HP Omnibook Ultra Flip

First Impressions

Slightly dull looking in images, the Omnibook Ultra Flip has a lot going for it once you look a little deeper. There are some nice design touches, a lovely screen and plenty of power.

Introduction

HP has used its Imagine event to launch its first 2-in-1 AI laptop, and I have had the chance to spend some time with the laptop ahead of its release.

Powered by Intel Core Ultra (series 2) processors and packing some high-end features, like a wonderful 14-inch OLED panel, this 2-in-1 machine has plenty going for it.

Could it end up being one of the best laptops of the year? Here are my initial impressions of the $1449 machine, which is available now in the USA and coming to other regions in the coming months.

Display

• Lovely 14-inch OLED panel
• 500 nits for HDR
• 48-120Hz refresh rate

The display here is really nice. Even though I was using the Omnibook Ultra Flip in a room filled with bright, unnatural light the screen was still impressive, providing a punchy, bright image with impressive colours and the perfect black associated with OLED.

The 14-inch size is my favourite size, being the perfect combination of portability and productivity. It’s a sharp panel too, with a 2880 x 1800 (HP refers to this as 3K) resolution that feels like a smarter choice than 4K due to the efficiency improvements.

I didn’t get the chance to really test the display with any HDR footage, although HP reps said the panel can reach 400 nits in SDR content and 500 nits when playing back HDR. These claims will be tested when the machine arrives in our labs, although first impressions are certainly strong.

Elsewhere, the refresh rate can switch between 48 and 120Hz for added smoothness and it’s a very responsive touch panel too. Overall, this certainly looks and performs like an excellent laptop display.

Design

• HP’s first AI-focussed convertible
• Lovely textured body
• Keyboard feels great

In pictures, the HP Omnibook Ultra Flip looks a tad bland – like any non-descript business-focused laptop. Pick it up though, and you’ll notice a number of welcome design additions that make it far nicer in person.

For one, the body – at least in this darker hue I was using during my short demo session – had a nice texture to it. It’s not slippy or shiny, but moody and slightly rough. HP hasn’t tried to just make a MacBook clone here, instead going in a very different – and very welcome – route.

The keyboard is another strong point. The keys are big and clicky, while the function row is a slightly different colour to the rest of the deck, helping it stand out for quick access. There are three USB-C ports in all, two of which support Thunderbolt 4.

Two of these ports are angled on the corners of the machine, while the final one sits in a more traditional position on the side. 

Of course, the star of the show is the 2-in-1 convertible nature of the whole machine. The screen folds back, turning the laptop into a tablet that still feel comfortable to hold. This style of machine isn’t new – although ones like this with AI smarts are – but when you’ve got such a gorgeous panel, having no other distractions is a huge benefit in certain instances.  

Performance

• Intel Core Ultra 9 options
• Up to 2TB storage
• Ai features

As the Ultra moniker suggests, this is a high-end machine in certain configurations. There are various Intel Core Ultra (series 2) processor options, all with support for a multitude of AI goodies. 

These include Microsoft’s CoPilot Plus slate, but HP’s own AI services – including numerous AI security options. HP is also touting the front 9MP camera as an ‘AI camera’, adding in background blur and the like thanks to the integrated NPU.

A lot of these AI features still feel like something of a gimmick, and some including Microsoft’s much-hyped Recall feature is still missing, but they do have the ability to improve over time.

RAM options are either 16GB or 32GB, and there’s up to 2TB of storage too. HP noted battery life, in video playback tests, should be around 20 hour mark although we’ll need to properly test this when we get the machines in for in-depth testing.

Early Verdict

Slightly dull looking in images, the Omnibook Ultra Flip actually has a lot going for it once you look a little deeper. There are some nice design touches, a lovely screen and plenty of power.