New HP Envy laptops add IMAX, multicamera capabilities

HP’s new Envy lineup of laptops includes the first IMAX Enhanced-certified PC, the company said, offering a breather to a line of PCs otherwise marketed at a growing cadre of on-the-go freelancers.

HP’s new Envys will ship in three different sizes, with 14-inch, 15.6-inch, and 17.3-inch displays complementing the updated 13th-gen Intel Core processors inside them. (The 15.6-inch model also includes the option of Ryzen 7-series chips.) Only the two smaller versions are 360-degree convertibles; the 17-inch version is a traditional clamshell. The two 15- and 17-inch Intel-based laptopsship with Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 GPUs inside them, as well.

Those of us who work at an office don’t appear to be HP’s target. Instead, the new Envy lineup is aimed at the writers, consultants, communications executives, and others working on the go in coffee shops and communal workspaces. “Select” models of the new Envy lineup will be certified as IMAX Enhanced, which opens up the possibility of watching Disney+ on higher-quality screens, with DTS sound, and an expanded aspect ratio. You’ll also need a subscription to Disney+, the service which is offering some of its latest Marvel and Pixar titles using the technology.

Presumably, that means those Envys will ship with a 4K screen, an option on (only) the 17.3-inch Envy. Otherwise, consumers will have the option of 1080p IPS displays—save for the 15.6-inch models, which will include the option of an OLED screen as well. OLEDs provide superior contrast to their IPS counterparts, thanks to per-pixel lighting; when the display manager requests a black pixel, the pixel can actually be turned off entirely.

The new Envys also include a pair of Thunderbolt 4 ports, offering expansion capabilities up to a pair of 4K displays via a Thunderbolt dock. The Ryzen versions, though, include just USB-C ports.

HP

In a way, however, the IMAX certification is really just a distraction from a number of specific improvements that don’t appear on other PCs. Take videoconferencing, for example: HP Presence 2.0 begins with features we’ve seen elsewhere—virtual backgrounds, backlight adjustment, and auto framing—something we’re starting to see in devices like the Surface Pro 9 (5G), with a Qualcomm Snapdragon chip inside.

HP has extended this to skin-color correction, with touches you might see in projectors: auto-alignment and keystone alignment, for example, so a camera focused on a presentation will align it properly. HP also uses the camera to put your Envy into sleep mode if you walk away, and to recognize you on your return, something we’ve seen from laptop makers like Dell for some time.

Cameras are also used in yet another interesting tweak: multi-camera presentations. HP Presence can “mix” your laptop’s camera with a standalone camera, so that presentation software like Teams or Zoom can see a video of you and a whiteboard, combined together into a single input. That’s a nifty tweak on what’s become a rather commonplace function, and one which might benefit from an excellent standalone webcam. Virtually all of the new Envys include a 5Mpixel depth camera to log you in; the exception is the 14-inch model, which uses a fingerprint reader instead. (A standalone Windows Hello webcam will solve that problem.)

When not in use, the HP Envy’s camera can be manually blocked via a manual camera shutter; HP is also one of the few manufacturers to include the option of disabling the mic for additional privacy. You can do that with a dedicated mic toggle, with an LED indicator to confirm your choice.

HP

The two smaller Envys, as 360-degree convertibles (aka two-in-ones), also ship with the HP Rechargeable Tilt Pen, an MPP 2.0 stylus that now magnetically attaches to the side of the laptop. The pen ships with two different pen tips, and can last up to a year in standby, HP said.

We’ve summarized the specifications below. Note that there’s a difference in battery life between the Ryzen and Core models; the Envy with a Ryzen inside should last about 13.5 hours of mixed usage, while the Core version should have a battery life of 15 hours, HP says.

HP said that the 14-inch HP Envy x360 is available now for $849.99. The 15-inch will be available later this month for $949.99 and up, while the 17-inch will ship in May for $1,149.99.

