HP OmniBook Extremely 14 Evaluation: HP’s Greatest Ultraportable In Years

HP has been overhauling its shopper PC portfolio during the last two years. After dropping laptop computer strains like Spectre, Envy and Pavilion, it merged everything into the OmniBook family. Nonetheless, throughout this transition, HP hasn’t actually had a real apex competitor that would go up in opposition to premium machines from Dell, Apple and others. That modified this summer time with the arrival of the OmniBook Extremely, which delivers almost every thing you possibly can need from a high-end ultraportable pocket book.

One in all issues I like most in regards to the OmniBook Extremely is its design. It is tremendous glossy and is available in two shade choices (eclipse grey and silk sand, which is what you see right here) whereas providing a particular look that will not get misplaced amongst the ocean of premium metal-clad laptops. As an alternative of aping Apple and others with a unibody chassis, HP went with a cast stamped aluminum construct that will increase power and rigidity whereas preserving weight to a minimal and supporting good repairability.

Not solely has the OmniBook Extremely handed a collection of MIL-STD 810H checks for issues like shock resistance, excessive temperature and humidity, accessing its internals is so simple as eradicating 4 screws, one on every nook of the system. HP even claims the Extremely is “the world’s most durably slim shopper pocket book,” which is the advertising workforce’s method of claiming this factor is method harder than its fairly exterior would possibly counsel.. After greater than every week of lugging it round, it definitely felt fairly sturdy, although I did discover that its matte end could also be liable to scratching when tossed in a bag with different metallic objects like a digital camera or keys. And weighing simply 2.8 kilos and measuring 0.42 inches thick, the OmniBook Extremely is considerably thinner and lighter than an equal 14-inch MacBook Professional (3.4 kilos and 0.6 inches).

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Elsewhere, HP saved the OmniBook UItra’s design tremendous easy. Relating to I/O, there are three USB-C ports with help for Thunderbolt 4, DisplayPort 2.1 and USB Energy Supply 3.1, plus a 3.5mm audio jack. That is it other than Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6 connectivity. There is not any room for a devoted HDMI jack or an SD card reader, which can be a little bit of a bummer for anybody planning on utilizing this factor for photograph or video enhancing. In the meantime, there’s additionally a really giant and exact haptic touchpad together with a snug keyboard. The keys have simply the fitting mixture of stiffness and bounce, despite the fact that HP’s trapezoidal keycaps aren’t my most popular form.

Whereas Intel-based variations of the OmniBook Extremely solely characteristic a single show possibility (there’s a decrease res 2K OLED show accessible on Snapdragon variants), I am not complaining as a result of the usual 14-inch 3K touchscreen OLED panel is good. It options wonderful brightness at 500 nits (or as much as 1,100 nits in HDR) together with a 120Hz refresh charge and a shade gamut that covers 100% of DCI-P3. In brief, it is vibrant, sharp and exceedingly colourful.

Above its show, the Extremely features a 5-megapixel webcam with IR to be used with Home windows Hiya facial recognition. I respect that HP added in a useful bodily shutter so you possibly can cowl the digital camera when it is not in use. Picture high quality can be greater than ok for net calls and displays, although if I am actually nitpicking, I would love barely higher dynamic vary as issues can look a contact washed out, particularly whenever you’re backlit.

I will be the primary particular person to confess that our $4,000 evaluate unit with 64GB of RAM and 2TB of storage is full overkill for most individuals, however I do respect that HP has given the OmniBook Extremely a ton of configuration choices. In actual fact, that is the primary OmniBook to supply this a lot reminiscence together with a compact vapor chamber. Along with a variety of Intel CPUs, together with the Core Extremely X9 388H chip examined right here, this laptop computer will also be geared up with Qualcomm Snapdragon X2 Plus and X2 Elite processors. Generally, techniques with Snapdragon chips supply barely higher battery life and quicker NPUs for AI-related workloads, whereas Intel fashions characteristic extra balanced efficiency and wider software program compatibility because of their x86 structure.

That stated, for these in search of a premium all-rounder, you possibly can alter the Extremely’s config all the way down to a extra cheap $2,600 whereas preserving 32GB of RAM and Core Extremely X9 388H silicon. This might be actually vital for energy customers as this chip comes with Intel’s Arc B390 GPU as a substitute of the slower, generic Intel Graphics you get on cheaper CPUs. Relating to normal productiveness, this factor completely flies. However the extra spectacular half is the way it handles duties that is perhaps outdoors of its conventional scope — like gaming. It pumped out 56 fps in Cyberpunk 2077 at 1080p and medium graphics with XeSS set to efficiency. That is fairly stable contemplating I acquired very comparable numbers from the ASUS ROG Xbox Ally X (62 fps), which is a devoted PC handheld that prices $1,000 by itself.

Despite the fact that I have not examined the Snapdragon model of the OmniBook Extremely, which is meant to ship even higher runtimes, this Intel mannequin is not any slouch both. On PCMark 10’s Fashionable Workplace rundown check, it lasted 19 hours and 14 minutes, which is without doubt one of the longest marks we have seen this yr from any laptop computer. When in comparison with the Dell XPS 14 (10:21), the Extremely’s time is so good I puzzled if HP could also be placing its thumb on the scales a bit. That stated, with a time of 18:33, the ASUS ZenBook Duo (in single-screen mode) wasn’t that far behind, so HP’s time right here is not utterly outlandish. And after rerunning the check and doing a little anecdotal testing whereas scripting this evaluate, there is not any doubt that this machine has greater than sufficient juice to outlast a typical workday.

Because the king of the hill atop HP’s shopper laptop computer lineup, the OmniBook Extremely would not disappoint. You’ll be able to quibble in regards to the lack of an SD card slot or HDMI port, and HP’s annoying popups and system alerts, however there is not any doubt the corporate has made a first-class ultraportable. It has an beautiful design with a superb show, robust efficiency and stable battery life. And in case you’re affected person and diligent sufficient to maintain a watch for a reduction, you possibly can even snag one for a very good deal. On the time of writing, HP at present is providing $500 off one of its mid-range configs, which brings its value all the way down to $1,300 as a substitute of $1,800. So in case you’re in search of a premium Home windows ultraportable, the HP OmniBook Extremely must be on the high of the listing.