How do you make a professional looking two-in-one convertible laptop with all the AI PC smarts packed in while making it look sharp enough to attract buyers who want a nice looking, but not flashy, machine? HP thinks the OmniBook X Flip strikes that fine balance.
At first glance, it has all the hallmarks of a premium office laptop. The brushed matte cover, featuring the HP logo prominently displayed in the centre, gives it a clean look without unnecessary bling.
The texture is comfortable to the touch and gives off solid office laptop vibes that make you feel like you are carrying something designed for serious work. It is understated but classy, whether you are bringing it into a meeting room or working in a cafe.
Opening the laptop reveals a keyboard that is well-thought-out. The keys are big and nicely spaced-out, giving enough room for long typing sessions without feeling cramped. For anyone who spends hours writing reports or responding to e-mails, this matters a lot. The travel of the keys is balanced with a good tactile response that does not tire your fingers out after prolonged typing.
The OmniBook X Flip comes with two USB-C ports and two USB-A ports. This covers both new and old accessories, which is useful since many people still rely on older devices, such as external hard drives, USB flash drives, or a wired mouse. You will also need a dongle with a Ethernet network port if you need consistent and reliable network connection.
The limitation arises when you want to connect more than four peripherals simultaneously, as you will often find yourself needing a dongle or hub. That said, HP has included a full-sized HDMI port, which means you can hook the laptop up to monitors for multitasking or connect to projectors for presentations without an additional adapter.
Instead of lugging around a bulky proprietary 65W charger, you can power the laptop up using a 100W GaN charger through the USB-C port. This means you can carry one compact charger for your laptop, phone and tablet instead of separate bricks. For anyone who travels frequently, this is a big advantage as it lightens the load and reduces cable clutter.
The hinge feels sturdy and well-engineered. At 1.38 kg, the device does feel heavy in tablet mode. However, the use of a 14-inch 3K OLED with a 16:10 screen ratio, rather than the typical 16:9, does help to make it shorter and more comfortable to handle. This ratio reduces the strain on your arms when holding it in landscape mode, though this is a device that is still best used on a desktop or on your lap.
The 3K OLED multitouch screen is sharp, vibrant, and easy on the eyes. Colours pop with richness, and blacks are deep and true thanks to OLED technology. Whether you are working on spreadsheets, editing photos, or watching movies, the screen adapts well to different lighting scenarios from bright office lights to a dimly lit bedroom. The multi-touch capability is fluid and works well with both finger gestures and stylus use.
The stylus is comfortable to hold and has a solid feel that avoids the flimsy design of some cheaper alternatives. It attaches magnetically to the side of the laptop with a strong grip that reassures you it will not fall off easily.
Unfortunately, the stylus cannot be charged wirelessly when attached. It must be charged via its own USB-C port, which is somewhat outdated compared to competitors with built-in wireless charging.
Despite the inconveniences with charging, the stylus experience on the OmniBook X Flip is a clear step up from previous models. Lag is minimal and the response is immediate, whether you are sketching, colouring, or simply gliding the pen across the display.
The glossy smooth screen enhances visuals and looks stunning, but it lacks the tactile resistance of paper that would make handwriting feel more natural. Those who prefer a pen-on-paper sensation can always add a matte screen protector with a textured coating to mimic that familiar feel.
What about performance? Under the hood, HP has equipped the laptop with the latest Intel Core Ultra 7 258V processor. This is paired with Intel Arc graphics, 32GB of RAM, and 1TB of storage.
I ran a few tests, which give a good picture of performance. The OmniBook X Flip runs as quickly as what you’d expect of a laptop with similar specs, which means it shouldn’t have issues with most productivity apps for some years ahead.
It scored 6,298 in PC Mark, which measures how well a PC does in routine tasks like videoconferencing and spreadsheets, for example. Interestingly, this is lower than a Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i we reviewed recently, which also had similar specs like the Intel chip.
However, the HP laptop catches up in Geekbench, another benchmark which also measures everyday productivity performance. Here, the HP laptop bested the Lenovo machine, coming back with a score of 2,692 for single-core performance and 10,664 for multi-core performance for its Intel CPU.
What about AI tasks, which PCs have been hyped up to work on in the past couple of years? Here, the HP PC returned with scores of 3,095 (single precision), 1,394 (half precision) and 6,287 (quantised score). They are close to – though somewhat lower for two of the three tests here – compared to the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i.
The HP OmniBook X Flip isn’t a gaming machine but it should be able to run some games in medium to low settings with many of the eye candy turned off. It scored 4,396 in 3D Mark Time Spy, which simulates games. Again, this is just slightly lower than on the Lenovo laptop.
Gaming can be a stretch for 3D-heavy titles since the Intel Arc integrated graphics chip onboard is not that powerful. Still, as an office and productivity laptop, the performance is clearly more than enough for everyday tasks.
Connectivity, however, is an area that leaves me frustrated. The laptop supports Wi-Fi 7, which should mean fast and stable connections. In reality, the link kept dropping every time I opened the Web browser, only to reconnect a moment later. For some reason, this issue occurred repeatedly in the same location at home, where several other laptops and tablets had no problems.
The camera system is a mixed bag. On the positive side, the 5-megapixel front-facing camera delivers good skin tones and a sharp enough quality for Zoom conferences. It also comes with a physical privacy filter, which is reassuring for those who worry about prying eyes.
On the negative side, there is no way to flip the mirror image, which will frustrate some users about camera angles. More frustrating is the use of the camera for face authentication.
The IR system is inconsistent, often requiring you to lean back or adjust your distance before it recognises your face. This is irritating when you are already seated and ready to work, but the system insists you move around to authenticate.
The Poly Studio-tuned sound system does the job for casual listening and online videos. It delivers clear-enough sound, but the bass is muddy and lacks punch. It will not impress audiophiles or those who enjoy rich music playback. Thankfully, the laptop includes a 3.5mm audio jack, allowing you to plug in wired headphones for improved sound quality.
Ultimately, the S$2,199 HP OmniBook X Flip is a good office companion with a beautiful display, strong performance, and useful flexibility. It is more than capable of handling the tasks most professionals need, and the AI boost might be handy if you use some of the Windows apps that make use of the additional horsepower.
For note takers and designers, the flexibility of flipping into tablet mode and using the responsive stylus is another appealing feature. Try out the stylus to see if you like the feel of the digital pen/pencil, if that is an important feature for you.
