HP refreshes the Envy desktop portfolio with new AiO and Tower offerings

The 2018 Envy AiO comes in two monitor sizes — 27-inch QHD and 34-inch ultra-wide 21:9 displays with QHD and 4K UHD options. HP calls the 34-inch variant the 'world's widest curved AiO'. On the outside, the 2018 HP Envy AiO incorporates a dark ash woodgrain finish in the computer base and back of the display to complement home decor and has built-in Amazon Alexa voice assistant for hands-free multitasking. Just like last year, the Envy AiO can wirelessly charge your smartphone if you place the phone towards the left part of the base. Privacy conscious users will be pleased with the pop-up webcam that also houses an IR camera for Windows Hello logins. Bang & Olufsen-tuned speakers ensure a good surround sound experience. Internally, the Envy AiO has received an upgrade to the Intel 8th generation CPUs, which come in both Core i5 and Core i7 variants with RAM choices up to 16 GB. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 should provide enough horsepower for entertainment and productivity with some light gaming thrown in. Interestingly, HP does not mention of an AMD GPU option given that the 2017 Envy AiO did have an AMD Radeon RX 460 option. Pricing for the 27-inch Envy AiO starts from US$1,399.99 for the Core i5 variant and goes up to US$1,999.99 for the Core i7 variant with 16 GB RAM, 256 GB SSD, and 1 TB HDD. Pricing for the 34-inch variant is not yet known.

The 2018 Envy Tower receives a new chassis design similar to the new HP Pavilion Gaming desktop launched last month sans the green accents. The last generation Envy Tower had a mix of both Intel and AMD CPUs. This time, HP has upgraded the Envy Tower with 8th generation Intel processors. There is no word of any Ryzen 2 offerings yet. The Envy Tower now offers GPU options up to the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080, RAM options up to 64 GB, and support for Intel Optane memory thus making for a formidable build that can handle both productivity and gaming. The Envy Tower starts from US$799 for the base configuration with a Core i5 processor, 12 GB RAM, 256 GB SSD, and a 1 TB HDD. Pricing for other configuration options is not yet known.