HP 2023 Chromebook: Lightweight, But Be Ready for Compromises

If carting around a heavy laptop drives you up the wall, the HP 2023 Chromebook might catch your eye—it’s about as featherweight as they come for a full-size 14-inch laptop. The whole package screams “take me on a trip!” and, sure, tossing this into a backpack is almost too easy. The build is all business: thin plastic, light as a breeze, a bit plain, and if you drop it, you’ll probably get a fresh crack for your trouble.

But here’s my take: this is not the Chromebook you bring to a professional rodeo. The Celeron N4120 chip and 4GB RAM combo chugs its way through web browsing and Chrome apps, but don’t count on bouncing between a dozen tabs or wrangling big spreadsheets without the fan (oh wait, there practically isn’t one) hollering at you. Opening Google Docs is fine; try anything beyond that—video calls, real-time editing, or firing up Canva—and it’s going to get sluggish. Gamers and editors: this isn’t your rodeo.

The 14-inch screen is, frankly, not doing anyone any favors. The colors lean grayish, and the 1366 x 768 resolution is yesterday’s news; everything has that soft-edged look, like you left your reading glasses at home. This isn’t going to show off your latest mountain biking pics. And, unless you adore squinting, don’t expect to enjoy movie marathons or intricate spreadsheets.

Now, about that keyboard. I can appreciate the idea of taupe keys (sure, they look modern), but in practice it’s an aesthetic fail—hard to read in poor light, and the backlighting cuts out when you actually want it. If you type for a living (or type a lot at night), this layout will absolutely get on your nerves. After a whole workday, you might be ready to chuck the thing out the window.

Reliability is the real Achilles’ heel. More than a few people have been hit with spontaneous shutdowns. No warning, no gentle wind-down—just a black screen and your unsaved work gone. I wouldn’t trust this laptop with anything important or time-sensitive. The mousepad sometimes develops an independent streak, skipping or lagging for no clear reason. For anyone dependent on their laptop at work, these aren’t just hiccups—they’re dealbreakers.

Connectivity actually passes muster for once: USB-C, old-school USB-A, headphone jack, and the usual SD card slot. Wi-Fi 5 and Bluetooth work well enough for routine tasks and streaming, but fancy that—it’s 2025, and this machine is still working in “good enough” territory. Just don’t plan on plugging in half the gadgets you might use with beefier machines.

Running Chrome OS, at least you do get snappy boot times and easy updates. But if you’ve got any legacy programs lurking in your workflow, tough luck—Chrome OS doesn’t play nice with Windows apps. Plan your life around Google; otherwise, you’re setting yourself up for frustration.

On the upside, the price is tempting if money’s tight or you just want a spare device for browsing and emails. But don’t expect miracles. You’re gambling on that low price offsetting the crashes, dim screen, and keyboard missteps. Some things honestly aren’t worth the headache, especially if missing a meeting or losing a client document isn’t just annoying but catastrophic.

Final call: For basic email, light browsing, and streaming in a pinch, the HP 2023 Chromebook works—as a backup or travel-only pick. But if reliability or comfort matters to you, don’t cut corners here. That unreliable power and the keyboard are enough to make you swear out loud. Unless you have the patience of a saint and genuinely don’t mind reboot roulette, put your money toward something sturdier and more stable. There are better Chromebooks these days for not much more—don’t saddle yourself with a lemon.