HP unveils 15.6-inch and 17.3-inch Envy 2016 notebooks; refreshes Envy x360

Outside of the headline-grabbing Spectre 13.3 as the "thinnest notebook ever", HP also unveiled a new lineup of notebooks and convertibles as part of the manufacturer's luxury Envy series for consumers.

The first of the three is the Envy x360 convertible, which has taken a more Spectre-like approach in design with its all-metal chassis and sharp edges. The refreshed chassis will be 21 percent thinner than the previous generation with 1080p and 4K UHD display options and longer battery life. Other features include keyboard keys with 1.5 mm travel (compared to 1.3 mm on the new Spectre 13.3) and an optional HD IR camera for Windows Hello.

HP Envy x360

• Intel Skylake Core i5/i7 CPU with integrated Iris graphics; or
• AMD FX 9800P APU with integrated Radeon R7 graphics
• 15.6-inch FHD or 4K UHD touchscreen
• HP Audio Boost with Bang & Olufsen speakers
• 2x USB 3.0, 1x USB Type-C Gen. 1, 1x HDMI, SD reader
• Up to 16 GB RAM
• 256 GB PCIe SSD + 2.5-inch 2 TB HDD
• Up to 11 hours battery life
• 18.8 mm thick; 4.5 pounds

Next are the Envy 15.6 and Envy 17.3 notebooks with a similar all-metal design philosophy. Like their immediate predecessors, both systems will have a hooked bottom edge on their respective lids to lift the base at a slight angle during use. While this can potentially improve ergonomics and airflow, the feature prevents having any ports on the rear of the notebook. Touchscreen options are also available on these models despite the fact that they include no 2-in-1 features. An HD IR camera is again optional on the 15.6-inch model while Intel RealSense will be available on the larger 17.3-inch model. Both will support HP Fast Charge Technology to charge from empty to 90 percent in 90 minutes.

Notable differences between the two sizes are the lack of discrete Nvidia graphics options for the Envy 15.6 while the larger Envy 17.3 carries an optical drive in lieu of a secondary storage bay.

HP Envy 15.6

• 15.6-inch FHD or 4K UHD options
• Intel Core i7 w/ UMA or Iris graphics
• Up to 16 GB RAM
• 256 GB PCIe SSD + 2.5-inch 1 TB HDD
• 3x USB 3.0, 1x USB Type-C Gen. 1, 1x HDMI, SD reader
• 17.95 mm thick; 4.4 pounds

HP Envy 17.3

• 17.3-inch FHD
• Intel Core i7 w/ Iris graphics
• Optional GeForce 940MX graphics
• Up to 16 GB RAM
• 2.5-inch 1 TB HDD or 512 GB SSD
• Optical drive
• 3x USB 3.0, 1x USB Type-C Gen. 1, 1x HDMI, SD reader, RJ45
• 24.45 mm thick; 6.6 pounds

The HP Envy X360, Envy 15.6, and Envy 17.3 will be available online at Best Buy starting on May 29, May 25, and May 9 for starting prices of $679, $779, and $1029, respectively.

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