HP Mini 210 (late 2010 model) review. HP small laptop

HP Mini 210 (late 2010 model) review

HP has an annoying habit of releasing different notebooks unde the same model number. So while I reviewed an HP Mini 210 earlier this year, here I am reviewing the HP Mini 210 again.

One obvious difference is that I reviewed the Mini 210 HD previously, which had a 1366 x 768 pixel 720p HD display, while the latest unit HP sent me to review has a standard 1024 x 600 pixel display. But the new model has also has a refreshed case design.

mini, late, 2010, model, review

Overall, the new model isn’t different enough from older HP Mini 210 netbooks for anyone to ditch their old mini-laptop and pull out their credit cards for a new one.

But there are a few notable differences between the HP Mini 210 that was launched early this year and the version launched in late 2010, and those are the areas that I’ll FOCUS on in this brief review.

The demo unit HP sent me came with a 1.66GHz Intel Atom N455 processor, 1GB of RAM, and a 250GB, 7200RPM hard drive. The price as configured would be 339.

The laptop is also configurable with a 160GB hard drive and Bluetooth, GPS, and 3G options, as well as dual core Atom N550 CPU and Broadcom Crystal HD video accelerator options.

The new version of the HP Mini 210 differs from older models in a few key ways. First, the mini-notebook has been redesigned so that a 6 cell battery sits flush with the back of the computer. In fact, there’s no longer a 3 cell battery option.

If you want extra juice, you can purchase an extra 6 cell battery from HP when you configure your laptop.

Since the battery sits flush with the back of the laptop, there’s nothing preventing you from tilting the screen way back, and HP has designed the hinge so that you can open the Mini 210 up almost to a 180 degree angle.

You can still remove the base panel of the computer to access the RAM, hard drive, PCIe card slots, and other internals without a screwdriver. In fact, while I had a bit of difficulty removing the bottom of the HP Mini 210 HD earlier this year, the new model is much easier to open up.

Just pop out the battery, press the orange tab, and peel off the entire sheet of plastic covering the bottom of the computer. It snaps back on just as easily.

Like the original HP Mini 210, the new model uses the same color for the lid and base plate, while the keyboard, touchpad, and display areas are a different color. The laptop is available with black, blue, red, pink, and purple lids, while the screen bezel is black and the sides and keyboard area are metallic gray.

The lid and base now have a matte finish — unlike the display.

The display area features a glossy edge-to-edge sheet of glass, which gives the screen a bright, attractive look — until you start to smudge the black bezel with fingerprints. The screen is also very reflective, so while it’s easy to use in low-light settings, it reflects a bit of glare in bright lighting.

Around the sides of the netbook you’ll find a VGA port, 3 USB 2.0 ports, a flash card reader, an Ethernet jack (hidden behind a door), key lock port, and a single audio jack for a mic and/or headphone. The power switch is also located on the side of the laptop.

The touchpad features an all-in-one design, with the left and right buttons built right into the touchpad. While I’m generally not a huge fan of this design, HP makes some of the best touchpads of this style of any PC maker.

I didn’t have any major problems clicking and dragging, or using multitouch gestures such as pinch-to-zoom, or two-finger scrolling. I personally still found the computer easier to use with a USB travel mouse, but that’s probably just a matter of taste.

The keyboard is a bit of a mixed bag. On the one hand, the island-style keyboard layout provides a decent amount of surface area for each key and just enough space in between keys to make touch-typing quite pleasant.

There’s a bit of flex toward the center of the keyboard, but not enough to be noticeable if you aren’t looking for it. Overall I found the experience of typing on the new HP Mini 210 to be quite pleasant — with one major exception.

There don’t appear to be any Page Up, Page Down, Home or End buttons. Most netbook keyboards are too small to provide dedicated keys for these functions, so you trigger them by holding Fn plus another key — usually the arrow keys. But pressing Fn and the arrow keys on the HP Mini 210 doesn’t accomplish anything special, and none of the keys on the keyboard are labeled with these functions.

I don’t think I realized how heavily I typically rely on those keys until I started typing on a keyboard without them. I have to spend a lot more time using the touchpad or mouse to move the cursor around when I can’t simply skip to the beginning or end of a line using the Home and End keys.

