HP OmniBook Ultra Flip review: Literally everyone should buy this

Every time HP comes out with a new Spectre x360, it lands on the top of our best laptops list after I review it. It’s now branded as the OmniBook Ultra Flip, and this year’s model isn’t just as good, it’s better.

It’s got a unique design like we’ve seen in previous generations, and it has an even better OLED display and a best-in-class keyboard. But what really shines is Intel’s Lunar Lake processors, which bring unprecedented battery life and integrated graphics power to the platform.

I should also mention that it meets the requirements for Copilot+, even though the suite of features isn’t available for x86 PCs (outside of the Insider Program) just yet. HP does have its own AI features, which are really great, as I talked about in my OmniBook Ultra review.

HP sent us the OmniBook Ultra for review. It had no input on the contents of this article.

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HP OmniBook Ultra Flip 14

Pros

• Stunning 120Hz OLED display
• Best-in-class keyboard and touchpad
• 9MP webcam always looks good
• Unique design

Cons

• It’s expensive
• Weird port layout

HP OmniBook Ultra pricing and availability

The HP OmniBook Ultra Flip is on sale now in all configurations, starting at $1,449.99, although HP.com seems to be having some regular discounts this holiday season. I mentioned all configurations because when Intel Lunar Lake first shipped, you could only get the Core Ultra 7, but now SKUs with Core Ultra 5 or Core Ultra 9 are for sale.

That base model comes with the Core Ultra 5, 16GB RAM, and 512GB storage. Note that any Lunar Lake laptop has at least 16GB RAM, since the memory is on the chip and that and that’s the lowest Intel makes.

The unit HP sent me has a Core Ultra 7 288V, which includes 32GB RAM, and 2TB storage. Specced out like that, it comes in at $1,899.99. While the base model is pricey, this upgrade seems pretty reasonable for an extra $350.

The 120Hz OLED display comes standard.

Design

A fresh take on an HP Spectre

HP rebranded its entire consumer portfolio as OmniBook, so the OmniBook Ultra Flip is the direct successor to the Spectre x360. There will be times that I refer to Spectre design, so you have to know that to know what I’m talking about.

The company has significantly toned down the design over the last few years. Gone are the gem-cut edges, as they’ve since been replaced by softer corners. The accented edges have been replaced by a solid, more subtle color. And while I do think that 2020-era Spectre x360 was the most gorgeous laptop ever made, this product feels mature.

It comes in two colors, Eclipse Gray and Atmosphere Blue. The unit I reviewed is the former, which is also known as black. This is where I poke fun of HP’s color brands, where it once went to call a black color ‘Dark Ash Silver’. Anyway, it’s a good color.

Both of the rear corners are diagonally flattened, and HP has USB Type-C ports placed on each one. This is one of the oldest living design choices from the Spectre lineup. The company doesn’t really talk about why it’s like that so much anymore. It allows you to plug things, like a power cable, into your laptop without it getting in your way, all while still not blocking you from flipping the display into tablet mode. I’ve always appreciated it.

What I don’t like is that the port selection is confusing. There are three total USB Type-C ports, but only two of them are Thunderbolt 4. Those two are on the right side, so if you’re plugging in a Thunderbolt dock and you don’t examine the symbols marking them, you’ll have that short-term pain point where you have to figure out why it isn’t working properly.

It comes in at 2.97 pounds, which has been pretty standard for a premium convertible for a few years now. If you want anything lighter than that, you essentially have two options. You can get a magnesium convertible, or you can get a lighter aluminum clamshell like a Dell XPS 13 or a MacBook Air. But as far as convertibles with this kind of build quality go, this is about as light as it gets.

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Display and keyboard

They’re both best-in-class

I recently reviewed the AMD-powered OmniBook Ultra, and before that, the Snapdragon-powered OmniBook X/EliteBook Ultra. I was disappointed with them both. They had neither the OLED displays or the premium keyboards that I’ve come to expect from HP. The OmniBook Ultra Flip has both.

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The 2.8K OLED screen comes with a 120Hz refresh rate too, so it’s smooth. It’s as good of a laptop display as you can get.

My display testing showed a support for 100% sRGB, 94% NTSC, 96% Adobe RGB, and 100% P3, which are all what you’d expect from a premium OLED panel.

Brightness maxed out at 387.2 nits, and the contrast ratio, for all intents and purposes, is infinite. Being an OLED screen, that black level doesn’t rise as the brightness of the screen does.

The keyboard is wonderful in a way that HP only delivers on. The keys don’t wobble, they’re comfortable, they’re quiet, and they’re accurate. The best typing experience belongs to HP at this point.

