HP OmniBook X review: It’s perfect until it isn’t

When Apple introduced the ‘M’ series MacBooks, it took the world by storm with unprecedented performance and efficiency. This immediately made the MacBook the de facto option for someone who wanted a laptop with enough battery to last all day without sacrificing performance. However, this domination may be coming to an end, as the first laptops with Windows Snapdragon X Elite have just hit the market, and I had the opportunity to test the HP OmniBook X.

Now, after more than a week of using the OmniBook X as my primary device, a few questions remain: Has HP released a solid competitor to the MacBook Air M3? How does it fare in terms of compatibility with Windows applications? Let’s jump into my HP OmniBook X review to find out.

HP OmniBook X review: design and hardware

The first thing I noticed about the HP Omnibook X was its discreet design. It’s in line with the aesthetic of the company’s Dragonfly laptops, which I love. Weighing 1.34 kg, OmniBook X is not the lightest laptop in its category, but it does not feel burdensome.

The design of the OmniBook The edges are rounded so that they do not dig into your hand when writing. Plus, it’s extremely portable, and the slim profile makes it easy to slip into your bag, which is great if you’re a student, traveler, or someone who likes to work at a coffee shop.

The HP OmniBook X also has a decent selection of ports. On the left side, you’ll find a 40Gbps USB-C port that supports USB Power Delivery and DisplayPort 1.4, and another 10Gbps USB-C port.

Given the thin form factor, you’d think HP would leave out the traditional USB-A port – but that’s not the case. The laptop includes a 5Gbps USB-A port hidden in the hinge on the right side, as well as a headphone jack. This is a big win over the MacBook, mainly because many accessories still rely on the USB-A format.

Keyboard and trackpad support

Coming from a MacBook, my standards for keyboards aren’t that high, and the OmniBook X easily exceeded them. Even though they are thin, the travel is decent and the keys themselves are fast and click well. Two backlight modes also make it easier to use the laptop in dark environments.

While typing is great, I’m not a fan of HP replacing the right CTRL key with the Copilot key. I often use right CTRL and Backspace to quickly delete text, but now I accidentally trigger Copilot. Additionally, the fact that I couldn’t reconfigure the key using Power Tools made using the keyboard on the OmniBook X a bit annoying.

The physical trackpad, on the other hand, worked flawlessly. It’s responsive, spacious and offers a satisfying click. For everyday use – browsing the internet, writing emails, or performing basic productivity tasks – it’s more than enough.

HP OmniBook X Review: Display

The HP OmniBook While it doesn’t offer the deep blacks of an OLED panel, the glossy screen delivers vivid colors and sharp images, making it perfect for watching movies and videos. I also tested the display’s color accuracy and it reproduced 80.2% of the DCI-P3 color spectrum, which is great for anyone planning on color correction.

I’ve used this laptop both indoors and outdoors, and while the brightness isn’t the best – maxing out at 300 nits – this shouldn’t be a problem if you work mostly indoors or in artificially lit rooms. The display is protected by Gorilla Glass, which is an advantage for people at risk of dropping the device.

As for the touchscreen, I never saw the appeal of the MacBook. However, after spending a few days with the OmniBook X, I think every laptop should have one. It simplifies navigation and opens up new possibilities. The best example I found was when I was standing with the laptop in one hand and didn’t have to rely on the trackpad, which was snug against my chest.

HP OmniBook X Review: Performance

Let’s talk about performance; after all, it will be the largest transacting entity. Before we delve into the details, OmniBook X is equipped with the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite X1E80100 system with 12 cores operating at a maximum frequency of 3.4 GHz. It also includes an Adreno GPU, and my unit comes with 16GB of LPDDR5X RAM and a 1TB PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD.

After reviewing the specifications, I was curious to see how the OmniBook X would handle real-world tasks, and I have to say, it performed amazingly. The Snapdragon chip handles multitasking without any problems. Whether I was editing Word documents with 20 Chrome tabs open in the background or streaming music, the laptop showed no signs of stuttering.

One thing that surprised me was how responsive the laptop was compared to other Windows devices. It’s common for Windows laptops to take a while to load, but the OmniBook X was the first one I used that loaded apps as quickly as a MacBook, making the overall experience much more pleasant.

