Review of the HP Envy 16: a creative laptop for less

They cost less than devices like the MSI Creator Z16P or the 16-inch MacBook Pro, though. A good example is the new HP Envy 16, which is the successor to the Envy 15, a laptop that was on our list of the best 15-inch laptops and the best laptops for video editing. The Envy 16 is an even more tempting entry than the Envy 15 due to its outstanding performance and sturdy build quality.

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When it counts, fastest

With the Envy 16, performance is everything. If the Envy 16 didn't deliver on its promise of exceptional performance, the keyboard, display, and minimalist design would have been for nothing. Thankfully, it does.

My fully equipped $2,600 review device had an RTX 3060 GPU, a 45-watt 14-core/20-thread Core i9-12900H CPU, 32GB of DDR5 RAM, a quick 2TB PCIe 4.0 SSD, and two 1TB SSDs running in RAID 0.

The Envy 16 appears to be a quick mainstream laptop on paper, especially considering its bigger chassis and improved thermal design, which includes dual fans and a liquid vapour chamber. Consider your options carefully if GPU performance is crucial because the $1,180 entry-level setup uses the Intel Arc A370M GPU rather than the RTX 3060.It's interesting to note that in our benchmarks, the Envy 16 performed multi-core activities far more quickly than single-core workloads. This was also true for Cinebench R23 and Geekbench 5, where the Envy 16 performed best in single-core tests but last in multi-core. When changing temperature profiles, the HP Command Center tool had minimal effect. There are only little discrepancies between the Envy 16 and the balanced and performance mode ratings that I have provided.

Because most creative software is primarily multi-threaded, the Envy 16's quick single-core performance won't help creators as much. For instance, in our Handbrake test, which encodes a 420MB video as H.265 codec, the Envy 16 performs worse than all bar the MacBook Pro 16. And that also applies to laptops with the less powerful Core i7-12700H.

In addition, the Envy 16 did well in the PugetBench Premiere Pro benchmark, which utilises both the CPU and GPU heavily while running a live instance of Adobe Premiere Pro. In balanced mode, it was the quickest Windows laptop in our comparison group. In performance mode, it lagged behind laptops like the Asus ZenBook Pro 16X and MSI Creator Z16P, but it was quite competitive with the far more expensive Apple MacBook Pro 16 with its Apple M1 Pro CPU.

Despite its poor performance in artificial benchmarks, the Envy 16 seems to excel in the real-world apps that matter most to creators. Additionally, it can easily handle even the most difficult productivity workflows.

On the Envy 16, playing games is just natural given the fast CPU and RTX 3060. Given the great single-core performance, I anticipated strong gaming performance, however the Env7 16 delivered inconsistent results. Although its 3DMark Time Spy score was high for an RTX 3060, it performed poorly in all of our gaming tests.

Particularly, the Envy 16 lags behind in Fortnite and Cyberpunk 2077 while being quick in Civilization VI and Assassin's Creed Valhalla. The best course of action is usually to believe that you can play recent games at 1080p with good graphics, and then be pleased when you discover titles that work well at 1440p.

Large and Powerful

The Envy 16 places more of an emphasis on performance and display size than it does on chassis size. In reality, HP enlarged the chassis on purpose to create more space for airflow, and switching to a 16:10 display adds some depth. It's not unduly big, though, compared to its rivals; for instance, it's a little smaller than the MSI Creator Z16P.

The Dell XPS 15 is considerably smaller than it, although it has a somewhat smaller screen and much smaller display bezels. The Envy 16 weighs 5.12 pounds and is 0.78 inches thick, making it slightly thicker than the Creator Z16P and slightly heavier than the XPS 15. Even though it's not particularly large, you probably won't want to carry this laptop to the coffee shop.

The all-aluminum chassis, which is fairly strong and resists most bending, flexing, and twisting, adds some weight. The Envy 16 is only marginally inferior to the finest, including the MacBook Pro 16 and the Dell XPS 15. With just the right angles in the appropriate places and no bling to detract from its simple good looks, the Envy 16 has a conservatively crafted aesthetic.

Of course, a 16-inch laptop's huge display, which offers lots of workspace, is its main selling point. For the Envy 16, HP provides two displays in sizes of 16 inches and 16:10. I reviewed the gorgeous and sharp 4K+ OLED panel.

With the exception of brightness, the display is ideal for the creators HP is aiming for. Although the brightness isn't as high as we'd like, the colours are accurate and wide, and the contrast delivers the customary deep blacks we expect from the best OLED laptops. Media fans and productivity users will both adore this display.

The audio from the quad speakers sounds fantastic, with crisp mids and highs and more bass than normal. The Envy 16 doesn't get very loud, which is the sole issue. While the quality is excellent for binge-watching Netflix by yourself, Bluetooth speakers are required if you want to entertain a crowd. Although the music sounds nice, the volume is once again an issue. You should have a nice set of headphones if you enjoy cranking the volume on your music. The audio on the Dell XPS 15 is just as outstanding and much louder.

Another benefit of the huge chassis is a roomy keyboard with big keycaps, even though it has speaker grilles on both sides of it. That is a result of HP leaving out a numeric keypad, which the majority of customers probably won't miss. With plenty of travel and a light touch but a less swift bottoming action than the Spectre range, the keyboard switch mechanism wasn't quite as precise. It is a reliable keyboard that is only slightly inferior to the best.

It appears like there would have been enough for a larger touchpad, which is disappointing. HP could have crammed in a much larger touchpad, but it proved dependable in supporting Windows 11's multitouch gestures, and its click was confident and quiet. Multitouch capability is included with the OLED display, which was appreciated.

The Envy 16 also supports every type of connectivity that the majority of users require. Instead of a microSD card reader, I would have preferred to see a full-size SD card reader. Additionally, some users may benefit from an Ethernet port. Even so, Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2 support make connectivity a strength.

The subtle details

Even though it may seem incorrect to refer to battery life as a "incidental" factor, a device designed to handle laborious creative and productivity workflows is likely to be plugged in most of the time. Furthermore, no fast performance will have a long battery life while both the CPU and GPU are working hard.

Nevertheless, the Envy 16 performed admirably in our battery testing. In our web browsing test, it ran for about 8.5 hours, and in our video test, for almost 13 hours, on its 83 watt-hour battery, which isn't much for this kind of computer.

Even though its battery life in the PCMark 10 Applications battery test was only 7.5 hours, these are still respectable results for a quick laptop with a high-resolution OLED display.

Although the MacBook Pro 16 was in a different universe and the Dell XPS 15 was stronger, there aren't many 16-inch class computers that live very long. However, if your task isn't as demanding, you might be able to use the Envy 16 for the most of the day.

You would anticipate the Envy 16 to be a fantastic videoconferencing device given its size and high resolution display. Thanks to the 5MP webcam's Auto Frame features, you would be correct. When I tested the system, the image quality was quite good.

There is also a physical webcam shutter for privacy that is operated by a function key as well as an infrared camera for Windows 11 Hello passwordless login support. There is no automatic sleep and wake functionality because HP left out any user presence detection features that have been appearing on more current laptops.

An excellent improvement for the 16-inch class

The Envy 16 enhances the Envy 15's performance and build quality, both of which we found to be favourable. While it is undoubtedly a high-end laptop, it is more affordable than rivals like the MSI Creator Z16P and MacBook Pro 16 and quicker than laptops with comparable prices like the Dell XPS 15.

The Envy 16 is a good choice if you're searching for a potent creative workstation that won't break the budget.