chromebase you still buy a beautiful all-in-one device that serves well as a central browsing computer in the living room or as a homework device for children who can or must use Chrome OS. to work.
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