Best HP Laptops 2022

CPU: Intel Core i7-1255U | RAM: 16GB LPDDR4 | Graphics: Intel Iris Xe | Storage: 512GB SSD | Display: 13.5-inch OLED touchscreen Resolution: 3,000 x 2,000 | Refresh rate: 60 Hz | Battery: Up to 13.5 hours | Weight: 3 pounds

Best for: Using a combination of traditional and touchscreen applications on one device.

The 2022 release of the HP Specter x360 14 could be the best version of this 2-in-1 yet. It features a high-performance, energy-efficient 12th-generation Intel Core i7 CPU paired up with 16GB of RAM and 512GB of SSD storage. Those specs make for a snappy, responsive system during everyday use, heavy web browsing and general office tasks. Its integrated Intel Iris Xe graphics won’t give you a ton of gaming performance, but it has enough power for esports and indie gaming.

The high-resolution, 3K display uses a 13.5-inch touchscreen OLED panel, perfect for both productivity and entertainment. With crisp text, deep contrast and vibrant colors, this display makes movies, TV shows and even everyday web pages look excellent. If you like to use dark mode, you can expect excellent contrast from the OLED display. Plus, the panel’s 3:2 aspect ratio makes this laptop well-suited to reading long documents and websites. Since this is a 2-in-1 laptop with a sturdy 360-degree hinge, you can contort the laptop to stand upright in tent mode or flip the display around into tablet mode. HP includes an active stylus pen with the laptop.

Pros:

• Strong performance
• Lightweight, 2-in-1 design
• Crisp, vibrant OLED display

Cons:

CPU: Intel Core i7-12800HX | RAM: 16GB DDR5 | Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti | Storage: 1TB SSD | Display: 17.3-inch | Resolution: 2,560 x 1,440 | Refresh rate: 165 Hz | Battery: Up to 5.5 hours | Weight: 6.2 pounds

Best for: Gamers with understated taste.

The HP Omen 17 is one of the most powerful gaming laptops HP has ever made. This configuration packs a high-performance 12th-generation Intel processor, 16GB of speedy DDR5 memory and capable NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti graphics—enough power to take full advantage of the 1440p display’s high 165Hz refresh rate for buttery-smooth, detailed gameplay. Whether you’re looking to enjoy esports games or more graphically intensive AAA games, the Omen 17 can deliver. It gets an artificial intelligence assist from the RTX 3070 Ti graphics, which uses NVIDIA’s deep learning super sampling technology to either boost frame rates or help them reach a playable level in the most demanding ray tracing gaming experiences.

The 1TB SSD provides heaps of storage space, perfect for those with large game libraries. HP rates the battery to last up to 5.5 hours, enough to be away from an outlet for a short time. But with a big and heavy laptop like this, you’re more likely to stay put at a desk, and that usually means access to a power socket. At over six pounds, this isn’t a laptop you’ll want to lug around all day, but that bulk helps keep temperatures low and performance high, especially during extended gaming sessions.

Pros:

• Powerful components
• Crisp 2K display with fast-refresh rate
• Plenty of storage space for big game libraries

Cons:

CPU: Intel Core i7-1255U | RAM: 16GB DDR4 | Graphics: Intel Iris Xe | Storage: 512GB SSD | Display: 15.6-inch | Resolution: 1,920 x 1,080 | Refresh rate: 60 Hz | Battery: Up to 10 hours | Weight: 3.9 pounds

Best for: Web browsing, productivity and casual gaming.

Even the best budget laptops usually sacrifice something, but the HP Pavilion 15 gets very close to avoiding that typical trope. With a capable 12th-generation Intel Core i7 CPU, 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD, you’re getting a solid complement of components capable of handling tons of open browser tabs. The display is simply 1080p resolution, so it lacks the crisp clarity of 2K QHD displays; however, the lower resolution is the main trade-off you make in exchange for this model’s more reasonable price.

