HP OmniBook 7 Aero review: Light as a feather

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The HP OmniBook 7 Aero is a 13.3-inch laptop computer that weighs simply 2.2 kilos or much less, relying on the configuration you select. With a gorgeous white design and an all-metal magnesium-aluminum alloy chassis, it feels premium. Plus, it runs cool and quiet. This machine feels made for portability.

Unfortunately, HP paired an unusually small battery with an AMD chip that isn’t as power-efficient as probably the most environment friendly CPUs Intel and Qualcomm have to supply. The result’s an ultraportable that feels such as you by no means wish to take it too removed from an outlet. With an Intel Lunar Lake CPU or an even bigger battery, this laptop computer would’ve actually wowed.

HP OmniBook 7 Aero: Specs

Foundry / Chris Hoffman

The HP OmniBook 7 Aero packs an eight-core AMD Ryzen AI 7 350 chip with Radeon 860M graphics. AMD’s Ryzen AI {hardware} delivers a superb mixture of efficiency and battery life, full with an NPU that’s quick sufficient to run Windows 11’s Copilot+ PC options.

Our evaluate mannequin had 32 GB of RAM and a 1 TB SSD — that’s greater than sufficient RAM and storage for a light-weight ultraportable like this one. The RAM particularly appears slightly overspec’d given the remainder of the {hardware} right here. Most individuals could be higher off with 16 GB of RAM and a sooner CPU.

While this can be a stunning machine, the $1,299 retail value level feels a tad excessive contemplating the mid-range AMD Ryzen AI 7 350 CPU, regardless of the beneficiant quantity of RAM. However, whereas I used to be wrapping up this evaluate, HP had it on sale for $869. That value feels wonderful for this machine.

• Model quantity: HP OmniBook 7 Aero 13-bg1077nr
• CPU: AMD Ryzen AI 7 350
• Memory: 32 GB LPDDR5x-7500 RAM
• Graphics/GPU: AMD Radeon 860M
• NPU: AMD NPU (as much as 50 TOPS)
• Display: 13.3-inch 2560×1600 IPS show with 60Hz refresh charge
• Storage: 1 TB PCIe Gen4 SSD
• Webcam: 1440p webcam
• Connectivity: 2x USB Type-C (10 Gbps), 2x USB Type-A (1x 10 Gbps, 1x 5 Gbps), 1x HDMI 2.1, 1x combo audio jack
• Networking: Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.4
• Biometrics: IR digicam for Windows Hello
• Battery capability: 43 Watt-hours
• Dimensions: 11.70 x 8.31 x 0.69 inches
• Weight: 2.2 kilos
• MSRP: $1,299 as examined

HP OmniBook 7 Aero: Design and construct high quality

Foundry / Chris Hoffman

The HP OmniBook 7 Aero is instantly spectacular. Our evaluate unit was the Ceramic White variant, and it’s an extremely clear look in a world of silver laptops. (HP additionally affords a “Glacier Silver” variant.) Even the keyboard deck is white, though the bezel across the show is black.

This 13.3-inch machine is among the lightest laptops I’ve ever reviewed. HP says it weighs a most of two.2 kilos relying in your chosen {hardware} configuration. It’s about as mild as a laptop computer could be, and the steel chassis (a magnesium-aluminum alloy) has a barely rubbery-feeling floor that’s nice to carry.

The construct high quality feels premium, and the hinge feels strong with out obnoxious wobbles, however the machine is so mild that I want to make use of two palms to open it.

The laptop computer comes with extra bloatware than I’d prefer to see — the Start menu has shortcuts for Adobe Offers, Booking.com, and “Dropbox promotion.” But that is straightforward to take away in the event you don’t need it.

HP OmniBook 7 Aero: Keyboard and trackpad

Foundry / Chris Hoffman

The HP OmniBook 7 Aero has a chiclet keyboard that feels good to kind on. It’s bought a pleasant white backlight, too. The typing motion feels moderately snappy and responsive. But there’s one thing slightly off about it: the important thing journey is slightly shallow. That’s not an enormous shock for a 2.2-pound laptop computer that’s 0.67 inches at its thickest level. HP has compensated properly for the thinness, however it does really feel slightly shallow.

