{"id":198962,"date":"2025-10-08T23:40:11","date_gmt":"2025-10-08T23:40:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/198962\/"},"modified":"2025-10-08T23:40:11","modified_gmt":"2025-10-08T23:40:11","slug":"hp-omnibook-5-14-inch-review-pickr","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/198962\/","title":{"rendered":"HP OmniBook 5 14 inch review \u2013 Pickr"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\tQuick review<\/p>\n

HP OmniBook 5<\/p>\n

The good<\/p>\n

Aluminium build <\/p>\n

Nice OLED display <\/p>\n

Extremely capable battery life <\/p>\n

Decent value<\/p>\n

The not-so-good<\/p>\n

Performance could be better<\/p>\n

Screen should have a better resolution, more brightness, and faster refresh rate <\/p>\n

Keyboard feels plasticky (and can rattle for fast typists)<\/p>\n

Weird chassis texture <\/p>\n

When it comes to laptops, thin and light tends to come with a compromise or two, and it\u2019s usually battery life and performance. With the HP OmniBook 5, it\u2019s just one.<\/p>\n

As much as we love ourselves a big computer, particularly a laptop made for meaty performance-driven tasks<\/a> and real workhorse delivery, being portable still reigns supreme.<\/p>\n

You can only carry so much, and if you don\u2019t need to carry a sizeable laptop with its equally sizeable luggage, why should you need to?<\/p>\n

These days, true portability is within reach of more people, giving you a capable machine in a small size.<\/p>\n

But there\u2019s a catch. There\u2019s always a catch, isn\u2019t there?<\/p>\n

Much like the Venn diagram of \u201cgood, fast, cheap\u201d<\/a>, and how you can only pick two, you can ask for a combination of highly portable, solid performance, or great battery life, but you can only pick two.<\/p>\n

If you choose highly portable, you\u2019ll often only get either solid performance or great battery life. And if you choose solid performance and great battery life, rarely is that actually portable.<\/p>\n

There are some exceptions to this rule, however, and those are the laptops that typically win a Best Pick<\/a> at the end of the year, and nabbing a recommendation on the way through<\/a>.<\/p>\n

With the Omnibook 5, HP is on its way to getting both, delivering two of those important aspects, and nearing the third, all in a design meant to be slim, light, and friendly.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

All reviews at Pickr are subject to experienced testing methodologies. Find out why you can trust us<\/a> and change the way you choose.
\nDesign<\/p>\n

Laptops designed to be thin and light tend to come with a fairly logical look based on that concept these days, and the HP Omnibook 5 is no exception.<\/p>\n

Made with a combination of plastic and recycled metal, the Omnibook 5 is slick and easy on the eyes, offering flat edges with slightly softened ends, giving it that premium look many laptops arrive with these days.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s definitely a professional look, and feels like HP is targeting folks who fancy themselves interested in a MacBook, but prefer it with Windows onboard instead.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Measuring 1.26cm thick and weighing 1.29kg, it\u2019s not the thinnest laptop nor is it the lightest, but it definitely sits comfortably being both thin and light. You wouldn\u2019t need to complain about this laptop in the slightest, and it clearly won\u2019t tax your back.<\/p>\n

The Omnibook 5 is metallic and minimalist, and for many that\u2019s what will matter. It doesn\u2019t stand out, but that\u2019s actually not a bad thing.<\/p>\n

Features<\/p>\n

Inside, you\u2019ll find one of Qualcomm\u2019s processors, the mobile-based Snapdragon X X1, an eight-core chip clocked at 2.96GHz distinct from the Pro options we\u2019ve seen prior. HP is pairing this with 16GB RAM and 512GB storage, as well as Microsoft\u2019s Windows 11 Home.<\/p>\n

You\u2019ll find a combination of wired and wireless connections, the former of which is basically two USB-C ports without Thunderbolt, as well as one old-school USB-A rectangular port, plus a 3.5mm headset jack. While the omission of HDMI might give you pause, the USB-C ports do support DisplayPort out, giving you a way of going from laptop to display later on.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Over in the wireless world, HP includes support for 802.11a\/b\/g\/n\/ac\/ax WiFi 6E<\/a>, as well as Bluetooth 5.3.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s also a Full HD camera with a privacy guard you can slide in place, and an infrared camera you can use to login using Windows Hello, which is likely faster than you typing in your password or PIN. Two microphones are also found in this system as well as two speakers.<\/p>\n

