HP OmniBook Extremely 14 Brings AMD Ryzen AI 300 To A Crisp Ultralight Laptop computer

	HP OmniBook Extremely 14 (Beginning at $1,349.99, at present on sale for as little as $1098) HP’s newest Copilot+ laptop computer options the perfect AMD has to supply, wrapped in a sturdy and enticing aluminum chassis.
	Glorious construct high quality and glossy design Good efficiency with Ryzen AI 300 Will help all Copilot+ options Lengthy battery life	Restricted port choice OLED could be higher at this worth level Too many pre-loaded apps Copilot+ options nonetheless MIA

AMD has spent years enjoying second fiddle to Intel within the laptop computer market, however instances change, and so do shopper expectations. Intel had been in a troublesome spot after being caught considerably flat-footed by the ascension of on-device AI, which has given AMD a gap to indicate off its comparatively new Ryzen AI 300 collection. These chips energy the brand new HP OmniBook Extremely 14, a high-end Copilot+ PC that additionally provides a 14-inch 2.2K IPS display screen and lengthy battery life in a compact footprint.

The HP OmniBook Extremely 14 with its AMD internals can go toe-to-toe with machines operating on Intel’s newest Lunar Lake structure, promising much more AI chops and multithreaded efficiency. HP does embody a couple of instruments to make the most of the AI {hardware}, however that is nonetheless largely planning for the longer term. Even in case you’re not satisfied about generative AI, the OmniBook provides highly effective productiveness instruments, and the Radeon iGPU is not any slouch in video games both. Let’s dive in.

HP OmniBook Extremely 14: Specs & Options

The OmniBook 14 runs on both the Ryzen AI 9 365 or the Ryzen AI 9 HX 375, each high-end variations of the AMD Ryzen AI 300 household, codenamed Strix Level. Our assessment unit has the HX 375, which is notable. Beforehand, this chip was unique to Asus machines just like the Zenbook S 14, however the OmniBook 14 represents its wider debut. The 375 has two extra CPU cores (12 whole), a extra highly effective iGPU, and a barely increased enhance clock pace in comparison with the 365.

The inclusion of those AMD chips makes the OmniBook Extremely 14 prepared for Microsoft’s Copilot+ options, a lot of that are nonetheless in improvement. Nonetheless, the OmniBook 14 can be prepared for the longer term with a formidable 55 TOPS of AI efficiency, a smidge increased than the HX 370 in Asus AI 300 machines (50 TOPS). It is also forward of Intel’s Lunar Lake NPU, which maxes out at 48 TOPS, and Qualcomm’s Snapdragon choices as effectively. HP provides the machine with 512GB of storage and 16GB of RAM within the base mannequin ($1,350), growing to 2TB and 32GB ($1,690) within the top-of-the-line mannequin that we examined, although be looking out for gross sales as a result of we have seen configurations at retail for as low at $1098.

You will not get an in depth collection of ports with this machine. There are two USB-C ports on the suitable edge. One is positioned on the angled rear nook, which is a bit odd. Nonetheless, it does assist to maintain the charging cable out of your workspace. There is no USB-C on the left edge, only a USB-A and a 3.5mm jack. On the plus facet, the USB-C ports help Thunderbolt 4, a primary for an AMD AI 300 machine.

All that {hardware} is impressively crammed into an aluminum chassis that is simply 0.65 inches (16.5mm) thick and weighing 3.47 kilos (1.575 kg). Like many fashionable laptops, the chassis additionally tapers towards the entrance, providing a fair slimmer profile. The aluminum panels are strong, too. There is no flex while you choose the machine up, and even the vents really feel rigid when pressed. HP’s extra mainstream laptops have a tendency to make use of considerably thinner steel, however we’re proud of the robustness of the OmniBook 14. And but, it is so skinny the lone USB-A port has a collapsible design.

HP’s backlit keyboard is harking back to the MacBook—it’s totally flat, with minimal key journey and powerful tactility with every press. Once more, extra mainstream HP machines are do not supply as sturdy a typing expertise, however the backside out on the OmniBook Extremely 14 is agency — not stiff or disagreeable. The keys are darkish grey with white shine-through legends, which is far simpler to learn than the silver keys HP used to make use of on its laptops. The structure is shut to straightforward, although a couple of keys have been compressed to avoid wasting area, together with the up and down arrows. We will stay with that, however we strenuously object to HP’s resolution to place the ability button proper above backspace, which makes it far too simple to unintentionally put the PC to sleep. There is a fingerprint sensor on this button, which we discovered to be very quick and correct in comparison with different Home windows machines.

The trackpad is centered beneath the keyboard. It is not fairly as massive as some machines, however this can be a compact laptop computer. The trackpad appears like the suitable measurement, not so massive that you just unintentionally set off it, however not sufficiently small to make scrolling and gestures tedious. It is clean and responsive, requiring no setting modifications to make it usable.

The 14-inch touchscreen appears to be like good with a decision of 2240×1400, however the next refresh price than 60Hz would have been good. The 400 nits of brightness will do, as effectively, however we would prefer to see extra on a machine that may hit virtually $1,700 when absolutely loaded. The shiny end helps make the display screen look super-sharp indoors, however the reflectivity can overwhelm the brightness open air, and it will get smudged simply in case you’re touching it. A brighter OLED display screen would have made extra sense at this worth, and HP does supply OLED on different 2024 machines.

The speaker setup is surprisingly good, that includes two tweeters and two subs. The audio is balanced, detailed, and loud (for a laptop computer). You’ll be able to crank the amount virtually all the way in which up earlier than it begins to distort. The tweeters are tucked beneath the entrance of the machine, however they do not sound muffled like some laptops audio system. This is without doubt one of the best-sounding 14-inch laptops available on the market.

Bundled Software program And HP’s AI Companion Utility

HP tends to separate settings and options amongst a number of functions when one app would do. That may result in some software program bloat earlier than we even get to the precise bloatware, of which there’s greater than there needs to be on a machine of this sort.

A lot of the system administration options are discovered within the MyHP app, which supplies you entry to efficiency modes, show controls, digicam results, and a few much less helpful issues like camera-based gestures. There are separate apps for privateness settings, system diagnostics, OS occasions, and extra—there’s even an entire app for managing HP printers. The laptop computer additionally ships with HP’s Omen Gaming Hub, which is pointless on a productiveness machine. 

A few of HP’s apps ping you with notifications to advertise options and encourage product registration till you flip them off. Likewise, the bundled McAfee and Dropbox apps pester you till you take away them or decide into the sponsored provides. For instance, the Assist Assistant is positioned as a solution to test your guarantee standing. You’ll be able to’t simply ignore this one, although. It has, on a number of events, popped up with complicated provides to alter the default system settings. HP might be doing a lot better with its bundled software program.

HP calls this a “Subsequent-gen AI PC” on the idea of its class-leading NPU efficiency. Nonetheless, there’s little in the way in which of AI functions proper now that correctly make the most of AMD’s {hardware}.  We’re nonetheless ready on Microsoft to launch the complete suite of Copilot+ capabilities, and HP’s bundled AI Companion is comparatively spartan in the intervening time. We had been impressed by its capacity to churn by means of a set of offered paperwork with AI, just like Google’s cloud-based Pocket book LM. Nonetheless, the app does not seem to work in any respect while you’re offline, which defeats the aim of getting that highly effective on-device AI {hardware}. AMD’s software program stack for its Ryzen AI 9 HX is not absolutely fleshed out simply but, so we can not correctly benchmark the NPU to straight evaluate it to different laptops both.