HP has upgraded one of its most versatile convertibles for 2021. In addition to some design adjustments including a larger trackpad, some of the new HP 2 in 1 laptop model offers impressive features, including a 4K OLED touchscreen with slim bezels and an Nvidia GeForce GPU.
HP has given the Envy x360 15 an update, and users will have the choice between an Intel and an AMD variant in the future. The former is equipped with either a Core i5-1135G7 or a Core i7-1165G7, while the latter is equipped with a Ryzen 5 5500U or a Ryzen 7 5700U. While all these chips promise first-class performance, the processors from Intel only offer four cores, while the AMD variants are equipped with six or eight processor cores, depending on the chip – an advantage for some applications.
While the two variants are largely identical, the AMD model lacks at least one important feature: Thunderbolt. Instead, there is only USB-C 3.2 Gen 2, at least with support for DisplayPort 1.4 and Power Delivery. Both HP x360 laptop devices also have two USB-A 3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gbit / s), an AUX connection, HDMI 2.0b, and a dedicated connector for the power supply.
Buyers should be careful with the 15.6-inch touchscreen: Although it has quite slim edges and a robust cover made of Corning Gorilla Glass NBT, the 4K OLED display with full DCI-P3 display, which was widely announced in the press release, is available only for a surcharge. HP saves as standard, however, because the devices are usually equipped with a 1080p panel that achieves a brightness of only 250 nits and can only display 45 percent of the NTSC color space – that is hardly average in 2021.
Equipping with only 8 GB DDR4-3.200 RAM as standard is hardly up-to-date, especially since the datasheet specifically states that upgrades by the user are not possible. Depending on the HP 2 in 1 laptop model, buyers get a 256 GB to 512 GB PCIe M.2 SSD and an optional Nvidia GeForce MX450, which offers slightly better performance than the iGPUs at least for casual gamers. The Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.0 module comes from Intel, regardless of the processor.
As little extras, HP installed stereo speakers from Bang & Olufsen, an SD card reader, an illuminated keyboard, a 19 percent larger trackpad, a fingerprint sensor, and a 720p webcam with a privacy shutter. HP installs a 51 Wh battery, but the company has not yet given any information about the runtime. The housing, which weighs 1.86 kilograms, is partly made of recycled aluminum.
Price and availability
The new Envy x360 15 HP 2 in 1 laptop with an Intel processor is available at prices starting at $949.99, while the AMD Ryzen version cost at least $799.99 on Bhphotovideo.com and Amazon.com online stores.
Recently, HP has also made available the Elite Dragonfly G2 multi-touch 2-in-1 laptop tablet with a high-performance Tiger Lake vPro, a 5G-capable modem, the weight remains more than within the framework at 989 grams, and is priced at $1,699.