Almost every new laptop released over the past 12 months will offer some form of AI feature in the pre-installed software, with supporting hardware like the NPU to handle AI computing efficiently. In this new convertible tablet-laptop, the HP OmniBook X Flip Next Gen AI PC 14-inch laptop incorporates several AI features meant to improve user experience, performance and productivity. These “Next-Gen AI PC” comes with a logo imprinted at the bottom right keyboard. The RRP for this 2-in-1 laptop is S$2199.
Here is the specs for the review unit fm0064TU:
- Intel® Core™ Ultra 7 processor with Intel® AI Boost (47 NPU TOPS)
- Windows 11 Home
- 14″ 2800×1800 OLED touch display with Intel® Arc™ 140V GPU Graphics
- 32 GB LPDDR5x RAM
- 1 TB SSD Hard Drive
- 5MP IR camera
- DTS:X® Ultra; Dual speakers; HP Audio Boost; Poly Studio
- Includes HP USB-C Rechargeable MPP2.0 Tilt Natural Silver Pen
- Intel® Wi-Fi 7 BE201 (2×2) and Bluetooth® 5.4 wireless card
- 2x USB Type-A 10Gbps signaling rate
- 1x HDMI 2.1
- 1x headphone/microphone combo
- 1x Thunderbolt™ 4 with USB Type-C® 40Gbps signaling rate (USB Power Delivery, DisplayPort™ 2.1, HP Sleep and Charge);
- 1x USB Type-C® 10Gbps signaling rate (USB Power Delivery, DisplayPort™ 1.4a, HP Sleep and Charge)
- 3-cell 59Wh Li-ion Polymer
- 1.38kg
- 31.3 x 21.85 x 1.46 cm
The laptop is well-built for versatility that allows user to use as a normal laptop or tablet or tent mode. The tight hinge prevents me from flipping open the display easily, a minor inconvenience for a 2-in-1 laptop. The included rechargeable stylus pen snaps magnetically to the right side of the laptop. The webcam comes with a built-in privacy shutter but I have to keep it open in order to use the facial unlock function. The flat keyboard with small gaps is not my favourite design, as I prefer wider gaps for my fingers to feel the individual keys better. Neither am I delighted with the weight, as I would prefer a featherweight laptop to operate on. It is a trade-off for consumers who really need a convertible device, especially for digital pen work. Needless to say, the 3K OLED display delivers well-defined details for text and for graphics.
The OmniBook X Flip includes a new software called HP AI Companion, a tool that uses generative AI to offer assistance with PC settings. Just ask the AI chatbot for, say, how to improve battery life, and it will come up with real suggestions specific to the Omnibook X Flip. You can even ask the AI to enable or disable features.
Another feature is to analyze your personal files to provide generative AI responses. First, create a “library”, upload files (max 100MB total), and then ask AI for answers based on the files you put in the library. The Analyze Assistant generates responses without internet, providing a secure platform for you to get AI help. I get quite good answers from a PDF file of Dick Lee’s CD album scan, demonstrating the power of AI that can even pull out answers from images containing text. For better responses, you can toggle cloud mode for the AI assistant to get more accurate answers online.
Despite offering an overall well-designed hardware, I feel the overall performance is not optimised. The laptop seems to exhibit some occasional performanace bottlenecks. I can’t call it “lag” as it sometimes runs speedily, but at other times, I do not get the immediacy. For instance, it takes a while to wake up from sleep, perhaps due to the OS going into deep hibernation mode. Yet the battery did drop after putting to sleep for a few days. During power saving mode when battery drops below 30%, the system feels sluggish, perhaps to throttle and extend battery life. On few occasions, the keyboard did not work, and on one odd occasions, I could not open any app from the Startup menu. Most of the kinks seem to occur after the computer wakes up from OS slumber, which I must admit is not an uncommon issue for Windows. This is why it is best to do a full shutdown instead of putting to sleep to achieve the most stable operations.
Verdict
I would give high marks to the HP OmniBook X Flip for its overall build quality, the generous connectivity ports, the avail of stylus and touch screen, as well as its comfortably brilliant display. I may need to get used to the keyboard layout but besides that, the keys are very reponsive thanks to the short key travel mechanism. The AI Companion is also very useful for on-device offline generative AI assistant that ensures data privacy. 1.38kg might seem relatively lightweight, but it is a compromise for a multi-modal tablet and laptop device. A detachable keyboard design like Surface Pro might be a better alternative to lighten the heft but also has its usability issues. Ultimately, you have to weigh the pros and cons as the end user to go for the design that you need. At S$2199, the OmniBook X Flip is a price balanced with premium design and mid performance.