Like other PCs released in the past year, the OmniBook 5 is another of the AI PCs you can find about the place, complete with the Copilot key Microsoft introduced last year<\/a>. You don\u2019t have to use it, but it\u2019s there should you choose to. <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Display<\/p>\n

For this review, we\u2019re checking out the 14 inch variation of the Omnibook 5, a very portable laptop that uses a 1920\u00d71200 Full HD or \u201c2K\u201d styles display, provided with an IPS screen at 60Hz.<\/p>\n

And while that\u2019s clearly fine, it just lacks the extra resolution you might yearn for, or even the extra refresh rate that would make this thing stand out.<\/p>\n

The good news is the colour: the blacks are properly black and the colours vibrant, thanks in part to a use of OLED as the main technology in place. It\u2019s not a fast screen, nor is it one with a heap of brightness, but at least it\u2019s easy enough on the eyes.<\/p>\n

All up, a bit of a mixed bag, because while we like the look, we\u2019d love to see a little more on offer. As it is, it\u2019s not even an HDR screen, stuck in the standard dynamic range (SDR) colour space.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

In-use<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a similar picture when it comes time to looking at how you use the laptop. HP\u2019s OmniBook doesn\u2019t offer a whole lot in terms of usability, built like a standard laptop with a keyboard and trackpad, and no touchscreen to prod the display.<\/p>\n

The trackpad is fine, but ends up feeling very shallow dependent on the surface you\u2019re using.<\/p>\n

However, the keys can feel very plasticky, a problem we noted in last year\u2019s generation<\/a>, as well. We feel like we\u2019ve been here before, and one year on, the changes are minor. The laptop feels fine on a lap, but punch it on a desk or other hard surface, and you\u2019ll feel the plastic of the keys echo into a sort of abyss below.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re a fast typist, this keyboard isn\u2019t the best to type on all the time. It\u2019ll do the job, sure, and it\u2019s better than the last generation, but it could has room for improvement, too.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Performance<\/p>\n

We have to hope the performance has a little more going for it, but the chip in question is a Snapdragon, and not the Snapdragon Elite varieties we\u2019ve seen from competitors.<\/p>\n

And that\u2019s a problem in some of our tests, particularly when placed against some of the competitors we\u2019ve seen this year.<\/p>\n

Take the most obvious contender, which is an almost literal game of Apples vs anything else. Both last year\u2019s MacBook Air M3<\/a> and this year\u2019s M4 variety<\/a> trounce the performance of the Omnibook 5, with the similarly-sized and recent entry of the Asus Zenbook S 14 also scoring better<\/a> in processor and graphics.<\/p>\n

It gets a little more telling when you benchmark HP\u2019s choice of Qualcomm processor against the other better models.<\/p>\n

Last year\u2019s variation from HP, the Omnibook X 14, scores better in our benchmarks in just about every category, as does one of our favourite laptops from 2024, the Dell XPS 13 9345<\/a>.<\/p>\n

About the only portable we\u2019ve tested to near what the Omnibook 5 delivers is this year\u2019s Surface Pro 12 inch<\/a>, and that should come as no surprise: they both run similar variants, though the Surface is using the Snapdragon X Plus, not the standard \u201cX\u201d variety. That might explain why Microsoft is able to edge out a little more performance from its 12 inch Surface compared to what the 14 inch Omnibook 5 delivers.<\/p>\n

Interestingly, you may not notice these performance issues, particularly if you\u2019ve come from something older.<\/p>\n

While comparative performance is a handy benchmark from a testing capacity, we didn\u2019t notice any major slowdowns or lag as we were using the Omnibook 5 over the space of several days.<\/p>\n

The combination of 16GB RAM and the processor seems to provide a decent enough performance, and there\u2019s little to complain about until you decide to play a game. At that point, the low-end performance of the graphics chip would definitely give us pause, but this laptop isn\u2019t made for that either.<\/p>\n

The Omnibook 5 is more of a portable productivity PC, focused on just enough performance with something you\u2019ll probably crave: battery life to spare.<\/p>\n

Battery<\/p>\n

One of the best features is the battery, achieving over 20 hours in our video-based battery rundown test, and a good 6 to 10 hours of actual usable time on a minimum.<\/p>\n

Officially, HP talks up a maximum of 33 hours of battery life, a result we couldn\u2019t achieve. Read into the testing method, and you quickly see why:<\/p>\n