This machine’s trackpad additionally feels good. It’s an ordinary mechanical trackpad that’s an affordable measurement and feels responsive to maneuver your finger over, with a pleasant “clunk” motion once you click on down.

HP OmniBook 7 Aero: Display and audio system

Foundry / Chris Hoffman

The HP OmniBook 7 Aero has a 13.3-inch IPS show with a 2560×1600 decision and a pleasant anti-glare floor. HP charges it as 400 nits, however it appeared even brighter. It’s a gorgeous show, though it solely goes as much as a 60Hz–a sooner refresh charge would’ve been good.

However, the mixture of a high-resolution, first rate quantity of brightness, and anti-glare floor is an actual winner. It performs higher than shiny shows in difficult lighting situations like direct daylight. The show is certainly one of this machine’s greatest property, however it’s not a contact display screen.

I check each laptop computer’s audio system by taking part in Steely Dan’s Aja and Daft Punk’s Get Lucky. The HP OmniBook 7 Aero delivers a superb quantity of top-end quantity. Audio high quality was okay — the highs may very well be slightly grating in Get Lucky, particularly at most quantity, and the bass was lower than normal. I’d plan to make use of headphones for the very best expertise with music, motion pictures, and TV exhibits.

HP OmniBook 7 Aero: Webcam, microphone, biometrics

The HP OmniBook 7 Aero has a 5MP webcam with a 1440p decision. Despite that spectacular decision quantity, the picture high quality was slightly grainy, particularly in darker lighting situations. I’ve used laptops with 1080p webcams that do a greater job. This laptop computer does embrace a bodily webcam shutter change, which is all the time good to see.

The “dual array digital microphones” did a superb job of choosing up my voice with clear audio high quality. I’d be comfortable to make use of this microphone setup for on-line conferences, though I want the webcam was a bit nicer.

The HP OmniBook 7 Aero consists of an IR digicam for Windows Hello, so you may sign up along with your face, however there’s no fingerprint reader right here.

HP OmniBook 7 Aero: Connectivity

Foundry / Chris Hoffman

The HP OmniBook Aero has an honest variety of ports for a 13-inch laptop computer that solely weighs 2.2 kilos. On the left facet, there’s a combo audio jack and a USB Type-A port that helps as much as 5 Gbps speeds.

On the fitting facet, there’s a second USB Type-A port (this one is as much as 10 Gbps) in addition to an HDMI 2.1 port and two USB Type-C ports (each 10 Gbps speeds.) This machine costs through USB Type-C, so that you’ll be plugging the charging cable into one of many ports on the fitting facet.

It’s an affordable choice of ports, though there’s no Thunderbolt 4 or USB4 right here. There’s no microSD card reader or Ethernet jack, both. You’ll want a dongle if these are essential to you.

This machine helps Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.4, so it’s a bit dated on the Wi-Fi — there was no Wi-Fi 7 and even Wi-Fi 6E on the mannequin we reviewed. However, you in all probability haven’t switched to Wi-Fi 7 but, in order that’s not an enormous downside.

HP OmniBook 7 Aero: Performance

The HP OmniBook 7 Aero with its AMD Ryzen AI 7 350 CPU delivered affordable desktop efficiency in on a regular basis desktop apps: internet browsers, communication instruments, and productiveness apps. It ran cool and quiet, too. Considering this can be a 2.2-pound ultraportable laptop computer, that’s what individuals will seemingly use it for!

As all the time, we put this machine via our standard benchmarks to see the way it performs.

Foundry / Chris Hoffman

First, we run PCMark 10 to get an concept of general system efficiency. With a PCMark 10 rating of 5,969, this machine got here behind Intel Lunar Lake-powered PCs just like the Samsung Galaxy Book5 Pro 360 and AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX-powered machines just like the HP OmniBook Ultra 14.

This AMD {hardware} was neck and neck with Intel’s slower Intel Core 5 210H chip within the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3, and the AMD {hardware} here’s a better option — it’s a extra fashionable chip that has an NPU able to working Copilot+ PC options, and it runs cooler.

