One of the best ultraportable work laptops I’ve tested isn’t made by Dell or Lenovo

ZDNET’s key takeaways

• The HP OmniBook Ultra Flip is on sale now for $1,600.
• It’s a lightweight, convertible work laptop with a solid battery life and a booming speaker system.
• However, the model isn’t a powerhouse as some might find its performance a little disappointing

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When I first tried the HP OmniBook Ultra Flip Next Gen AI PC 14 (yes, that is its full name), I felt a sense of déjà vu. I thought to myself, “Haven’t I reviewed this laptop before?”

It took me a minute before I realized the device looked nearly identical to HP’s Spectre x360, which I reviewed earlier this year. Not only do they look alike, but they also have similar features. The only noticeable difference is their colors (my Omnibook unit was black, while the Spectre was dark blue).

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This isn’t surprising since HP announced in May 2024 that it would be rebranding its laptops and only using one of two names: Omni or Elite. So, you can think of the new Omnibook Ultra Flip as a direct follow-up to the Spectre x360 from February 2024, keeping the old design intact while upgrading the internal components.

The Omnibook Ultra Flip balances an aesthetically pleasing design with comfort. Each button on the keyboard is a near-perfect square with a nice travel distance, ensuring stress-free typing. The laptop’s edges are round, so they won’t poke you in the arm. Furthermore, despite the model’s dark color, fingerprints are hardly noticeable. 

Similar to the Spectre x360, the two corners on the outside of the laptop are flat, with each side housing a USB-C port. However, unlike the Spectre, the Omnibook Ultra Flip lacks mini docking stations. Unless you purchase a third-party Thunderbolt docking station or adapter, you’re stuck with the inputs provided.

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Of course, there’s more to the laptop than you see on the surface. My unit houses an Intel Core Ultra 7 258V processor, an integrated Intel Arc graphics card, and 32GB of memory. The Omnibook Ultra Flip’s performance was solid overall, although it’s not a powerhouse. I ran the laptop through several benchmark tests and it did well. HP’s Omnibook Ultra Flip consistently earned scores of over 10,000 on Geekbench 6. 

Those numbers, however, still fall short of contemporaries like the Dell Inspiron 14 Plus 7441. At the very least, the Omnibook handles your average office tasks well.

The Omnibook Ultra Flip excels in the audio department. It houses a four-speaker setup fine-tuned by the company’s Poly Studio brand, delivering booming audio output with a punchy bass. This, combined with the 9MP AI webcam, offers a video call experience that few can replicate.

The Omnibook Ultra Flip’s battery is no slouch — it lasted 13 hours on a single charge during testing. That number was below the company’s purported 20-hour runtime, but it’s still long enough to take you through the entire workday.

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I also found the touchscreen to be quite striking. It boasts a 3K (2,880 x 1,800 pixels) OLED. The resolution is incredible, and thanks to software enhancers, the colors are vibrant.

That said, I wish HP covered the glass in an anti-glare coating to maintain visibility under bright conditions. The display is so reflective that even a dull bedroom light can obscure the screen.

The OLED and the great hardware allow HP’s Omnibook Ultra Flip to double as a drawing tablet; however, this specific use case is limited as the supporting features are half-baked. The device comes with a free stylus, but it’s nowhere near as accurate as an Apple Pencil.

I struggled to use the pen as inputs lagged outside of drawing apps. Something as simple as closing a window proved more difficult than it should’ve been.

My experience with the laptop was fairly positive, although there were some quirks. Strangely, the test unit I received had Asus apps installed: the ProArt Creator Hub and MyAsus. I’ve been told by an HP representative that the Omnibook Ultra Flip does not come with Asus, and those programs should not have been on the laptop to begin with. That would explain why the Creator Hub software didn’t work properly.

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I chalked the apps on the review unit as some random occurrence or error. The Omnibook Ultra Flip should not come with bloatware from other companies or brands. These apps didn’t negatively impact my experience in any major way. HP’s device came with 2TB of storage, so the space being taken up was a drop in the bucket. 

ZDNET’s buying advice

HP recently discounted the OmniBook Ultra Flip 14-inch laptop, and the 1TB model is currently selling for $1,200 at Best Buy. It normally retails for $1,600. At $1,200, I do recommend buying this laptop. It is a lightweight machine with a great display, plenty of storage, and a long-lasting battery.

If you’re open to alternatives, I’ve tested and recommend the Dell Inspiron 14 Plus 7441, which houses a better-performing Snapdragon X Elite chipset, a slightly longer battery life, and a wider selection of ports on the side. There’s also MSI’s Prestige AI Plus Evo, if you value portability. This ultra-lightweight laptop has a stunning 2.8K OLED display and solid performance courtesy of an Intel Lunar Lake processor.