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Best HP Laptops 2024: The top seven HP devices we’ve tested
In This Article
HP is one of the most prolifice technology makers around and a wide variety of laptops plays a big part in that. From gaming laptops to budget options and laptops for serious productivity, here’s the very best from HP.
So, how do we decide what goes on this list? We test many laptops each year, and plenty of those are often from HP. Our staff are expert technology reviewers and we put all of the products we get in thoroughly through their paces.
For every laptop we test, not only do we use it on a daily basis to gain a real-world experience but it undergoes several benchmarking tests. These include battery life tests, screen analysis and other performance-related measurements. After all these tests have been conducted, we give products a review score out of five stars. The very best on that scale from HP then feature on this very list.
We’ve also made sure to include as much variety as possible for our list, so you should find the laptop you’re looking for whether you’re a gamer, content creator or bargain hunter.
If you can’t find an HP laptop that you like right now, it’s also worth checking out ourBest Laptop,Best Ultrabook,Best Student LaptopandBest Budget Laptoppages for a more general look. We’ve also got lists dedicated to other laptop makers, including thebest Asus laptops, thebest Lenovo laptopsand thebest Dell laptops.
Best HP laptop at a glance
How we test
Every laptop we review goes through a series of uniform checks designed to gauge key things including build quality, performance, screen quality and battery life.These include formal synthetic benchmarks and scripted tests, plus a series of real world checks, such as how well it runs the most frequently used apps.We also make sure to use every laptop we review as our primary device for at least a week to ensure our review is as accurate as possible.
HP Envy 16 (2022)
Pros
Cons
TheHP Envy 16is one the best HP laptops we’ve reviewed in recent years. Our tests showed it to offer speedy performance for content creators, making it a suitable alternative to theMacBook Profor those on a budget.
The laptop is powered by an Intel Core i7-12700H and Nvidia RTX 3060 GPU, and so can breeze through tasks such as video editing and casual gaming, seeing superior scores than even theDell XPS 15.
Battery life is excellent too, lasting 8 hours and 42 minutes despite packing a power-hungry graphics chip. The wide connectivity options are great too, as is the webcam quality which is handy if you frequent video calls.
The 16-inch screen has a pleasingly high resolution at 2560 x 1600, resulting in sharp imagery. But the mediocre colour coverage can’t quite match the MacBook, making the latter the better option for those dealing with colour-sensitive work. But it’s important to remember that the HP Envy 16 is significantly cheaper than the MacBook Pro, and so is still worth considering if you’re on a tight budget.
Reviewer:Mike JenningsFull review:HP Envy 16 (2022) Review
HP Pavilion SE 14
Pros
Cons
TheHP Pavilion SE 14rather came out of nowhere to become one of the very best budget laptops around. Some of its looks is reminscent of theMicrosoft Surface Laptop Go 3but offering competitive power at a lower price, though it does give up some ground on quality of the display.
Above all else, the Pavilion SE 14 is astounding value for money. For less than £500, HP provides a 13th generation Intel Core i5 chip alongside 8GB RAM. It’s a potent combination for such a reasonably priced machine, offering up a ton of headroom for plenty of productivity work and multitasking. You’ll be able go tab-wild with this machine in a browser.
A cheaper laptop with a good amount of power? You may be concerned how the thermals are handled here, well we never noticed the fans get overly loud and it didn’t get uncomfortably warm either.
The HP Pavilion SE 14 is impressively portable, largely down to its plastic design. Of course, this means it doesn’t feel at all luxurious, but it measures an impressive 1.4kg and 17.9mm. The keyboard quality hasn’t been deprioritised either, making for a solid all-round performer.
Reviewer:Alun TaylorFull Review:HP Pavilion SE 14 review
HP Dragonfly Pro Chromebook (2023)
Pros
Cons
TheDragonfly Pro Chromebook (2023)is a fantastic alternative for those who aren’t too fussed about the Windows compatibility found on theDragonfly Pro (2023). Not only is it substantially cheaper – by around £400 – but it comes with the same swish and mature design that you’ll be very proud to whip out of your laptop bag.
The keyboard comes with RGB backlighting which gives it a little more personality, even if it isn’t inherently geared towards gaming – cloud or otherwise. The keyboard is lined with a pair of Bang & Olufsen speakers which we felt offered a good separation of audio channels. The sound was detailed with a certain amount of nuance and plenty of discernible bass when not turned up to the maximum volume.
