HP Envy x360 2-in-1 review: Powerful with stunning OLED

If you get to know me, you’d learn I developed two obsessions over three years writing with Laptop Mag: Handheld gaming devices and OLED panels. While the former isn’t relevant to this review, the latter is something I get obsessive about when reviewing the latest tech. In fact, the Lenovo Yoga 9i is my favorite laptop of 2023, and that’s partially thanks to its stunning OLED display.

Imagine my surprise when pulling the sleek, premium HP Envy x360 from its box only to learn it boasts a similarly stunning OLED panel for less than some competitors. And I’m happy to report that the Envy x360 accomplishes more than just having a vivid display. Built with a sturdy aluminum chassis, and sporting solid productivity performance, a satisfying keyboard, and a clear webcam, this is one of the best 2-in-1 laptops you can buy. 

HP Envy x360 2-in-1 price and specifications

My Envy x360 review unit comes with an AMD Ryzen 7 7730U processor, 16GB of RAM, 1TB of SSD storage, AMD Radeon integrated graphics, a 15.6-inch 1,920 x 1,080-pixel OLED touchscreen, and Windows 11 Home. While it’s typically $1,199, it is currently available for $799 through a Cyber Monday deal on HP’s store.

The base model brings the price down to $899, instead featuring an AMD Ryzen 5 7530 processor, 8GB of RAM and 256GB of SSD storage, and a 15.6-inch, 1,920 x 1,080-pixel IPS touchscreen. An Intel version is also available, which tops out at the same $1,199 as my review unit and features an Intel Core i7-1355U processor, 16GB of RAM, 1TB of SSD storage, and a 1,920 x 1,080-pixel IPS screen. Sorry Intel fans, no OLED for you.

HP Envy x360 2-in-1 design

Screaming thin sleekness during every stage of my testing, the Envy x360 balances the joys of minimalism with an alluring luster that cannot be denied. Its stunning Nightfall aluminum chassis and lid feels premium to touch, while the rectangular hinges at the back give it a uniform, edgeless look. It also features an HP reflective logo at the center, although it’s a tad hard to see without light due to the laptop’s dark gray finish.

Lifting the lid reveals a large touchpad and keyboard with two wide speakers on both ends. For environment-conscious individuals, its speaker enclosures and bezels are built with recycled ocean-bound plastic, while recycled aluminum is used for the product cover, and post-consumer recycled plastic in the keyboard caps.

A key component for every 2-in-1 is a pair of hinges sturdy enough so I don’t get a heart attack when swapping it to tabletop mode. And thankfully, from my testing, its hinges are strong and more than capable of supporting its own weight.

Coming in at 14.1 x 9 x 0.7 inches and 4.03 pounds, it’s lighter when compared to the Lenovo Yoga 7i (14.3 x 9.8 x 0.7 inches, 4.5 pounds) and Dell Inspiron 16 2-in-1 (14.1 x 9.9 x 0.6~0.7 inches, 4.6 pounds) are the largest and heaviest. The Dell XPS 13 2-in-1 (11.5 x 7.9 x 0.3 inches, 2.9 pounds) is the lightest.

HP Envy x360 2-in-1 ports

The Envy x360 should satisfy most in the ports department, but if you’re in need of more, we recommend taking a look at our best docking stations. On its left side, it has a USB Type-A, audio jack port, and SD card reader. On its right, there’s two USB Type-C ports, an HDMI port and another USB Type-A. We only wish it had a Thunderbolt 4 port.

HP Envy x360 2-in-1 display

There’s only one thing I love more than an OLED display, and that’s scrutinizing them. After all, if you’re promising me the unmatched beauty of OLED, I’d better walk away impressed. But thankfully, this glossy 15.6-inch, 1920 x 1080-pixel OLED touchscreen looks damned good.

I watched the trailer for “The Marsh King’s Daughter” and was impressed by the panel’s contrast. A wide array of light and dark greens were distinguishable within the trees in the background, while the shadowy nothingness interspersed between branches had an inky quality that captivated my eye.

