Review: HP ENVY 14 brings premium features to a fantastic creator’s laptop
While there are plenty of Intel-based Ultrabooks on the market these days, the space between 13-inch and 15-inch is sparsely populated. What if you want the portability of a 13-inch but a “real” graphics card like a 15 and can’t afford a Surface Book 3?
The new HP ENVY 14 may be your answer.
With an all-metal chassis, 16:10 touch-display, and an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 Ti, all at 3.5lbs, the ENVY 14 scratches that itch.
Priced at $1,260, this laptop is aimed squarely at creators, and HP nails the concept. Here’s what you need to know about the ENVY 14 after spending the last six weeks with it.
Portable power
HP ENVY 14
Pros
- Strong performance
- Color-accurate 16:10 display
- Affordable starting price
- Outstanding design
- Excellent keyboard and audio
- Very good battery life
Cons
- No 4K display option
- Aggressive coil whine
HP ENVY 14: Price and availability
Source: Daniel Rubino / Windows Central
HP.com offers many options for configuration, including the choice of Core i5-1135G7 or i7-1165G7 processors with 8 or 16GB of RAM. Uses can also order an entry-level version for $1,020 with no NVIDIA GPU (Iris Xe graphics instead) or order a non-touch anti-glare display instead of the touch-enabled glossy model.
Best Buy’s model is the one reviewed here for $1,259 with 16GB of RAM, 256GB SSD, GTX 16050 Ti, and a Core i5 processor with a touch-enabled display. It is the version most people should buy as it offers a nice balance in hardware and price.
HP ENVY 14: At a glance
Source: Daniel Rubino / Windows Central
Category | Spec |
---|---|
OS | Windows 10 Home |
Processor | 11th Gen Intel Core i5-1135G7 or Core i7-1165G7 |
RAM | 8 or 16GB DDR4-3200 Soldered |
Graphics | NVIDIA GTX 1650 Ti Max-Q 4GB GDDR6 Iris Xe |
Storage | 256GB to 2TB M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD |
Display | 14 inches 1920×1200 16:10 aspect 400 nits, 100% sRGB IPS, touch Optional non-touch and anti-glare |
Ports | 1x Thunderbolt 4 2x USB-A 3.5mm audio microSD card reader HDMI 2.0 |
Audio | Dual speakers Bang & Olufsen |
Connectivity | Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX201 (2×2) Bluetooth 5 |
Camera | Front-facing 720p Privacy shutter |
Security | Fingerprint reader |
Battery | 63.3Wh |
Dimensions | 12.33 x 8.82 x 0.71 inches (313.18mm x 224.03mm x 18.03mm) |
Weight | 3.53 pounds (1.6kg) |
Color | Natural Silver |
It’s not heavy at 3.53 lbs (1.6kg), especially considering the entire laptop features a very durable all-metal chassis.
Classic look
HP ENVY 14: Design and features
Source: Daniel Rubino / Windows Central
HP is particularly good with offsetting ports on each side aiming for some symmetry, and you see that here with the headphone jack and proprietary barrel charger on opposite ends. The entire laptop is like this, with the keyboard, trackpad, speakers, and display (plus bezels) all looking very balanced.
There are not many laptops that can compete directly with the ENVY 14.
For those ports, there is only one Type-C with full Thunderbolt 4, but you do get two Type-A, a full HDMI, and a microSD card reader, making this a very media-centric laptop ideal for photographers and videographers alike. A nicely sized 135-watt charger handles laptop power to keep that NVIDIA GTX 1650 Ti GPU humming, although you can charge via the Type-C port if in a pinch.
Connectivity is ideal with both Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.0. There is no option for 4G or 5G LTE, which makes sense, but it would be an excellent option.
Audio is handled via dual speakers that are on the bottom edges. The included Bang & Olufsen software lets you tweak settings via the full equalizer and various presets. They are pretty good speakers, too, with excellent volume and crispness to them for this price range.
The ENVY 14 also features more modern features that HP has been implementing across its consumer line, including dedicated buttons to apply a physical shutter to the webcam and muting the microphone, which is ideal for privacy concerns. There is a fingerprint reader in the keyboard deck for logging into Windows (there is no facial recognition, no doubt to reduce costs). There is also a dedicated button for HP Command Center.
HP Enhanced Lighting is clever.Source: Daniel Rubino/Windows Central
The fingerprint reader on HP ENVY 14.Source: Daniel Rubino / Windows Central
Really nice
HP ENVY 14: Display
Source: Daniel Rubino / Windows Central
The bezels are appropriately thin, and HP rounds the glass at the edges, which is a very pleasing effect.
The HP ENVY 14 is one of my favorite laptops of the year so far.
According to the specs, HP says this screen should hit 400 nits of brightness, and in tests, that was accurate, peaking at around 403 nits. Some fall off on the right edge of the display, but otherwise, it was even. When set to 0% brightness, the ENVY 14 hits 23 nits, making it OK for viewing with no lights on late at night.
