HP Envy x360 13 (2022) review: a very premium worth

HP Envy x360 13

MSRP $1,200.00

“The HP Envy x360 13 provides stable productiveness efficiency to go together with nice battery life for a Home windows machine, together with a spectacular OLED show and stable construct.”

Execs

• Stable productiveness efficiency
• Surprisingly good battery life
• Wonderful construct high quality and aesthetics
• Spectacular OLED show
• Nice keyboard
• Reasonably priced

Cons

• Artistic efficiency is missing

Dell simply launched its latest XPS 13, a laptop that we added to our listing of greatest laptops given a horny worth that targets Apple’s interesting MacBook Air. HP has clearly taken the identical method with its 2022 Envy x360 13, however takes issues a step additional.

The Envy x360 13 is a extremely versatile 360-degree convertible 2-in-1, and it provides a beautiful OLED show possibility that prices lower than the XPS 13’s high-end IPS fashions. Usually, I’ve been a fan of HP’s Envy line as a result of it provides nice efficiency for much less cash than many different premium machines. I’ve hardly ever seen a tool that gives this a lot laptop for thus little cash. It’s an astounding worth.

Specs

Worth and configurations

The Envy x360 13 begins at $700 (on sale from $900) for an Intel Core i5-1230U CPU, 8GB of RAM, a 512GB SSD, and a 13.3-inch 16:10 WUXGA IPS show. On the excessive finish, which is the configuration that I reviewed, the laptop prices $1,000 (on sale from $1,200) for a Core i7-1250U, 16GB of RAM, a 1TB SSD, and a 13.3-inch 16:10 2.8K OLED panel. There’s additionally a 13.3-inch 16:10 WQXGA IPS show accessible in the event you’re on the lookout for larger decision however wish to burn much less battery than the OLED possibility.

These costs are extraordinarily engaging for a laptop with the Envy x360 13’s options and construct high quality. The brand new Dell XPS 13 is $1,000 for a similar entry-level configuration, which means HP undercuts Dell by $300 on sale ($100 at listing costs). And, the XPS 13 prices $1,549 for a similar configuration because the Spectre x360 13’s maxed-out mannequin however with a WUXGA IPS contact show relatively than 2.8K OLED. That makes the HP a really well-priced laptop certainly that’s accessible for lower than the Apple MacBook Air M1. And as configured, at $1,000 with a beautiful OLED show and twice the RAM and storage, the Envy is $400 lower than the MacBook Air M2.

It’s vital to tell apart between HP’s listing and sale costs when making your buy. However even at listing, the Envy x360 13 is a good worth.

A high quality laptop you’ll love at a worth you may respect

As we famous in our Dell XPS 13 review, the Apple MacBook Air M1 (to not point out the M2 model) is a superior laptop to comparable Home windows machines. It’s awfully laborious to compete with the MacBook Air’s mixture of construct high quality, efficiency, and battery life. So, it’s affordable to compete on worth. After all, worth isn’t every part, and HP clearly understands that as nicely.

The Envy x360 13 shouldn’t be an affordable laptop; it merely doesn’t price loads. It’s constructed completely of aluminum, and it has a stable chassis and lid with no bending or flexing except you’re downright abusive. The lid, for instance, is extra inflexible than the MacBook Air M2’s, which is saying loads. The MacBook is thinner at 0.44 inches in comparison with the Envy x360 13’s 0.63 inches, as is the 0.55-inch XPS 13, however it’s not just like the HP is overly thick.

The Envy x360 13’s show bezels are a bit thicker than the XPS 13.

At its thickest level, the MacBook Air m1 can also be 0.63 inches, so the Envy x360 13 is simply tremendous. Every of those laptops is across the identical weight, with the HP being just a few ounces heavier at 2.95 kilos.

The Envy x360 13’s show bezels are a bit thicker than the XPS 13’s and the MacBook Air M2’s, with a bigger backside chin because of the 360-degree convertible hinges and an general 87% screen-to-body ratio (SBR). So, it’s barely bigger in width and depth than the XPS 13 with its 90%+ SBR, whereas being nearly an identical in measurement to the MacBook Air M2 (which has a barely bigger 13.6-inch show).

General, the Spectre x360 13 is a snug measurement and it really works nicely in pill mode because of the taller 16:10 show that’s nearer in dimensions to a daily sheet of paper. Notably, HP’s hinge is sort of as well-designed as Apple’s, permitting the lid to open with one hand whereas holding it in place via all 4 modes — clamshell, tent, media, and pill.

Apple’s Magic Keyboard is the perfect accessible as we speak, however the Spectre x360 13’s keyboard is great for a Home windows laptop. It has good spacing and huge keycaps, and lightweight, snappy switches. The touchpad is massive sufficient and good for a mechanical model, however nonetheless inferior to Apple’s haptic touchpad. The show is touch- and pen-enabled, in fact, which is a plus. Inking was easy and exact with HP’s energetic pen.

The Envy x360 13 wins out in connectivity, with as many Thunderbolt 4 ports because the XPS 13 and MacBook Air M2 whereas including in two USB-A ports for legacy help. HP saved the audio jack, which is a large enchancment over the XPS 13 that inexplicably dropped it.

