Maybe the most exciting new MacBook Neo competitor: HP OmniBook 5 14 laptop hands on review

Ever since Apple launched its affordable MacBook Neo and it taking the market and headlines by storm, possible competitors to the MacBook Neo are hotly sought after. After all, while there are plenty of affordable Windows laptops, none of the pre-existing models seemed to be able to deliver what Apple had created - an affordable, but still high-quality budget laptop.

It did not take long for competition to spring up. At IFA, the largest PC manufacturer Lenovo introduced the IdeaPad Vibe, a new consumer laptop available in many different colors, 14- and 15-inch screens and starting at a price point of €800. HP, the second largest, came out roughly one month later with an even more affordable device - and a maybe even more impressive one: The new HP OmniBook 5.

This new 14-inch laptop combines Intel's Wildcat Lake platform with a 14-inch OLED screen and an all-metal chassis (unlike the part-plastic IdeaPad). It will also be available in four colors, green, pink, blue and gray. And it starts at €700, exactly like the Apple MacBook Neo at the moment. At an HP event, we had the opportunity to get some private hands-on time with the new device.

HP OmniBook 5: Always with an OLED screen and metal chassis

One of the centerpieces of the HP OmniBook 5 is without doubt its screen. It is always an OLED panel, which means deep blacks, more intense colors and stronger constrast values. In a segment where many devices make display compromises, like the lower tier HP OmniBook 3 we recently reviewed, this is a high quality choice. Our only complaint: it is a glossy screen, and the reflections of the glass-front display are quite strong.

Besides the premium screen experience, build quality is the other big advantage the MacBook Neo has over many similarily priced Windows competitors. We are happy to report that HP did right on this with the new OmniBook 5: the chassis is entirely made out of aluminum, and though it is not a unibody-type design, overall build quality was quite good. The laptop exhibited no flexing and no the matte aluminum felt high quality to the touch. It is also pretty lightweight, with just 1.16 kg of starting weight, and the screen opens to 180 degrees, which it did without wobbling. Plus, one handed opening is possible. 

In terms of the colors, HP keeps them conservative, with the pink one as probably the most eye-catching. Our personal preference was probably the blue color. While connectivity options are limited, at least HP did include a full-size HDMI port - useful for the target market, as HP aims this device squarely at students. That is an advantage over the MacBook Neo, as is its backlit keyboard. And despite the single full-size port, the device is just 12 mm thick, and it feels incredibly slim when you hold it.

The HP OmniBook 3 starts at €700, and for that amount of money, you get a basic configuration, with an Intel Core 5, 8 GB of RAM and a 256 GB SSD - as always, configurations with more memory and bigger SSDs are available, and the same goes for models with the Core Ultra 7. In any case, the processor has the same TDP of 12 W.