Best HP Laptops in 2021 – Reviews and Buyer’s Guide

As HP remains an established name in the laptops’ market since years back, their lineups expanded as well; from a dedicated gaming laptop for less than $1500, to business laptops and budget notebooks, there is a model for everyone.

We are well aware that going through the wide variety of the different options available might get confusing and overwhelming. That’s why we compiled a list of some of our favorite HP laptops to help you cut straight to the chase and find the model that suits your workflow.

HP followed the convertible and hybrid laptops’ trend and managed to deliver a model that stands out among the competition. With its vibrant 15.6 inches 4k touchscreen, the display is a joy to work on whether you’re swiping through the interface in tablet mode, or having a standard laptop experience using the keyboard and touchpad.

The best HP laptop for business or personal use.

In our estimation this is the best HP business laptop. The included HP Pen opens up new possibilities for artists. Instead of having to move around with a dedicated graphics tablet, your laptop can do the trick. The monitor also uses IPS panel technology, which delivers unparalleled color accuracy and a wide range of viewing angles, allowing you to see an accurate real-time representation of your artwork.

HP Spectre X360 comes with a FHD front-facing camera and a dual-array, studio-quality microphone for the best video conferencing experience. The webcam has a built-in IR sensor as well that uses Windows Hello, allowing you to log into your laptop with your face.

Privacy is a crucial feat to the laptop experience, and HP managed to deliver on this front. The camera has a kill switch that completely cuts the power off the camera’s circuit when not in use, giving you peace of mind that no exploit or malware can activate your camera in the background without you knowing.

The icing on top is three years of McAfee Internet Security service at no additional cost when you purchase HP Spectre X360, to browse the internet while keeping your data secure. As far as 2021 HP laptops go, the Spectre X360 is top of our list.

At its core, the laptop is powered by Intel’s 9th Gen Core i7 processor for executing all the demanding tasks you throw its way. It also comes with NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650, giving you the juice necessary to run graphics-intensive apps that make a considerable part of your workflow as an artist and a creator.

HP’s Envy lineup has always been about excellent performance packed in a sleek, premium design, and HP Envy 17T is the perfect example of delivering on that promise. A quick glance at the spec sheet shows how HP didn’t leave a single stone unturned and built a true specifications king.

HP maintained a clean aesthetic that doesn’t compromise on durability. The all-metal aluminum chassis creates an elegant laptop that can fit seamlessly in your professional workflow and be sturdy enough to meet whatever everyday life throws its way.

Though the laptop comes with a massive 17.3 inches touchscreen, it managed to keep its overall footprint at around only six pounds, which is quite impressive and makes it one of the most portable large screen laptops on the market.

Powered by the latest 10th Gen Intel Core i7 CPU and GeForce RTX2070 GPU, the laptop can run all your demanding apps with no hiccups. Moreover, the 16GB of RAM is excellent for swiftly powering through your intensive multitasking projects by having multiple apps and windows running simultaneously. Finally, the 1TB SSD is the icing on top, offering you plenty of storage.

If you’re in the market for a budget business laptop, HP has a 14 inches model with a touchscreen just for you. People who primarily use their laptops for browsing the web, typing, and media consumption can do just fine with less powerful hardware and save some cash.

In recent years, we’ve seen AMD’s chips catching up and sometimes even exceeding what Intel has to offer at a lower price. So, it’s no surprise that HP went with AMD Ryzen 3 3200U Dual-Core processor for its budget laptop. The CPU has a unique architecture that delivers the most performance for the average user.

Spreadsheets are an essential pillar in the modern office and business setting. Luckily, the laptop comes with 8GB of fast DDR4 memory that enables you to have multiple big files running in the background for seamless multitasking. Moreover, the 14 inches touch screen gives you more ways to interact with your content, making common tasks accessible with a finger tab.

All those features come in a lightweight form factor that delivers exceptional portability. At just 3.25 pounds, the compact 14 inches laptop can go with you anywhere without adding extra bulk to your bag.

It’s worth mentioning that the laptop ships with Windows 10 S out of the box, which only allows you to use software from Microsoft’s Windows Store. However, you’re entitled to a free upgrade to Windows 10 Home with your purchase for a more fleshed out Windows experience.

We’ve got another 17.3 inches laptop on our list, and this time around, it takes a more calculated, budget-friendly approach with its specs to get this large laptop form factor into more people’s hands.

HP 17-BY1053DX comes with a 10th Gen Intel Core i9 processor, a step above the i7 laptop CPU we’ve seen in HP Envy 17T. Other than the CPU bump, all the other specs take a hit to cut down the price. However, during our testing, we appreciated that the spec compromises are well-balanced to deliver an over-all superb user-experience at a great value.

Our only complaint doesn’t have anything to do with the hardware, though: it’s the OS. Windows 10 S keeps you confined within Microsoft’s software ecosystem, and you might not be able to run some of your daily-driver apps. Unlike HP’s 14 inches budget model, HP 17-BY1053DX doesn’t come with a free Windows 10 Home upgrade.

With 8GB of fast DDR4 RAM, decent battery life, and SSD storage technology with its benefits of lightning-fast read and write times, we can easily recommend HP 17-BY1053DX to students looking for a mid-tier affordable laptop to get them through school or college years.

The appeal to compact electronics is unmistakable, and this is true when it comes to laptops as well. HP has yet another 14 inches entry on our list, which shares the same DNA with its AMD-powered counterpart.

Aside from the CPU, the two laptops are fundamentally identical with the same design, price point, RAM, and storage. So, this means it all boils down to the processor. HP 14-CF0014DX comes with a Dual-Core Intel Core i3 processor, compared to the Dual-Core AMD Ryzen 3 processor of the previous model.

On paper, the Intel Core i3 is the superior processor with more horsepower. Nevertheless, we switched back and forth between the two models during our testing, and we didn’t notice any impactful performance differences.

Another key distinction between the two models is weight. The Intel-powered laptop weighs about a pound more, compared to its AMD-powered counterpart. If portability is crucial to you, we recommend you go with the lighter model.

By now, you can tell that HP’s laptop lineup is very diverse and offers models to all users at all price points. A prime example of that is the HP Envy X360. It borrows the same design language and core features of its more expensive Spectre X360 big brother and delivers a decent hybrid machine at half the price.

The whole spec sheet is dialed down a notch to maintain the core user experience, but for a different demographic of consumers who can get everything done on less powerful hardware.

You still get the seamless transition between laptop and tablet modes thanks to the flexible 360 degrees hinge. Moreover, the 15.6 inches IPS touchscreen is the joy to use for its responsive touch controls and wide color gamut. Though the resolution was only kept at FHD instead of the 4k display that comes with Spectre X360, the image quality is still impressive.

If you’re looking for a 15.6 inches laptop powered by Intel’s 10th Gen processors, and you don’t want to commit to the convertible form factor of Spectre X360, HP i5 Touch got you covered. It’s a step above the budget 14 inches options we’ve seen from HP, giving power users a mid-tier laptop that checks all the boxes.

The 16GB DDR4 RAM allows you to switch between apps in no time seamlessly, and the 512GB SSD offers a decent amount of fast storage. Finally, the power-efficient system architecture enables you to get seven hours of screen time on a single charge.

The only downside we noticed during our experience with the laptop is the suboptimal graphics performance. HP i5 Touch doesn’t come with a dedicated GPU, which is a bummer for gamers or content creators who use graphically intensive software. However, it’s still a well-rounded laptop considering its affordable entry price.