I then jumped to a trailer for “Monarch: Legacy of Monsters” and was completely sucked into scenes of cataclysmic destruction unleashed by the one and only Godzilla. The show’s tangible dreariness came across excellently with this display, as even when gray, ashy remains of a civilization were all that’s left to look at, each hue was accompanied by an alluring depth.

As expected of an OLED display, the Envy x360 did great in our color tests, reproducing 128.1% of the DCI-P3 color gamut, which absolutely smashes the category average (85.5%). The XPS 13 (70.9%), Inspiron 16 (69.5%) and Yoga 7i (45.8%) didn’t stand a chance,

I’m impressed by the Envy x360’s performance in our brightness tests, reaching an average of 378 nits, which is quite a bit above the category average (353 nits). This isn’t amazing in a general sense, especially when compared to other laptops in the category, but it’s great for an OLED laptop, as these are generally dimmer. It got demolished by the XPS 13 (482 nits), but the Inspiron 16 (307 nits) and Yoga 7i (267 nits) were quite a bit behind.

HP Envy x360 2-in-1 keyboard and touchpad

The Envy x360’s backlit keyboard doesn’t consume the full deck thanks to a couple of inches of speakers on both sides. It also doesn’t have a number pad, so if that’s a deal breaker for you, you might want to look at a 2-in-1 like the Lenovo Yoga 7i.

Beyond that, it features a suite of useful quick access keys, with F12 revealing options between opening HP Command Center, OMEN Gaming Hub and myHP. Its F1 key quickly brings up an emoji menu, which is admittedly adorable. There are function keys for changing volume and brightness, muting the microphone, and swapping between key backlight brightness. It also has a dedicated print screen key, alongside a pause, fast forward and rewind.

I took the 10fastfingers test and managed a 100% accuracy with 110 words per minute. While this is a little slower than my typical 120 to 130 words per minute  on my mechanical keyboard, the accuracy showcases my comfort with the device.

The 3.3 x 5.1-inch touchpad is surprisingly loud, emitting a resounding click during my use. Beyond that, it lacks smoothness. I have to push against it just to open files, browse the web, or move folders around. Multi-finger gestures are at least easy to pull off, as swapping between tabs using three fingers was no issue at all.

HP Envy x360 2-in-1 audio

I had high hopes for the Envy x360’s audio with its top-firing speakers on both sides of the keyboard. After all, the curse of the bottom firing speaker is one I’m wary of, and always emit a sigh of relief when I see laptops with speakers on top. Unfortunately, this seems to be an exception to the rule, as this system is quiet and lacking bass.

I listened to my latest obsession, “Phantom Liberty” by Dawid Podsiadlo and P.T. Adamczyk to see how these speakers held up. The opening was notably underwhelming, as the sporadic heartbeat and piano keys lacked impact. While it presented the vocals of the track clearly, when the percussion appears a couple of minutes into the song, I wished it had more punchiness. The system lacks a sufficient amount of bass and I wish it could be louder to accompany its most intense moments, but it sounds clear enough to get the job done.

I watched the trailer for “The Marsh King’s Daughter” and found it to be lacking, as everything from characters speaking to the backing soundtrack sounded faint. There’s a surprising flatness to everything, whether it was the sound of sirens, gun fire, or two people slamming against one another. It was as if the laptop was constantly at 20% volume even while at max.

HP Envy x360 2-in-1 performance

The Envy x360 2-in-1 is built with an AMD Ryzen 7 7730U processor, 16GB of RAM, and 1TB of SSD storage. These specs are great for handling the average user’s productivity tasks, and while it won’t be able to do any heavy lifting, it’s great for its price. I was easily able to pull up dozens of YouTube, Twitch, Google Docs, and Sheets tabs without it ever stuttering.

Performing well enough on the Geekbench 5.5 overall performance test, the Envy x360 achieved a multi-core score of 7,748, which is less than the 7,469 average. This is also behind the XPS 13 (Intel Core i5-1230U, 7,097) and Inspiron 16 (Intel Core i7-1260P, 6,757), but the Yoga 7i (Intel Core i7-1335U, 8,663) pulled into first place.

