2022 HP Envy x360 13 convertible review: Core i5-1230U or Core i7-1250U?

The HP Envy series is home to the company’s midrange to upper-midrange PCs in between the cheaper Pavilion series and flagship Spectre series. The latest 2022 Envy x360 13 succeeds the 2020 model by offering newer 12th gen Intel Core U CPUs and a revised chassis design. Our review unit comes with the uncommon Core i7-1250U CPU, 1200p IPS touchscreen, and just 8 GB of soldered RAM for about $1050 USD.

Other configurations are available with the Core i5-1230U, 1600p IPS or 1800p OLED touchscreen, and up to 16 GB of RAM instead. Discrete graphics options are not available on the model. Competitors include other midrange 13-inch convertibles like the Lenovo Yoga 6 13 , Dell Inspiron 13 7306 , or Acer Spin 3 SP313 .

More HP reviews: The 2022 Envy x360 13 introduces a new 16:10 aspect ratio to the series while retaining the same chassis materials and and overall feel as before. There are nonetheless plenty of minor external changes such as the rounder edges and corners and smoother transition between the raised palm rests and the keyboard deck much like on the larger 2022 Envy x360 15 . Chassis rigidity is still very good with only minor warping and twisting and no creaking when attempting to bend the base.

The lid is slightly more susceptible to bending as is typical of most laptops, but it is at least nowhere near as flimsy as the OLED displays on some Asus VivoBook designs. The higher-end Spectre x360 13. 5 or Asus Zenbook Flip have even stiffer chassis and lid designs than our less expensive Envy.

The new model is longer in length but shorter in width than the preceding model due to the new 16:10 form factor. Overall, the system is slightly heavier and larger as a result of these changes. It’s also worth noting that the top bezel of the display is a bit thicker than on most other laptops since it houses a larger 5 MP webcam.

The 2022 Envy x360 series has dropped the proprietary AC adapter port for USB-C charging only much like on the Spectre series. It consequently integrates two USB-C ports instead of one when compared to the 2020 Envy model each supporting Thunderbolt 4 connectivity. It’s great seeing USB-A ports here as well, but they are protected by flaps which can make them a hassle to access.

Transfer rates from the integrated MicroSD reader remain unchanged. Moving 1 GB of pictures from our UHS-II test card to desktop still takes about 17 seconds. A fully inserted MicroSD card protrudes by about 1 mm for safe transporting and easy ejection.

An Intel AX211 module comes standard on all SKUs for Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5. 2 connectivity. This is a pleasant surprise since many other midrange laptops like the Lenovo Yoga 6 13 are still shipping with no 6 GHz support.

HP is the only major manufacturer at the moment offering laptops with 5 MP webcams whereas most other makers are still relying on 1 MP or 2 MP sensors. Image quality is significantly cleaner as a result. Both IR and a webcam shutter are supported for Hello support and privacy, respectively.

The bottom panel is secured by just 4 Torx screws for relatively easy servicing. Users can upgrade the battery, M. 2 2280 SSD, and WLAN module from there while the RAM modules are soldered.

There are no extras in the box other than the AC adapter and paperwork. The usual one-year limited manufacturer warranty applies if purchased in the US. The keyboard has undergone moderate changes when compared to the 2020 design to be more in line with the keyboards on the latest Spectre models.

For example, the dedicated Home, PgUp, PgDn, and End keys on the right column have been removed and are now secondary functions tied to the arrow keys. This can be seen as a downgrade since the Up and Down arrow keys are cramped and more uncomfortable to press. Key feedback is otherwise satisfactory with moderate clatter and travel.

It’s slightly softer than the firmer keys on most Spectre and EliteBook models. The clickpad is larger than the clickpad on the 2020 model (11. 5 x 7.

4 cm vs. 11 x 6 cm) since the base is larger than before. Gliding is smooth at medium-to-high speeds while lower speeds have a bit of sticking for more accurate clicks.

Feedback is shallow and very weak when pressing down on the clickpad. It may be one of the quietest clickpads we’ve used, but feedback is just far too spongy. The IPS touchscreen offers no significant improvements over the touchscreen on the older 2020 Envy model for better or worse.

Though the ~99 percent sRGB coverage and relatively bright 400-nit backlight remains, the slow black-white response times still lead to noticeable ghosting especially if gaming. On the bright side, users now have three different display options to choose from as shown below. Our measurements reflect only the bolded option.

The display is not calibrated at factory unlike on higher-end consumer models. With that said, the display is not poorly calibrated at all. Average grayscale and color deltaE values would improve from 4.

6 and 3. 66 to 2. 2 and 1.

09, respectively, once calibrated with our X-Rite colorimeter. Users can apply our calibrated profile above to better exploit the 100% sRGB coverage of the display. Outdoor visibility has not changed from the 2020 model and it is generally comparable to most 13-inch convertibles including the new Samsung Galaxy Book2 Pro 13 .

The XPS 13 9310 2-in-1 ships with a noticeably brighter touchscreen of over 500 nits if outdoor visibility is a concern. We set our unit to “Best performance” mode via Windows and “Performance” mode via HP Command Center prior to running any benchmarks below for the best possible scores. It’s recommended that owners become familiar with the pre-installed Command Center software as it is the control hub for fan settings and color profiles as shown by the screenshots below.