Battery life tested by HP using continuous FHD video playback, 2K OLED non-touch display, 200 nits for the 16\u201d model, system audio level as image default, player audio level at 100%, played full-screen from local storage, headphone attached or through speaker (if no audio jack port), wireless on but not connected.<\/p>\n

If the 14 inch was tested in much the same way, it means you\u2019d need to remain unconnected in your testing, and since no one really does that outside of flights, we\u2019re not sure this is a really valid approach. Plus HP\u2019s test was for the 16 inch model which would easily come with a larger battery, so there\u2019s already a bit of reduction expected here.<\/p>\n

But getting 20 hours from our own similar approach to testing isn\u2019t bad, suggesting you\u2019ll survive most flights and then some, and easily handle a day of work, too.<\/p>\n

Plus, the two USB-C ports means you\u2019re typically within reach of a charger you can use, and there\u2019s a 65W charging pack in the box you can take with you which will also work for pretty much every phone you might own these days.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Value<\/p>\n

Even the price is decent, fetching a local recommended retail price of $1599 for a capable work and productivity machine, even if the keyboard needs some work.<\/p>\n

The $1600 price point is typically where Apple\u2019s MacBook Air models play, similarly thin and light machines with equally excellent battery life, and HP\u2019s OmniBook 5 is very much an attempt at the Windows equivalent.<\/p>\n

Even better, the street price of the HP Omnibook 14 Snapdragon X is actually below the RRP already. At one retailer, we found the laptop for $1327, giving over $200 savings on a machine clearly sold for more elsewhere.<\/p>\n

At its $1599 price point, HP has a competitor. Found below $1350, the 14 inch Omnibook 5 is a winner.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

What needs work?<\/p>\n

There are a few things that niggle at us, minor as they are.<\/p>\n

One is the lack of touch, an unnecessary feature for some, but something that could have helped the laptop stand out just that little bit more. It\u2019s minor, but would have been handy. As would a little more brightness and a faster display.<\/p>\n

They\u2019re little things, but sometimes little things make all the difference.<\/p>\n

Another is the texture of the chassis, which appears aluminium (yay!), but manages to feels coarse, rather than the sleek vibe you expect from the alloy. It\u2019s a nice looking laptop, even sporting a two-tone shade split on the side, it just feels a little off. Rubbing your wrists over the wrist pads feels cheaper than the rest of the machine, and just needs to be better.<\/p>\n

Most of these issues are minor, as if the performance, which can feel a little tapered back, and the keyboard which could all be better.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s really what it comes down to: the HP Omnibook 5 is decent, but could be a little better overall. It\u2019s a fine machine, particularly for the price, but it could be a little bit better.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Final thoughts (TLDR)<\/p>\n

If we can get used to that keyboard, HP\u2019s Omnibook 5 is on the right track for an excellent laptop, and if you\u2019re less bothered by these factors as we are.<\/p>\n

The keyboard has improved slightly since the last generation, and the laptop is comfortable to type on when it\u2019s actually on your lap. The performance could be slightly better, and doesn\u2019t quite hit the same \u201cPlus\u201d performance you can find in other Snapdragon variations.<\/p>\n

Battery life seems to be the key reason the Omnibook 5 exists, and that\u2019s not necessarily a bad thing.<\/p>\n

As far as Windows laptops go, the Omnibook 5 is a battery battler. If what you\u2019re after is a compact worker with battery to spare, the HP Omnibook 5 is a fine choice.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

HP OmniBook 5<\/p>\n

The good<\/p>\n

Aluminium build <\/p>\n

Nice OLED display <\/p>\n

Extremely capable battery life <\/p>\n

Decent value<\/p>\n

The not-so-good<\/p>\n

Performance could be better<\/p>\n

Screen should have a better resolution, more brightness, and faster refresh rate <\/p>\n

Keyboard feels plasticky (and can rattle for fast typists)<\/p>\n

Weird chassis texture <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Quick review HP OmniBook 5 The good Aluminium build Nice OLED display Extremely capable battery life Decent value…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":198963,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[57404,256,265,53419,64,63,16558,47297,105,98267,34523],"class_list":{"0":"post-198962","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-technology","8":"tag-14-inch","9":"tag-ai","10":"tag-ai-pc","11":"tag-aluminium","12":"tag-au","13":"tag-australia","14":"tag-hp","15":"tag-qualcomm","16":"tag-technology","17":"tag-wifi-6e","18":"tag-windows-11"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/198962","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=198962"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/198962\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/198963"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=198962"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=198962"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=198962"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}