That doesn’t trouble some people who find themselves totally invested in Bluetooth headsets, however I’ve a favourite pair of wi-fi cans and I like having the ability to use them with out trouble.

In one other win over the XPS 13, the Envy x360 13 additionally has a 5MP webcam that’s a lot larger decision than the XPS 13 and MacBook Air M1’s 720p variations, and HP bundles in just a few utilities that enhance videoconferencing high quality and efficiency. For those who’re a hybrid employee who depends on video calls to remain in contact, you’ll respect the Envy x360 13’s backlight adjustment, look filter, and auto body performance.

The Envy x360 13 additionally incorporates an infrared camera for Home windows 11 Hey passwordless login through facial recognition, and there’s an digital shutter for the webcam. In whole, these privateness options beat out each the XPS 13 and the 2 MacBook fashions.

It’s not all good, although

The MacBook Air M2 is a speedy laptop because of its second-generation Apple Silicon processor with eight CPU cores and as much as 10 GPU cores. That chip is quicker than the Core i7-1250U in my Envy x360 13 review unit, which is a 9-watt CPU with 10 cores (two Efficiency and eight Environment friendly) and 12 threads. The XPS 13 makes use of the identical U-series Intel CPUs, though we reviewed the slower Core i5 model.

In our benchmarks, the Envy x360 13 was extra aggressive than I anticipated. The MacBook was quicker however not by loads, and the HP beat out Dell’s slower CPU by a major margin. That stunned me as nicely, as a result of I didn’t count on such an enormous delta between the Core i7 and Core i5. Observe that the XPS 13 was a lot quicker when set in Dell’s efficiency mode, whereas the equal HP utility didn’t have as a lot impression. If I needed to guess, the Envy x360 13 with the Core i5 would doubtless outperform the XPS 13 at its quickest.

The Envy x360 13 is loads quick for demanding productiveness customers.

In most of our benchmarks, the Envy x360 held its personal towards each MacBook Air fashions and it was really quicker in our Handbrake check that encodes a 420MB video as H.265. The MacBook’s single-core efficiency was usually larger, whereas the Intel chip made up some floor in multi-core exams. The place the MacBook Air M2 would doubtless win out is within the Pugetbench Premiere Professional benchmark that runs in a reside model of Adobe’s Premiere Professional video modifying software. Apple Silicon chips carry out nicely on this benchmark thanks to numerous optimizations and a GPU that’s tailored for such duties. I didn’t even trouble to run the benchmark on the Envy, as a result of even quicker Intel processors with Iris Xe graphics obtain significantly decrease scores than the Apple M2.

All meaning is that the MacBook holds an edge in inventive duties, however the Envy x360 13 is loads quick for demanding productiveness customers. None of those laptops are gaming machines, although.

The place the MacBook Airs, each the M1 and M2, maintain a extra vital benefit is in battery life. The Envy x360 13 did nicely for a Home windows laptop in our internet shopping and video exams, and really nicely within the PCMark 10 Functions battery check — sufficient in order that it’s potential typical customers will get a full day’s work. However the MacBooks had been spectacular, promising nearer to a day and a half of battery life.

To be truthful, my Envy x360 13 review unit geared up a extra power-hungry OLED show, besides, Apple’s battery life is spectacular. Observe that in keeping with HP, the low-power Full HD+ IPS show will get considerably longer battery life and so Apple’s benefit could also be much less with that mannequin, however it’s not one thing we examined.

Wonderful opticals, OK audio

We had our selection of review machines, particularly between the low-priced Full HD+ and the OLED variations. We selected to review the latter, and I’m glad we did. I really like OLED shows, and the Envy x360 13’s panel is simply as spectacular as all the time. It’s the next decision than the MacBook’s Retina show, and it provides loads of brightness with huge and correct colours and the standard inky OLED blacks. It’s in one other league in comparison with the XPS 13 IPS panel and the MacBook Air M2 show which was improved over the M1’s.

Merely put, the Envy x360 13 might be a pleasure to make use of whether or not you’re doing productiveness work, the place textual content might be black and sharp on a white background, modifying photographs with wonderful shade efficiency, or watching media because of superior excessive dynamic vary (HDR) help. Apple’s MacBook Air M2 show is sweet, however OLED is a lot better.

The MacBook Air M2 does have superior audio, with its 4 audio system pumping out louder and higher sound than the Envy x360 13’s twin audio system. The MacBook Air M2 can also be fanless, which means it stays fully silent whereas the Envy x360 13’s followers do spin up once in a while. General, the audio expertise is best on Apple’s machines.

An excellent Home windows 2-in-1 selection

Mark Coppock/Digital Traits

I beloved the HP Spectre x360 13.5, which enjoys a extra elegant design, quicker efficiency, and an equally good show. However the Envy x360 13 is loads inexpensive, and it’s, subsequently, a extra formidable competitor to the MacBook Air M1 and M2 than its sibling.

In actual fact, I’m undecided that there’s a midrange 13-inch laptop that’s higher than the Envy. The Dell XPS 13 is costlier, and it doesn’t provide the identical show high quality irrespective of how a lot you spend. And at $730, no Apple laptop can contact it.

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