Now, to test the OmniBook X’s maximum performance, I also ran a series of benchmarks. In Geekbench 6, the OmniBook X scored 2,441 in the single-core test and 14,264 in the multi-core test. In the Cinebench 2024 test, it scored 106 for single core and 810 for multi-core. These results put it in direct competition with Apple’s M3 and M2 Max chips, which deliver similar results.

However, the Snapdragon X Elite chips are slightly behind in the GPU department. This is because in the Geekbench 6 GPU test, the OmniBook X scored 20728. Finally, in the Fire Strike test in 3DMark, the laptop achieved a score of 5370.

Productivity and gaming support

Although the comparative performance of the X Elite chip is amazing, the million-dollar question that arises in everyone’s mind is: Can the HP OmniBook X run all Windows applications? Well, the answer is a bit complicated. Like Apple’s ARM chips, the OmniBook X’s app support can be divided into three categories. First, applications optimized for ARM processors, such as Chrome, work flawlessly.

The second category includes applications that are not natively supported by ARM chips but rely on the translation layer to function. The last category contains applications that simply will not run on the OmniBook X due to driver problems, incompatible software, or other reasons. Unfortunately, many popular games that use anti-cheat software – such as PUBG, COD and Fortnite – fall into the latter category.

That said, a few games (listed below) ran well on the OmniBook X. For example, I got a solid 150 frames per second while playing Rocket League on high settings. So if developers can fix the compatibility issues, I can see Snapdragon laptops becoming a great option for casual gaming.

Good performance	Good performance	Unplayable
Rocket League	DOTA 2	F1 2024
Overwatch 2	Counters-Strike 2	PUBG
Hitman	Shadow of Tomb Raider	COD Warzone
RS6 Siege		Fortnite

On the productivity front, Adobe says Creative Suite supports ARM chips, but support is limited to Lightroom, Photoshop, and the 2023 version of Adobe Premiere Pro. So if you want to edit videos, you will have to convert your projects to the 2023 format, which is a big problem.

In conclusion, if you are considering purchasing a Snapdragon laptop and you work with non-browser applications, I highly recommend checking whether the applications you use have ARM versions. If not, it may be worth waiting until better compatibility is available, as there is no workaround for this limitation.

HP OmniBook X review: Battery life and charging

One of the biggest advantages of ARM laptops is their battery life, and the HP OmniBook X does not disappoint. While the laptop didn’t hit the claimed 26 hours, it did beat my MacBook Air M1 and I got an astonishing 16 hours of battery life! This included tasks such as watching videos, browsing Chrome, and editing Word documents – making the OmniBook X the most durable Windows laptop I’ve ever used. It’s also important to mention that unlike Windows, ARM-based laptops don’t lose performance when not connected.

When it came time to charge, the included 65W USB-C power adapter charged the laptop from 20% to 80% in just over an hour. However, charging speeds slow down if you’re actively using the laptop, and the bottom of the device gets hot while charging.

HP OmniBook X review: webcam and speakers

I don’t usually mention webcam quality in Windows laptop reviews because, honestly, most of them are terrible. But the HP OmniBook X changes that – it has the best webcam I’ve ever seen in a laptop, thanks to Qualcomm image processing algorithms. Video quality is detailed, colors are vivid, and it handles high dynamic range situations impressively well.

Unfortunately, the HP OmniBook X speakers are a bit disappointing. They are placed at the bottom, which reduces sound emissions when the laptop is placed on a soft surface such as a couch. Although the sound quality improves significantly when the laptop is placed on a hard surface, I still wish HP had opted for front-firing speakers.

Is it worth buying HP OmniBook X?

Starting from Rs. The $139,999 HP OmniBook X is a significant step towards the future of Windows laptops, and HP – along with Qualcomm – has built an amazing machine. The laptop is incredibly fast, applications load without any problems, the battery lasts 2-3 days, and the quality of the camera is really good. None of us thought these features would ever appear on a Windows PC, but here they are. And I believe Windows finally has an answer for MacBooks.

However, as much as I like the OmniBook X, if you decide to buy the laptop now, you’ll be a first-time user. And this has some consequences. Developers like Adobe have yet to release ARM-optimized versions of key applications. Since there are no easy workarounds to this issue, you may encounter compatibility issues. On the other hand, if most of your work is done online, the HP OmniBook X is definitely worth considering. Check out the HP OmniBook X on Amazon, Flipkart and the HP website.