The Envy x360 normally starts at $700 and the configuration I tested was $800 [£800, AU$2,000]. [For those looking to spend even less, check out our list of best laptops under $500.] The price is more than reasonable for what you get, but the biggest issue I had with the Envy x360 13 was its availability.
The Envy x360 13-ay0010nr I tested would regularly come in and out of stock. At the moment, though, it looks like HP has supply ironed out and you can configure it with 4500U or 4700U processor. The 15.6-inch version has more availability, so if you don't mind a larger display, it starts at $700. Also, if you're not a die-hard AMD fan, it is readily available with Intel processors in both 13- and 15-inch sizes.
| $800 |
| 13.3-inch, 1,920x1,080-pixel IPS touchscreen |
| 2.3GHz AMD Ryzen 5-4500U |
| 8GB DDR4 [soldered] |
| 512MB Radeon |
| 256GB PCIe NVME SSD |
| 2x USB-A [3.1 Gen 1], 1x USB-C [3.1 Gen 2], MicroSD |
| Wi-Fi 6 [802.11ax], Bluetooth 5.0 |
| Microsoft Windows Home |
| 2.9 pounds [1.3 kg] |
Streamlined and simple
HP was aiming for a minimalist design with the Envy x360 and I'd say it hit the mark. Made from aluminum, the outside is clean and subtle. The lid lifts easily and the display doesn't have much of a bezel around it at all, including the bottom, which is significantly smaller than the 2019 model. That reduction shifts the keyboard and touchpad up with the keyboard going nearly edge to edge.
The Envy x360's keyboard is spacious, but it results in a smaller touchpad.
It's a comfortable keyboard with a two-level backlight. The key legends are easy to read and the function keys include the usual hotkeys for volume and screen brightness along with options to instantly mute your mic and block the webcam for privacy. A responsive fingerprint reader is nearly hidden in the keyboard, sitting between the right Alt key and left arrow key.
The glossy display is definitely a highlight here. It has excellent color and contrast and, at 400 nits, it's bright. Not quite bright enough to see past reflections outside on a sunny day, but otherwise it's great. The reduced bezels do make it more comfortable to use on your arm as a tablet and the display supports simultaneous pen and touch input and works with MPP 2.0 pens.
A headset jack and USB-A and USB-C ports are on the left side. On the right is the power input, another USB-A port and a MicroSD card slot. It can be charged through the USB-C port as well.
AMD's got what it takes
No doubt about it, AMD's newest mobile processors outperform pricier Intel CPUs. The Ryzen 5-4500U can keep pace with an Intel Core i7-1065G7 and it isn't even the fastest AMD chip available for this two-in-one. There isn't a huge gap in performance between the 4500U and higher-end 4700U, so if only one or the other is available you'll be in good shape regardless. Aside from the processor, though, you might want to go with a configuration with 16GB of memory. The memory is soldered on and that means models with 8GB of memory can't be upgraded.
The Envy x360's battery lasted a fairly long time. On our streaming video test, it hit 10 hours. In general use -- streaming music, browsing, writing and basic photo editing -- it was closer to 7 hours. However, it does charge quickly, getting up to 50% in 30 minutes.
The HP Envy x360 13 is an excellent small two-in-one with a higher-end design than you'd typically get at this price -- assuming you can find one in stock. Factor in the solid AMD performance and battery life and it's an easy recommendation.
The trim 13.3-inch display gives you room to write and sketch in tablet mode without being too big.
Acer Swift 3 4953Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 [Intel] 4880HP Envy x360 13 [2020] 4717HP Envy 17 [2020] 4112Dell Inspiron 14 5000 3540Asus VivoBook S15 S532F 3095
Notes: Longer bars indicate better performanceAcer Swift 3 2435HP Envy x360 13 [2020] 2150HP Envy 17 [2020] 1910Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 [Intel] 1631Asus VivoBook S15 S532F 1551Dell Inspiron 14 5000 1419
Notes: Longer bars indicate better performanceAcer Swift 3 4874HP Envy x360 13 [2020] 4796Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 [Intel] 4349HP Envy 17 [2020] 4034Dell Inspiron 14 5000 3861Asus VivoBook S15 S532F 3737
Notes: Longer bars indicate better performanceHP Envy x360 13 [2020] 603Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 [Intel] 538Acer Swift 3 474Dell Inspiron 14 5000 470HP Envy 17 [2020] 449Asus VivoBook S15 S532F 315
Notes: Longer bars indicate better performance [in minutes]| Microsoft Windows 10 Home [64-bit]; 2.3GHz AMD Ryzen 7 4700U; 8GB LPDDR4 3.2GHz; 512MB Radeon; 512GB PCIe NVMe SSD |
| Microsoft Windows 10 Home [64-bit]; 1.3GHz Intel Core i7-1065G7; 16GB DDR4 RAM 3.2GHz; Nvidia GeForce MX330; 512GB SSD |
| Microsoft Windows 10 Home [64-bit]; 2.3GHz AMD Ryzen 5 4500U; 8GB DDR4 3.2GHz; 512MB Radeon; 256GB PCIe NVMe SSD |
| Microsoft Windows 10 Home [64-bit]; 1.6GHz Intel Core i5-10210U; 8GB DDR4 RAM 2.67GHz; 128MB Intel UHD Graphics; 512GB SSD |
| Microsoft Windows 10 Pro [64-bit]; 1.3GHz Intel Core i7-1065G7; 16GB DDR4 RAM 4.27GHz; 128MB Intel Iris Plus Graphics; 256GB SSD |
| Microsoft Windows 10 Home [64-bit]; 1.6GHz Intel Core i5-10210U; 8GB DDR4 RAM 2.67GHz; 128MB Intel UHD Graphics; 256GB SSD |