HP Envy x360 14-inch 2-in-1 basic features

Processor: Intel Core i5-1335U, Core i7-1355U
Display: 14-inch (1920×1080) IPS, 245 nits
Memory: 8-16GB DDR4-3200
Storage: 512GB PCIe Gen4 NVMe, 512GB-1TB NVMe M.2 SSD
Graphics: Iris Xe
Ports: 10Gbps USB-C (Power Delivery, DisplayPort), 2.5Gbps USB-A, HDMI 2.1, microSD, headphone jack
Security: Fingerprint reader
Camera: 5Mpixel
Battery: 43Wh
Wireless: Wi-Fi 6E (Gig+ AX211), Bluetooth 5.3
Audio: Bang & Olufsen, HP Audio Boost
Operating system: Windows 11 Home/Pro
Dimensions:  12.68 x 8.3 x 0.75 inches
Weight: 3.3lbs
Colors:  Natural Silver
Price:  $849.99 at HP.com

HP Envy x360 15.6-inch 2-in-1 (Intel Core) basic features

Processor: Intel Core i5-1335U, Core i7-1355U
Display: 15.6-inch (1920×1080) OLED 500 nits; 1920×1080 IPS, 400 nits; 1920×1080 IPS, 250 nits
Memory: 8-16GB LPDDR5-5200
Storage: 512GB/1TB PCIe Gen4 NVMe M.2 SSD, 256GB/512GB/1TB NVMe M.2 SSD
Graphics: Iris Xe / Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 (4GB GDDR6)
Ports: Two Thunderbolt 4, 10Gbps USB-A (Charging), two 10Gbps USB-A, HDMI 2.1, microSD, headphone jack
Security: Windows Hello depth camera
Camera: 5Mpixel
Battery: 55Wh
Wireless: Wi-Fi 6E (Gig+ AX211), Bluetooth 5.3
Audio: Bang & Olufsen, HP Audio Boost
Operating system: Windows 11 Home/Pro
Dimensions:  14.07 x 8.99 x 0.72 inches
Weight: 3.90-4.13lbs (non-OLED/OLED)
Colors:  Natural Silver, Nightfall Black
Price:  ?

HP Envy x360 15.6-inch 2-in-1 (AMD Ryzen) basic features

Processor: AMD Ryzen 7 7730, Ryzen 5 7530U
Display: 15.6-inch (1920×1080) OLED 500 nits; 1920×1080 IPS, 250 nits
Memory: 8-16GB LPDDR4x-4266
Storage: 256GB/512GB/1TB NVMe M.2 SSD
Graphics: Radeon Graphics
Ports: Two 10Gbps USB-C (Power Delivery, DisplayPort), two 5Gbps USB-A, HDMI 2.1, microSD, headphone jack,
Security: Windows Hello depth camera
Camera: 5Mpixel
Battery: 65Wh
Wireless: Wi-Fi 6E (Gig+ AX211), Bluetooth 5.3
Audio: Bang & Olufsen, HP Audio Boost
Operating system: Windows 11 Home/Pro
Dimensions:  14.07 x 8.99 x 0.72 inches
Weight: 3.90-4.13lbs (non-OLED/OLED)
Colors:  Natural Silver, Nightfall Black
Price:  ?

HP Envy x360 17-inch 2-in-1 basic features

Processor: Intel Core i7-1355U/Core i5-13500H/Core i7-13700H
Display: 17.3-inch (3840×2160) IPS 400 nits; 1920×1080 IPS, 300 nits (touch or non-touch)
Memory: 8-16GB LPDDR5-5200
Storage: 512GB/1TB PCIe Gen4 NVMe M.2 SSD, 256GB/512GB/1TB NVMe M.2 SSD
Graphics: Iris Xe / Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 (4GB GDDR6)
Ports: Two Thunderbolt 4, 10Gbps USB-A (Charging), 10Gbps USB-A, two 10Gbps USB-A, HDMI 2.1, microSD, headphone jack,
Security: Fingerprint reader
Camera: 5Mpixel
Battery: 55Wh
Wireless: Wi-Fi 6E (Gig+ AX211), Bluetooth 5.3
Audio: Bang & Olufsen, HP Audio Boost
Operating system: Windows 11 Home
Dimensions:  15.59 x 10.18 x 0.77 inches
Weight: 5.50lbs
Colors:  Natural Silver
Price:  ?