HP Envy x360
What’s the story?
HP’S Envy x360 is a flippable hybrid aiming to deliver quality and versatility in equal doses. The sturdy aluminium body has a smooth 360° hinge, it’s barely bigger than a conventional laptop, and coming in black or white it does away with any dishwater grey finishes.
Is it any good?
Ergonomically, the Envy is excellent. The display has decent contrast and colours, and then there’s the AMD Ryzen 5 4500U, which outpaces Intel’s equivalents in plenty of benchmarks and is pacey enough to tackle everyday tasks, including light photo-editing. Radeon graphics handle casual and esports titles at low-quality settings too.
The x360’s performance is rounded out by a battery that lasts between 9 and 11 hours, and speakers good enough for Youtube and background music. The £700 13.3in model we reviewed is available in a 15.6in guise for £850, while pricier versions use beefier Ryzen 7 processors. It’s got USB-A ports and a USB-C supporting Displayport; a stylus is included, the keys are fast and comfy, and the touchpad is accurate.
There’s a good chance the Envy may get updated AMD processors before the end of the year, so it could be worth hanging on for that; but HP’S machine is already likeably versatile and well built.
Price from £700 / stuff.tv/x360
● 13.3in/15.6in 1920x1080 IPS ● Up to 2GHZ 8-core AMD Ryzen 7 or 2.8GHZ 4-core Intel i7, up to 16GB RAM
● 306x194x16.4mm, 1.32kg
Stuff says A versatile, high-quality machine with huge power considering its affordability ★★★★✩