HP 15 15.6" B8QH9UA#ABA Natural silver 2025

The HP 15 is a budget 15.6-inch touchscreen laptop with an AMD Ryzen 3 7320U, 8GB of RAM, and a 256GB SSD. It's fine for basic tasks like web browsing and streaming, but the 1366 x 768 display and low-end CPU hold it back. At around $485, it's a decent value for the price, but you can do better if you spend a little more.

The Ryzen 3 7320U is a 4-core chip that sits in the 19th percentile for CPUs in our database. That's not a typo. It's fine for web browsing, email, and Office apps, but don't expect to edit video or run heavy spreadsheets without some patience. The 8GB of LPDDR5 RAM is also on the low side, landing in the 24th percentile, which means Chrome with a dozen tabs will start to feel tight.

The integrated AMD Radeon Graphics actually rank in the 70th percentile for GPUs, which sounds impressive until you remember this is integrated graphics we're talking about. It'll handle streaming video and light photo editing without breaking a sweat, but gaming is a 14.2 out of 100 in our scoring. This is not a gaming laptop, and anyone who tells you otherwise is selling something.

The 256GB NVMe SSD is quick for what it is, but it's in the 25th percentile for storage. You'll fill that up faster than you think, especially with Windows 11 taking a chunk out of the gate.

Stacked against the Apple MacBook Air M4, this HP 15 looks like it's from a different decade. The MacBook's display, battery life, and performance are in another league entirely, but it also costs three times as much. That's not a fair fight. The more realistic comparison is the Lenovo ThinkPad E14 Gen 7, which offers better build quality and a sharper screen for a bit more money, or the ASUS Zenbook UX3405CA, which is lighter and faster but pricier.

The Microsoft Surface Laptop 7th Edition is another step up in price and polish, with a much better display and keyboard. If you're comparing the HP 15 to any of these, the HP wins on price alone. But the moment you care about screen quality or long-term performance, the budget starts to show. The MSI Creator A13V is aimed at creators and costs way more, so it's not really a direct competitor, but it highlights how far apart this HP is from anything with real horsepower.

At $485, the HP 15 is competing with Chromebooks and used ThinkPads, and it holds its own in that arena. You're getting a touchscreen, a full Windows 11 experience, and a brand name people trust. But the value proposition gets shaky when you look at what $100 more buys you. A refurbished Lenovo ThinkPad E14 Gen 7 or even a base MacBook Air M4 on sale will run circles around this thing in every category except price. If you need the cheapest new Windows laptop with a touchscreen, this is a contender. If you can stretch your budget, do it.

The HP 15 is one of those budget laptops that shows up everywhere, from dorm rooms to kitchen tables, and for good reason. At around $485, it's a 15.6-inch Windows 11 machine with a touchscreen, an AMD Ryzen 3 7320U processor, 8GB of RAM, and a 256GB SSD. It's not trying to impress anyone with specs, it's trying to be a dependable daily driver for people who need a laptop without taking out a loan.

Is the HP 15 good for students? Honestly, for basic schoolwork, yes. The touchscreen is a nice bonus at this price, and the 1.60kg weight means it won't wreck your shoulder in a backpack. But the 1366 x 768 display is a throwback, and the 250 nits brightness means you'll be hunting for shade if you try to work outside. We'll get into all of that.

People searching for a cheap touchscreen laptop will find this one everywhere, and the 4.5-star rating from over 1,300 buyers suggests most folks are happy. But our database tells a more nuanced story, especially when you look at where this thing ranks against the rest of the market.

If you care about screen quality, skip this. The 1366 x 768 resolution and 250 nits brightness are dealbreakers for anyone who works with photos, videos, or just wants a crisp display. Gamers should also look elsewhere, this thing scores 14.2 out of 100 for gaming. And if you're planning to keep your laptop for more than three years, the non-upgradeable 8GB of RAM and 256GB SSD will start to feel cramped. In those cases, a refurbished ThinkPad or a slightly pricier ASUS Zenbook will serve you much better.

Should you buy the HP 15? If you need a cheap Windows laptop with a touchscreen and you're mostly doing web browsing, email, and streaming, it's a reasonable choice. The 4.5-star rating from over 1,300 buyers suggests most people are satisfied with what they got for the money. But our database paints a clearer picture: this laptop ranks in the bottom third for CPU, RAM, storage, and screen quality.

The display is the biggest letdown. 1366 x 768 at 250 nits is a spec sheet from 2015, and it's the kind of thing you'll notice every single day. If you can live with that, and you're on a strict budget, the HP 15 will get the job done. If you care about screen quality or plan to keep this laptop for more than a couple of years, save up a bit more and look elsewhere.