Josh Goldman/CNET
If I used to be nonetheless commuting usually on a bus or practice, the HP Envy x360 13 two-in-one laptop computer can be on my shortlist. It would even be a prime consideration if I have been purchasing for an older highschool or school scholar. It’s small, fashionable and light-weight at simply lower than 3 kilos (1.3 kg). Battery life is lengthy regardless of the scale. And the AMD Ryzen 5-4500U processor delivered efficiency past that of pricier Intel chips. Add in quick Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.0 and, primarily, you are getting a speedy little two-in-one that is prepared for working from residence or distant studying however can be prepared to your backpack.
LikeSmaller and higher-quality than you’d usually get for its priceSolid efficiency, battery life for its dimension
Don’t LikeMemory soldered onGlossy show makes exterior use troublesome
The Envy x360 usually begins at $700 and the configuration I examined is $800 (£800, AU$2,000). (For these seeking to spend even much less, take a look at our listing of finest laptops below $500.) The value is greater than affordable for what you get, however the greatest subject I’ve with the Envy x360 13 is its availability. A $1,000 model comes out and in of inventory and the identical is true of my configuration, the Envy x360 13-ay0010nr. You can get a greater configuration from Costco proper now with twice the storage and a sooner processor for $900, though it has been as little as $750 from the warehouse membership. The 15.6-inch model has extra availability, so for those who do not thoughts a bigger show, it begins at $700.
HP Envy x360 13 (2020, 13-inch)
Price as reviewed
$800
Display dimension/decision
13.3-inch, 1,920×1,080-pixel IPS touchscreen
Processor
2.3GHz AMD Ryzen 5-4500U
Memory
8GB DDR4 (soldered)
Graphics
512MB Radeon
Storage
256GB PCIe NVME SSD
Ports
2x USB-A (3.1 Gen 1), 1x USB-C (3.1 Gen 2), MicroSD
Networking
Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax), Bluetooth 5.0
Operating system
Microsoft Windows Home
Weight
2.9 kilos (1.3 kg)
Streamlined and simpleHP was aiming for a minimalist design with the Envy x360 and I’d say it hit the mark. Made from aluminum, the surface is clear and delicate. The lid lifts simply and the show does not have a lot of a bezel round it in any respect, together with the underside, which is considerably smaller than the 2019 mannequin. That discount shifts the keyboard and touchpad up with the keyboard going practically edge to edge.The Envy x360’s keyboard is spacious, nevertheless it ends in a smaller touchpad.
Josh Goldman/CNET
It’s a snug keyboard with a two-level backlight. The key legends are straightforward to learn and the operate keys embody the standard hotkeys for quantity and display brightness together with choices to immediately mute your mic and block the webcam for privateness. A responsive fingerprint reader is sort of hidden within the keyboard, sitting between the appropriate Alt key and left arrow key. The shiny show is unquestionably a spotlight right here. It has wonderful shade and distinction and, at 400 nits, it is vibrant. Not fairly vibrant sufficient to see previous reflections exterior on a sunny day, however in any other case it is nice. The diminished bezels do make it extra comfy to make use of in your arm as a pill and the show helps simultaneous pen and contact enter and works with MPP 2.0 pens.
A headset jack and USB-A and USB-C ports are on the left aspect. On the appropriate is the facility enter, one other USB-A port and a MicroSD card slot. It will be charged via the USB-C port as nicely.
Josh Goldman/CNET
AMD’s bought what it takesNo doubt about it, AMD’s latest cell processors outperform pricier Intel CPUs. The Ryzen 5-4500U can preserve tempo with an Intel Core i7-1065G7 and it is not even the quickest AMD chip accessible for this two-in-one. There is not an enormous hole in efficiency between the 4500U and higher-end 4700U, so if just one or the opposite is offered you may be in good condition regardless. Aside from the processor, although, you would possibly need to go along with a configuration with 16GB of reminiscence. The reminiscence is soldered on and meaning fashions with 8GB of reminiscence cannot be upgraded. The Envy x360’s battery lasted a reasonably very long time. On our streaming video check, it hit 10 hours. In basic use — streaming music, shopping, writing and primary picture modifying — it was nearer to 7 hours. However, it does cost shortly, getting as much as 50% in 30 minutes. The HP Envy x360 13 is a superb small two-in-one with a higher-end design than you’d sometimes get at this value — assuming yow will discover one in inventory. Factor within the strong AMD efficiency and battery life and it is a straightforward suggestion.The trim 13.3-inch show offers you room to put in writing and sketch in pill mode with out being too massive.
Josh Goldman/CNET
Geekbench 5 (multicore)
Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 (Intel)
Note:
Longer bars point out higher efficiency
Cinebench R20 CPU (multicore)
Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 (Intel)
Note:
Longer bars point out higher efficiency
PCMark 10 Pro Edition (full)
Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 (Intel)
Note:
Longer bars point out higher efficiency
Streaming video playback battery drain check
Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 (Intel)
Note:
Longer bars point out higher efficiency (in minutes)
System configurations
Acer Swift 3
Microsoft Windows 10 Home (64-bit); 2.3GHz AMD Ryzen 7 4700U; 8GB LPDDR4 3.2GHz; 512MB Radeon; 512GB PCIe NVMe SSD
HP Envy 17 (2020)
Microsoft Windows 10 Home (64-bit); 1.3GHz Intel Core i7-1065G7; 16GB DDR4 RAM 3.2GHz; Nvidia GeForce MX330; 512GB SSD
HP Envy x360 13 (2020)
Microsoft Windows 10 Home (64-bit); 2.3GHz AMD Ryzen 5 4500U; 8GB DDR4 3.2GHz; 512MB Radeon; 256GB PCIe NVMe SSD
Asus VivoBook S15 S532FA
Microsoft Windows 10 Home (64-bit); 1.6GHz Intel Core i5-10210U; 8GB DDR4 RAM 2.67GHz; 128MB Intel UHD Graphics; 512GB SSD
Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 (Intel)
Microsoft Windows 10 Pro (64-bit); 1.3GHz Intel Core i7-1065G7; 16GB DDR4 RAM 4.27GHz; 128MB Intel Iris Plus Graphics; 256GB SSD
Dell Inspiron 14 5000
Microsoft Windows 10 Home (64-bit); 1.6GHz Intel Core i5-10210U; 8GB DDR4 RAM 2.67GHz; 128MB Intel UHD Graphics; 256GB SSD
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