HP Envy x360 2-in-1 (2023) laptop review: More hits than misses

The HP Envy x360 is a 2-in-1 laptop is a premium laptop that features a wide range of specifications. It offers up to Intel Core i7-1355U processor, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Laptop GPU, and up to 16 GB LPDDR5-5200 MHz RAM. The laptop is capable of handling demanding tasks but so are other options in its price range. But does the Envy x360 offer something more than just good specs? Let’s find out. 

The HP Envy x360 comes in both 14-inch and 15.6-inch screen sizes. We tested the bigger version which comes with some additional perks compared to the smaller version. 

Design

The design of the HP Envy x360 is pretty simple but elegant. Apart from the new HP logo, you don’t see a lot of badging on the lid. For a 15.6-inch-inch laptop, the Envy x360 is both compact and light. It has dimensions rivalling many of the 14-inch laptops. The laptop weighs around 1.77 kg. The laptop delivers decent aesthetics that give it a great professional look.

The side bezels on the laptop are pretty narrow and the top and bottom bezels don’t seem too intrusive either. The laptop has a respectable screen-to-body ratio of 88.34 per cent. The nightfall black colour of our review unit is not plain black and gives the laptop a unique touch. However, we found it too slightly prone to fingerprints. Overall the build quality seems sturdy without any flex despite the 360-degree hinges. 

Performance

The HP Envy x360 15.6 inch 2-in-1 Laptop PC is fairly powerful with up to Intel Core i7-1355U processor (up to 5.0 GHz with Intel Turbo Boost Technology(2g), 12 MB L3 cache, 10 cores, 12 threads). The laptop also supports up to NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Laptop GPU (4 GB GDDR6 dedicated), and up to 16 GB LPDDR5-5200 MHz RAM (onboard) making it a decent fit for those who also want some power along with the capability to do daily tasks. The laptop is available with a range of internal storage options, including up to 1 TB PCIe Gen4 NVMe TLC M.2 SSD. 

Our review unit was powered by Core i5-1335U with 16GB RAM and Intel Iris Xe graphics. In our daily use, the laptop did not stutter at all. Using daily MS Office and other professional apps felt like a breeze. We tried some games like GTA 5 and the laptop had no problem offering north of 50 frames per second in the standard (1080p) settings. The bootup times were phenomenal which is also guaranteed thanks to Intel EVO badging. You also get support for Windows Hello with the help of an IR camera which makes starting up the PC a one-step process.  

On Geekbench, the CPU of the laptop managed to get a single-core score of 2291 and a multi-core score of 8718. The Intel Iris Xe graphic managed an OpenCL score of 12323. 

Connectivity and Battery

The laptop has a decent amount of ports for general use. You get an SD card port, a 3.5 mm jack and a USB Type-A port on the left. On the right, you get another USB Type-A port, an HDMI 2.1 port and two Thunderbolt 4 ports. HP could have allowed some extra flexibility by adding another type-c port on the left or distributing them equally for easier access to the charging cable. The laptop also comes with wireless technology options such as Intel Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3.

In terms of battery, the laptop can easily provide a charge of up to 4 hours using 30 minutes of charging. With moderate to heavy usage, the laptop managed to deliver north of 10 hours of screen time.

Display

I was saving the best for the last. The display of the new HP Envy X360 2-in-1 laptop is bright and vivid. The 15.6-inch is only an FHD panel with a 60Hz display but the bigger size and OLED brings out the deeper black levels. The laptop screen gets a brightness of 400 nits, with HDR brightness at around 500 nits and 100% DCI-P3 colour gamut. This is the first time you’ll find an IMAX Enhanced Certification on a laptop which means that the display is tuned for better output while watching movies and shows. However, the aspect ratio of 16:9 does not really fit well with the taller IMAX ratio. 

Having tried multiple Windows laptops with OLED displays, the new Envy X360 laptop does offer better calibration than most other machines in this segment. The only gripe I have with the display is that it has been limited to 1080p. It may seem fine for most day-to-day use, but the lower resolution makes it just short of perfect in the display department. The audio experience is great thanks to the Bang & Olufsen speakers. Do not expect the same depth that you find in MacBooks but the laptop does deliver ample volume and clarity. Another aspect to keep in mind is that the speakers are bottom-firing, so they only do justice when the laptop is kept on a flat surface.  

Verdict 

Overall, the HP Envy x360 15.6 inch 2-in-1 Laptop PC is a capable and versatile device that has a good mix of getting the basics right and at the same time offers some add-ons like Intel EVO certification and IMAX Enhanced certification. It is a no-brainer for media consumption and can also double up as a professional companion.