HP also set up the keyboard so that the default behavior for the Fn keys at the the top is actually to work as special keys. Instead of pressing Fn F11 for mute, for instance, you simply press F11. If you actually want to trigger the F11 function (to go full screen in a web browser, for example), then you hold down the Fn key while pressing F11.

New HP Mini 210 hands on

The new HP Mini 210 comes with a number of configuration options that can affect performance. HP sent me one of the cheapest models available, with a 1.66GHz Intel atom N455 CPU, 1GB of DDR3 memory, a 250GB, 7200RPM hard drive, and no video acceleration features.

That said, this 339 laptop felt pretty snappy and I had no problems surfing the web with 8 or more browser tabs open, doing some light image editing, watching (standard definition) Flash video, or listening to music. It’s hard to say whether the 7200RPM hard drive made any real difference, but even though the HP Mini 210 has the same CPU as several other computers I’ve tested this year, it definitely felt like one of the more responsive models.

The upgrade options are nice to have, but of course each incremental upgrade will add to the price. Still, if you want an HD display, or the ability to watch HD videos, you might want to look at the higher end configuration options.

One thing that’s a bit strange is that HP doesn’t offer the Atom N550 dual core processor without the Broadcom Crystal HD video accelerator. Intel has stated (and I have confirmed) that most netbooks with Atom N550 chips should be able to handle 720p HD video playback without any graphics acceleration, so it seems a bit silly that HP only offers this option with the Broadcom card.

On the other hand, an Atom N550 chip isn’t really powerful enough to decode 1080p video without some help, so the Broadcom card can come in handy for higher resolution videos. Using the Broadcom card instead of the CPU to decode HD videos should also help reduce CPU use and prolong battery life a bit.

I’ve been testing a lot of computers with 5 to 6 hour batteries recently, and I’d almost forgotten what a difference a few hours can make. The HP Mini 210 comes with a 6 cell, 66Whr battery, which in my test appears to be good for up to 8.5 hours of fairly heavy usage.

I turned on the computer at the start of a work day and then used it pretty heavily for about 7 hours to surf the web, do research, watch videos, write blog posts, and send emails. By the time I had to pack it up and go, Windows was reporting that the battery was still about 20% charged.

I’ve learned to distrust these Windows reports, since they tend to exaggerate a bit, but I’d be surprised if I couldn’t get at least 8 hours of run time out of this laptop under similar circumstances.

Of course watching videos, playing games, or viewing Adobe Flash-heavy web sites will probably reduce your battery life, while using the laptop with Wi-Fi turned off may give you a little extra time. Your results may vary.

All in all, while the HP Mini 210 may not provide the longest battery life of any netbook on the market today, it’s good enough that most people can probably feel safe leaving the power cable at home when taking the netbook to a coffee shop for a few hours.

Bear in mind, the unit I tested came with a 1.66GHz Intel Atom N455 CPU and a 1024 x 600 pixel display. It’s likely that upgrading to the Atom N475 or N550 CPU or the 1366 x 768 pixel display will take a deeper toll on battery life.

The HP Mini 210 is a solid option for anyone looking for a relatively inexpensive 10 inch netbook offering decent performance. It has a few features that you won’t find from most netbooks, including a base panel that can be removed without a screwdriver, a 7200RPM hard drive, and a colorful case with a matching lid and base panel.

The netbook is also one of the most configurable consumer-centric mini-laptops available, with Atom N455, N475, and N550 options, as well as an optional HD display, optional 3G, and an optional Broadcom HD video accelerator.

On the other hand, HP has made some baffling decisions, such as producing a keyboard without any Home, End, Page Up and Page Down keys and a touchpad which makes it physically impossible to press the left and right buttons simultaneously.

If you can get past the quirks though, the HP Mini 210 is a solid machine with decent performance and excellent battery life.

Support Liliputing

Liliputing’s primary sources of revenue are advertising and affiliate links (if you click the “Shop” button at the top of the page and buy something on Amazon, for example, we’ll get a small commission).

