HP ENVY 15 for 2020 is a juggernaut, minimalist dream for creators

HP is announcing its spring lineup of ENVY laptops – the tier right below Spectre. While ENVY is more mainstream, the truth is I find its clean-cut design more appealing than Spectre’s flair. This point is made clear with the new ENVY 15, which starts at just $1,350.

For 2020, HP has beefed up the ENVY 15 with up to an Intel 10th Gen Core i9 (H-series) processor, up to an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 (Max-Q design) and 32GB of DDR4 RAM. Toss in a 4K OLED VESA certified DisplayHDR True Black display, and you have a juggernaut that looks clean and simple.

HP is positioning the ENVY 15 against Apple’s latest MacBook Pro 16. That is no small feat, either. But it all comes down to specifications, and HP looks to have Apple beat by quite a bit when you max out both machines (though Apple can hit 64GB of RAM and 4TB of storage).

What is remarkable about the ENVY 15 is just how much thought went into keeping the aesthetics of the laptop basic and functional. Silver keys match the silver deck for a single uniform color scheme. There are even dual, top-firing (deck mounted) speakers powered by Bang & Olufsen, a large Precision trackpad, and a new-style fingerprint reader.

To keep it all cool HP is now using vapor chamber cooling, which should let the Intel and NVIDIA parts reach maximum performance with fewer cycle drops.

The display is the significant feature here with a 15.6-inch 4K (UHD) AMOLED as what appears to be the primary display option. That screen is VESA-certified for DisplayHDR 400, 100 percent DCI-P3, and Delta E <2 color accuracy making it excellent for the target “creator” group this laptop is aimed at.

As usual, HP comes in much lower for pricing starting at $1,350 for (presumably) the Core i7-10750H model, though it is not clear how much it maxes out at with the Core i9. Still, that is cheaper than the starting price for the MacBook Pro 16, which is $2,400.

Look to pick up the new ENVY 15 starting in June from HP.com, as well as Amazon, Costco, Office Depot, and other US retailers.

HP also announced three other affordable ENVY laptops today including the ENVY 13, ENVY x360 13, and ENVY x360 15.