Overall processor performance is about 5 to 10 percent slower than the Core i7-1255U CPU. Multi-thread performance is comparable to the Ryzen 7 5700U but with 25 percent faster single-thread performance as is common between most Intel and AMD CPUs. Downgrading to the lesser Core i5-1230U will reduce single- and multi-thread performance significantly by about 20 and 45 percent, respectively.

Users may want to avoid the cheaper Core i5-1230U configuration because of the wide performance deficit. PCMark results are slightly lower than the more expensive Spectre x360 13. 5 with its faster Core i7-1255U CPU and higher RAM capacity.

On the other hand, they’re also consistently better than on the Asus ZenBook Flip 13 UX363EA which utilizes an older and underclocked 11th gen Core i7-1165G7. LatencyMon reveals DPC issues when opening multiple tabs on our homepage. 4K playback at 60 FPS is nearly perfect with just 2 dropped frames during our 60-second video test.

Our test unit ships with a PCIe3 x4 NVMe SSD while higher-end SKUs include faster PCIe4 x4 options. The 512 GB SK Hynix BC711 drive in our unit would return excellent sequential read and write rates of about 3600 MB/s and 2800 MB/s, respectively, with no signs of performance throttling even when stressed. Graphics performance is about 15 percent slower than the average laptop in our database equipped with the same Iris Xe 96 EUs .

This deficit is largely due to the limited 8 GB of dual-channel RAM. Users looking to maximize graphics performance should considering higher-end SKUs with 16 GB of RAM instead. Fan noise is relatively quiet even when the unit is set to Performance mode.

When running the first benchmark scene of 3DMark 06, for example, the internal fan would be barely audible for most of the test until the end where we recorded a maximum of 33 dB(A) against a background of 23 dB(A). Fan noise would stabilize at just under 38 dB(A) when running Witcher 3 compared to 41 dB(A) or higher on the older 2020 Envy x360 13. HP says they’ve improved the airflow of the fan by 19 percent over the previous generation model which may have contributed to the overall quieter operation.

Surface temperatures are always warmer on the right half of the chassis than the left half due to how the processor is positioned inside. The temperature difference between the coolest and warmest spots can be as much as 16 C when the system is running demanding loads. In comparison, hot spots on the XPS 13 9310 2-in-1 can reach over 50 C when under similar conditions.

When stressed under Prime95, the CPU would boost to 2. 8 GHz until reaching a core temperature of 96 C about 30 seconds later. Thereafter, clock rates would drop to 2.

4 GHz in order to maintain a more manageable core temperature of 78 C. Board power draw would also fall to 23 W from its high of 30 W during the start of the test. Repeating this test on the Spectre x360 13.

5 with the Core i7-1255U would result in a faster stable clock rate of 2. 8 GHz but a much warmer core temperature of 97 C. Users can expect the core temperature to stabilize at just under 80 C when running demanding loads for long periods which is warmer than we recorded on the Dell XPS 13 9310 2-in-1 by almost 10 C.

Running on battery power impacts performance just slightly. A 3DMark 11 test on batteries would return Physics and Graphics scores of 12317 and 4505 points, respectively, compared to 13247 and 4816 points when on mains. Idling on desktop demands between 6 W and 11 W depending on the power profile and brightness setting which is more demanding than the older 2020 AMD Envy model.

When running higher loads, however, power draw would be much closer despite the increase in performance between the older and newer models. Users are therefore getting much higher performance-per-watt when compared to the previous generation model. We’re able to record a maximum draw of 48 W from the small (~9.

6 x 5. 4 x 2. 2 cm) 65 W AC adapter.

This rate is only temporary as shown by the screenshots below due to the limited Turbo Boost potential of the system. Battery capacity has increased from 51 Wh on the 2020 Envy model to 66 Wh on the 2022 model. WLAN runtime, however, is slightly shorter at just under 10 hours despite the larger battery.

It’s still more than enough for most day-to-day scenarios. Charging from empty to full capacity takes about 90 minutes. The latest Envy x360 13 brings numerous QoL changes over the outgoing model.

The higher resolution webcam, roomier 16:10 aspect ratio, USB-C charging, PCIe4 SSD support, larger clickpad, and improved thermals make the new Envy feel more like a high-end Ultrabook than a midrange one. The model even carries an optional OLED panel which further blurs the line between the Envy x360 13 and flagship Spectre x360 13 . Most home users and students will be pleased by how well-rounded the system feels.

Despite all the upgrades, there are a couple of downgrades to keep in mind. Most notably, the keyboard is worse than before and the clickpad is spongier this time as well. Battery life is also not any longer even though battery capacity has increased.

Furthermore, we would like to see options for higher refresh rate panels with faster response times on future models. Plainly designed but with plenty of tangible year-over-year upgrades to make the 2022 Envy x360 13 one of the better midrange convertibles available. The price of the Envy x360 13 is worth a mention as it can get quite high.

The lowest-end SKU with the Core i5-1230U comes with just 8 GB of RAM for $900 USD. We highly recommend at least 16 GB of RAM especially since it is not upgradeable and the Core i7-1250U CPU since the i5-1230U is slower than the last generation i7-1165G7 . These options bring the final price to $1120 USD which is getting quite close to Spectre x360 prices.

The 2022 Envy x360 13 is now shipping at Best Buy in our exact configuration for $1050 USD. For additional configuration options, we recommend purchasing directly from HP . .