HP Envy 13 Review

The HP Envy 13 is the latest ultraportable laptop to hit the market, and its price is meant to beat the competition. It has been at or near the top of our list of the best laptops for a few years. Can the 2021 model keep up this good track record? The model we looked at has a suggested retail price (RRP) of only £899 in the UK and $711 in the US, which makes it very affordable. The Envy’s more powerful specs cost £1,199 and $1,049, though, so it’s clear that HP’s laptop is meant to compete with high-quality ultraportables from Dell and Apple.

HP Envy 13 Specifications

Pros of HP Envy 13

• Wonderful show
• Solid speed and battery for everyday use
• Sleek, good-looking body
• The keyboard of the laptop is excellent and easy to use

Cons of HP Envy 13

• No HDMI or Thunderbolt
• i7 costs too much.
• Disappointing trackpad

Make plans and build

The design of the HP Envy 13 doesn’t break any new ground, but it does look good. It’s made of aluminum and has a simple, sleek body. You don’t get fancier features like RGB LEDs, but the HP doesn’t look out of place next to the Apple MacBook Air and Dell XPS 13. It also has a decent amount of connectivity. That’s fine for everyday use, but it leaves out some things. There is no HDMI output, and there is also no Thunderbolt 4. It doesn’t even have Thunderbolt 3, like the Envy 13 (2020), because the ‘SuperSpeed USB-C’ port can only go up to 10Gbps.

Price and specs for the HP Envy 13

With a starting price of $899 (on sale for $849 at the time of writing), the Envy 13 is priced below expensive flagship models like the Dell XPS 13, MacBook Pro, and HP Spectre x360. Price and specs for the HP Envy 13. With a starting price of $899 (on sale for $849 at the time of writing), the Envy 13 is priced below expensive flagship models like the Dell XPS 13, MacBook Pro, and HP Spectre x360. Our review unit costs $949 and has 16GB of RAM and a 1080p touchscreen.

Screen & Speakers

The Envy 13’s IPS screen’s Full HD 1920 x 1080 resolution is suitable for everyday use. It also has a touchscreen, which makes it more valuable. It’s too bad HP didn’t go with a 16:10 or 3:2 aspect ratio to give this machine a little more height, mainly since it will be used often for web browsers and office apps.

The keyboard and touchpad

The HP Envy 13 keyboard is softer, so the buttons are easy to press and don’t make much noise. This is great for long periods of typing. They are a good size, the font is clear, and the backlight is bright and clear. It’s a good start, but the 13-inch chassis doesn’t have room for a number pad, and the big buttons make the layout a little tight in some spots.

Display

In HP Envy 13, the 13.3-inch (33.8 cm) IPS screen has a 1920 x 1080 pixels resolution, which is Full-HD. This means that the number of pixels per inch is 165 ppi. You can only see each pixel if you look very closely. At 88%, the ratio of screen to the body is good. The glass surface also covers the black edges, which adds to the elegant look of the device. A good result is that the screen brightness is about 400 nits across almost the whole screen. The center of the screen had a maximum brightness of 466 nits, while the average brightness was 418 nits. This means the device is suitable for its class and could even be used outside because it is bright enough.

Verdict

The HP Envy 13 is an excellent mainstream laptop but doesn’t stand out. It has a great screen, but that’s the only thing that makes it stand out. The Envy 13 also has a good design, a good keyboard, and a good battery life. The Core i5 CPU and Nvidia GPU give it good performance.

On the other hand, its competitors are thinner and more robust, and Envy’s connections and trackpad aren’t excellent. Too many things about the HP are just average, so the more expensive Core i7 versions are not worth buying when so many competitors are sleeker, stronger, and don’t cost any more. However, if the other models are too expensive, the Core i5 model is a good choice if you want an excellent ultraportable on a budget.

FAQs

HP Envy13 battery life

A 10-hour laptop was rare a few years ago. It’s standardizing. On the Laptop Mag Battery Test, the Envy 13 lasts 11 hours and 15 minutes (continuous web surfing over Wi-Fi at 150 nits).

HP Envy13 Price

The UK Core i5 model I examined costs £899 and US$711, respectively (sale price). The UK’s cheapest HP Envy 13. Dropping the touchscreen and reducing storage saves money in the US. The price reduces to US$599 (sale price). UK customers cannot customize.

The heat of HP Envy13

Our heat test showed the Envy 13 could stay in the kitchen. The Envy 13’s underbelly hit 91 degrees Fahrenheit after a 10-minute, 1080p video, well below laptop fever (95 degrees). The keyboard was 87 degrees, and the touchpad was 78 degrees.