It did a good bit better on the Handbrake test, converting a 4K video to 1080p resolution in 7 minutes and 30 seconds, which is faster than the 9 minute and 19 second category average. The XPS 13 (8:33), Inspiron 16 (11:27), Yoga 7i (10:30) were slower.

Duplicating 25GB of multimedia files in 22 seconds for a 1,245 megabytes per second transfer rate, it continued to do rather well, surpassing the category average of 1,021MBps. The XPS 13 (512GB SSD, 648.7MBps) and Inspiron 16 (512GB SSD, 802MBps) couldn’t compete, but the Yoga 7i (512GB, 1,380MBps) had the fastest conversion rate.

HP Envy x360 2-in-1 graphics

The Envy x360 isn’t a gaming laptop, but we tested Sid Meier’s Civilization VI at 1080p and it managed 42 frames per second, which is the littlest bit below the category average (44 fps). The XPS 13 (60 fps) did significantly better even with its integrated graphics, but the Inspiron 16 (19 fps) and Yoga 7i (25 fps) were quite a bit behind.

On the 3D Mark Fire Strike synthetic benchmark test, the Envy x360 managed a score of 3,872. This is way worse than the 6,613 category average, The XPS 13 (3,051) was by far the worst. The Inspiron 16 (3,869) performed nearly identically, while the Yoga 7i (5,027) was the best of the bunch.

HP Envy x360 2-in-1 battery life

While the Envy x360’s battery life surpasses our eight-hour workday minimum, it falls short of its competitors. On the Laptop Mag battery test, which involves continuous web surfing over Wi-Fi at 150 nits of brightness, the Envy x360 lasted 9 hours and 17 minutes, which is below the category average of 9 hours and 44 minutes. The XPS 13 (8:16) died the fastest, but both the Inspiron 16 (10:40) and Yoga 7i (11:04) easily surpassed the HP.

HP Envy x360 2-in-1 webcam

With its surprising 2K webcam, the Envy x360 did a decent job representing the deep pink hue of my wall, while maintaining the light blue of my shirt without it turning into a colorless mess. While the light from my lamp looked a little overexposed, I was pretty impressed with the crispness of its 2560 x 1440-pixel image.

It also features a camera privacy shutter that can be slid into place above the webcam. You probably won’t need one of our best webcams with something that looks this good.

HP Envy x360 2-in-1 heat

The Envy x360 remained cool throughout most of the system in our lab testing, with the touchpad hitting 79 degrees fahrenheit, while the G/H key and underside were only 86 degrees, remaining far below our 95-degree comfort threshold. However, the F12 key hit an alarming 113 degrees, but during my personal usage, I never felt uncomfortable from its heat.

HP Envy x360 2-in-1 software and warranty

Powered by Windows 11, this Envy x360 comes with Microsoft’s classic suite of software, alongside bloatware like Solitaire. It also has HP’s full suite of apps. This includes Command Center, Documentation, Enhanced Lighting, PC Hardware Diagnostics Windows, Pen Control Plus, Privacy Settings, QuickDrop, Smart, Support Assistant and System Utility. There’s also the OMEN Gaming Hub, which offers deals and tracks the user’s games.

The HP Envy x360 comes with a one year limited warranty. See our Tech Support Showdown to see how HP did against other brands! 

Bottom line

The HP Envy x360 is an absolute winner, delivering on its promise of being a powerful 2-in-1 with a gorgeous OLED panel. And while you’d expect it to cut costs in some corners, it still yields solid productivity performance alongside a sleek and premium aluminum chassis.

Its battery life could be a bit longer, and we found its sluggish touchpad and underwhelming speaker system took away from the experience, but it certainly doesn’t ruin the laptop. If you’re willing to pay extra for a phenomenal 2-in-1 laptop with superior speakers, longer lasting battery life and excellent design, we recommend the Lenovo Yoga 9i. Otherwise, this HP Envy x360 is a great pick,