HP Envy 14" Review

The HP Envy OmniBook 5 Flip is a 2-in-1 that tries to be a jack of all trades, but the numbers tell a specific story. It scores best as a compact device, landing in the 76th percentile, which makes sense for a 1.65kg machine with a 14-inch screen. But its overall performance profile is more about convenience than power, with its strongest 'best for' score being a modest 60/100 for compact use.

You're getting an Intel 1255U CPU with 10 cores, 8GB of DDR5 RAM, and a 512GB SSD. Those are the specs you'd expect for basic productivity, and the percentile rankings confirm it. The CPU sits in the 29th percentile, and the RAM is down at the 20th. This isn't a speed demon, but for the right person, that might be perfectly fine.

Let's be clear about what this laptop is. The Intel 1255U CPU's 29th percentile ranking means it's fine for everyday tasks like web browsing, documents, and video calls, but it's not built for heavy lifting. The integrated Intel Graphics land in the 51st percentile for GPU performance, which is dead average. That's why its gaming score is a brutal 13.7 out of 100. You're not playing anything modern on this.

The 8GB of RAM is a bigger bottleneck than the CPU for many users today. Being in the 20th percentile means most competing laptops offer more. If you like having a dozen browser tabs open alongside a few apps, you'll feel that limit. The 512GB SSD is also on the smaller side (34th percentile), but it's a decent starting point for a system at this performance level.

Here's the thing: at around $560, this OmniBook 5 Flip is cheap for a 2-in-1 with these features. You're getting a touchscreen, a 360-degree hinge, and Windows 11 Pro for the price of a basic clamshell laptop. The value is entirely in that form factor at a budget. You are absolutely trading performance for price and flexibility. If a convertible is a must-have and your budget is tight, this math works. If raw power is your goal, that $560 could go further elsewhere.

Compared to something like the ASUS Zenbook Duo, you're giving up the innovative second screen for a much lower price and a more traditional 2-in-1 design. The Zenbook will run circles around it in performance. Against a Lenovo ThinkPad P14s, you lose the legendary business-grade build quality and upgradeability, but you gain the touchscreen and convertible form factor the ThinkPad lacks. And let's be real, comparing it to any of the gaming laptops like the MSI Vector or Gigabyte AORUS is apples to oranges; those are for entirely different, power-hungry tasks. This HP's competition is really other budget convertibles, and on price, it has a strong argument.

The HP Envy OmniBook 5 Flip is a clear-cut recommendation for one person: the budget-conscious user who really wants a 2-in-1. The 76th percentile compact score and $560 price tag are its champions. But you have to accept the limitations. The 29th percentile CPU and 20th percentile RAM mean this is for light duty only. If you're a student taking notes, a professional who needs a portable second screen for presentations, or someone who just loves tablet mode for Netflix, it's a compelling deal. If you need to run serious software or hate closing browser tabs, look for something with more muscle.