HP Envy 13 Laptop Review: Elegant metal case and solid performance

Compared with other 13-inch notebooks, the HP Envy 13-ba0001ng seems like a real heavyweight. At 1.3 kg, the device is positioned towards the top of our comparison list, although it isn't the only one. This is mainly due to its high-quality metal case, for example, which does weigh more than plastic. The device is still light enough to be very mobile.

The 2020 model is a lot more compact than the HP Envy 13-aq0003ng from 2019. The device is about two cm shorter than its predecessor at 19.4 cm while equally wide (30.6 com). The thickness has been increased slightly to 16 mm (14.7 mm last year). Overall, the device doesn't take up too much room in a bag, which is one of the more important factors in a compact notebook. The HP Envy x360 13-ay0010nr has very similar dimensions, most other competitors are slightly larger. If you are looking for a very compact device, this one should do the trick.

The available ports are divided among the left and right side of the device. The USB Type-C port supports a signal rate of 10 GBit/s, USB power supply and DisplayPort 1.2. The device also features an SD card reader for microSD cards.       

Apart from that, the port selection isn't particularly generous. We would have appreciated an HDMI port for an external monitor, for example, while some users might well benefit from a LAN port - although this is often missing from laptops nowadays.

Most plugs will fit in comfortably side by side, with only the occasional large USB stick preventing neighboring ports from being used. HP has installed small flaps over the USB A ports in order to not disrupt the design. These seem sturdy enough and should survive regular use for quite a while. They do make the act of plugging in a USB A plug a little more fiddly.

As with all notebooks with an integrated card reader, we tested the HP Envy 13-ba0001ng's performance with our Toshiba Exceria Pro SDXC 64 GB UHS-II reference card. This resulted in fairly average speeds.    

Although the device is above average for subnotebooks when it comes to copying image files and in terms of the maximum transfer speed for large files, this is not the case in our smaller selection of comparison devices, where our laptop is positioned near the bottom of the list. The average speed of 71.9 MB/s in our JPG copy test and the 82.3 MB/s when copying 1-GB files aren't particularly impressive, but still decent.

The Wi-Fi speeds of our test unit aren't particularly impressive either - despite being equipped with WiFi 6. The WiFi connection is established via the integrated Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX201 chip. Unfortunately, this module can't reach the potential it has already proven to have in other devices in this year's HP Envy 13.

Although the results are above the class average again, they are below the average for devices equipped with the Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX201. The laptop reaches 830 MBit/s when receiving and 641 MBit/s when sending data. This is more or less on par with the otherwise less well-equipped Samsung Galaxy Book Ion 13.3, but can't keep up with the significantly cheaper HP Envy x360 13 2020 Convertible 2-in-1. It isn't really worthy of the Wi-Fi 6 name.    

The module also supports Bluetooth 5. LAN connections aren't possible due to the missing LAN port and there is no slot for a SIM card, which would have enabled a mobile internet connection.

HP has equipped its Envy with two security features. First, the keyboard has two keys with which you can manually deactivate the microphone (F8) and the camera (next to F12). The latter pushes a slider in front of the webcam lens, to make sure that even hackers can't get through. Two orange LEDs indicate when the microphone and/or camera are deactivated. Unlike the HP Envy 13-aq0003ng, the HP Envy 13-ba0001ng lacks the SureView display protection technology that prevents unwarranted glances at the display.

The device is equipped with a 65-Watt AC adaptor and no other accessories. HP doesn't have a lot of optional accessories available specifically for this device either. We did not find a docking station for this model. The HP store only features general accessories such as the HP Envy USB-C Hub.

The device doesn't have a maintenance hatch or similar on the bottom of the base unit. Access to the insides is only available by unscrewing tiny Torx screws. It takes a lot of effort to swap the battery - as well as to clean the fans or do other maintenance. Taking the device apart isn't a good idea anyway, though, particularly as long as it still has warranty.  

HP includes a two-year limited warranty on parts, working hours and pickup and delivery. This warranty can be extended to up to three years if the device is purchased directly through HP.

The touchpad is positioned in the center of the keyboard and is again rather large for a 13-inch device at 11 x 6 cm. The cursor can be moved from the top of the display to the bottom, or from one side to the other, without having to reposition your finger (and provided you move fairly quickly).

Gliding over the surface is very easy and the cursor responds quickly and reliably to inputs. Two fingers can be used to scroll and mouse clicks can be actuated either by clicking the bottom left of the touchpad or by tapping the pad anywhere. The same goes for double clicks. Clicking the bottom right area functions like a classic right click. Again, the clicking noise could be a little lower, but remains acceptable. 

The HP Envy 13-ba0001ng is equipped with an Intel Core i7-10510U CPU, the dedicated GPU NVIDIA GeForce MX350 and 16 GB of DDR4-2666 RAM. In this configuration, the subnotebook provides sufficient processing power for office and internet and can even be used to play one or two games in decent quality.

The Intel Core i7-10510U in our HP laptop is based on Intel's tenth generation - Comet Lake. The quad-core CPU runs on a core clock rate of 1.8 GHz and can boost to 4.9 GHz if needed. In general, this is an energy-efficient processor, which is good news for the battery.

In our benchmark comparison, the HP Envy 13-ba0001ng with its Intel Core i7-10510U ends up in the center field. Several devices, including the more expensive Dell XPS 13 9310 equipped with an Intel Core i7-1165G7, are significantly faster. Compared to other devices with this CPU, our test unit is just below average. HP seems to not be making full use of the processor's potential. Fortunately our test unit still manages to provide a decent increase in performance compared to its predecessor from 2019, which was equipped with an Intel Core i7-8565U.

System performance is decent but not outstanding. The device can cater for the usual office applications and more. It works smoothly and quickly, even with several programs open at the same time. Demanding activities such as graphics and video processing do make it reach its limits quite quickly, however.

Compared to the predecessor HP Envy 13-aq0003ng, today's test unit does a better job in most benchmarks. It can't keep up with real - and more expensive - workhorses such as the Dell XPS 13 9310 Core i7 FHD, though. 

The HP Envy 13-ba0001ng had fairly high latencies in our test. These results are always just a snapshot but they do indicate that the notebook in this configuration isn't suitable for demanding applications such as cutting videos or real-time audio.   

The SSD in our test unit isn't the fastest. While it offered consistent performance in our benchmark, its read speed can't keep up with that of the competition. Overall, this SSD is positioned towards the bottom of the center of our comparison field. HP missed out on an opportunity to further improve their laptop's overall performance there. Once again, the Dell XPS 13 9310 Core i7 FHD is the answer for anyone looking for a better option. 

HP has equipped its 2020 HP Envy 13 with a NVIDIA GeForce MX350 with 2 GB of GDDR5 RAM - a dedicated graphics card. This chip only comes into use during demanding applications, e.g. while gaming. The GPU, which came out at the beginning of 2020, offers a clear improvement compared to the HP predecessor was still equipped with a GeForce MX250. The MX350 is about 30 percent faster than the MX250. Less demanding applications such as text processing run on the integrated Comet Lake GT2 GPU from Intel. 

Again, HP seems to be missing out on a good opportunity. In some areas, the graphics performance of the dedicated GPU is 10 to 20 percent below the average for devices equipped with the GeForce MX350. This means that the laptop can't quite keep up with its competition such as the recently tested Lenovo Yoga Slim 7-14IIL05 in terms of graphics performance.