HP Envy 14 2023, Core Ultra 5 125U, 16GB, 512GB SSD, Meteor Silver

The HP Envy x360 is a 14-inch 2-in-1 laptop with an Intel Core Ultra 5, 16GB RAM, and a 512GB SSD for around $800. It delivers excellent everyday performance and a great keyboard in a flexible design, but the display is just average and gaming is a no-go. It's a top pick for students and commuters who want a reliable convertible without spending a fortune.

The Intel Core Ultra 5 125U is a 12-core chip that handles the basics without breaking a sweat. In our testing, it lands in the 56th percentile for CPU performance, which is solidly middle-of-the-pack. For web browsing, Office apps, streaming, and having a dozen Chrome tabs open, it's perfectly snappy. The 16GB of LPDDR5 RAM helps keep things smooth, sitting in the 64th percentile, so multitasking isn't a problem.

The integrated Intel Graphics are where things get real. They score in the 54th percentile, which means they're fine for video playback and light photo editing, but you can forget about modern gaming. Our gaming score for this config is a rough 15.6 out of 100. You might get away with some older indie titles or cloud gaming, but anything demanding will turn into a slideshow. This is a work and play laptop, not a play and play laptop.

Stacked against the Microsoft Surface Laptop 7th Edition, the HP Envy x360 gives you the 2-in-1 flexibility that the Surface clamshell lacks, and it does it for less money. The Surface has a sharper, brighter display and better build materials, but you're locked into a traditional laptop form factor. The ASUS Zenbook Duo UX8406CA is a wild dual-screen machine that's fantastic for multitaskers, but it's heavier, more expensive, and total overkill if you just want a laptop that can occasionally be a tablet.

If you're even thinking about gaming, the Lenovo Legion 5i 83F00008US is in a different universe with its dedicated GPU, but it's a chunky boy and costs more. And the Apple MacBook Pro M5 Pro is a performance beast that'll run circles around this HP in creative apps, but it starts at nearly double the price and runs macOS. For the money, the HP Envy x360 carves out a nice niche as the practical, flexible choice.

At $800, the HP Envy x360 sits in a competitive spot. You're getting a well-built 2-in-1 with a current-gen Intel Core Ultra chip, 16GB of RAM, and a decent port spread. The ASUS Zenbook Duo and Microsoft Surface Laptop 7th Edition are both pricier alternatives that offer more premium screens and build, but you'll pay for it. If you can live with the average display and limited storage, this HP gives you a lot of the premium 2-in-1 experience without the premium price tag. Just know that a 512GB SSD fills up fast, so budget for an external drive or cloud storage if you keep a lot of files locally.

The HP Envy x360 2-in-1 is one of those laptops that just makes sense for everyday life. It's a 14-inch convertible with a 1920x1200 touchscreen, an Intel Core Ultra 5 125U processor, 16GB of RAM, and a 512GB SSD. At around $800, it's aimed squarely at students, commuters, and anyone who wants a solid Windows machine that can flip into a tablet when you want to kick back on the couch. The social proof on this thing is through the roof, sitting in the 98th percentile in our database, which tells you people who buy it tend to really like it.

HP packed in some nice extras here. You get Thunderbolt 4, a few USB-A ports, HDMI 2.1, and Wi-Fi 6E, so connectivity is pretty much covered. The keyboard is backlit, and the screen is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass NBT, which is a nice touch for a touchscreen laptop that'll probably get poked and prodded a lot. It's also thin and light at 1.4kg, making it easy to toss in a bag.

But it's not all sunshine. The 300-nit display is just average brightness, and the 512GB SSD lands in the 38th percentile for storage, which feels a little tight in 2025. And while the integrated Intel Graphics are fine for daily tasks, this is absolutely not a gaming machine. If you're looking for a laptop that can handle creative work or gaming, you'll want to keep scrolling.

Skip the HP Envy x360 if you need a laptop for gaming, heavy video editing, or 3D work. The integrated graphics just aren't built for that. Also, if you work outside a lot, the 300-nit screen will be a pain in bright sunlight. Creative pros who need color-accurate, high-brightness displays should look at the MacBook Pro M5 Pro or the ASUS Zenbook Duo instead. And if you store a ton of files locally, the 512GB SSD might feel cramped fast, so consider something with a 1TB drive or an easy upgrade path.

Should you buy the HP Envy x360? If you're a student, a commuter, or just someone who wants a reliable Windows laptop that can double as a tablet for reading or sketching, this is a really easy recommendation. The keyboard is a joy to type on, the performance is solid for everyday work, and the 2-in-1 design is genuinely useful. The high customer ratings back up what we're seeing here: people who buy this laptop tend to be happy with it.

But if you need a bright screen for outdoor work, tons of local storage, or any kind of gaming capability, this isn't your machine. The 300-nit display will struggle in direct sunlight, and the integrated graphics are a hard stop for gamers. For everyone else, though, the HP Envy x360 is a well-rounded convertible that gets the important stuff right.