HP has been on a creativity streak lately, producing laptops aimed directly at users of creative apps like Adobe Photoshop and Premiere Pro. The HP Envy 14, being introduced at the Consumer Electronics Show, offers the company’s first 14-inch laptop with a color-calibrated display and includes components aimed at making creation an easier and more efficient task.
The Envy 14’s centerpiece is its 14-inch display in the increasingly popular 16:10 aspect ratio, offering a WUXGA (1920 x 1200) panel that’s taller than the old-school 16:9 aspect ratio and therefore a boon to productivity. The display offers 100% sRGB color gamut support and guarantees a color accuracy of DeltaE less than 2.0.
The combination of taller aspect ratio and wider, more accurate colors is HP’s nod to anyone who works heavily with pictures and video. The HP Display Control app allows users to customize colors for specific uses and offers an Auto Color mode that chooses the best color mode for the active application.
Powering the laptop are 11th-generation Intel Tiger Lake CPUs and up to an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 Ti GPU. We don’t have specific configuration details at this point about the CPU, RAM, and storage. We can say, though, that HP has paid a great deal of attention to providing consistently high performance that’s customizable based on a user’s specific needs.
For example, the company has created an advanced thermal design that uses an IR thermopile sensor to use as much thermal capacity as the system can provide at a given moment, with dual fans and heat pipes working to keep the laptop cool. The HP Command Center software allows users to select a mode that best matches their need for noise and heat control or flat-out performance.
Other features include artificial intelligence (A.I.)-controlled noise removal software to make videoconferencing more effective, in a nod to remote working, along with HP Enhanced Lighting that uses lighting controls in the display to make the user’s appearance in video calls clearer and more pleasant.
Security features include dedicated keyboard buttons for turning off the microphone and digitally controlling the physical shutter that can close and block the webcam from spying eyes. Connectivity is also strong, with a Thunderbolt 4 port, two USB-A ports, a full-size HDMI 2.0 port, and a 3.5mm audio jack. Wireless connectivity is provided by Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.0.
The HP Envy 14 will be available in January 2021, with a starting price of $999.
