AMD hitting Intel where it hurts: 2020 Ryzen 5 HP Envy x360 13 vs. Intel Core i7 Spectre x360 13

HP redesigned its Envy x360 13 convertible this year and it's a huge improvement over the 2019 model. Aside from being noticeably smaller, it also carries AMD's new 3rd generation 4000U series of processors which are significantly faster and more power efficient than the older 2nd generation 3000U series. All the new changes put the Envy x360 13 very close to the costlier Spectre x360 13 and, in some cases, it even surpassing the Spectre.

The Spectre family is supposed to be home to HP's higher-end and more luxurious laptops when compared to the mid-range and more affordable Envy family, but our comparison charts and tables below show how close the latest Envy systems are getting. Key characteristics like dimensions, weight, keyboard, and chassis skeleton are beginning to look a lot alike between them. Our Ryzen 5-powered Envy x360 13 is able to offer both faster CPU and GPU performance, less ghosting, and even longer battery life than the Core i7-1065G7 Spectre x360 13.

There are still a few advantages that the Spectre has over the Envy. Firstly, it has two USB-C ports compared to just one on the Envy, although the Envy has two USB-A ports in return. Thunderbolt 3 comes standard on the Spectre whereas it is optional on the Envy. Secondly, fan noise is noticeably quieter on the Spectre likely due to its two internal fans compared to one for the Envy. And lastly, the fingerprint reader on the Spectre is better positioned as the one of the Envy replaces a whole Ctrl key.

The most notable difference between the Envy and Spectre is price. Our Ryzen Envy example retails for about $900 USD compared to the Core i7 Spectre which launched for around $1400 USD. The benefits of the Spectre are growing smaller nowadays and they definitely don't reflect the huge price discrepancy.

See our individual reviews on the HP Spectre x360 13 and 2020 Envy X360 13 for a more thorough look of each system.