HP OmniBook Ultra hands-on review: this laptop has an AI cameraman and assistant
Beauty on the outside, performance beast on the inside
Pros
✅ 😍 Beautiful 14-inch Ultrabook with a 2.2K display
✅ ⚙️ AMD Ryzen AI 9 300 can run games at 60fps even unplugged
✅ 🤖 55 TOPs of AI processing power, 44% more vs Apple M4 chip
✅ 📸 9MP AI-powered webcam with superb auto-framing like a robot arm
✅ 📐 Two 45° corners, one of which conceals a USB-C TB4 port
✅ 🔋 Big 65Whr battery said to last 21 hours (video); 13 hours (IRL usage)
Cons
❌💡 At 3,000 nits, it could be brighter (MacBook Air is 4,000, Pro is 5,000)
❌ ♊ HP’s AI Companion overlaps with Windows 11’s built-in CoPilot
When / How much?
📆 Coming soon: HP OmniBook Ultra launch in August 2024
💰 Price: it will start at $1,449, according to HP
AI laptops are the new buzzword for computers in 2024 that’s been repeated ad nauseam to me, however, the HP OmniBook Ultra surprised me with its understated design and impressive AI implementation. HP’s newest 14-inch Ultrabook is a beauty that packs plenty of computing power and surprisingly robust gaming power with its AMD Ryzen AI 9 300 CPU.
However, its most impressive feature by far is how its AI-powered webcam can easily move the frame around to keep track of you. HP AI Companion app also feels like one of the most comprehensive AI clients that can help you with almost everything. The HP OmniBook Ultra will be available starting at $1,449 in August 2024.
📐 Smooth sculpted lines. The OmniBook Ultra inherits the angled design of HP’s flagship Spectre x360 Ultrabook. This laptop has plenty of defining lines including the two 45-degree corners on the laptop’s rear – one of which conceals a USB-C Thunderbolt 4 port. All of the laptop’s edges also come to a rounded edge that helps make it look slim while feeling more comfortable to handle.
📺 14-inch gorgeous display. The other beautiful thing about the HP OmniBook Ultra is its large 14-inch 2.2K (2240 x 1400) display. It’s an edge-to-edge glass IPS that delivers fantastic colors, and thanks to a cover sheet of Corning Gorilla Glass NBT, it’s durable too. I only wished the display was brighter as it only features a maximum 300-nit brightness.
⚙️ AMD Ryzen AI 9 300 power. Unlike the Qualcomm-powered OmniBook, the OmniBook Ultra features AMD’s new Ryzen AI 9 300 APU. The new chip comes packing 12-cores, 24-threads Radeon 890 integrated graphics, and an NPU with 55 TOPs of AI processing power – which HP is quick to point out is 44% more TOPs than in the latest Apple M4 chip.
🤖 AI Companion. All of the OmniBook Ultra’s AI processing power is put to good use with HP’s new AI Companion. The app is still in an early beta state, but you can use it to optimize your PC settings, analyze and generate text, ask it questions, or tell jokes and short stories. During my hands-on, the AI Companion was fairly accurate with its answers and quick to respond to anything I asked it. My only concern is how redundant might the AI Companion be when Windows 11’s built-in CoPilot can perform similar tasks.
📽️ 9MP selfie camera with an AI cameraman. We’ve seen AI improve web cameras with better blur effects, image enhancement, and even tracking but HP’s new Poly Camera Pro does everything in the best way I’ve seen from any camera app. HP’s auto-framing feature was particularly exceptional. It follows you perfectly even if you’re moving around erratically like a blow-up noodle man. I’ve never seen another webcam track my motions with such 1:1 accuracy and speed. It was so smooth that I swore my webcam was actually moving around on a robot arm.
🕹️ Gaming-ready AMD Radeon graphics. HP also claims the OmniBook Ultra is a gaming-ready Ultrabook that can play Valorant at 60 FPS, even while the notebook is running on battery power. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to put this to the test during my hands-on time. However, based on my experience with the Asus ZenBook S16, which also runs on an AMD Ryzen AI 9 300 CPU, it should be able to play CyberPunk 2077 and Ghost of Tsushima in Full HD with low-quality settings at a steady 60 fps.
🐺🛡️ Wolf security. HP has also bundled this ultrabook with the same Wolf Security found on HP’s commercial devices. This package includes a security chip that helps keep data secure and allows the PC to self-heal itself from human or AI cyber-attacks.
🔋 Big battery with quick charging. The HP OmniBook has a 65Whr battery that will last 21 hours of video playback and 13 hours of “real-world usage” according to HP. It also supports quick charging and will supposedly restore 50% of its battery life after charging for just 45 minutes. Those battery life estimates sound ambitious, so we’ll have to see if they hold up to scrutiny in our tests.
Kevin Lee is The Shortcut’s Creative Director. Follow him on Twitter @baggingspam.