ZDNET’s key takeaways
- The HP OmniBook 5 is on sale for $900 for the 32GB configuration.
- It might be the perfect different to the MacBook Air, due to its absurdly-long battery life, light-weight design, and strong efficiency.
- There are a couple of downsides: the shiny show is tough to see beneath brilliant circumstances, and it has a restricted array of ports.
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HP’s new OmniBook 5 has been one of the vital compelling light-weight laptops I’ve examined in 2025. Marketed as a reliable companion for busy college students and professionals alike, this gadget backs up these guarantees with a prolonged battery, a pointy show, and a light-weight design.
I spent a few weeks with this smooth laptop computer, and got here away impressed by how effectively it is carried out. Nevertheless it’s not simply in regards to the {hardware}, it is the general consumer expertise. I would even say that Apple customers searching for a MacBook-like expertise on Home windows ought to take a look at the OmniBook 5.
A well-known aesthetic
First off, at a look, the OmniBook 5 appears very very like a MacBook itself. From the intense silver colorway to the contrasting grey chiclet-style keys, to the colourful, 2K show, there may be undoubtedly some resemblance right here. What shocked me, although, was simply how light-weight it was. At 2.84 kilos, lifting the OmniBook seems like lifting a paper pocket book.
Just like the MacBook Air, it has only some ports. On one aspect, you may discover a pair of 10Gbps Thunderbolt 4 ports, and on the opposite, a USB-A subsequent to a headphone jack. If you need extra, you may should complement the gadget with a laptop docking station.
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The OmniBook’s audio system are situated on the entrance of the laptop computer, proper beneath the wrist relaxation. Not probably the most best location, however not less than they’re highly effective. Because of HP Audio Enhance, audio output is wealthy, and songs enveloped me in a bubble of sound. Woofers inside HP’s laptop computer present a pleasant, punchy bass that may be felt on the backside of the pc.
Typing on the keyboard felt fairly good. Every key has a great quantity of responsiveness, and because of the rubbery caps, they’re quiet, too. I am additionally happy to announce that the OmniBook 5 passes the one-finger check. It stays firmly planted whilst you elevate the lid.
My evaluation unit’s display screen was a 2K (1,900 x 1,200 pixels) OLED with a most brightness of 300 nits and help for 95% of the DCI-P3 colour gamut. A show like this delivers a vibrant visible output that’s merely vigorous.
The one draw back is that I did not like how shiny it’s. Even in case you crank up the brightness to its most setting, it may be exhausting to see the display screen clearly due to how a lot gentle it displays. That is compounded with the inky black OLED.
Light-weight energy
As a result of the HP OmniBook 5 is a ARM-compatible laptop computer, benchmarking is usually a little difficult as a few of my ordinary checks did not work. Beneath the hood is a Qualcomm Snapdragon X Plus chipset, 32GB of RAM, and a Qualcomm Adreno X1-45 graphics card. Seeing 32GB of reminiscence on this small laptop computer shocked me as I used to be anticipating the same old 16GB of RAM.
You will get it in a 16GB configuration, by the way in which, and it is fairly a bit cheaper. That model of the HP OmniBook 5 is obtainable at Greatest Purchase for $549.
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The 32GB model, nonetheless, is a little more highly effective, and can have the ability to deal with ever-increasing software program calls for. Having that quantity permits the OmniBook to carry out fairly decently. Beneath is a chart evaluating HP’s gadget to the M4 MacBook Air and the Asus Zenbook A14, a laptop computer that’s related in type and performance.
You will discover that it outperformed the Zenbook in Geekbench, suggesting above-average processing energy, though it falls behind Apple’s newest MacBook Air with the M4 chip. The OmniBook sits someplace in between the 2. Nevertheless, the numbers present it falling behind in Cinebench 24, which suggests it will have some problem tackling heavy workloads like rendering high-resolution movies or 3D fashions.
Throughout my testing, I did not encounter any main points with the OmniBook 5. It carried out fairly effectively as a piece machine. For instance, I edited some high-resolution pictures whereas working a number of 1440p YouTube livestreams, 10 looping GIFs, and a number of Amazon listings on Chrome. All of it carried out amicably.
Throughout on a regular basis use, there weren’t any slowdowns, and I used to be in a position to full my picture enhancing simply nice. For the second check, I turned up the dial by working 50 Chrome tabs, one in every of which streamed “Breaking Dangerous” on Netflix.
I additionally interacted with HP’s AI Companion assistant, and never as soon as had been my conversations with the AI assistant interrupted. I used to be in a position to freely ask it for recommendation on tips on how to enhance my cardio exercises, and which trainers to purchase with out skipping a beat. There was some slowdown with Chrome, however that was extra of a difficulty of the browser having a tough time working 50+ tabs.
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I’m nervous that not each Home windows app will work on this technique. Bear in mind, this can be a Home windows ARM-compatible laptop, and never every thing shall be totally optimized, however issues have come a great distance since these processors had been launched final yr. I did not expertise any main points with any of the third-party apps like Google Chrome, Steam, and Discord. There may at all times be that odd app out that is not appropriate, although, so be aware of that.
ZDNET’s shopping for recommendation
HP has many various configurations of the OmniBook 5. At the moment, the 32GB configuration of the HP OmniBook 5 with the 2K OLED touchscreen is obtainable on HP’s web site for $899.
When you do not want such a strong gadget and are searching for one thing a bit extra reasonably priced, Greatest Purchase has the 16GB configuration for $549. A really aggressive value for an OLED and 512GB SSD.
Unsurprisingly, Apple’s M4 MacBook Air is a strong different to the OmniBook 5 and is at present $100 cheaper. When you want to remain on Home windows 11, one other PC I would advocate is the Dell Inspiron 14 Plus, which is on sale at Greatest Purchase for 42% off.