But there are several ways you can support the site directly even if you’re using an ad blocker and hate online shopping.

Contribute via PayPal

If you are using an ad blocker like uBlock Origin and seeing a pop-up message at the bottom of the screen, we have a guide that may help you disable it.

HP Mini 210 (late 2010 model) review

HP has an annoying habit of releasing different notebooks unde the same model number. So while I reviewed an HP Mini 210 earlier this year, here I am reviewing the HP Mini 210 again.

One obvious difference is that I reviewed the Mini 210 HD previously, which had a 1366 x 768 pixel 720p HD display, while the latest unit HP sent me to review has a standard 1024 x 600 pixel display. But the new model has also has a refreshed case design.

Overall, the new model isn’t different enough from older HP Mini 210 netbooks for anyone to ditch their old mini-laptop and pull out their credit cards for a new one.

But there are a few notable differences between the HP Mini 210 that was launched early this year and the version launched in late 2010, and those are the areas that I’ll FOCUS on in this brief review.

The demo unit HP sent me came with a 1.66GHz Intel Atom N455 processor, 1GB of RAM, and a 250GB, 7200RPM hard drive. The price as configured would be 339.

The laptop is also configurable with a 160GB hard drive and Bluetooth, GPS, and 3G options, as well as dual core Atom N550 CPU and Broadcom Crystal HD video accelerator options.

The new version of the HP Mini 210 differs from older models in a few key ways. First, the mini-notebook has been redesigned so that a 6 cell battery sits flush with the back of the computer. In fact, there’s no longer a 3 cell battery option.

If you want extra juice, you can purchase an extra 6 cell battery from HP when you configure your laptop.

Since the battery sits flush with the back of the laptop, there’s nothing preventing you from tilting the screen way back, and HP has designed the hinge so that you can open the Mini 210 up almost to a 180 degree angle.

You can still remove the base panel of the computer to access the RAM, hard drive, PCIe card slots, and other internals without a screwdriver. In fact, while I had a bit of difficulty removing the bottom of the HP Mini 210 HD earlier this year, the new model is much easier to open up.

Just pop out the battery, press the orange tab, and peel off the entire sheet of plastic covering the bottom of the computer. It snaps back on just as easily.

Like the original HP Mini 210, the new model uses the same color for the lid and base plate, while the keyboard, touchpad, and display areas are a different color. The laptop is available with black, blue, red, pink, and purple lids, while the screen bezel is black and the sides and keyboard area are metallic gray.

The lid and base now have a matte finish — unlike the display.

The display area features a glossy edge-to-edge sheet of glass, which gives the screen a bright, attractive look — until you start to smudge the black bezel with fingerprints. The screen is also very reflective, so while it’s easy to use in low-light settings, it reflects a bit of glare in bright lighting.

Around the sides of the netbook you’ll find a VGA port, 3 USB 2.0 ports, a flash card reader, an Ethernet jack (hidden behind a door), key lock port, and a single audio jack for a mic and/or headphone. The power switch is also located on the side of the laptop.

The touchpad features an all-in-one design, with the left and right buttons built right into the touchpad. While I’m generally not a huge fan of this design, HP makes some of the best touchpads of this style of any PC maker.

I didn’t have any major problems clicking and dragging, or using multitouch gestures such as pinch-to-zoom, or two-finger scrolling. I personally still found the computer easier to use with a USB travel mouse, but that’s probably just a matter of taste.

The keyboard is a bit of a mixed bag. On the one hand, the island-style keyboard layout provides a decent amount of surface area for each key and just enough space in between keys to make touch-typing quite pleasant.

There’s a bit of flex toward the center of the keyboard, but not enough to be noticeable if you aren’t looking for it. Overall I found the experience of typing on the new HP Mini 210 to be quite pleasant — with one major exception.

There don’t appear to be any Page Up, Page Down, Home or End buttons. Most netbook keyboards are too small to provide dedicated keys for these functions, so you trigger them by holding Fn plus another key — usually the arrow keys. But pressing Fn and the arrow keys on the HP Mini 210 doesn’t accomplish anything special, and none of the keys on the keyboard are labeled with these functions.

mini, late, 2010, model, review

I don’t think I realized how heavily I typically rely on those keys until I started typing on a keyboard without them. I have to spend a lot more time using the touchpad or mouse to move the cursor around when I can’t simply skip to the beginning or end of a line using the Home and End keys.

