HP's best mid-tier laptop is this ultrabook, all time low with no gift card gimmicks
Weight 1KG
Zen3 hexa core with Vega 7 iGPU
13.3" WQXGA (2560 x 1600), IPS, micro-edge, anti-glare, 400 nits, 100% sRGB display
USB-C charging
RAM is the only weak point, 8GB soldered with no expansion possible
8gb maximum…lol
Looks like the keyboard is backlit from looking at the image of the top case on HP PartSurfer
Overall great value if you can live with 8GB RAM like i can (for use as a uni machine)
Can't believe it saves enough to dump RAM slots. Why?
Sounded so awesome, till you get to the ram bit,
Super (mod: edited)
Seriously ??
You are getting a laptop that has been reduced from a RRP of $1598 to $698, has a 2560x1600 screen (which is better resolution than almost anything under $1500), a 512Gb SSD (which is rare in anything compact under $1200) and at 945g is arguably the lightest laptop of this size available - all for under $700.
Nothing else even comes close at this price.
The product ticks almost all the boxes for a school, uni, or work laptop.
I have a partner who has this laptop for office productivity, the 8gb RAM is fine.
At this price it's a great option.
The HP Aero with 1TB SSD and 8 core AMD Ryzen 5800u is also on sale at $898.
https://www.harveynorman.com.au/hp-pavilion-aero-13-3-inch-r…
Still locked at 8GB?
AFAIK the only difference between them is the Ryzen 7 vs 5 CPU and the 1Tb vs 512Gb SSD - otherwise they are identical.
Following.
Would prefer to buy off Amazon if available.
Be aware that these laptops have a potential issue with the screen.
I bought one last month and did C&C. The screen had a faint image of the keyboard burnt onto it - only noticeable as a faint yellow tinge against a light coloured screen. I took it back to the store and they checked the remaining 6 units they had and all had the same issue to varying degrees. They called around other HN stores and found one from a different batch that was OK, and had that couriered over as a replacement. This has been an issue with previous batches as well in both Ryzen 5 & 7 models, so they knew all about.
For this reason alone, I would NOT buy one fully online (like Amazon) because there is a reasonable chance that you will get one from a bad batch and have to return it.
I am very happy with the laptop otherwise. It is quite speedy (I have a desktop with Intel i5-12600K & 32Gb RAM, and for normal use, not gaming, there isn't much difference) and responsive. The 2560x1600 screen is very nice and sharp. The keyboard does have a backlight switch to turn it on & off. It can be charged via the USB-C port. It weighs 945g, which is ridiculously light.
IMO it is an absolute bargain, especially if portability is important (like for a student).
How is the battery life?
Need one for a high school student
Can't tell exactly because I can't get Win 11 to show remaining life in minutes (only %), but I would guess somewhere around 9-10 hours looking at the % remaining. I have the brightness about 60% and it is good at that (it has a 400nits screen compared to many similar laptops having around 250-300), but you could run it a bit dimmer to extend battery life I think.
Many HP laptops by default have the battery remaining time disabled in the BIOS for some reason, try having a poke around in the BIOS to hopefully be able to enable that setting.
@ChineseElectronics: Thanks. I actually found something online yesterday suggesting that and changed the BIOS setting. No idea why they would default it to that -weird ??
Picked one up from Nunawading yesterday.
Had a look at 3 units in total (2 display ones + my retail one), none of them seem to have the keyboard imprint issue.
My unit was shipped Feb 2022 fwiw.
Initial impressions are really positive:
- Expected build and sturdiness to be a big compromise. Turned out to be completely wrong, it actually feels great. IMO feels at least as good as the LG gram as a much more expensive, similar weight reference
- Screen is fantastic as advertised.
- First time using a laptop with fingerprint scanner, so far has been faster and more reliable than face unlock on other laptops for me
- Fan noise sometimes ramps up randomly. Might just be because it's a fresh install and have been installing/setting up everything. Most of the time though it's dead silent
Small Underrated things:
- The (magnesium?) used for the chassis doesn't get anywhere near as cold to touch as aluminium. Found this actually makes it a lot more comfortable to use
- The charging indicator LED works with both the barrel charger and USB-C charging, so doesn't seem like there's any downside to charging exclusively with USB-C
EDIT: Have had one small annoyance. The trackpad ticks slightly on the upstroke any time you click or tap it. The click mechanism has too much pre-travel so even tapping (without clicking) the trackpad causes it to deflect slightly, which then makes the tick sound when it returns to its original position
I have found that occasionally the fingerprint scanner (usually after it has "sleeping" for a while) just won't read my finger, no matter how many tries. I have to choose the PIN instead.
But most of the time the fingerprint is near instant which is great.
Yes, the LG Gram is Intel i5-1240P which is better, and an extra USB-C port, but it has a lower res screen is larger, and slightly heavier, and obviously close to 3x the price. No contest.
Grabbed one. Would have loved 16GB, but the rest of this is just so damn good! BARGAIN!
So far going well, but for some reason I can't update the BIOS. Installer just does nothing at all. Any ideas? Talking to HP support as well now.
My BIOS update went through with no problems. Have you tried rebooting & trying again ?
Yep. Many many times. Support has no idea what is happening. When I run the Bios Update EXE it does nothing at all.
Did you just run the EXE, extracted the BIOS and then ran the EXE from the extracted folder?
I can't remember, but I think I ran it direct from the "update options" during the initial setup. I don't have a file in my downloads folder for it, so I don't think I specifically downloaded it separately.
Not certain, I was mulit-tasking at the time, so just letting it run through the setup while I was doing other things, so probably not paying close enough attention.
@Andy01: Followed this and it worked!
https://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Notebook-Operating-System-and-…
TL:DR;
I used HP PC Hardware Diagnostics software which was already installed on the HP Aero- component tests - bios system firmware - expand and tick bios update and click on run. After a restart the bios was updated.
Impressed that this can game ok. Wreckfest 1920*1200 in High quality settings.
Wait till tomorrow to purchase this,
10% back in HN gift cards accross all BF deals and all departments for tomorrow only (for any total purchase over $250).
Cant post this as im associtated, feel free to post yourself tho…
Excludes
AEG, Asko, Falcon, Miele, NEFF, Sirius Valentina Collection, Smeg Dolce Stil Novo, Smeg Dolce & Gabbana, Smeg Linea, Smeg Portofino, Speed Queen, Apple, Beats headphones, mobile phone contracts, gaming software, gaming subscriptions, gaming currency, gaming consoles, Builder’s Selection, Naturally Smart & Natural Perfection carpet ranges, gift cards, delivery and installation.
If there is stock…..and I needed it on my credit card for extra warranty.
Sorry just realised it was a cash back in gift cards.
Is anyone able to advise if this laptop can (easily) be downgraded to win10?
Sorry not sure. Don't like Win 11?
Still really impressed with this laptop. Interesting the box said $1598 so the price has come down a lot. I assume the weight and amazing screen has a lot to do with it.
If only more RAM could be added. The iGPUs struggle with only 8GB.