Laptops are getting thinner and lighter, and the Envy 13 is even the thinnest notebook HP has ever made. The rest of the specifications also look impressive, so time for a test.
HP Envy 13-d020nd
Price: € 1199,-
Processor: Intel Core i7-6500U (dual core 2.5GHz)
Memory: 8GB RAM
Storage: 256GB SSD
Screen: 13.3 inches (3200 x 1800 pixels)
OS: Windows 10 Home
Connections: 3 x USB 3.0, 3.5mm headset jack, HDMI, SD card reader
Wireless: 802.11a/b/g/n/ac, bluetooth 4.0
Dimensions: 32.7 x 22.6 x 1.3cm
Weight: 1.36 kg
Battery: 45 Wh
Website: store.hp.com
7 Score 70- Pros
- Weight
- Screen
- Specifications
- Negatives
- Battery time
- Flexible housing
- Fan on by default
With a thickness of 1.29 cm, HP is launching its thinnest notebook ever with the Envy 13. The aluminum housing has a beautiful design and is not only thin with a weight of 1.36 kilograms, but also nice and light. When you open the notebook, the back is on the bottom of the screen, so that the keyboard is at a slight angle. It is a pity that the housing does not appear very sturdy. You can press the Envy 13 in some places and the keyboard also springs up when typing. In addition, the rigidity of the housing could be improved, especially on the left side. A final point of detail is that the bottom plate is not attached very nicely. The expansion ports are covered by raised edges of the bottom plate. In themselves, these points of attention are not deal breakers, the Envy 13 is a beautiful and light notebook. However, there are ultrabooks that are a lot better finished. Also read: Surface Pro 4 - Is the best Surface good enough?
Very annoying when working on the Envy 13 is that the fan always rotates audibly by default. As a result, the Envy is never quiet and that is something that, as far as I'm concerned, is almost impossible on an ultrabook. I consciously write standard, because fortunately via the bios you can set the cooling less aggressively. The fan then only switches on when cooling is required. This makes the Envy quiet during light work, which is nice. I would therefore definitely advise owners of the Envy 13 to change this bios setting.
Powerful components
HP sent us the most expensive version of the Envy 13, which runs on an Intel Core i7-6500U of Intel's Skylake generation in combination with 8 GB of RAM. As with almost every modern laptop, the working memory is soldered to the motherboard and therefore cannot be replaced. The 256GB SSD is an M.2 copy and you can possibly replace it. Our test sample contains a Samsung PM851, an OEM variant of Samsung's 840 EVO that uses the SATA protocol. The Wi-Fi adapter is an Intel one with two antennas with support for 802.11ac, a great card. In practice, the Envy 13 is a nice and smooth notebook on which you can do all your work. It is a pity that the working time on the 45Wh battery is a bit disappointing, which is about six hours.
Tap and Click
The silver chiclet keyboard taps fine and is fortunately equipped with lighting. A nice detail is the flight mode button with which you switch off WiFi and Bluetooth. In addition to the wide, well-functioning touchpad, the Envy 13 contains a fingerprint sensor that you can use to unlock the PC and log in to websites. Usually a business feature, but in the consumer area has now penetrated to the somewhat more expensive smartphone. It is therefore not such a bad idea to integrate the technology on a consumer laptop. The openings for the speakers are placed on either side of the keyboard. The sound has been tuned by Bang and Olufsen by means of a software equalizer, but remains meager, as with most thin notebooks.
Pentile screen
HP has opted for a glossy 13.3-inch IPS screen with a resolution of 3200 x 1800 pixels on the top model. The IPS technology guarantees good viewing angles. There is something special going on with the screen, because it is an RGBW Pentile screen. This means that white sub-pixels are also used. These provide extra brightness without using much more energy than with a Full HD screen. In addition, due to the pentile layout, not all RGB subpixels are available for every pixel. In theory, this makes the image less sharp and the colors would be less good. In practice, however, you will not notice this, the colors look good. If you sit with your nose on (almost against) the screen, you will see that small letters are a bit jagged. At a normal working distance, however, you have a sharp image that is visibly sharper than Full HD. In terms of image display, this panel is therefore an excellent screen. My test sample has a very light backlight bleed in the top left corner, but it's not disturbing. What is disturbing is that the maximum brightness on the battery is initially disappointing. In Intel's graphics settings, you can access the Energy / Battery Power turn off the power saving technology for displays. After this, the maximum brightness is the same as on the mains supply. You really need this maximum brightness because of the glossy screen.
Conclusion
HP is launching a nice notebook on the market with the Envy 13. There is nothing to criticize about the relationship between the price and the components used. Thanks to a fast processor in combination with 8 GB of RAM and an SSD, you get a powerful laptop for your money. The screen with a resolution of 3200 x 1800 pixels provides a pleasant image. The fact that the screen uses a Pentile layout is therefore not a disadvantage in my opinion. Unfortunately, as far as I'm concerned, HP has sacrificed the quality of the housing to make the price possible. The aluminum housing looks nice, but is just too flexible, so the Envy 13 doesn't seem very solid. I also don't like the mounting of the bottom plate with the raised edges. Finally, the battery life at about six hours is a bit disappointing for a modern ultrabook-like laptop. In short, the Envy 13 is certainly not a bad buy, but you can see the relatively low price for the hardware offered.