Foundry / Chris Hoffman

Next, we run Cinebench R20. This is a closely multithreaded benchmark that focuses on general CPU efficiency. It’s a fast benchmark, so cooling below prolonged workloads isn’t an element. But, because it’s closely multithreaded, CPUs with extra cores have an enormous benefit.

With a multithreaded rating of 5364, AMD’s “AI PC” {hardware} confirmed how significantly better it’s at multithreaded efficiency than Intel’s “AI PC” {hardware}. AMD pulled forward of Intel right here.

Foundry / Chris Hoffman

We additionally run an encode with Handbrake. This is one other closely multithreaded benchmark, however it runs over an prolonged interval. This calls for the laptop computer’s cooling to kick in, and plenty of laptops will throttle and decelerate below load.

The HP OmniBook 7 Aero accomplished the encode course of in a median of 1,199 seconds, nearly 20 minutes. Once once more, it outclassed Intel’s Lunar Lake {hardware} on efficiency, however Lunar Lake will win in relation to battery life, as we’ll see under.

Foundry / Chris Hoffman

Next, we run a graphical benchmark. This isn’t a gaming laptop, however it’s nonetheless good to verify how the GPU performs. We run 3DMark Time Spy, a graphical benchmark that focuses on GPU efficiency.

Despite AMD’s repute for sturdy graphics {hardware}, the Radeon 860M graphics right here performs like onboard graphics. With an general 3DMark Time Spy rating of two,726, this machine delivered half the efficiency of Intel’s Lunar Lake GPUs.

Overall, the HP OmniBook 7 Aero delivers strong efficiency for this class, particularly in multithreaded duties. And it does it whereas staying cool and quiet. But 3D graphics efficiency is a specific weak point.

HP OmniBook 7 Aero: Battery life

The HP OmniBook has a 43 Watt-hour battery, and that’s small. Thankfully, the AMD Ryzen AI {hardware} on this machine is affordable power-efficient. This machine’s battery life is first rate, however it’s under fashionable requirements for a light-weight PC in 2025. That stated, a bigger battery would make this machine heavier. The smaller battery contributes to the sunshine weight.

Foundry / Chris Hoffman

To benchmark the battery life, we play a 4K copy of Tears of Steel on repeat on Windows 11 with airplane mode enabled till the laptop computer suspends itself. We set the display screen to 250 nits of brightness for our battery benchmarks. Real-world battery life in day-to-day use is all the time going to be lower than this.

The HP OmniBook 7 Aero lasted for a median of 632 minutes earlier than suspending itself — that’s ten and a half hours. It’s an important quantity for a PC with such a small battery, however it’s properly behind laptops with bigger batteries. With an Intel Lunar Lake system and a bigger battery, you possibly can get greater than double this machine’s battery life. Lunar Lake machines could possibly get away with a battery this small, however HP is pushing it by pairing AMD {hardware} with this battery.

Video playback is a best-case situation and real-world desktop app utilization will drain the laptop computer’s battery sooner, so I’m undecided you’ll get a full day of battery life from this machine. You would possibly be capable of get near a full workday’s utilization out of this battery in case your workload isn’t too demanding and you retain the display screen brightness low — possibly.

HP OmniBook 7 Aero: Conclusion

The HP OmniBook 7 Aero is slightly marvel of a laptop computer. At 2.2 kilos with a gorgeous white all-metal design, I liked utilizing it, and I liked choosing it up and shifting it round. It stayed cool and quiet, too.

Unfortunately, HP’s determination to incorporate a small battery—presumably to maintain the load down —seems like a compromise that impairs the usability of this machine.

I liked this laptop computer the primary time I touched it, however I winced once I noticed the battery spec: 43 Watt-hours is simply too low for this AMD chip. This quantity was once positive however, in a post-Lunar Lake and post-Qualcomm Snapdragon X world, that is low.

If you’ll by no means be removed from an outlet and also you need extra multithreaded CPU efficiency than Intel’s Lunar Lake can ship, this could be the best laptop computer for you.