HP Envy 16: An All-Round Performer

A slightly hefty but superb content-creation station

- ERIC GREVSTAD

Officially, HP's Envy laptops are only its second-best consumer models, slotted between affordable Pavilions and flagship Spectres-but you'd never know it from looking at the new Envy 16. A desktop replacement that straddles the content creation and gaming segments, it's available with a blazing Intel Core i9 processor and a snazzy OLED display, as well as luxuries like a 5-megapixel webcam. It's neither cheap nor feather-light, and its midrange Nvidia graphics processor won't satisfy fanatic gamers, but it's an attractive all-around performer that costs hundreds less than a comparably equipped Dell XPS 15. Indeed, it's impressive enough to replace the XPS 15 as our Editors' Choice holder among premium creative laptops.

TWO GPUS TO CHOOSE FROM

The base model of the Envy 16 is $1,389 at HP.com. It combines a Core i5-12500H CPU with Intel’s 4GB Arc A370M graphics accelerator and a 16-inch IPS screen with 2,560-by-1,600-pixel resolution and a 120Hz refresh rate.

PROS

• Gorgeous 4K OLED touch screen

• Fancy 5-megapixel webcam

• Great performance and battery life

• Robust GeForce RTX 3060 GPU

CONS

• A bit heavy

• 60Hz display won’t satisfy hardcore gamers 

THE BOTTOM LINE

HP’s OLED-screened Envy 16 is poised to upset some famous, four-lettered, 15.6inch power-user portables.