We review HP’s new convertible!

If you’re competing in a crowded ultra-portable marketplace, what do you do? HP’s answer is simple: stuff an AMD processor and GPU combo in a stylish, compact machine. Their Envy x360 notebook has enough number-crunching power to satisfy most road warriors for a reasonable price.

Understated elegance

HP builds really nice looking higher-end notebooks, and the new Envy x360 is no exception. It’s hard to pull off a design that’s both elegant-looking and understated at the same time, thankfully HP has done exactly that.

The chassis is made with aluminum and lends a hefty, premium and solid feel every time you take it out of your bag.

Unfortunately, there’s only one color option for the 13-inch notebook, which is Dark Ash. The upside is that the color option for the x360 looks perfectly at home with the x360’s angular lines and design aesthetic.

Speaking of aesthetic, the x360’s design features angular, sharp lines, which is a bit of a departure from what we’ve been seeing in other notebooks as of late.

Overall the notebook is only 14.9mm thin when closed, though it does weigh in at around 1.3 kilos, which is quite hefty.

The display is good enough for both work and play

The Envy x360 uses a touchscreen, full HD 13.3-inch display that can be rotated and used as a tablet.

There are two hinges that make this possible, and look solid enough to endure repeated openings without becoming excessively loose over time.

As far as display quality goes, the Envy x360’s display is generally good enough for regular use, though I wouldn’t recommend it for people requiring a color-accurate display.

The quad speakers are located right below the hinge and are custom tuned by Bang & Olufsen. They’re quite good though they lose a little bit of depth when it comes to bass, which is understandable, considering their size.

A keyboard that’s a pleasure to type on

Despite being a 13.3-inch notebook, the Envy x360 has a pretty ergonomic and comfortable keyboard. It’s so comfortable in fact that we’re typing this very review on it. The keys have good spacing, great travel and are backlit for low-light use.

The touchpad is OK, though you’d probably want to use a mouse if you value your sanity.

The touchscreen response is good, and HP includes a pen that you can use if you’re the creative type.

There are two USB ports as well as a Type-C port on the chassis, plus a microSD card slot.

AMD provides plenty of oomph

The Envy x360 is an anomaly in the world of ultra-portables, thanks to the fact it’s powered by an AMD processor and not an Intel one, which is what a majority of notebooks today run on.

Specifically, our review device ran on an AMD Ryzen 7 2700U with a Radeon RX Vega 10 GPU for discrete graphics. That’s paired with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of SSD storage.

Real-world performance for AMD’s processor was pretty good, and we didn’t notice any major issues with the Envy x360’s performance, despite us multi-tasking like crazy.

Despite the Radeon RX Vega 10 GPU the Envy x360 is definitely not a gaming machine, though games that have moderate graphical requirements are playable, albeit with lowered graphical fidelity.

Battery life is lacking

If there’s one thing we don’t particularly like with the Envy x360 is its middling’ battery life. HP claims an 11-hour runtime for the Envy x360 which is woefully inaccurate – our battery loop test showed that the notebook’s power cell could only sustain a total of 3 hours and 56 minutes of a looped video before it died. Actual moderate to heavy use during a workday was only slightly better, with the notebook giving up the ghost at around the four hour and thirty-minute mark.

Verdict: a solid option if you don’t mind the mediocre battery life

With a price of Php 63,990, HP’s Envy x360 is a compelling option for people looking for a fairly powerful 2-in-1 that has discrete graphics.

If you’re willing to overlook the Envy x360’s mediocre battery life, then this particular ultraportable is a great choice for mobile warriors looking for a powerful machine for a reasonable price.

HP Envy x360 specs

• AMD Ryzen 7 2700U processor
• AMD Radeon Vega 10 GPU
• 13.3-inch IPS touchscreen display
• 8GB DDR SDRAM
• 256GB SSD storage
• 2 x USB 3.1, USB Type-C 3.1, 1 x microSD, 3.5mm jack
• WiFi, Bluetooth, HP Active Pen input
• Windows 10