HP 15 15.6" HD Touch Silver 2022

The HP 15 gives you a 15.6-inch touchscreen and 16GB of RAM for around $430, but the 1366x768 resolution and sluggish Core i3 chip hold it back. It's okay for basic everyday tasks if touch is a must, though most people should hunt for a laptop with a sharper screen and faster processor. The bundled accessories add a bit of extra value.

The HP 15 is a budget-friendly 15.6-inch laptop that tries to check a lot of boxes for under $500. At around $430, you get a touchscreen, 16GB of RAM, and Windows 11 Pro, which sounds like a solid deal for students or anyone who just needs a basic machine for browsing, email, and streaming. The Core i3-1215U is a 6-core chip from Intel's 12th gen, and while it's no speed demon, it handles everyday tasks without too much fuss. What really stands out is that touch display. In a price range dominated by non-touch panels, having a reactive screen is a nice perk, especially if you like scrolling through documents or zooming into photos with a finger. But don't let the spec sheet fool you, that screen resolution is only 1366x768, so text and images won't look as crisp as on a Full HD panel. If you spend a lot of time watching movies or working with multiple windows, the lower pixel count is noticeable. The 256GB SSD boots Windows quickly, but you'll want to keep an external drive handy if you store a lot of files.

The i3-1215U does a decent impersonation of an older i5-1135G7 for office apps and web browsing, but it's firmly in the mediocre range for raw CPU throughput. Multitasking with 16GB of RAM helps, you can keep a dozen Chrome tabs open alongside Spotify without things grinding to a halt. Still, the processor hits a wall fast if you try photo editing or any kind of coding work. The integrated Intel UHD Graphics put this laptop in the solidly "not for gaming" category, rendering 3D titles at single-digit frame rates. Storage performance is underwhelming with just 256GB, and it's slower than pricier NVMe drives we've tested. Loading Windows 11 Pro is fine, but large file transfers feel sluggish. The 250-nit screen brightness is about average for this price, though combined with the low resolution, it struggles in direct sunlight.

At $430, the HP 15 is a mixed bag. The 16GB RAM and Windows 11 Pro are a step above many similarly priced laptops that stick to 8GB and Home edition. But you're trading away screen sharpness and processing power. If your digital life is all about web apps, video streaming, and typing, it's a reasonable buy. However, a Chromebook in the same price bracket will often give you a Full HD display and snappier basic performance, though without the full Windows flexibility. And for a little more cash, you can find a refurbished business laptop like a Dell Latitude with a proper 1080p screen and a faster CPU. So the value really hinges on how much you prize the touchscreen and the out-of-the-box RAM capacity.

You can't compare this HP 15 to the Apple MacBook Air M5 or the ASUS ProArt PX13, those are premium machines that cost three to five times as much. But even among budget contenders, the HP's strengths are very specific. The ASUS ProArt PX13 has a stunning OLED display and far more horsepower, but you'd need to save up a lot longer. The Samsung Galaxy Book5 Pro and Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i Aura Edition also sit in the luxury league with 2.8K or 3K screens and sleek designs. Next to those, the HP 15 looks positively bare-bones. In its actual weight class, something like an Acer Aspire 5 or a used Lenovo ThinkPad L-series might give you a better balance of screen resolution and CPU speed for similar money, but you'll lose the touch input and Wi-Fi 6E. If touch is non-negotiable and you're on a strict budget, the HP carves out a niche, just know you're sacrificing screen clarity and performance to get it.

Gamers, video editors, and anyone who regularly works with large spreadsheets or creative software should look elsewhere. The Core i3 and integrated graphics just aren't cut out for that kind of workload. If you value a crisp screen above all, this HD panel will likely disappoint. Even casual users who watch a lot of movies might prefer a laptop with a 1080p display. Instead, check out refurbished Lenovo ThinkPads with Full HD screens, or consider a Chromebook if you can live without Windows-specific apps. The bundled USB hub and stand are nice touches, but they don't make up for the sluggish storage and outdated resolution.

The HP 15 is a tough sell unless you specifically need a cheap Windows laptop with a touchscreen and plenty of RAM right out of the box. It'll get you through remote classes, spreadsheets, and Netflix binges, but that HD display feels dated on a 15.6-inch canvas, and the Core i3 processor limits how long this thing will stay snappy. For the price, we wish HP had put more effort into the storage speed or at least bumped the resolution to 1080p. If your work involves anything more demanding than a few browser tabs and Office documents, we'd steer you toward a refurbished business machine or a slightly pricier new laptop with a proper Full HD panel. Pure budget shoppers who just want a touchscreen Windows laptop with solid RAM might still find it worth a look, but everyone else has better options.