The best HP laptops in 2023

Amanda Reed

Published Oct 29, 2023 11:00 AM EDT

HP aims to have a laptop options for everyone, including budget-focused, power users, and entry-level gamers.

Best overall

HP Spectre x360 Luxury 14T

SEE IT

Bang & Olufsen speakers help bring this laptop’s audio to life.

Best for gaming

HP Victus 16 Laptop

SEE IT

144Hz refresh rate stops lag in its tracks for smoother gaming.

Best budget under $500

HP 2023 15.6 inch HD Lightweight Laptop

SEE IT

An entry-level laptop with solid performance.

Published Oct 29, 2023 11:00 AM

We may earn revenue from the products available on this page and participate in affiliate programs. Learn more ›

Choosing an HP laptop can be like going to the grocery store hungry: The company aims to have an option for every flavor of computing, but its many offerings can lead to frustrating indecision. The upside of HP’s variety is that there’s something on the menu to satisfy your tastes, whether you’re salivating for a tablet/laptop hybrid, a good gaming experience, an executive-worthy business machine, or a need to stick to a tight budget. This roundup features some of our favorites and advice to help you find the best HP laptop.

Best overall: HP Spectre x360 Luxury 14T

Best Chromebook: HP Dragonfly Pro Chromebook

Best 2-in-1: HP Envy 2-in-1 14” Full HD Touch-Screen Laptop

Best for gaming: HP Victus 16 Laptop

Best for business: HP EliteBook 845 G9 Business Laptop

Best with a folding screen: HP Spectre 3-in-1 17″ 2.5K OLED Touch-Screen Foldable Laptop

Best budget under $500: HP 2023 15.6 inch HD Lightweight Laptop

How we chose the best HP laptops

We are nerds with opinions—a redundant statement—who pulled from firsthand experience with various laptop types and dove deep into our own PopSci reviews, peer suggestions, critical reviews, and user testimonials to chop the options down for you.

The best HP laptops: Reviews & Recommendations

There’s one word to describe the HP laptop lineup: overwhelming. This well-regarded and established brand has about a dozen different brand names for laptops with additional models within them–and that’s without considering the back catalog of older but still good offerings. The sheer number of possibilities can make you want to give up before you truly start the search, so here’s some help navigating the recent models.

HP’s premium lineups include the Spectre and Envy brands, which focus on lightweight, attractive designs and have the price tags to match. For strictly business needs, consider the Elite Dragonfly and EliteBook models’ strong performance and durable designs. The Omen and Victus lines focus on delivering value gaming laptops. When hunting for good value, consider budget-friendly lines, such as the Pavilion, Steam, Notebook, and Chromebooks. Despite the many names, the brands overlap and share common features. Many laptops have speaker systems by Bang & Olufsen, backlit keyboards, and security features like physical camera shutters and fingerprint readers. Many HP devices—whether they’re laptops or a 2-in-1 device—embrace touchscreens. Using fingers or a pen can seriously boost productivity, though it results in a smudgy mess to deal with before watching a bunch of videos. Maybe it’s just my OCD talking, but you may want to refresh how to clean a computer screen.

Best overall: HP Spectre x360 Luxury 14T

Specs

Dimensions: 11.75 inches by 8.67 inches by 0.67 inches

Weight: 2.95 pounds

OS: Windows 11 Pro

RAM: 16GB DDR4 SDRAM

Storage: 512GB NVME SSD

Processor: Intel Core i7-1165G7 (11th generation)

Graphics: Intel Iris Xe Graphics

Screen size: 13.5 inches

Resolution: 1920 x 1280

Pros

Lightweight

Can be used as laptop or tablet

Physical camera shutter

Backlit keyboard

Includes pen

Cons

Pricey

Older generation processor

Low port variety with 2 Thunderbolt 4s, headphone jack, and microSD card slot

At under three pounds, the HP Spectre x360i ha Luxury 14T offers an ultraportable hybrid device that can be an elegant laptop or a tablet with an included rechargeable MPP2.0 Tilt Pen. With one of the best touchscreens of the bunch, its full high-definition screen provides a crisp, colorful picture at 400 nits, while Bang & Olufsen quad speakers supply the sound. Though it doesn’t have a ton of ports, the HP Spectre x360 Luxury features two Thunderbolt 4 ports with seemingly hidden power. The ports are compatible with USB-C 4, which supports power delivery and display protocols like DisplayPort and HDMI 2.0, so you’re not sacrificing the ability to connect a screen or monitor despite the lack of dedicated ports.

Best Chromebook: HP Dragonfly Pro Chromebook

Specs

Dimensions: 12.4 inches by 8.7 inches by 0.7 inches

Weight: 3.33 pounds

OS: Chrome OS

RAM: 16GB LPDDR5-5200 MHz RAM

Storage: 256GB PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD

Processor: Intel Core i5-1235U (12th Generation)

Graphics: Intel Iris Xe

Screen size: 14-inch touchscreen

Resolution: 2560 x 1600

Pros

Bright screen

Great speakers

8MP webcam

Backlit keyboard

Fingerprint reader

Comes in white or black

Cons

No headphone jack

Few ports

Pricey for a Chromebook

The HP Dragonfly Pro Chromebook is for anyone seeking a higher-end Chromebook experience, not a bargain basement deal. For about a grand, this option suits users who prefer the Chrome OS, live in Google Suite and web browsers, and embrace cloud storage. It’s packed with a four-speaker Bang & Olufsen speaker system and an 8MP webcam for better video conferencing and media streaming. The shining star of the Dragonfly Pro Chromebook is the 14-inch touchscreen with a 2560 x 1660 resolution and up to 1,200 nits of brightness. That’s about three to four times brighter than most average laptops, resulting in a crisp, colorful viewing experience. It’s the kind of screen you can read in the sunshine, but keeping it on at full power can also be a severe battery drain. Though HP boasts more than 11 hours of battery life, users report falling short of that.

