In this HP Envy x360 14 review I will talk in-depth about how HP has taken the 2-in-1 form factor and has made it into a high value for money proposition. The HP Envy x360 14 sees a major refresh from last year. Sporting a new design and processor, all at a great value for the price, the HP Envy x360 14 might just establish itself as one of the best 2-in-1 thin and light laptops this year.
The HP Envy x360 14 sports a 17.5mm thick chassis which weighs around 1.44kg. The laptop’s edges look more rounded this time around and as a result, the machine feels very easy to hold and work on. Your wrists will also feel comfortable during long typing sessions because of this. In terms of build quality, the laptop feels very solid and kind of like a machine that’s built to last.
The deck area hardly has any flex, the display hinge is also tight and the 360-degree rotation is very smooth as well. The display has very thin side bezels but a relatively thicker chin and top area. However, as I will explain in my video, the viewing experience remains independent of these things.
The laptop also has a matte coating all around it, which makes it very hard for smudges to appear. However, a scratch on a matte surface will stick out like a sore thumb. The overall look of the laptop feels very premium and the dark purple colour, which my review unit had, made it look very up market. Everything else, like the “HP” branding on the laptop’s lid and the word “ENVY” written on one of the hinges to the Intel Evo logo looks very well throughout and goes well with the theme HP is going for.
The keyboard features darker atmospheric blue opaque keys with full-keyboard backlighting, with multiple levels of illumination. HP hasn’t mentioned the key travel but it is decent enough. Although, the keyboard’s spring action could have been better. Apart from that, it feels like a really solid laptop keyboard. HP calls it touchpad – the HP Imagepad – but regardless it works well and can easily enable you to work without a mouse for longer sessions.
The HP Envy x360 14 comes equipped with a comprehensive range of input and output ports. It features two USB Type-C ports, which support a 10Gbps signalling rate, USB Power Delivery, DisplayPort 1.4a, and HP Sleep and Charge functionality. Additionally, there is one USB Type-A port with a 10Gbps signalling rate that also supports HP Sleep and Charge, alongside another USB Type-A port with the same signalling rate. For audio connectivity, it includes a headphone/microphone combo jack. The laptop also offers an HDMI 2.1 port for up to 8k 60Hz video output.
The HP Envy x360 14 features a 5MP IR (Infrared) camera equipped with temporal noise reduction. It also integrates dual array digital microphones, enhancing the quality of video calls and recordings by reducing background noise and improving voice clarity.
The screen of the HP Envy x360 14 is a 35.6 cm diagonal 2.8K (2880 x 1800) OLED multitouch-enabled display. It features a variable refresh rate of 48-120 Hz and a quick 0.2 ms response time. The display is designed with UWVA (Ultra-Wide Viewing Angle) technology, edge-to-edge glass, and micro-edge bezels, and it’s protected by Corning Gorilla Glass. As per official claims, tt has a brightness of up to 400 nits in SDR (Standard Dynamic Range) and 500 nits in HDR (High Dynamic Range), with a colour gamut of 100% DCI-P3, providing vibrant colours and deep blacks for an immersive viewing experience.
However, in our tests, the peak brightness came out to be 386.7 nits. The 100% DCI-P3 colour space coverage is as promised by HP. Moreover, the screen has a Delta E value, the lower the better, of 2.8. Thus, making it highly colour accurate and suitable for professional grade tasks.
The HP Envy x360 14 features dual speakers. The audio system is enhanced by Poly, known for its studio-quality sound, offering a premium audio experience for music, videos, and games. In terms of real-world output, the speakers felt good enough. The lack of base was pretty evident but the volume and sound clarity remain pretty high on this laptop.
The processor in the HP Envy x360 14 is the Intel Core Ultra 5 125U. This processor can reach up to 4.3 GHz with Intel® Turbo Boost Technology, and it has 12 MB L3 cache, 12 cores, and 14 threads, providing a balance of power and efficiency. In terms of capabilities, it is like a mid-range chip with decent multi-core performance but very capable single core capabilities.
Meaning, tasks like opening or closing apps or files are very smooth. And medium-load multi-tasking which involves browsing, streaming, and document editing all open in a browser is also very effortless. You won’t ever hear laptop’s fans spin-up during these processes either.
When it comes to synthetic benchmarks, the laptop scores 7097 and 1661 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and single core tests respectively. The single core performance here is identical to Intel Core Ultra 7 155H powering the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i, a thin and light laptop also in the Rs 1 lakh price range. However, Envy’s multi-core performance obviously remains low.
Moreover, the power consumption of the Intel Core Ultra 5 125U remains fantastically low. Even under stress, the CPU package power hovers at around 15W, even in performance mode. This results in an impressive battery life of 8h 55 minutes, which is very good. Even in normal day-to-day usage you can just leave the laptop charger aside once its fully charged and the Envy 14 will last a full workday.
For instance, I wrote the HP Omen Transcend 14’s while using the HP Envy x360 14. And after writing the 1300 word review, editing the images, uploading everything to the CMS and proof-reading the entire thing, the battery only dropped 35% from a full charge. That, at least in my books, is pretty darn impressive.
Furthermore, the SSD speed also remains pretty high and you will easily breeze through copying or moving any large files without any worry. Similarly, The HP Envy x360 14 is equipped with 16 GB of LPDDR5-6400 MHz RAM, providing high-speed memory for easy multitasking.
Lastly, the Intel Arc graphics on the Intel Core Ultra 5 125U that power the HP Envy x360 14 are less powerful compared to the Arc integrated GPU found in the Core Ultra 7 155H. Mainly because, the HP Envy scored less in 3d Mark’s TimeSpy and Firestrike when compared to the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i.
The HP Envy x360 14 emerges as a standout 2-in-1 laptop, balancing performance, build quality, and affordability. Its Intel Core Ultra 5 125U processor delivers robust performance for a range of tasks, complemented by a quiet and efficient cooling system. The laptop’s design and premium finish reflect HP’s dedication to quality, while its versatile form factor caters to diverse user needs.
The OLED touchscreen impresses with vibrant colours and sharp details, and although the audio lacks some bass, the overall sound quality remains solid. With a comprehensive selection of I/O ports, a comfortable keyboard and touchpad, and remarkable battery life, the HP Envy x360 14 is well-equipped for productivity and entertainment. Despite minor drawbacks, its strengths make it an excellent choice for professionals, students, and general users, offering great value in the competitive 2-in-1 laptop market.
