Windows laptops are undergoing a significant transformation, inspired by Apple’s success with Apple Silicon. HP’s new OmniBook X embodies this shift, introducing a next-generation Windows laptop powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite chipset and Windows on Arm. This innovative combination aims to challenge Apple’s dominance in both performance and battery life.
The OmniBook X is HP’s first Copilot+ laptop, showcasing a new era of AI-powered computing. While the full potential of Copilot+ features is still developing, the OmniBook X offers enhanced Studio Effects, Live Captions, and Cocreator, leveraging the AI capabilities of the Snapdragon X Elite chipset. Beyond its AI features, the OmniBook X excels as a well-built and attractive laptop. Crafted with an aluminum chassis and lid, it exhibits good rigidity, though the lid demonstrates some flexing under moderate pressure. The OmniBook X balances a sleek design with a comfortable keyboard featuring large keycaps, ample spacing, and bold lettering for excellent visibility. The keyboard’s snappy and precise keys require slightly more force than some competitors, but are generally praised. The mechanical touchpad, while adequate, could benefit from the larger size and haptic feedback found on the MacBook Air and other premium laptops. The display is a bright and accurate 14-inch 2.2K IPS panel, capable of delivering a pleasant viewing experience. However, its performance falls short of OLED displays in terms of contrast and vibrancy. The audio, provided by two downward-firing speakers, is clear but lacks the bass depth found on more sophisticated systems.
The Snapdragon X Elite chipset powering the OmniBook X delivers impressive performance. While benchmarks for Windows on Arm are still limited, the OmniBook X demonstrates comparable speed to Intel Meteor Lake and Apple Silicon laptops in everyday tasks. The OmniBook X boasts a solid performance advantage over Intel Meteor Lake laptops and the MacBook Air M3 in multi-core tasks, as measured by Geekbench 6 and Cinebench 2024. However, the MacBook Air M3 retains its lead in single-core performance, which can significantly impact everyday responsiveness. Despite the performance gains, the OmniBook X’s Adreno GPU falls short of the MacBook Air M3 in demanding creative applications like Adobe Premiere Pro and Photoshop. While the OmniBook X can handle light gaming, it lacks the horsepower for serious gaming or intensive creative workflows. The Snapdragon X Elite boasts a powerful neural processing unit (NPU) that surpasses the performance of Intel Meteor Lake and Apple M3 chips. However, the lack of comprehensive AI benchmarks prevents a definitive comparison of its AI capabilities. The OmniBook X’s true strength lies in its impressive battery life. It consistently outlasts most Intel laptops but falls behind the MacBook Air M3 in web browsing and demanding tasks. Despite this, the OmniBook X demonstrates significant improvements in efficiency compared to previous Windows on Arm devices.
Overall, the HP OmniBook X is a compelling alternative to traditional Windows laptops. It offers a winning combination of solid performance, excellent battery life, and attractive pricing. While it doesn’t quite dethrone the MacBook Air M3 in terms of efficiency, it presents a compelling option for users seeking a powerful and well-built Windows on Arm laptop. As the Windows on Arm ecosystem evolves, the OmniBook X serves as a promising sign for the future of this technology.
