HP Envy x360 15 Review: A Good 2-in-1 Hampered by an Outdated Display

January 29, 2023 appsky

    Matt Elliott/CNET

    HP’s Envy line of laptops and two-in-one convertibles is the middle child between the mainstream Pavilion series and the premium Spectre line. The Envy x360 15 is a 15.6-inch two-in-one that delivers the best of both worlds: a premium design that’s closer to that of a Spectre at a price that’s more meat-and-potatoes Pavilion. The Envy x360 15 boasts an attractive, rigid all-metal body, but the design is no different than last year’s model. And while we don’t mind last year’s looks, we are less enthused with HP sticking with a widescreen 16:9 display when the increasingly popular 16:10 panels found in such convertibles as the Dell Inspiron 16 two-in-one and Lenovo Yoga 7i 16 are roomier and more useful, while hardly adding to the system’s overall footprint.?
    The Envy x360 15’s component lineup is solidly midrange with a Ryzen 7 5825U CPU that’s now a year old and a generation behind AMD’s current 6000 series. It’s paired with 12GB of RAM that’s more than the 8GB you get with typical budget models but less than the 16GB you can usually find at this price. The biggest change from last year’s model is HP having doubled the webcam resolution from a grainy 720p to a crisp 1440p camera. In the era of video conferences, a bump in webcam fidelity is greatly appreciated. Then again, if the webcam is the headliner, it’s not much of an update overall.

7.0

HP Envy x360 15

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Like

Premium looks at mainstream price
1440p webcam
Long battery life

Don’t Like

16:9 display feels cramped and outdated
Dim display

    HP offers the Envy x360 15 in a host of configurations with both Intel and AMD CPUs. Our test system is?available at Best Buy (model 15-ey0023dx)?for $1,050 and is regularly discounted to only $750. Best Buy’s sales constantly fluctuate, so if it’s not on sale there, you can find a?similar model at HP?with 16GB of RAM that lists for $1,130. It’s currently out of stock, but its price was reduced to $930 recently. In the UK, the?Envy x360 15 starts at ￡750, and in?Australia it’s AU$1,999.?
    With its octa-core Ryzen 7 5825U and 12GB of RAM, the Envy x360 offers strong application performance and some capacity for basic photo editing. Its integrated Radeon GPU isn’t as powerful as Intel’s integrated graphics processor, however, and Intel’s isn’t all that powerful to begin with. Content creators will want to look elsewhere. With the efficient Ryzen 7 U-series chip, the system is able to operate in silence the majority of the time. And when the cooling fans are required, they spin quietly. The efficient CPU also allows for long battery life — nearly 12 hours on our battery drain test.
     HP Envy x360 15-ey0023dx

Price as reviewed	$1,050
Display size/resolution	15.6-inch 1,920×1,080 touch display
CPU	2GHz AMD Ryzen 7 5825U with Radeon Graphics
Memory	12GB DDR4 3,200MHz RAM
Graphics	512MB AMD Radeon Graphics
Storage	512GB PCIe3x4 NVMe M.2 SSD
Networking	MediaTek Wi-Fi 6 MT7921 (2×2) and Bluetooth 5.3 wireless card
Operating system	Windows 11 Home 22H2

Envious looks
    The Envy x360 15 features an all-metal chassis in what HP calls Nightfall Black. The matte-black finish has a hint of brown to it and lends a luxurious look similar to that of the Spectre x360 16 — minus the gem-cut edges, gold accents and ports located in the back corners. The Envy x360 15 won’t look out of place in the boardroom or executive suite and also offers a contrast to the common sight of silver aluminum laptops in coffee shops and shared workspaces.
    At 4.2 pounds (1.9 kilograms), the Envy x360 15 feels heavier than it should, likely a result of the extra layers needed for the touch display found on all two-in-ones. The 3-pound Lenovo Yoga 7i makes a better option for daily commutes with its 14-inch, 16:10 display. A smaller, lighter two-in-one also has a more natural feel in tablet mode. The Envy x360 15 looks comically tall and narrow when held in portrait mode as a tablet. It’s also too heavy to hold with one hand and tap, swipe or sketch with the other hand. One last note on the Envy x360 15 as a tablet: A pen is not included.

Geekbench 5 (multicore)

    Acer Spin 5 (2022)




     9,766

    Samsung Galaxy Book 2 Pro 360




     9,087

    Lenovo Yoga 7i (14-inch, Gen 7)




     8,378

    HP Spectre x360 14-ef0013dx




     7,404

    Dell Inspiron 16 2-in-1 (2022)




     7,202

    HP Envy x360 15-ey0023dx




     6,933