Another feather in the cap of the Dragonfly Pro Chromebook is that it isIntel Evocertified. This means that it has undergone a number of tests concerning battery, performance and load-up times, making it easier for consumers to spot capable laptops without needing to run through all the specs themselves. We thought the performance was top-notch, aided by the12th-gen Intel Corei5 processor. Unless you’re engaging in some serious multitasking then it offers more than enough power, especially for a Chromebook.
In the same vein as its Windows counterpart, it comes with a fantastic 14-inch display. It actually beats out its sibling by having a 1200nitsscreen, which is quoted as being the brightest display ever found on a Chromebook. TheQuad HD+ resolution (2560×1600) meant that we could watch HD content without any hiccups, with the added benefit of being able to engage in photo editing.
If you’re looking for aChromeOS-based device but don’t want to skimp out on power, the Dragonfly Pro Chromebook is by far your best option. If you want to look at some other options then make sure to check out ourbest Chromebook roundup, but all-in-all, this laptop offers up an immense amount of power and a screen that’s large enough to work on and bright enough for watching TV.
Reviewer:Chris SmithFull Review:HP Dragonfly Pro Chromebook (2023)
HP Dragonfly Pro (2023)
Pros
Cons
TheHP Dragonfly Pro (2023)is the ultimate MacBook contender and a very compelling option for Windows enthusiasts who are looking for a productivity champion in or out of the office. This laptop has a sleek and mature design, although its 1.55kg weight does make it a little cumbersome to take out on the go. It comes with a full-sized keyboard which we found to be responsive, with a reassuring spring and deep enough travel for those split-second corrections.
The display sits at 14-inches and comes with touchscreen support. Despite its fondness for picking up fingerprints, the touchscreen was capable and made scrolling through work documents and files a breeze. It also boasts a multitouch option, meaning you can swipe, zoom, tap and pinch to navigate the device with ease.
In our tests, we found that the display is capable of hitting up to 400nitsand was more than capable of being used outside on sunny days. Thanks to the 60Hzrefresh rate, we were even able to play some games via cloud streaming, withForza Horizon 5looking very crisp and vibrant.
Our model came with an AMD Ryzen 7 7736U CPU. While this is based on the olderZen 3+platform – meaning that it’s not next-generation – we found that it worked very well during day-to-day tasks. The integrated 12-core AMD Radeon 680M GPU also allowed for some graphical tasks to be achieved, like moderate photo editing and aforementioned cloud gaming. This gives the Dragonfly Pro a lot of versatility, allowing users to sit back and playtriple-A gamesafter a long day of work without needing to switch devices.
Overall, the HP Dragonfly Pro offers a compelling proposition that hits a ton of high notes for a productivity device. It’s the perfect alternative to aMacBook Air M2or aSurface Pro 9, boasting a fantastic touchscreen and enough power for both work and play.
Reviewer:Chris SmithFull Review:HP Dragonfly Pro (2023)
HP Chromebook x2 11
Pros
Cons
TheHP Chromebook x2 11runs with the formula of a device from a rival company and surpasses it in every way. The laptop hybrid it outshines is the excellentLenovo Chromebook Duet. Both are top budget picks but the HP is the cream of the crop.
The design is a huge part of what makes this Chromebook x2 11 so good. Despite its low price, the tablet portion of this machine feels of high-end quality, being comprised of sandblasted aluminium. The keyboard and rear cover don’t feel quite as fancy but perform admirably. The keys provide remarkably good travel and satisfying tactility for such a thin cover. The full design package of the HP Chromebook x2 11 is stunning compact, making it ideal for students or those wanting a device for basic tasking around the house.
The performance of the Chromebook x2 11 suits those needs too. Combined with ChromeOS, the Snapdragon 7c provides enough power for casual computing. You can watch movies and videos, as well as get work done in multiple Chrome tabs. This device never gets particularly warm or loud either, making it a refreshingly calm user experience. You’ll be using it for a full day with no stress too, lasting over 8 hours in our battery test.
As a media consumption device, the HP’s capabilities are backed up by a pleasingly detailed QHD display. It isn’t the biggest at 11-inches but it gets plenty bright and offers vibrant colour. Though, the audio is fairly basic.
Reviewer:Reece BithreyFull Review:HP Chromebook x2 11 review
HP Omen Transcend 14
Pros
Cons
TheHP Omen Transcend 14is a spectacularly slim and lightweight laptop with an exceptional OLED screen, making it our favourite pick for gaming.
