HP OmniBook , Core Ultra 7 255U, 16GB, 1TB SSD, Glacier Silver

The HP OmniBook 16-af1017wm is a big-screen productivity laptop with a sharp 2K 120Hz touchscreen, 1TB SSD, and excellent claimed battery life. The Intel Core Ultra 7 255U handles everyday tasks fine, but the integrated graphics are a major weak spot, with a gaming score of just 12.1 out of 100. At $829 to $880, it's a decent value for students and office workers who don't need graphical power. Anyone who wants to game or do creative work should look elsewhere.

The Intel Core Ultra 7 255U is a 10-core chip designed for efficiency, not raw power. In our database, it lands around the 60th percentile for CPUs in this category, which puts it solidly in the middle of the pack. That's fine for web browsing, office apps, video calls, and light photo editing. But if you're expecting desktop-class performance, you'll be disappointed. The integrated Intel Graphics sits at the 14th percentile for GPUs, which is rough. Gaming is basically off the table unless you're playing older titles or very light indie games at low settings. Our gaming score for this machine is 12.1 out of 100, and that's not a typo.

The 16GB of LPDDR5X RAM is about average for this class, landing at the 64th percentile. It's enough for multitasking with a dozen browser tabs, a video call, and some documents open at once. The 1TB SSD is a nice inclusion at this price point, sitting at the 67th percentile for storage. You won't be hurting for space. The display is the real standout here. A 2560x1440 IPS panel at 120Hz puts it at the 83rd percentile for screens, which is well above average. Text looks sharp, colors are decent, and the higher refresh rate makes scrolling feel smooth. For a productivity machine, that screen is a genuine selling point.

The Microsoft Surface Laptop 7th Edition is the most direct competitor here. Both are thin-and-light productivity machines with AI features and touchscreens. The Surface has a better build quality and a more premium feel, but it usually costs more and often comes with less storage at the same price. The OmniBook gives you a bigger screen and more storage for less money, but the Surface wins on portability and overall polish.

The ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 and Lenovo Legion 5i are gaming laptops, and they absolutely destroy the OmniBook in GPU performance. The Zephyrus G14 in particular has a dedicated GPU that makes the OmniBook's integrated graphics look like a calculator. But those machines are heavier, more expensive, and have worse battery life. The MSI Prestige is another productivity-focused option with a dedicated GPU, which gives it a leg up for creative work. If you need any kind of graphical horsepower, the OmniBook is not the answer. If you just need a big screen and long battery life, it's a reasonable choice.

At $829 to $880, the OmniBook 16-af1017wm is priced like a mid-range productivity laptop, and that's mostly what you get. The 1TB SSD and 2K 120Hz touchscreen are the highlights, and those are not always easy to find at this price. But the weak GPU and limited port selection mean you're paying for a very specific use case. If you need a big screen for documents, web browsing, and video calls, the value is decent. If you want to do anything more demanding, you'll need to spend more elsewhere.

Compared to the competition, the pricing is aggressive. The Apple MacBook Pro M4 Pro and ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 are in completely different leagues, both in performance and price. The Microsoft Surface Laptop 7th Edition is a closer competitor in spirit, but it typically costs more for similar specs. The OmniBook undercuts a lot of the premium productivity market, but it also gives up performance and build quality to get there. The reliability score at the 33rd percentile is a red flag. You might save money upfront and pay for it later in headaches.

The HP OmniBook 16-af1017wm is one of those laptops that sounds like a great deal on paper until you start digging into what it actually is. You get a 16 inch 2K touchscreen, an Intel Core Ultra 7 255U, 16GB of RAM, and a 1TB SSD. That's a solid spec sheet for a machine floating around the $829 to $880 range. But the OmniBook line is HP's mainstream productivity play, not a performance machine, and the benchmarks in our database tell that story pretty clearly.

This thing is aimed at students, office workers, and anyone who wants a big screen for spreadsheets, streaming, and the occasional light creative task. The AI angle is front and center here, with Intel's NPU hitting up to 12 TOPS and a dedicated Copilot key. If you live in Microsoft's ecosystem and want to mess around with Windows Studio Effects or AI noise reduction on video calls, this laptop is built for that. Just don't expect it to do much beyond that.

What makes the OmniBook interesting is the combination of a large 120Hz touchscreen and a power-efficient processor. HP claims up to 19 hours and 25 minutes of video playback battery life, which would be genuinely impressive if it holds up in real-world use. The 2.00kg weight is not exactly light for a laptop in 2025, but it's reasonable for a 16 inch machine. The real question is whether the compromises, and there are a few, are worth the price.

If you do any kind of gaming, video editing, 3D modeling, or other GPU-intensive work, skip this laptop. The integrated graphics are a serious bottleneck, and the gaming score of 12.1 out of 100 is one of the worst we've seen. You'd be much better off with a laptop that has a dedicated GPU, like the MSI Prestige for creative work or the ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 for gaming. The extra cost is worth it if you need that performance.

Also skip this if you rely on a lot of wired peripherals. With only 2 USB-C ports and no USB-A, HDMI, or SD card slot, you'll be living the dongle life. The port selection is at the 24th percentile, which is genuinely frustrating for a 16 inch laptop. If you need more connectivity, look at the Lenovo Legion 5i or a business-focused laptop with a fuller port selection. And if portability is a priority, the 2.00kg weight and large footprint make this a poor choice for frequent travelers. The Microsoft Surface Laptop 7th Edition is lighter and more compact, though you'll pay more for it.

For students and office workers who want a large, sharp display and don't care about gaming or heavy creative work, the OmniBook 16-af1017wm is a solid pick. The 2K 120Hz touchscreen is genuinely nice, the 1TB SSD is generous, and the claimed battery life is excellent. The AI features are a nice bonus if you use Microsoft Copilot or do a lot of video calls. At under $900, it's a reasonable deal for that use case.

For anyone who wants to play games, edit video, or run demanding applications, this is not the laptop for you. The integrated graphics are a serious limitation, and the gaming score of 12.1 out of 100 is one of the lowest we've seen in this category. The port selection is also frustrating, with only 2 USB-C ports and no USB-A. You'll need dongles for basic peripherals. If you need more performance, look at the MSI Prestige or a gaming laptop like the Legion 5i. If you want a premium productivity experience, the Surface Laptop 7th Edition is worth the extra money.