Display accuracy is just below HP’s rating of 100% sRGB, coming in at 99% – close enough. AdobeRGB color gamut is 75%, with DCI-P3 coming in at 79%. Those are good numbers for a mid-range laptop focused on media production and consumption, but not as high as more premium laptops. HP also boasts that this is its first consumer 14-inch laptop with a Delta E
<2.
While some may balk at a 1920 x 1200 resolution instead of a higher “2K” or “4K,” I would disagree. For one, this is an excellent screen – it is bright, it has very good contrast and punchy colors. Blacks are intense and almost look AMOLED-like. Those things are of more value than just super high resolution. The other issue is the price – this laptop, even with the NVIDIA GPU, is in the $1,260 range. Bumping up the screen to a higher resolution would affect that negatively. That said, it would be nice for HP to at last offer the option for 4K for those who want it (at extra cost and reduced battery life).
Source: Daniel Rubino / Windows Central
GPU matters
HP ENVY 14: Performance and battery
Source: Daniel Rubino / Windows Central
Thermals punch higher on this laptop than others at this price.
While not a gaming laptop, thanks to the GTX 1650 Ti can play something like Fortnite at 45+ frames-per-second on Ultra settings.
Thermals punch higher on this laptop than others at this price, with dual intakes for the dual fans (and dual heat pipes) on the laptop’s bottom and top. HP includes a thermopile sensor for more precise control over the fans. When in heavy use with the CPU and GPU, the fans are very audible but do not have a high-pitch whine. Cooling is extremely fast, too, once a task is complete with the fans winding down to a light purr. HP includes various power profiles via the HP Command Center for quiet, cool, balanced, and performance modes (all benchmarks ran in performance).
HP ENVY 14 provides very good clearance from a desk, which improves thermal performance.Source: Daniel Rubino / Windows Central
Source: Windows Central
Other options
HP ENVY 14: The competition
Source: Daniel Rubino/Windows Central
There is the excellent Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 is much more powerful and only $100 more, but this leans extremely hard into the gaming category. It also features a full HD display, but at 16:9 with no touch and not as good color accuracy, but does offer more storage, AMD Ryzen processor, and beefy NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 Max-Q. While a fabulous gaming laptop, it’s not in the same “creator” class as the ENVY 14.
HP has Spectre x360 14 with an OLED display and pen support. It lacks a powerful GPU and is more geared towards productivity. The ENVY 15 weighs 4.74 lbs, making it much heavier, but can take up to an RTX 2060 GPU for those who need a lot of power and don’t mind the size. For those who like the ENVY 14 but want smaller, lighter, and no NVIDIA GPU, there is the very affordable HP ENVY x360 13 with AMD Ryzen.
Finally, Microsoft has the Surface Book 3, which is much more expensive at $1,999, a slightly less powerful GeForce GTX 1650, and a weaker Core i7-1065G7 processor. It too is a “creator” laptop but leans heavier towards inking, drawing, and turning into a tablet, all of which the ENVY 14 lacks.
For other ideas, see our best 14-inch laptops roundup.
An easy sell
Should you buy the HP ENVY 14?
Source: Daniel Rubino / Windows Central
Who it’s for
- Creators, video, and photo editors on the go
- Those who want a light 14-inch laptop with a mid-range GPU
- Anyone who wants a great mid-sized laptop and, on a budget
Who it isn’t for
- Hardcore gamers who need more GPU
- People who need inking or a 2-in-1 design
The HP ENVY 14 is one of my favorite laptops of the year so far. While there are plenty of me-too 13-inch Ultrabooks, the ENVY 14 offers something different with the GTX 1650 Ti in a 14-inch chassis. Moreover, it has a dazzling 16:10 display that is simply stunning to work on even at full HD. Toss in the exceptional keyboard, adequate ports, and all-silver metal chassis with a $1,260 price, and there is a lot to like.
My only complaint is the sporadic coil whine. While quite common, I typically do not get bothered by such things, but with ENVY 14, I did notice it more than others. Coil whine is hard to account for, and not every ENVY 14 will have it, but it is something to be aware of if considering one.
Also, a minor nitpick, I wouldn’t mind seeing HP bring its anti-reflective coating, which it uses in the Spectre line, to ENVY to cut down on some of the glare on its glossy displays. Optional 4G LTE and 5G wouldn’t hurt either for those who need it.
For so-called creators who want a GPU-heavy and light, and portable laptop, the ENVY 14 is an outstanding offering. Even for just day-to-day web browsing, messaging, and occasional gaming, this laptop can do more than something like the Razer Book 13, all for a reasonable price. Because of that, it is easy to recommend for the right person.
Creator class
HP ENVY 14
The rare 14-inch laptop with oomph
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