This 15.6-inch laptop weighs 3.9 pounds, making it portable enough to carry around when you need it. HP says the battery can last up to 10 hours, almost enough to get you through a full workday. Sure, a better display or discrete graphics would be handy, but these are the kinds of nice-to-haves you look for in more expensive laptops. If you’re looking to buy a sub-$1,000 laptop, the HP Pavilion 15 is at the top of the pile. Available in a range of colors, all at the same low price, this is a great pick for anyone looking for an affordable HP laptop in 2022.

Pros:

• Strong components for the price
• Affordable price
• Reasonable battery life

Cons:

• Lacks touchscreen
• Display limited to 1080p

CPU: Intel Core i7-1260P | RAM: 16GB DDR4 | Graphics: Intel Arc A370M| Storage: 1TB SSD | Display: 16-inch OLED touchscreen Resolution: 3840 x 2160 | Refresh rate: 60 Hz | Battery: Up to 9 hours | Weight: 4.4 pounds

Best for: Enjoying 4K movies on a machine that’s great for work and play.

The HP Specter x360 16 is the largest size in HP’s stellar convertible laptop line, and this high-end configuration is one of the best you can buy (to achieve the config listed above, start with HP’s standard $1,650 build-to-order model) . This iteration includes Intel’s rarely seen Arc A370M discrete graphics (a $380 upgrade over the standard configuration). Intel’s GPU provides competitive performance approaching what you’d expect from an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050, and it is good enough to handle esports and casual gaming. The killer feature of this laptop, however, is its 16-inch touchscreen OLED panel with 4K resolution (a $160 upgrade). The display delivers terrific contrast, good brightness (up to 400 nits) and sharp text and images, making it a superb choice for watching movies and editing photos and videos. You can double the storage to 1TB, as we did in this configuration, for an additional $100 over the standard version.

This laptop’s keyboard is comfortable and well-spaced, and it has a stylish black design with trim bezels. HP rates battery life at up to nine hours, enough to squeak through a workday on a single charge. The laptop weighs 4.4 pounds. It’s too bulky to hold one-handed in tablet mode, but the hinged display means you have the option of using this laptop in tent mode, or flipped around as a tablet (it comes with an active stylus).

Pros:

• Good performance for work and play
• Impressive battery life for a 4K OLED laptop
• Can handle casual gaming and esports

Cons:

• Not powerful enough for high-end video editing
• Too heavy for one-handed tablet use

CPU: Intel Core i7-1265U | RAM: 16GB DDR5 | Graphics: Intel Iris Xe | Storage: 512GB SSD | Display: 13.5-inch | Resolution: 1920 x 1280 | Refresh rate: 60 Hz | Battery: Up to 14 hours | Weight: 2.2 pounds

Best for: Business users looking for power and portability.

The HP Elite Dragonfly G3 Wolf Pro Security Edition might be expensive, but it has a lot going for it, with its ultra-light design and robust security for small and medium businesses. It has a capable, 12th-generation Intel processor and fast DDR5 memory to take full advantage of that CPU. The WUXGA+ display has a 3:2 aspect ratio, better for seeing more on the screen with less scrolling. At just 2.2 pounds, this is one of the lightest high-performance laptops you can buy in 2022, and with up to 14 hours of battery life, you won’t need to hunt for a power socket too often. This is an outstanding machine to take with you on the road for work or school.

This laptop sticks to a clamshell design, which contributes to the Dragonfly’s sturdy build. It has two USB4 Type-C/Thunderbolt 4 ports (with USB Power Delivery), one USB Type-A 5Gbps port, a full-size HDMI 2.0 port and a headphone/microphone jack—enough options for connecting accessories and peripherals. The integrated Iris Xe graphics won’t let you do much gaming in your downtime, but if you try some esports or casual games, the 1080p-equivalent display helps keep demand on the GPU low. Aside from its svelte design, this Dragonfly model stands out for its inclusion of HP’s Wolf Pro Security, which adds multiple layers of hardware and software protection against threats and malware.

Pros:

• Slim, lightweight design
• Lengthy battery life
• Excellent security features

Cons:

• Expensive compared to consumer laptops