building
The OmniBook The sandblasted aluminum finish contrasts with the bright HP logo, giving it a certain prestige.
It's HP, not LIP. © Les Numeric
When you open the screen, a 14-inch touch panel with a borderless finish is revealed. The keyboard has light gray keys compared to the rest of the chassis and a blue/gray power button. We see a positive development in this aspect since HP used to provide monochromatic keyboards and backlighting which made the screen print of the keys unreadable. This is no longer the case.
The keyboard is particularly pleasant to use. © Les Numeric
The typing offered by the keyboard is enjoyable with clear feedback. Getting started does not require any special adaptation. The touchpad is centered below the keyboard, is a very convenient size and gliding is smooth. We sometimes noticed a lack of sensitivity when clicking keys were not taken into account, forcing us to actually click with the physical button.
The “tri-colour” keyboard makes reading easier. © Les Numeric
In terms of connectivity, HP makes do with a minimum of two charging-compatible USB-C sockets and a DisplayPort port on the left edge, while on the other side there is a USB-A port hidden below the slot and a jack.
Original retractable USB port. © Les Numeric
Wireless connectivity is provided by the Qualcomm FastConnect 7800 chipset that offers WiFi 7 at 5.8 Gb/s and Bluetooth 5.4.
The webcam has a 5-megapixel sensor that is ideal for video conferencing. HP also offers an overlay with its Poly accessory brand to improve the display and take advantage of the NPU to blur the background or activate eye tracking. The overall presentation is very correct, but honestly with a 5MP sensor, we were hoping it would be much better. However, note the compatibility with Windows Hello that allows you to open the session using your face.
Omnibook
OmniBook X 14's cooling system. © Les Numeric
In practice, after 10 minutes of video encoding, we noticed approximately 43 degrees of gain between the keys on the left side of the keyboard. We can also see very clearly in the thermal images the location of all the components and the fan.
When it comes to noise pollution, HP has nailed it here. Thus, during the video encoding process itself, we observed 35.3 dB, which is as low as the Surface Laptop 7 with the same processor.
HP offers its own MyHP software for tuning your PC “normally,” but it's very blank and there's no adjustment possible in terms of performance or ventilation profiles. Video settings refer to the webcam's Poly software, and audio settings simply activate noise cancellation for the headphone or microphone output. HP offers an AI Companion program, but registration is required to take advantage of it. So we went back and stopped trying.
Cooling and noise pollution are controlled. © Les Numeric
performance
The OmniBook
CPU performance index (the higher the better). © Les Numeric
The ultra-portable OmniBook offers almost the same performance as the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7X, Dell XPS 13, or Samsung Galaxy Book4 Edge that opted for the same processor.
If the Snapdragon X Elite delivers very convincing performance with the right software, be careful with video games. In fact, the Adreno part lacks power and doesn't benefit from the same level of monitoring by drivers. So, Shadow of the Tomb RaiderWhich we use to evaluate the performance of computers Gamescrashes miserably at the end of the first scene of the integrated benchmark, something we did not encounter during our testing of the Asus VivoBook S 15 with the same processor.
If you are used to running games from time to time, we recommend you switch to an Intel Core Ultra or AMD Ryzen AI 300 laptop, which is more comfortable with monthly monitoring of graphics drivers.
The SSD on the OmniBook Therefore, it actively participates in the overall response of the operating system.
Speeds are more than enough for office use. © Les Numeric
a screen
HP uses a 14-inch IPS touch panel with an unusual definition of 2240 x 1400 pixels. It's not possible to select colorimetric profiles, MyHP doesn't have them…which is a shame.
The tactile and glossy panel is highly reflective of the environment. © Les Numeric
Under our probe, the OmniBook panel gets an average delta E of 2.5, just below the threshold of 3 beyond which the eye distinguishes color drifts. However, red and blue deviate significantly from 3.
The color temperature is a very low 5072K, while the video standard is 6500K. So the colors will appear a little too warm, a little reddish… Contrast is average for 1283:1 IPS panels: blacks will look very nice, especially in dark scenes.
The maximum brightness is 318 cd/m2, which is the minimum in 2024. This is not enough to counter reflections on the panel of approximately 48% of reflected light. Therefore, you should avoid very bright environments to enjoy your video content.
My voice
For the audio part, HP has installed two speakers on each side of the touchpad, directed towards the support. Special placement because your forearms will cover the speakers when typing.
The speakers are located on the front of the chassis. © Les Numeric
When listening, the presentation lacks precision, with emphasis on the mids. Bass is almost absent and the sound seems to be coming from a cardboard box. Fortunately, the headphone output provides a more convincing performance.
The socket offers very good output power with 240 mVRMS, which is much higher than the standard 125 mVRMS. Distortion is imperceptible, dynamic range is high and crosstalk is moderate, so your stereo effects will be reproduced correctly.
| HP Omnibook | Average of computers tested | |
|---|---|---|
| Output level | 240 mV RMS | 169 mV RMS |
| Distortion + noise | 0.011% | 0.018% |
| Dynamic range | 83 dB | 99 dB |
| Crosstalk | -53 dB | -60 dB |
The HP OmniBook is therefore the ideal format for portability, with a weight of 1.34kg, a 65W charger and a slightly above average 300g weight. We will regret using the charger in two parts instead of a block as is the case with Apple, which allows us to do without a very bulky mains cable.
We would like to get rid of the power cable… © Les Numeric
The HP Omnibook is therefore in the same vein as the other Qualcomm Snapdragon
Independence allows you to go about your day without any problems. © Les Numeric
