I couldn’t help but feel like I was writing about the brand-new HP Envy 14 as I sat down to write. You know, I recently evaluated the Spectre x360 laptop from the firm and was impressed with it. As I switched to the company’s more reasonably priced convertible, I felt at ease, and the parallels between the lineups were more noticeable than the contrasts. Both laptops have opulent looks, sharp OLED screens, useful trackpads, webcams, and other amenities. So much so that it begs the question, how does the Envy 14 x360 compare? In this review, I’ll attempt to respond to it.
Rating: 8 / 10
Design and Display
HP just released a piece outlining the main distinctions between the Spectre and Envy product lines. The Spectre series is made with “premium materials and an aluminum body, giving it a sophisticated look,” according to the company’s statement. I’ve been admiring the Envy 14 x360’s sleek design for the majority of my review period. The laptop feels just as high-end to me as the Spectre x360 I was using about a week ago.
In addition, the Envy 14 x360 is rather small and may easily double as a tablet when necessary. The laptop‘s lightweight, 1.4kg chassis and chamfered edges also contribute to its manageability. In addition to being incredibly dependable, the hinge allows you to position the display at any desired angle. It’s great that the panel doesn’t waver when being utilized on the fly.
While we’re talking about it, you should be aware that the HP Envy 14 x360 and the Spectre series have the same display. The 14-inch OLED panel has a resolution of 2,800 x 1,800 and refreshes at 120 Hz. The monitor can smoothly relay HDR media and has the IMAX Enhanced certification.
The 120Hz refresh rate of the screen is also worth mentioning. It not only makes space for more fluid animations, but it also enhances the laptop’s gaming capabilities. Granted, not many games can run at 120 frames per second on the Envy 14’s hardware. However, several platformers and RPGs, such as Hades, the Ori series, and Hollow Knight, may run on a laptop at a frame rate of above 100 FPS. Give these games a try if you want to play some games on the laptop because they also look great on the OLED display.
I should also mention how well my touch inputs were detected by the display. Additionally, the Envy 14 x360 comes with a stylus that you may use to scribble on it.
Sound and Internet Access
The HP Envy 14 x360 ships with more ports than the 16-inch Spectre, absurd as that may appear. The laptop features an HDMI 2.1 slot, a 3.5mm combination connection, two USB Type-A 3.1 ports, a Thunderbolt 4 connector, and another USB Type-C 10Gbps port. To be honest, I wasn’t disappointed by the port arrangement; it’s nice to see a small, light, and adaptable ship with so many connections.
The laptop has a 5MP infrared webcam that can capture 2K quality films. Even though the Envy’s webcam lacks some of the Spectre range’s HP GlamCam features, it is still quite capable and has some AI tricks up its sleeve. Therefore, when you’re on a video call, it can blur the background and maintain your face in the picture. These tasks are assigned to the dedicated NPU of the Core 7 Ultra 155U, as you may have surmised.
Additionally, the webcam is more than capable of taking video calls while on the go, and the clarity of the video is excellent. Additionally, the camera array contains an infrared sensor, allowing you to rapidly unlock the laptop using Windows Hello Facial Recognition. I should also mention that an e-shutter for privacy is not included with the Envy 14 x360. Instead, the webcam can be turned off via a physical slider.
Trackpad and Keyboard
There is a cozy keyboard deck on the Envy 14 x360. Although there is some flex in the middle of the deck, the keys also provide adequate feedback. It’s great that backlit LEDs are supported as well.
Like the Spectre, the Envy x360 has an enormous trackpad. It is not a haptic touchpad, either, like the one on the Spectre, so you cannot adjust the click intensity. Additionally, you won’t be able to use the Command Center app’s superb trackpad gestures for controlling brightness and volume. Still, the trackpad on the Envy x360 is among the best for the money.
Both Battery Life and Performance
Although the HP Envy 14 x360 and Spectre 14 x360 may have similar external designs, their internal components are very dissimilar. Intel’s Core Ultra 7 155U CPU powers the Envy 14 x360, in contrast to the company’s high-end convertible. Although the Spectre x360, which is powered by a Core Ultra 7 155H processor, has a similar moniker, the processors are very different.
In terms of specifications, the Core Ultra 7 155U has two LPE, or low power efficient, cores, eight efficiency cores, and two performance cores. The processor uses a lower base power of 15W, and its P- and E-cores can turbo up to 4.8GHz and 3.8GHz, respectively. The processor also collaborates with Intel Graphics, an integrated GPU featuring four Xe cores.
Navigate to the GPU-focused benchmarks page to get comparable outcomes. In the Night Raid test, which evaluates the gaming performance of laptops with integrated graphics, the Spectre x360 scored 28,659 points. Conversely, the Envy 14 x360 reversed 16,600 points.
Please take note that the aforementioned comparisons are intended to highlight the capabilities of the H and U-series chipsets found in Intel’s Core Ultra 7. I had a satisfactory experience with the HP Envy 14 x360, and it was more than capable of handling my daily tasks. Indeed, there were times when the processor needed a moment to catch its breath, particularly when the battery preset was in the ‘Balanced’ mode.
Despite this, I didn’t experience any obvious performance issues while using the laptop. It’s likely that you won’t either, particularly if you mainly use laptops to go through emails and work on Excel sheets or if you tinker with programs like Microsoft Teams and Slack. But if you push the Envy 14 x360 too far, its armor will begin to show cracks. For example, although the laptop is capable of handling photo processing, it is not the fastest.
However, the Spectre x360 recorded higher figures, especially when it came to more difficult synthetic edits like correcting lens aberrations with the wide-angle lens filter. In this case, the Spectre x360 finished the assignment in 85 seconds, but the Envy 14 x360 took 106. All things considered, artists ought to be able to take full advantage of the laptop’s color-accurate display for light editing while on the road. Serious professionals, however, might want to go with a more potent laptop in the category.
Gamers should also temper their expectations because the laptop has trouble running older games like Grand Theft Auto V. The integrated benchmark remained close to 20 frames per second while the game was played at the laptop’s native resolution. Reducing the size to 1,920 x 1,200 does help, but it’s quite evident that gaming is not Envy 14 x360’s forte.
Regarding the battery backup, I could use the device for about six hours after just one charge. I did flip between the “balanced” and “performance” battery presets, however, the display brightness remained mostly at 40%. The laptop also performed well in PCMark 10’s Battery Video test, which was conducted with the display brightness set to 80%. The Envy 14 x360 ran for just over nine hours in this instance.
Verdict
The HP Envy 14 x360 costs Rs 1,07,999 in India, as specified. The laptop has an elegant design and a class-leading display that is competitive with its Spectre cousin, all at a very reasonable price. Naturally, some features are exclusive to the Spectre series, such as a haptic touchpad, an enhanced iGPU, and a variety of GlamCam functions. Despite this, the Envy 14 x360 doesn’t feel like a Spectre clone, especially considering that it is Rs 80K less expensive!
When all is said and done, the Envy 14 x360 is a very attractive choice for anyone looking for a premium but reasonably priced convertible laptop with an OLED display.
