HP Envy x360 13
MSRP $1,200.00
“The HP Envy x360 13 offers solid productivity performance to go with great battery life for a Windows machine, along with a spectacular OLED display and solid build.”
Pros
- Solid productivity performance
- Amazingly long battery life
- High quality build quality and beautiful aesthetics
- Spectacular OLED display
- Amazing keyboard
- Affordable
Cons
- It is difficult to be creative
Dell just announced its newest product. XPS 13We added a laptop to our collection: The best laptops given an attractive price that targets Apple’s appealing MacBook Air. HP clearly followed the same path with its 2022 Envyx360 13 but goes one step further.
The Envy x360 13 convertible is a flexible 360-degree model. 2-in-1, and it offers a gorgeous OLED display option that costs less than the XPS 13’s high-end IPS models. Generally, I’ve been a fan of HP’s Envy line because it offers great performance for less money than many other premium machines. I’ve rarely seen a device that offers this much laptop for so little money. It’s an astounding value.
Specifications
| HP Envy x360 13 (2022) | |
| Dimensions | 11.75 inches by 8.46 inches by 0.63 inches |
| Weight | 2.95 pounds |
| Processor | Intel Core i5-1230U Intel Core i5-1250U |
| Graphics | Intel Iris Xe |
| RAM | 8GB LPDDR4x 16GB LPDDR4x |
| Display | 13.3-inch 16.10 WUXGA (1.920×1.200) IPS 13.3-inch 16.:10 WQXGA (2.560 x 1.600) IPS 13.3-inch 16.:10 2.8K (2.880 x 1.800) OLED |
| Storage | 512GB PCIe SSD 1TB PCIe SSD |
| Touch | Yes |
| Ports | 2 x USB C4 with Thunderbolt 4 2 x USB A 3.2 Gen 2 1 x 3.5mm audio jack 1 x microSD card reader |
| Wireless | Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.2 |
| Webcam | Windows 11 Hello – 5MP with an infrared camera |
| Operating system | Windows 11 |
| Battery | 66 watt-hours |
| Price | $700+ |
Prices and configurations
The Envy x360 13 is priced at $700, starting at $900, for an Intel Core i5-1230U processor, 8GB RAM, a 512GB SATA SSD and a 13.3-inch 16/10 WUXGA IPS screen. The highest configuration I reviewed was the $1,000 model. This includes a Core CPU i7-1250U processor, 16GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD. There’s also a 13.3-inch 16:10 WQXGA IPS display available if you’re looking for higher resolution but want to burn less battery than the OLED option.
These prices are extremely attractive for a laptop with the Envy x360 13’s features and build quality. The entry-level Dell XPS 13 laptop is available at $1,000. This means that HP has beaten Dell by $300 ($100 on list prices). And, the XPS 13 costs $1,549 for the same configuration as the Spectre x360 13’s maxed-out model but with a WUXGA IPS touch display rather than 2.8K OLED. That makes the HP a very well-priced laptop indeed that’s available for less than the Apple MacBook Air M1. The Envy, as configured, costs $1,000 and has a stunning OLED display, twice as much RAM and storage than the MacBook Air M2.
It’s important to distinguish between HP’s list and sale prices when making your purchase. The Envy x36013 13 is a great deal even at the list price.
A quality laptop you’ll love at a price you can appreciate
We noted it in our Dell XPS 13 Review. The Apple MacBook Air M1 is a superior laptop than comparable Windows machines. It’s awfully hard to compete with the MacBook Air’sCombination of build quality, performance, battery life. So, it’s reasonable to compete on price. Of course, price isn’t everything, and HP clearly understands that as well.
The Envy x360 13 is not a cheap laptop; it simply doesn’t cost a lot. It’s constructed entirely of aluminum, and it has a solid chassis and lid with no bending or flexing unless you’re downright abusive. The lid, for example, is more rigid than the MacBook Air M2’s, which is saying a lot. The MacBook is thinner at 0.44 inches compared to the Envy x360 13’s 0.63 inches, as is the 0.55-inch XPS 13, but it’s not like the HP is overly thick.
The Envy x360 13’s display bezels are a bit thicker than the XPS 13.
The MacBook Air m1’s thickest point is 0.63 inches. Therefore, the Envy 360 13 is perfectly fine. The weight of each laptop is approximately the same, with the HP weighing in at 2.95 lbs.
