HP Pavilion Aero 13 vs. Samsung Galaxy Book Go: Which should you buy?

Both the HP Pavilion Aero 13 and the Samsung Galaxy Book Go are good laptops, but at the end of the day, we think the Aero 13 is the better option due to its significantly better performance, display, and battery life. These advantages make the Aero 13 faster and more enjoyable to use. Don't overlook the Samsung Galaxy Book Go if your budget for a new laptop is minimal, though, as it delivers a solid experience for a rock-bottom price.

Pavilion Aero 13 vs. Galaxy Book Go: Performance or price?

When it comes to specs and performance, the HP Pavilion Aero 13 is the clear winner of this duel. Its 5000-series Ryzen CPUs vastly outperform the Qualcomm Snapdragon 7c in the Samsung Galaxy Book Go, and the Aero also comes with a significantly larger amount of RAM and storage (its storage is also faster since it uses a traditional SSD instead of eUFS). Its anti-glare 400 nit display on is much brighter and can fight off sun glare much better than the Samsung Galaxy Book Go's can, and it also has a superior color gamut. The Aero also has Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2, giving it better connectivity overall. It even outperforms the Galaxy Book Go in active use battery life tests, getting up to 10 hours compared to the seven hours my colleague Daniel Rubino reported in his review of the Galaxy Book Go.

The Samsung Galaxy Book Go only has two things going for it: a rock-bottom price tag and the option to configure it with 4G LTE. The low price makes the device an attractive option if you have very little money to spend on a new laptop, especially since it delivers solid overall performance for basic productivity and web browsing. The option for 4G LTE will benefit people who want (or need) to use their laptop on the go, though it will raise the price.

Pavilion Aero 13 vs. Galaxy Book Go: Which should you buy?

While both of these laptops are great for people on a budget, we feel that the HP Pavilion Aero 13 is the better choice. Even though it's a bit more expensive, the significantly better specs, display, battery life, and connectivity make the Aero 13 worth investing in. Faster performance and more versatility lead to a much better user experience, after all. It's easily one of the best Windows laptops you can get in the sub-$1,000 range.

If your budget is extremely tight, the Samsung Galaxy Book Go is a great alternative. It lags behind the Aero in terms of performance and features, but it's also incredibly affordable at $299. It's also decently capable for a laptop in this price range, meaning that you'll be able to tackle general productivity without too much trouble. Devices this inexpensive are generally disappointing, but the Galaxy Book Go is arguably one of the best budget laptops available.