HP also set up the keyboard so that the default behavior for the Fn keys at the the top is actually to work as special keys. Instead of pressing Fn F11 for mute, for instance, you simply press F11. If you actually want to trigger the F11 function (to go full screen in a web browser, for example), then you hold down the Fn key while pressing F11.

mini, late, 2010, model, review

The new HP Mini 210 comes with a number of configuration options that can affect performance. HP sent me one of the cheapest models available, with a 1.66GHz Intel atom N455 CPU, 1GB of DDR3 memory, a 250GB, 7200RPM hard drive, and no video acceleration features.

That said, this 339 laptop felt pretty snappy and I had no problems surfing the web with 8 or more browser tabs open, doing some light image editing, watching (standard definition) Flash video, or listening to music. It’s hard to say whether the 7200RPM hard drive made any real difference, but even though the HP Mini 210 has the same CPU as several other computers I’ve tested this year, it definitely felt like one of the more responsive models.

The upgrade options are nice to have, but of course each incremental upgrade will add to the price. Still, if you want an HD display, or the ability to watch HD videos, you might want to look at the higher end configuration options.

One thing that’s a bit strange is that HP doesn’t offer the Atom N550 dual core processor without the Broadcom Crystal HD video accelerator. Intel has stated (and I have confirmed) that most netbooks with Atom N550 chips should be able to handle 720p HD video playback without any graphics acceleration, so it seems a bit silly that HP only offers this option with the Broadcom card.

On the other hand, an Atom N550 chip isn’t really powerful enough to decode 1080p video without some help, so the Broadcom card can come in handy for higher resolution videos. Using the Broadcom card instead of the CPU to decode HD videos should also help reduce CPU use and prolong battery life a bit.

I’ve been testing a lot of computers with 5 to 6 hour batteries recently, and I’d almost forgotten what a difference a few hours can make. The HP Mini 210 comes with a 6 cell, 66Whr battery, which in my test appears to be good for up to 8.5 hours of fairly heavy usage.

I turned on the computer at the start of a work day and then used it pretty heavily for about 7 hours to surf the web, do research, watch videos, write blog posts, and send emails. By the time I had to pack it up and go, Windows was reporting that the battery was still about 20% charged.

I’ve learned to distrust these Windows reports, since they tend to exaggerate a bit, but I’d be surprised if I couldn’t get at least 8 hours of run time out of this laptop under similar circumstances.

Of course watching videos, playing games, or viewing Adobe Flash-heavy web sites will probably reduce your battery life, while using the laptop with Wi-Fi turned off may give you a little extra time. Your results may vary.

All in all, while the HP Mini 210 may not provide the longest battery life of any netbook on the market today, it’s good enough that most people can probably feel safe leaving the power cable at home when taking the netbook to a coffee shop for a few hours.

Bear in mind, the unit I tested came with a 1.66GHz Intel Atom N455 CPU and a 1024 x 600 pixel display. It’s likely that upgrading to the Atom N475 or N550 CPU or the 1366 x 768 pixel display will take a deeper toll on battery life.

The HP Mini 210 is a solid option for anyone looking for a relatively inexpensive 10 inch netbook offering decent performance. It has a few features that you won’t find from most netbooks, including a base panel that can be removed without a screwdriver, a 7200RPM hard drive, and a colorful case with a matching lid and base panel.

The netbook is also one of the most configurable consumer-centric mini-laptops available, with Atom N455, N475, and N550 options, as well as an optional HD display, optional 3G, and an optional Broadcom HD video accelerator.

On the other hand, HP has made some baffling decisions, such as producing a keyboard without any Home, End, Page Up and Page Down keys and a touchpad which makes it physically impossible to press the left and right buttons simultaneously.

If you can get past the quirks though, the HP Mini 210 is a solid machine with decent performance and excellent battery life.