The Envy x360 13’s display bezels are a bit thicker than the XPS 13’s and the MacBook Air M2’s, with a larger bottom chin thanks to the 360-degree convertible hinges and an overall 87% screen-to-body ratio (SBR). So, it’s slightly larger in width and depth than the XPS 13 with its 90%+ SBR, while being almost identical in size to the MacBook Air M2 (which has a slightly larger 13.6-inch display).
Overall, the Spectre x360 13 is a comfortable size and it works well in tablet mode thanks to the taller 16:10 display that’s closer in dimensions to a regular sheet of paper. Notably, HP’s hinge is almost as well-designed as Apple’s, allowing the lid to open with one hand while holding it in place through all four modes — clamshell, tent, media, and tablet.
Apple’s Magic Keyboard is the best available today, but the Spectre x360 13’s keyboard is excellent for a Windows laptop. It is well-spaced and has large keycaps. The switches are light and snappy. The touchpad is large enough and good for a mechanical version, but still not as good as Apple’s haptic touchpad. It is touch- and pen-enabled which is a great feature. Inking was smooth and precise with HP’s active pen.
Envy x360 13 wins connectivity. It has as many Thunderbolt 4 ports than the XPS 13 or MacBook Air M2, and two USB-A ports to support legacy support. HP retained the audio jack which is a significant improvement on the XPS 13’s inexplicable loss.
That doesn’t bother some people who are fully invested in Bluetooth headsets, but I have a favorite pair of wireless cans and I like being able to use them without hassle.
In another win over the XPS 13, the Envy x360 13 also has a 5MP webcam that’s much higher resolution than the XPS 13 and MacBook Air M1’s 720p versions, and HP bundles in a few utilities that improve videoconferencing quality and performance. If you’re a hybrid worker who relies on video calls to stay in touch, you’ll appreciate the Envy x360 13’s backlight adjustment, appearance filter, and auto frame functionality.
The Envy x360 13 also incorporates an infrared camera for Windows 11 Hello passwordless login via facial recognition, and there’s an electronic shutter for the webcam. These privacy features outperformed both the XPS 13 model and the two MacBooks.
It’s not all perfect, though
The second-generation Apple Silicon processor, which has eight CPU cores as well as up to 10 GPU cores, makes the MacBook Air M2 an extremely fast laptop. This chip is much faster than the Core i7-1250U I reviewed in my Envy x360 13, which is a 9-watt CPU that has 10 cores (two Performance, eight Efficient and twelve threads). The XPS 13 has the same U-series Intel CPUs. However, we also reviewed the Core i5 version.
The Envy x360 13 performed better than I expected in our benchmarks. The MacBook was faster but not by a lot, and the HP beat out Dell’s slower CPU by a significant margin. That surprised me as well, because I didn’t expect such a huge delta between the Core i7 and Core i5. Note that the XPS 13 was much faster when set in Dell’s performance mode, while the equivalent HP utility didn’t have as much impact. If I had to guess, it would be the Envy x360 13 equipped with the Core i5 that outperforms the XPS 13 at its fastest.
The Envyx360 13 is ideal for users who need to be productive.
The Envy x360 performed well in most benchmarks against the MacBook Air models. It was also faster in our Handbrake test, which encodes a 420MB video using H.265. The MacBook’s single-core performance was generally higher, while the Intel chip made up some ground in multi-core tests. Where the MacBook Air M2 would likely win out is in the Pugetbench Premiere Pro benchmark that runs in a live version of Adobe’s Premiere Pro video editing application. Apple Silicon chips perform well in this benchmark thanks to various optimizations and a GPU that’s tailor-made for such tasks. I didn’t even bother to run the benchmark on the Envy, because even faster Intel processors with Iris Xe graphics achieve considerably lower scores than the Apple M2.
