Review: HP Envy x360 (2023)

For years, the Envy x360 line has been developing as HP’s most versatile laptop, with a slim, appealing chassis, solid performance, and the flexibility of a convertible tablet mode—all while keeping the price tag reasonable. Today there is an endless procession of Envy x360s to choose from, with screen sizes ranging from 14 to 16 inches and prices as low as $550. The hardware design is no-nonsense but not unattractive, presented as a monochrome gray or silver chassis with all corners well rounded.

HP’s latest update to the now well-matured Envy line is this 15.6-inch model (official model number 15-fh0097nr), powered by an AMD Ryzen 7 7730U CPU in lieu of the usual Intel chip. Designed with on-the-go professionals in mind, the system is backed up by 16 GB of RAM and a 1-terabyte SSD storage system. Graphics are courtesy of the integrated AMD Radeon chipset, which underpins the 1920 x 1080-pixel, 16:9 aspect ratio display. Connectivity options include two USB-C ports with DisplayPort capabilities, two USB-A ports, and an HDMI 2.1 port, plus a full-size SD card reader.

Photograph: HP

The touchscreen is a dazzler, equaling the record for brightness I’ve measured in my years of testing laptops, with gorgeous color accuracy. The 15.6-inch screen is roomy, but a little extra resolution would be nice to fit more on the display comfortably. At least you can’t fault its clarity. The speakers from Bang & Olufsen are perfectly fine here without quite bringing down the house.

In case you haven’t been called back to the office, HP has done a lot of work on upgrading its webcam with this machine. It has 5 megapixels of resolution and add-ons like HP’s Enhanced Lighting, which lets you overlay a bright halo ring on your display instead of requiring external hardware to brighten up your face. There’s also an auto-framing feature that keeps your noggin in the center of the screen even if you move around, plus a physical shutter control on top of the lid to improve privacy. Lastly, a presence sensor lets you darken the screen automatically when you walk away from the computer and turn it back on when you return to your laptop.

This PC's performance is mixed but above average on the whole. With general business apps, the Envy x360 shines its brightest. In fact, it got top-shelf scores on the PCMark 10 benchmark and made a respectable showing on video rendering tests. Scores were considerably less impressive on pure graphics and gaming tests, as the integrated Radeon graphics GPU just doesn’t have enough power to make this an appropriate device for modern amusements.

Photograph: HP

The Envy x360, as the name vaguely suggests, is a convertible 2-in-1 laptop, and the display can fold to rest against the back of the laptop. At 20 millimeters thick and 3.8 pounds, it’s a bit unwieldy for regular use in this fashion, but it’s certainly doable in a pinch. HP sells a stylus separately (about $25) that can magnetically affix to the side of the machine if typing just isn’t your bag.

The Envy is eerily quiet, and I had trouble getting the fan to engage at all, even when I put the machine under heavy load. In the rare event that the fan does kick in, it runs at a bare whisper. What’s far louder is the click pad, which is beastly clacky whenever you depress the button. The keyboard is roomy with ample travel and features one unique addition that I’ve never seen before—a dedicated button that is strictly used for inserting emojis.

Photograph: HP

I would be remiss without mentioning one bizarre problem I encountered during setup: The machine arrived with its networking disabled, which made it impossible to continue with the initial Windows configuration, since Microsoft now mandates a network connection during setup. HP tech support had to provide a fix for this (involving a command line workaround), after which everything worked perfectly well. But HP could offer no explanation for why the issue had happened in the first place.

At $1,200, this configuration feels a touch pricey though not egregious. All told, it’s a (literally) well-rounded laptop with only a few minor drawbacks—though there’s nothing at all on the docket that will blow you away, emoji button excepted. I can’t complain too much. If you’re shopping for a laptop in the 15.6-inch space, it should be high on your consideration list.