There’s also a delightful haptic touchpad included in the product, something that was omitted from the company’s AMD- and Snapdragon-powered offerings. Naturally, this is a drastic improvement to the overall experience.

Another area where HP wins is the webcam. Over the last four years, all OEMs have improved their laptop cameras, but HP has went really heavy on it. This product has a 9MP sensor, and moreover, HP has its Poly Camera Pro software, which allows you to modify your video stream in a variety of ways. You can adjust things like brightness, add an overlay, zoom in, and more. It’s your one-stop shop for improving your appearance on calls, using the NPU for certain things, like background blur.

One thing I’ll say about HP is that it seems to actually care about how new features can improve the user experience, rather than just saying that. For example, it’s not just shouting about AI features because everyone else is. It’s being thoughtful about real applications instead of throwing things against the wall.

AI Companion and Copilot+

AI is good, actually

I joke to people that no one wants to read about AI anymore. We’ve all been around this block where some new technology is coming, there’s a ton of money in it, and companies are making big promises, promises we all know by now aren’t going to be delivered on. I’m still waiting on 5G allowing me to download a whole season of a show while I’m on line to board a flight.

But at the same time, if I tell you that your new PC has this really cool feature that will improve your work flow, you’d care, right? So, let’s talk about that.

HP’s AI Companion software is really good, especially in my line of work. There’s one feature that lets you drop a collection of PDFs in there and it makes them searchable using natural language. If you’re like me and you end up combing through spec sheets to write articles, this is super helpful.

Poly Camera Pro also makes use of the NPU, although I talked about how great that is above. Like I said, it feels like HP is making sure that new features are adding value, rather than just saying, “Everyone else is doing AI and we have to too.”

Intel-powered laptops still don’t have Copilot+, although a subset of features finally made its way to the Windows Insider Program. So yes, you can get Recall on the OmniBook Ultra Flip. You’ll also get things like Cocreator, which lets you draw in Paint and uses AI to craft an image based on your prompt and drawing.

Copilot+ is fine. I’ve never found it to be particularly useful on laptops where it is available, although now that Recall is here, that does add a little bit of value.

Performance and battery life

Lunar Lake is better than I expected

I’ve reviewed several Lunar Lake products by now, and it’s a really good product. I write this on the train home from a CES pre-briefing in NYC, that I left my home for nine hours ago, at 60% battery. I don’t even bring a charger with me when I’m out for the day anymore.

To be absolutely clear, I wasn’t using it constantly throughout that period, but something shifts when you don’t feel the need to carry a charger anymore. It’s one less thing to worry about, because we’re talking about over 10 hours of screen-on time with real-world usage. That’s set to ‘best performance’ too.

You can get that kind of battery life from Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X Elite too, but one thing that stands out for Intel Lunar Lake is graphics performance. It’s sort of the unsung hero of this new lineup of chips.

I like to compare the Windows market to Macs. I don’t use Macs, I hate macOS, and as someone that’s worked with Windows my whole life, it pains me to have to acknowledge that over the last five years, Apple has just done better.

So, there are two things I always point out. The first is that no one talks about adjusting power settings on a Mac. Windows OEMs (not necessarily HP, to be clear) always tell us to benchmark performance on the setting that gets you the most power, and test battery life on a more efficient setting. On a MacBook, you just use it. For what it’s worth, I largely ignore these instructions for that very reason.

The second is that no one asks for dedicated graphics on a MacBook. If you ask about something like video editing to a Windows vendor, the answer is usually, “Well this product isn’t made for those people.”

Intel Lunar Lake solves both of these. Finally, you can comfortably get some proper graphics power on an ultrabook without making compromises, and you don’t have to sacrifice performance to get excellent battery life.

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Note that 3DMark: Time Spy and CrossMark are x86-only, so they’re running in emulation on the Snapdragon laptop.

Should you buy the HP OmniBook Ultra Flip?

You should buy the HP OmniBook Ultra Flip if:

• You want the best laptop on the market
• You type and look at the screen when using a laptop
• You use the touchpad when you use your laptop
• You’re buying a laptop

You should NOT buy the HP OmniBook Ultra Flip if:

• The price is out of your range

This is it. This is the one that everyone should get. Sure, if you’re a gamer that needs proper hardware for that, you shouldn’t. But also, if you’re that person, you know it and you’re not even reading this paragraph.

People often ask me what laptop they should get, and they try to explain away their need for a good laptop. But if you’re buying a laptop and you want to feel good about it when you use it, get the HP OmniBook Ultra Flip. It’s awesome. If you’re wondering if you can justify the price, I usually ask people if they’ll be using it to make money.

But if you’re willing to pay for it, you can’t go wrong with the HP OmniBook Ultra Flip.