The MacBook has an advantage in creative tasks, but Envy x360 13 can handle demanding productivity tasks. However, none of these laptops can be used as gaming machines.
| Geekbench (single / multi) |
Handbrake (seconds) |
Cinebench R23 (single / multi) |
PCMark 10 Complete |
|
| HP Envy x360 13 2022 (Core i7-1250U) |
Bal: 1,435 / 7,285 Perf: 1,460 / 7288 |
Bal: 136 Perf: 138 |
Bal: 1,504 / 7,436 Perf: 1,504 / 7,441 |
4,907 |
| Dell XPS 13 9315 (Core i5-1230U) |
Bal: 1393 / 4,459 Perf: 1,477 / 5,350 |
Bal: 333 Perf: 192 |
Bal: 1379 / 3457 Perf: 1,650 / 7,832 |
4,023 |
| Apple MacBook Air M2 (Apple M2) |
Bal: 1,925 / 7973 Perf: N/A |
Bal: 151 Perf: N/A |
Bal: 1,600 / 7,938 Perf: N/A |
N/A |
| Apple MacBook Air M1 (Apple M1) |
Bal: 1,727 / 7,583 Perf: N/A |
Bal: 156 Perf: N/A |
Bal: 1,479 / 6,680 Perf: N/A |
N/A |
| Dell XPS 13 Plus (Core i7-1280P) |
Bal: 1316 / 8207 Perf: N/A |
Bal: 170 Perf: 94 |
Bal: 1311 / 6308 Perf: 1,650 / 7,530 |
4,309 |
| HP Spectre x360 13.5 (Core i7-1255U) |
Bal: 1,566 / 7,314 Perf: 1,593 / 7,921 |
Bal: 169 Perf: 120 |
Bal: 1,623 / 5,823 Perf: 1,691 / 7,832 |
5,203 |
Battery life is where the MacBook Airs (both the M1 & M2) have a bigger advantage. The Envy x360 13 did well for a Windows laptop in our web browsing and video tests, and very well in the PCMark 10 Applications battery test — enough so that it’s possible typical users will get a full day’s work. The MacBooks, however, were impressive and promised a longer battery life of approximately a day and a quarter.
To be fair, my Envy x360 13 review unit equipped a more power-hungry OLED display, but even so, Apple’s battery life is impressive. Note that according to HP, the low-power Full HD+ IPS display gets significantly longer battery life and so Apple’s advantage may be less with that model, but it’s not something we tested.
| Web surfing | Video | PCMark 10 Application | |
| HP Envy x36 13 2022 (Core i7-1250U) |
9 hours, 30 min | 14 hours and 34 minutes | 12 hours, 48 Minutes |
| Dell XPS 13 9315 (Core i5-1230U) |
13 hours and 18 minutes | N/A | N/A |
| Apple MacBook Air M2 (Apple M2) |
17 hours, 59 min | 21 hours, 9 min | N/A |
| Apple MacBook Air M1 (Apple M1) |
15 hours, 31 min | 18 hours, 28 seconds | N/A |
| Dell XPS 13 Plus (Core i7-1280P) |
8 hours, 0 min | 9 hours, 20 Minuten | 6 hours, 52 min |
| HP Spectre x360 13.5 (Core i7-1255U) |
9 hours, 58 min | 13 hours, 59 min | 10 hours, 52 min |
Excellent opticals, OK audio
We had the choice between the Full HD+ or OLED models. We chose to review the latter, and I’m glad we did. I love OLED displays, and the Envy x360 13’s panel is just as spectacular as always. It’s a higher resolution than the MacBook’s Retina display, and it offers plenty of brightness with wide and accurate colors and the usual inky OLED blacks. It’s in another league compared to the XPS 13 IPS panel and the MacBook Air M2 display which was improved over the M1’s.
Simply put, the Envy x360 13 will be a pleasure to use whether you’re doing productivity work, where text will be black and sharp on a white background, editing photos with excellent color performance, or watching media thanks to awesome high dynamic range (HDR) support. Apple’s MacBook Air M2 display is good, but OLED is much better.
The MacBook Air M2 does have superior audio, with its four speakers pumping out louder and better sound than the Envy x360 13’s dual speakers. The MacBook Air M2 is also fanless, meaning it remains completely silent while the Envy x360 13’s fans do spin up on occasion. Overall, the audio experience is better on Apple’s machines.
A Windows 2-in-1 option that is outstanding
The show was amazing! HP Spectre x360 13.5The X360 13 has a sleeker design, faster performance and a similar display. However, the Envy x360 13 comes at a lower price and is a formidable competitor to the MacBook Air M1 & M2.
In fact, I’m not sure that there’s a midrange 13-inch laptop that’s better than the Envy. The Dell XPS 13 is more expensive, and it doesn’t offer the same display quality no matter how much you spend. The Dell XPS 13 is $730 more expensive than any Apple laptop.
Recommendations of Editors
