HP Envy x2
An ARM-based Windows tablet that won’t inspire much envy.
The power gap between Intel’s efficient mobile processors and the most grunty ARM-based tablet CPUs has been slowly narrowing over the last few years, and it’s a rift that’s finally met in the form of this HP Envy x2.
Qualcomm is the first major phone-chip maker to cross over, using a 10-nm Snapdragon 835 processor as the foundation for this first ARM-based device capable of running a full-fat version of the Windows OS. The 835 is an eight-core ARM based CPU that, according to Qualcomm, is a third smaller and 25% more efficient than its previous chips. ARM processors are built in such a way that they’re more efficient in terms of power vs performance, and HP is hoping to use this feature set to create a long-lasting Windows tablet suitable for less-demanding tasks.
The caveat is that, out of the box, the HP Envy x2 runs Windows 10 S, Microsoft’s locked-down Windows Store-only version of its current operating system. We’d generally throw up some objections here, but the OS’s stresstested app ecosystem and generous battery life do arguably make it a more ideal environment for this lower-powered chip.
When tested using the locked-down version of OS, the Envy x2 only lost about 20% of its battery life after 4 hours of video playback, and consumed about 10% per hour when we used it for internet browsing, document editing and other light work tasks. If you combine this unprecedented 20-odd hour battery life with the detachable’s inbuilt 4G connectivity (just BYO SIM card), then you have something that is truly novel in the 2-in-1 space. This will suit many people, and for them, the HP X2 definitely makes sense.
But most of us are going to need an application that’s more demanding than the Edge browser, and while the Windows Store is better populated with apps that it’s ever been, realistically it’s got far fewer than what’s available on Android and iOS. To combat this, HP is offering a Windows 10 Pro upgrade as a freebie, but if you’re even considering this, we have one word of advice: don’t. Just don’t.
That’s because when you take the Windows 10 S training wheels off, it quickly becomes apparent that the HP Envy X2 is neither powerful enough nor familiar enough with 64-bit architecture to play nice with the full version of Windows. Even with 8GB of DDR4 memory, the Snapdragon 835 simply isn’t equipped to handle the unexpected processing spikes of an open Windows 10 platform, resulting in perpetual crashes in apps like Chrome and creating a dramatically slower Edge browser experience. Moreover, while most of our 2-in-1 benchmarks weren’t compatible with the ARM chip, the ones that did work showed just how poorly this processor runs Windows. The Envy scores below low-specced Windows tablets from 2014, and on PCMark 8 and Geekbench 4, it sits at around 25% the performance of cheaper recent 2-in-1s, like Acer’s Spin 5 that runs an Intel Core i5. You get 11 hours movie playback battery life in Win 10 Pro, but this really isn’t enough of a drawcard to balance such a considerable lack of power and a raft of compatibility problems.