Support Liliputing

Liliputing’s primary sources of revenue are advertising and affiliate links (if you click the “Shop” button at the top of the page and buy something on Amazon, for example, we’ll get a small commission).

But there are several ways you can support the site directly even if you’re using an ad blocker and hate online shopping.

Contribute via PayPal

If you are using an ad blocker like uBlock Origin and seeing a pop-up message at the bottom of the screen, we have a guide that may help you disable it.

HP Mini 5101 notebook

We’ve seen several HP netbooks in the past, and although they’ve always offered excellent usability and quality, there has often been something missing. The HP Mini 5101 is the latest, and sitting at the top end of the netbook market it has to be good if it’s to have any chance of success.

Our quick take

First off, the HP Mini 5101 is expensive. very expensive in the specification we tested. While the impressive build quality and conservative design will help it to appeal more to corporate buyers, there’s no getting away from the fact that it’s pricier than some of the CULV laptops that are currently appearing on the market. with Acer’s excellent Aspire 1810T a prime example. Offering similar portability, a better battery life and much better performance, it’s difficult to understand why you’d pick the HP over it. Although this is a nice little product, it simply doesn’t do enough to justify the price

HP Mini 5101 notebook. 3.0 / 5

The 10.1-inch screen is impressive. It’s a matt TFT panel, which will appeal to business users as it suppresses reflections very well, and on our test model it also featured a high 1366 x 768 pixel resolution. There are quite a few different SKUs available where you’ll be able to drive down the price, but most also drop the screen resolution to 1024 x 600 pixels. With the cheapest model still coming in at a hefty £400, and also losing features such as 3G/HSDPA, these look like even poorer value, however.

As with the other HP netbooks we’ve seen, the keyboard is excellent. Using an isolated style, there’s plenty of space between each of the keys, and there’s a firmness to the typing action that’s more in-keeping with a regular laptop than its netbook rivals. The keys are also responsive, and it’s comfortable enough for long periods of use. The touchpad is small, but it’s very usable.

The quality of this machine is very good. There’s a sturdy brushed aluminium lid, and the inside of the machine offers an attractive soft-touch finish to the palm rests. With most of the machine also featuring a matt finish, it doesn’t attract scuffs and fingerprints like most products currently on the market.

Despite the high price, there’s nothing unusual about the specification. You’ll find the same 1.66GHz Intel Atom N280 processor that’s featured in most recent netbooks, along with 1GB of memory. Depending on the SKU you choose, you’ll be able to pick from Windows XP, Windows 7 and Linux. although our test machine had Windows XP Home.

It provides reasonable performance, although as with all netbooks there’s a lot of lag if you try to carry out multi-tasking. Stick to single applications and it’s not too bad. We found battery life quite poor, however, at just over 3 hours. so look elsewhere if mobility is a key factor.

Wireless networking features are all high-end, and include 3G/HSDPA. with the SIM reader hidden behind the battery. and 802.11n Wi-Fi. You’ll also find Bluetooth built-in. On the left-hand side of the chassis, there’s a VGA port and two USB ports. There’s a third port on the right side, with a memory card reader rounding off the specs. Unlike many of its rivals, there’s no HDMI port.

To recap

A very comfortable, well made and easy to use netbook, but it’s way too expensive and falls behind when compared to the CULV ultraportables it outprices

The Best HP Laptops To Power Your Work, Play And Everything In Between

Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own.

HP has great laptops for gaming and productivity, with innovative designs, top-tier components and affordable options—including those in our pick for the best HP laptop overall, HP Spectre x360 14—that cover a range of computing needs. Whether you want something for work, play or day-to-day use, HP ticks enough boxes to be in the conversation when you’re looking for a new laptop.

Although laptops from any manufacturer can be a mixed bag, depending on pricing and model, HP has a wide range of configurations on its site. Some are pre-built configs, while others are versions of those models you can build yourself from a choice of components. Typically, the pre-built models ship immediately, while the build-to-order models take longer to receive. Long story short, HP laptops are some of the best laptops around, period. Here are the best HP laptops available today.

