HP Envy Line Refreshed With Better Battery Life, Thinner Bezels

HP is refreshing its midrange Envy laptops with enhancements like better battery life, slimmer screen bezels, and some support for AMD chips.

The refreshed models will arrive in traditional notebook and convertible models. The HP Envy 13, for instance, is a clamshell laptop that'll start at $899 when it goes on sale next month. The company claims it can run for up to 19.75 hours on one charge, almost five hours more than last year's model.

The lightweight laptop (starting at 2.64 pounds), features a sleek-aluminum casing, fingerprint reader, and Gigabit Wi-Fi. You can configure the product with Intel's latest 8th-generation Core processors.

A convertible version, the HP Envy x360 13, will be available as well, starting next week, but with one big difference: It swaps out the Intel processor for a second-generation AMD Ryzen chip. In a press call, HP explained it decided to incorporate more AMD silicon into its product line, citing better performance and pricing from the chipmaker's latest processors.

On the plus side, the HP Envy x360 13 is more affordable than the laptop version, at $699. Compared to last year's model, HP also managed to slightly narrow the bezels on the convertible for more screen space. But unfortunately, the Envy x360 13 offers less battery life; expect up to 14 hours on a single charge.

For a larger convertible, HP created the Envy x360 15. It'll arrive for $869 next month with an Intel chip or $799 when configured with an AMD processor.

HP is also offering the option to upgrade to an AMOLED screen for better brightness and colors. In terms of battery life, expect up to 13 hours on one charge, or about 3 hours more than the previous generation.

Buyers looking to go big can opt for the HP Envy 17, which can be configured with an Nvidia GeForce MX250 graphics card and an optical disk drive. However, the company is offering the laptop with Intel 8th-generation Core chips.

The 6.4-pound laptop will arrive in April with an $899 starting price. HP also refreshed the model with narrow bezels around the display for more screen space. However, battery life sits at just 10 hours and 45 minutes on one charge.

Although HP's Envy is designed to cater to consumers, the company also developed a pair of laptops to target small and medium businesses looking to upgrade to Windows 10.

The HP ProBook 445R G6 (a 14-inch laptop) and HP ProBook 455R G6 (a 15.6-inch laptop) will arrive in June. Notably, both products have been fitted with 2nd-generation AMD Ryzen processors. The notebooks come with an aluminum chassis, and a 180-degree hinge so you can lay the laptops flat. Unfortunately, the company hasn't determined pricing for either device.

Finally, if you're in the market for a desktop, the company is preparing a new device called the HP ProDesk 405 G4 Desktop Mini. It'll also be loaded with an AMD Ryzen or AMD Athlon processor and come in a slim profile that weighs in at 2.66 pounds.

The HP ProDesk arrives next month for $499. It can be configured with up to 1TB of HDD storage or a 512GB SSD and 32GB of RAM.

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