Another thing to consider is that even the best Chromebooks have less processing power and storage than a middle-of-the-road laptop. The Dragonfly Pro Chromebook features decent storage (256GB solid-state drive) and mid-level processing (an Intel i5) but only has four Thunderbolt ports and no headphone jack. Plan on getting a USB-C hub for peripherals and one of our best Bluetooth headphones.

Best 2-in-1: HP Envy 2-in-1 14” Full HD Touch-Screen Laptop

Specs

Dimensions: 12.68 inches by 8.3 inches by 0.77 inches

Weight: 3.35 pounds

OS: Windows 11 Home

RAM: 8-16GB

Storage: 512GB-1TB PCIe SSD

Processor: Intel Core i5-1335U (13th Generation) or Intel Core i7-1355U (13th generation)

Graphics: Intel Iris Xe Graphics

Screen size: 14-inch touchscreen

Resolution: 1920 x 1080

Pros

Configurable

Can be used as laptop or tablet

Fingerprint reader

Physical camera shutter

Cons

Heavier than a traditional tablet

Compatible pen not included

Sometimes, the combination of ingredients is what makes a product. Would a Sprite be delicious without lemon and lime? Doubtful. HP has long made some of the best 2-in-1 laptops, and the HP Envy 2-in-1 14” Full HD Touch-Screen Laptop is a particularly delicious version of a laptop that converts into a tablet for writing on it with a compatible pen or setting it up for a Netflix binge sesh. The 14-inch model is bulkier than a traditional tablet but still, an easily portable device weighing just over three pounds. The entry-level 8GB RAM, 512GB storage, and a 13th generation Intel Core i5 processor is a respectable machine for multitasking and even casual gaming, but you can double the RAM and storage and up the processing power to the Intel Core i7 for about $200. That boost makes for better media creation and more demanding applications and is one of the best for students or other folks who go back and forth between typing on a keyboard and watching videos.

Best for gaming: HP Victus 16 Laptop

Specs

Dimensions: 14.53 inches by 10.21 inches by 0.9 inches

Weight: 5.07 pounds

OS: Windows 11 Home

RAM: 16GB DDR5-5200 MHz RAM

Storage: 512GB PCIe Gen4 NVMe TLC M.2 SSD

Processor: AMD Ryzen 5 7640HS

Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050

Screen size: 16.1 inches

Resolution: 1920 x 1080

Pros

Higher screen refresh rate

Good keyboard with full numeric pad

Good ports with 1 USB-C, 2 USB-As, HDMI 2.1, RJ-45, headphone jack

Cons

Heavy for a laptop

Average battery life

Could use more robust speakers

Most gaming laptops scream what they are with colorful glowing logos and more vents than an HVAC system. The HP Victus 16 Laptop isn’t that. The understated black laptop offers a good entry point for the budding gamer with an AMD Ryzen 5 processor and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 graphics unit. The screen’s 144Hz refresh rate helps smooth out motion, leading to a visually more pleasant experience than trying to game on a standard laptop. The Victus 16 also sports a full numeric keypad and a decent selection of ports, including an HDMI 2.1 port for connecting a gaming monitor. At more than five pounds, the Victus 16 is heavy, a common gripe for gaming laptops and the substantial cooling systems they need to offset the processing. If you’re aiming for e-sports domination, though, you might need to spend more on something from a dedicated gaming brand.

Best for business: HP EliteBook 845 G9 Business Laptop

Specs

Dimensions: 12.42 inches by 8.72 inches by 0.76 inches

Weight: 3.09 pounds

OS: Windows 11 Pro

RAM: 32-64GB DDR5 SDRAM

Storage: 512GB-2TB PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD

Processor: AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 6850U Processor

Graphics: AMD Radeon Graphics

Screen size: 14 inches

Resolution: 1920 x 1200

Pros

Customizable

Bright screen

Backlit keyboard

Fingerprint reader

Excellent port selection with 2 SuperSpeed USB-As, 2 SuperSpeed USB-Cs, HDMI 2.1, smart card reader, headphone jack

Cons

Higher resolution screen option would be nice

The HP EliteBook 845 G9 Business Laptop includes features like a fingerprint reader and a long battery life that make the workday a little friendlier, making it one of the best for working from home or a remote locale. We like the 14-inch screen and weight of close to three pounds for easy travel and sliding in and out of a laptop bag. The screen features an impressive 400 nits—a bright screen, but we’d love to see a higher resolution available to help avoid spreadsheet bleariness. The EliteBook’s guts can be customized from 32GB to 64GB of RAM and storage ranging from 512GB to 2TB, ample speed, and space for crunching and manipulating large files. The best business laptops have an impressive variety of ports for whatever you need to plug in, whether it’s an HP monitor or a home office printer, and the EliteBook 845 checks this box, too, with SuperSpeed versions of USBs for the fastest transfers possible.