  • Best HP Laptop Overall:HP Spectre x360 14
  • Best HP Laptop For Gaming:HP Omen 17
  • Best Affordable HP Laptop:HP Envy x360
  • Best 4K HP Laptop:HP Spectre x360 16
  • Best HP Laptop For Business:HP Elite Dragonfly G4

Best HP Laptop Overall

HP Spectre x360 14

CPU: Intel Core i7-1355U | RAM: 16GB LPDDR4 | Graphics: Intel Iris Xe | Storage: 1TB SSD | Display: 13.5-inch OLED touchscreen | Resolution: 3,000 x 2,000 | Refresh rate: 60Hz | Battery: Up to 12 hours | Weight: 3 pounds

Best for: Using a combination of traditional and touchscreen applications on one device.

The 2023 release of the HP Spectre x360 14 could be the best version of this 2-in-1 yet. It features a high-performance, 13th-generation Intel Core i7 processor and 16GB of memory, delivering good multitasking performance in a compact laptop. This model’s integrated Intel Iris Xe graphics won’t give you a ton of gaming performance, but it has enough power for esports and casual gaming.

HP Mini 210 video review

The high-resolution, 3K display uses a 13.5-inch OLED touchscreen panel, perfect for both productivity and entertainment. With crisp text, deep contrast and vibrant colors, this display makes movies, TV shows and even everyday web pages look excellent. The panel’s 3:2 aspect ratio makes reading long websites and documents more comfortable, with the additional vertical screen space. Since this is a 2-in-1 laptop with a sturdy 360-degree hinge, you can use it in tablet mode as well. It’s a little heavy to hold in a single hand, but it’s great for propping it up in tent mode for watching a movie.

What our contributors say: Forbes Vetted writer Jon Martindale says, “The Spectre X360 14 has been one of my favourite 2-in-1 laptops for generations, and the latest version is no exception. It’s wonderfully comfortable to type on, with deep travel on the clicky keys. I love how rich the OLED display is, too.”

Best HP Laptop For Gaming

HP Omen 17

CPU: Intel Core i9-13900HX | RAM: 32GB DDR5 | Graphics: Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090 | Storage: 1TB SSD | Display: 17.3-inch | Resolution: 2,560 x 1,440 | Refresh rate: 240Hz | Battery: Up to 5.5 hours | Weight: 6.2 pounds

Best for: Playing the most demanding games at high frame rates.

The HP Omen 17 is one of the most powerful gaming laptops HP has ever made. This build-to-order system starts with a baseline configuration with a slower display, half the memory and half the storage. This boosted configuration we recommend is close to its highest-end option, combining a top-tier thirteenth-generation Intel Core i9 processor with Nvidia’s flagship GeForce RTX 4090 graphics. That’s enough power to play any game at the highest settings and high frame rates on the 2.5K display. If you don’t need that kind of performance, you can save a lot of money by opting for less memory or a slower display, so be sure to play around with the HP configuration tool to get the right spec for you.

If you just want something that can rival the best gaming laptops, though, this is the best option. It has 32GB of memory for heavy multitasking—great if you want to game and stream at the same time. And the fast 1TB NVMe SSD has enough space for giant game libraries. HP rates the battery to last up to 5.5 hours, enough to be away from an outlet for a short time, although you should only expect an hour or two of AAA gaming on the battery. At over 6 pounds, this isn’t a laptop you’ll want to lug around all day, but that bulk helps keep temperatures low and performance high, especially during extended gaming sessions.

  • Powerful components
  • Crisp 2.5K display with fast refresh rate
  • Plenty of storage space for big game libraries

Best Affordable HP Laptop

HP Envy x360

CPU: Intel Core i5-1335U | RAM: 8GB DDR4 | Graphics: Intel Iris Xe | Storage: 512GB SSD | Display: 15.6-inch touchscreen | Resolution: 1,920 x 1,080 | Refresh rate: 60Hz | Battery: Up to 12.5 hours | Weight: 3.4 pounds

Best for: Web browsing, productivity and casual gaming.

