In summary
The 13″ ENVY x360 is a beautifully finished convertible with a remarkably pleasant keyboard and an OLED screen with a high resolution of 2880×1800 pixels, which can display beautiful HDR. Unfortunately, the sRGB mode does not work as you might expect. Despite the thin housing, HP provided the laptop with USB-A connections and a webcam with a rare high resolution.In terms of battery life, the ENVY is a mid-range engine and the i7-1250U processor is economical.
In 2020 we last paid attention to the HP ENVY x360 and in the meantime HP has developed its 13 “convertible considerably. Of course the processor has been upgraded, but the more expensive variant, which we will of course discuss in this review, is now equipped with an OLED screen with a resolution of 2880 x 1800 pixels.In this review we take a brief look at the ENVY x360-bf0390nd.
Housing and connections
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The ENVY x360 has an all-metal housing. The version we tested is blue. There is also the version whose name ends with bf0350nd, which is silver gray. Speaking of the different versions; we have tested the most expensive version with Core i7 processor and OLED screen, but there are cheaper versions with a Core i5 processor and LCD.The cheapest version costs about 1100 euros at the time of writing and has the same, quite ‘premium’ feeling housing as the more expensive variants. The sharp edges that were on previous ENVY x360 models have been replaced by rounded corners, and the chassis is thin, so thin it won’t fit full USB-A connections. Fortunately, HP has not been deterred by the lack of space and the USB connections are fitted with a cover, so that they still fit in the housing. You can reach them by pushing the cover down and because that can put extra stress on the connector itself, it’s metal-reinforced. On the left is a microSD card reader and on the right are the USB-C connections, which have support for Thunderbolt 4. You also need them to charge the battery or to connect an external screen, because HDMI is not included.
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What is striking about the thin housing is that HP has also managed to build a keyboard with excellent key travel for a convertible. Not only can you press the keys far, the touch is also nicely dampened and that produces a clear key feeling. The touchpad has a glass surface and does what it is supposed to do, including the multi-touch gestures that are integrated into Windows.
You can’t just use the ENVY x360 as a laptop. It’s a convertible, so you can also use it as a tablet or in ‘presentation mode’, where the system leans on the side of the keyboard. To protect the case and keyboard, there are four rather subtle rubbers on the corners of the keyboard. If you place the laptop on a flat surface, the rubbers will do their job well, but on an uneven surface, it’s a good idea to check that you don’t scratch your housing.
You can touch the touchscreen with your fingers, but it also supports use with a stylus. At the top of the screen is a camera with a remarkably high resolution of 2560×1440 pixels. The camera can be hidden at the touch of a button on the keyboard. To show that it really cannot record an image, there will even be a slide in front of the camera lens. Thanks to the high resolution, the ENVY is therefore very suitable for video calling, but a headset is recommended. The sound quality is mediocre, because the speakers are located at the bottom of the housing and also do not produce a high volume.
Benchmarks
This version of the ENVY x360 is equipped with a Core i7-1250U processor. That CPU has a total of ten cores: two fast P-cores and eight economical E-cores. Intel specifies one maximum turbo power of 29 watts for this processor. If you start a benchmark, such as the two below, you will see the maximum power consumed by the processor also moving towards 30 watts. So it seems that HP is getting the most out of the processor.
In the benchmarks above, the ENVY x360 is roughly as fast as the ASUS Fold 17, which we are on ‘turbo’ profile. However, the Surface Pro 9, a tablet with an i5 processor, is much faster in Cinebench multi. That’s because Intel’s i5-1235U can handle up to 55 watts boost, while with the 1250U, as mentioned, it stops at 29 watts. So for an i7-1250U, the ENVY performs well, but there are convertibles like the Surface that are smoother in some cases.
Image quality: always pop with OLED
In the most expensive version, the ENVY x360 is equipped with an OLED screen, which is manufactured by Samsung. The resolution is 2880×1800 pixels, which gives a 16:10 aspect ratio. Samsung also makes 14″ OLED screens with the same resolution and a refresh rate of 90Hz, but this 13″ one just hangs at 60Hz. How is the image quality of this OLED screen? We check it using CalMAN-software and a colorimeter.
The image quality appears to be good and bad. Here’s the thing: like almost all OLEDs, this screen can also display more colors than the standard sRGB color space. If we measure the screen at P3 settings, we get very good results with barely perceptible deviations of 1.2 and 1.6ΔE. The laptop is also equipped with software to switch to sRGB… Only the function does not work. We have performed software, bios updates and even a recovery, but to no avail. In most cases you are therefore looking at popping, oversaturated colors. That takes some getting used to and if you don’t use the laptop for image editing, it’s not too much of a problem, but it’s something to keep in mind. A big plus of the OLED screen is that HDR images look beautiful, partly thanks to that larger color range. HP specifies a peak brightness of 500cd/m², but we even reached 550cd/m².
Battery life and noise production
Not unimportant for a compact laptop is the battery life. We test it in two scenarios and if we stick to web browsing only, we end up with more than ten hours. The current browsing test consists of websites with a lot of white space, so if you only visit websites with support for a dark mode, the battery life can be a bit longer, because OLED screens are more economical when we display darker colors. If you increase the load, the battery life will be only four hours.
We also looked at the noise production of the cooling in our soundproof room. We look at the sound production in three scenarios, with Blender being the heaviest, followed by PCMark and WebXprt as the lightest. In that last test we simulate browsing and the cooling is inaudibly quiet in most environments. However, the noise from the fan quickly increases. PCMark also runs quietly on some systems, but the cooling is already struggling and the fan is clearly audible. In Blender, the noise level is even a fraction higher. If you look at the cooling in the image below, you will immediately see that the heatsink is quite small. So it is really made on the relatively economical Core i7 processor.
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If you want to upgrade the ENVY’s hardware, you can, but the case doesn’t open easily and the screws are hidden under the rubbers on the bottom. If you have removed the bottom plate, you will find a removable wireless network card and SSD. The Lpddr5 memory is soldered in and therefore not replaceable.
Conclusion
What sets the ENVY x360 apart from other convertibles? First of all, of course, the screen. That gives a beautiful (HDR) image, thanks to the high resolution and the OLEDs. Unfortunately, in most cases you are looking at oversaturated colors, because the sRGB mode does not work. Furthermore, the ENVY distinguishes itself with its webcam with an above-average high resolution, the beautifully finished metal housing and the keyboard that types very well for a thin convertible. There are also points where the ENVY is ‘just good’, but doesn’t really stand out. The processor is economical and that is the right choice given the compact housing, but there are many other chips that are faster than the i7-1250U. The battery life is also just good, but does not really stand out either. So there’s just not much wrong with the ENVY x360.
The question is: is that enough? There are also other convertibles with an OLED screen, which at the time of writing are available for just under 1000 euros, for example the Samsung from the LBBG. The ENVY costs 1350 euros. Some alternatives even have faster processors on board, but the resolution is in most cases 1920×1080 and not 2880×1800 pixels, as with this ENVY. Is that resolution important to you and an sRGB mode is not, and is the i7-1250U fast enough for you? Then the ENVY is a beautifully finished laptop, with which there is little wrong and which we would certainly not advise against.
