HP Envy 14 review in five points: Packed with power and features, but a bit high on price

With its vast portfolio, HP attempts to cater to all types of PC users. Among this collection, it recently introduced a new offering for professional creators in India by the name of HP Envy 14. The company differentiates the new laptop with more computing power than the average laptop and all the new-age features that one would need in a laptop for maximum efficiency. We have already reviewed the HP Envy 14 laptop, and you can read it here.

As an example, know that the Envy 14 comes with a backlit keyboard, fingerprint scanner and multiple connectivity options. Additional highlights include Bang and Olufsen speakers as well as a screen-to-body ratio higher than your average laptop. In short, the Envy 14 easily stands apart from the regular laptops used in corporate offices.That being said, the Envy 14 retails for a starting price of Rs 1,04,999 as part of HP’s “premium computing” category. This means that the laptop is priced just below HP’s top-of-the-line Spectre series. So how does it justify its existence between the top-notch offerings and regular, run-of-the-mill laptops? We tell you in five points.Point 1: HP Envy 14 sports the signature “Natural Silver” colour seen on many HP laptops. There are no highlights within this finish, as the colour envelopes the entire device and sans the display’s bezel area. Some might mistake this finish to be uninspiring, but the fact of the matter is that the Envy 14 looks sharper than any other laptop we have seen sporting this colour. To start with, it carries a regular-sized form factor that looks bigger than the usual laptops, thanks to the large screen-to-body ratio. The heightened display, along with straight cut-edges and solid colour throughout, give it a very bold and elegant look. So does the new HP logo at the back. There is no separate numeric keypad, so the keyboard appears large and spacious, as is the trackpad beneath it. The HP Envy 14 weighs around 1.6 kg. Point 2: HP Envy 14 features a 14-inch WUXGA IPS display, which means it offers 1920 x 1200 pixels resolution. That and the slim bezel all around enable an excellent viewing experience on the Envy 14. The colours are sharp with an overall good contrast and brightness. HP has also used anti-glare on display, a big plus that many laptops miss out on. The highlight remains the 16:10 aspect ratio which gives you an 11 per cent greater viewing area than a traditional 16:9 laptop. This will help you see more on a webpage or while working on creative or professional documents.Point 3: HP Envy 14 is simply a treat to work on. In a couple of weeks of our use, we found the Envy 14 to be equipped with everything one might seek on an efficient work laptop. It has a spacious and backlit keyboard with optimum key travel. The keyboard also comes with functions to operate the various aspects of the laptop, including a fingerprint sensor in place of the right Control for quick login. The trackpad is large with a distinct, soft click and support for multi-touch gestures. There is a 720p webcam with a camera shutter, Bang & Olufsen speaker system and a host of connectivity options, including Thunderbolt 4 with USB Type-C, USB Type-A, HDMI 2.0 and more. There is also a 63.3Wh Li-ion battery to get you through around eight hours of use on average. Point 4: In our use, the Envy 14 could perform extremely well irrespective of the task at hand. Other than a few glitches, the laptop ran graphic software, games, and work applications smoothly. It was quick to fire up every time, and the response on any action you perform on the laptop is almost lightning fast. For this, the Envy 14 comes with an Intel Core i5 processor, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 Ti (Max-Q) graphics card and 16 GB RAM onboard. HP says it has especially been crafted for creators, meaning an edge in graphics rendering and software.Point 5: The only possible drawback in an otherwise great laptop is its price. At Rs 1,04,999, the Envy 14 competes with laptops offering Intel Core i7 processors, which are meant to be better for media-editing and other daunting tasks. It also comes surprisingly close to the HP Spectre x360 that boasts of a convertible form factor with the same processor. The difference is just about what iPhone users pay for a mere storage upgrade and hence can be a deterrent from buying the Envy 14.