Even the best affordable laptops usually sacrifice something, but the HP Envy x360 almost bucks that trend entirely, with an impressive selection of internal components, and a great overall build. Under its hood sits a thirteenth-generation Intel Core i7-1335U and 8GB of RAM, enough to support multitasking, general productivity and casual gaming. If you tend to keep lots of Windows and web browser tabs open at once, you might want to opt for the build-to-order model and upgrade the processor and memory to a Core i7 with 16GB of RAM (180).

The 1080p touchscreen display lacks the crisp clarity of 2K QHD displays; and at 250 nits, its brightness falls short of more premium models. Still, the IPS panel has excellent viewing angles, making this laptop great for collaborative use—important considering the Envy x360 has a 360-degree hinge for using it in tent, presentation and tablet mode. It includes an active stylus, so you can write on-screen. At 3.4 pounds, this HP laptop remains lightweight and portable enough to carry it around with you during the day, and the battery life is more than enough to get you through a full day of work or school.

Best 4K HP Laptop

HP Spectre x360 16

CPU: Intel Core i7-1360P | RAM: 32GB DDR4 | Graphics: Intel Arc A370M | Storage: 1TB SSD | Display: 16-inch OLED touchscreen | Resolution: 3,840 x 2,400 | Refresh rate: 60Hz | Battery: Up to 11 hours | Weight: 4.7 pounds

mini, late, 2010, model, review

Best for: Enjoying 4K movies on a machine that’s great for work and play.

The HP Spectre x360 16 is the largest size in HP’s stellar convertible laptop line, and this high-end configuration is one of the best you can buy. We’ve adjusted the baseline configuration to the maximum spec, with an Intel Core i7-1360P, 32GB of memory and a 1TB SSD. You can configure it with a more powerful 13700H CPU and an Intel Arc A370M graphics with 32GB of memory.

Whatever configuration you opt for, though, make sure it includes the stellar 4K OLED display. It is a truly beautiful display, with inky blacks and an impressive 400 nits brightness that makes this laptop perfect for watching HDR movies. When you aren’t, though, the vibrant colors and amazing contrast make this a great laptop for video and photo editing. This laptop’s keyboard is comfortable, with well-spaced keys and a stylish black design with trim bezels. HP rates the battery to last for around 11 hours of mixed use, which is just enough to squeak through a workday on a single charge. Even though this model has HP’s sturdy 360-degree hinge, it’s too heavy to use as a one-handed tablet, but its touchscreen works brilliantly as a tablet when you use it flat on a surface—or in propped in either tent or presentation mode, too. Like other x360 convertible laptops, this model includes an active stylus.

  • Good performance for work and play
  • Impressive battery life for a 4K OLED laptop
  • Can handle casual gaming and esports

Best HP Laptop For Business

HP Elite Dragonfly G4

CPU: Intel Core i7-1365U | RAM: 32GB DDR5 | Graphics: Intel Iris Xe| Storage: 1TB SSD | Display: 13.5-inch OLED touchscreen | Resolution: 1,920 x 1,280 | Refresh rate: 60Hz | Battery: Up to 15 hours | Weight: 2.2 pounds

Best for: Business users looking for power and portability.

The HP Elite Dragonfly G4 might be expensive, but it has a lot going for it with its ultra-light design and robust security for small and medium businesses. We’ve configured it here with a few solid upgrades. This configuration latest-generation Intel processor and 32GB of fast DDR5 memory brings with it excellent performance in single and multi-threaded workloads. Add in a super snappy and responsive 1TB NVMe SSD and even when you have big demanding apps and web browsing tabs open at once.

This laptop sticks to a clamshell design, which contributes to the Dragonfly’s sturdy build. It’s very lightweight, though, weighing in at just over 2 pounds. It has two Thunderbolt 4/USB-C ports (with USB Power Delivery), one USB Type-A 5Gbps port, a full-size HDMI 2.1 port and a headphone/microphone jack—enough options for connecting accessories and peripherals. The OLED display uses a bright, 1,000 nits panel, making it great for use outdoors and in bright light as well as in the office. This configuration includes HP’s vPro remote management software.

  • Slim, lightweight design
  • Lengthy battery life
  • Wide range of performance and display options