We give you the HP Envy 13, refreshed for 2020. HP’s slightly cheaper, marginally chunkier answer to the all-conquering Dell XPS 13. Configured here with a quad-core variant from Intel’s very latest 10nm Ice Lake family of CPUs, the broad idea is 13-inch portability without compromising performance.
The first half of that equation is largely delivered. The HP Envy 13 is a few millimetres thicker than the Dell XPS 13. But it remains an eminently portable PC. Overall proportions are kept in check by slim bezels on each side of the display and slightly larger screen borders above and below. The top bezel allows for a 720p webcam with a useful privacy cover enabled with a keystroke.
Again, while Dell does it slightly better when it comes to bezel shrinkage, the HP Envy 13 ain’t bad. As we’re drawing marginally uncomfortable comparisons with that trend-setting Dell, the HP Envy 13 also can’t quite compete for pure style and build quality.