The Omen Transcend 14 has a stunning design with a slim and compact build and fairly understated logos. There’s also no excessive RGB lighting beyond the logo, allowing it to pass off as stylish and professional alongside being a gaming laptop.
There’s an array of ports, including two Thunderbolt 4 ports, a headphone jack, two USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A ports, and an HDMI 2.1 video out. There’s no Ethernet port, but the laptop does support Wi-Fi 7 which should come in handy in the future.
The keyboard features low-profile keys that sit somewhere between a scissor-switch chiclet keyboard and a membrane gaming keyboard offering just a hint of clickiness. The touchpad is large at 12.4 x 8cm with a smooth glass-like surface.
The 14-inch OLED display is bright and the colours are exceptionally vivid. The 2880 x 1800 resolution makes text and images crisp and detailed, while contrast is as good as it gets and there’s HDR support available.
We reviewed the Core Ultra 7 155H version of the Omen Transcend 14, paired with 16GB of DDR5 RAM, a 1TB SSD, and an RTX 4060 GPU. We found this configuration, you can expect strong performance in productivity and creative apps. The laptop can also handle the latest AAA games as long as you’re not expecting 60fps at maximum settings at native resolution.
The battery could be better, with the laptop offering just five and a half hours of light office use from a single charge. However, for a compact and graphically-powerful Windows laptop, the battery is solid enough.
Reviewer:Stuart Andrews
Full Review:HP Omen Transcend 14
HP Victus 16 (2021)
Pros
Cons
TheHP Victus 16 (2021)should be a great option if it’s more of an affordable gaming laptop that you’re after.
The white model we had in for review looked excellent, with a different colour offering sitting it apart compared to more non-descript rivals from the likes of Lenovo and Dell. The all plastic frame does lead to some rattle however, and the build quality is perhaps a little middling. The port selection is okay, with a selection that involves USB-A and USB-C, as well as an SD card reader, Ethernet and HDMI out.
The Victus 16’s keyboard offers a snappy and quiet keypress, which is better than the softer, mushier keys we’ve tested on other laptops, although there isn’t any RGB lighting, and some of the keys are a little close together.
Its 16.1-inch display offers some extra width which is nice to have, and the Full HD resolution provides reasonable detail, although its sRGB colour coverage is poor. At least the 1714:1 contrast ratio means colours at least have some depth to them. The competition from the likes of Dell and Lenovo was also plagued with iffy displays, which is a case in point as to why spending more will get you more for gaming laptop displays especially.
The components inside offer some good mid-range options with a Ryzen 7 5800H processor from AMD and an RTX 3060 GPU from Nvidia. The pair offered good pace when testing games, with frame rates in AAA titles ranging from 60-80fps at 1080p. In addition, the processor on offer provided some excellent performance in our benchmarks, offering speedy results that means the Victus is capable of not only gaming but also other intense workloads such as editing photos and videos.
We found the battery life here to be decent for a gaming laptop, with 90 minutes of charge while gaming, and 7 hours in our office work benchmark, which is impressive for such a powerful laptop.
Reviewer:Mike JenningsFull review:HP Victus 16 (2021) review
We also considered…
An all-AMD gaming laptop
An affordable laptop with surprising graphics power
A nimble 2-in-1 laptop with excellent build quality
Not quite “lighter than air” but it does the business
We’ve reviewed
3,316
Laptop
FAQs
HP Pavilion laptops are some of the more stylish looking mid-range choices in HP’s range, and offer great bang for the buck with solid performance and power in a sleek chassis.
This depends on what you need your HP laptop for. The likes of Pavilion and Envy laptops will be well suited to general working and day to day tasks, while the Victus and Omen lines are designed as gaming candidates.
In short, yes. HP is arguably one of the more reputable laptop brands out there, making a wide range of laptops to suit a range of purposes.
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Hannah joined Trusted Reviews as a staff writer in 2019 after graduating with a degree in English from Royal Holloway, University of London. She’s also worked and studied in the US, holding positions …
Founded in 2003, Trusted Reviews exists to give our readers thorough, unbiased and independent advice on what to buy.
Today, we have millions of users a month from around the world, and assess more than 1,000 products a year.
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
Why trust our journalism?
Founded in 2003, Trusted Reviews exists to give our readers thorough, unbiased and independent advice on what to buy.
Today, we have millions of users a month from around the world, and assess more than 1,000 products a year.
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
