HP refreshes its ENVY Ultrabooks, including two x360 convertibles with 2020's AMD Ryzen 7

What you need to know

• Three new ENVY laptops are coming for 2020
• The ENVY 13 gets a slimming redesign, newer hardware.
• ENVY x360 13 grabs an AMD Ryzen 7 4700U and starts at just $700.
• ENVY x360 15 is a bigger version, but there is an option for Intel or AMD. Fight!

HP is stepping up its 13-inch and 15-inch convertible game with the more mainstream ENVY series. Three new refreshes of the ENVY 13, ENVY x360 13, and ENVY x360 15 are hitting in early May with affordable pricing and some of the latest specs from Intel and AMD, which is new.

What's super exciting is in the 15-inch model, HP is going to sell an Intel one and an AMD option. No surprise, the AMD one is more affordable.

HP ENVY 13 (2020)

First up, the ENVY 13, which is one of our top HP budget picks, gets a redesign for 2020. Gone are the top firing speakers found behind the keyboard, and instead, following Spectre, they move to the bottom edges. As a result, the top deck is significantly smaller, reducing the overall footprint of the ENVY 13.

Likewise, the display bezel, long a thorn for HP, is shrinking down on the bottom, giving a more symmetrical, cleaner look and a pleasing 88 percent screen-to-body ratio. The aspect ratio, however, is still fixed at 16:9. Full HD is the default resolution, but, like last year, you can also order a 4K variant, which is excellent.

Hardware is expected with up to a 10th Gen Intel Core i7-1065G7, full HD IPS touch display, 8GB of DDR4-3200 RAM, 256GB SSD, and Intel Iris Plus graphics. Graphics, though, can get an extra boost with an optional NVIDIA GeForce MX330, which is a bump from last year's MX250.

Pricing for the ENVY 13 starts at $1,000, and it comes in natural silver or pale gold.

HP ENVY x360 13 (2020)

For those who want a convertible with plenty of options, HP has the new ENVY x360 13, which now ships with a highly desirable AMD Ryzen 7 4700U and Radeon graphics. That laptop has just 8GB of DDR4 RAM and up to 512GB SSD, but surprisingly it does have Thunderbolt 3, too, for its single Type-C port. Two more Type-A ports and a microSD card reader round out the main specs.

Though the features on the ENVY x360 13 are less drool-worthy, including a modest full HD touch display and just Wi-Fi 5, the low starting price of just $700 is hard to ignore. That "nightfall black" is also an excellent differentiator.

HP ENVY x360 15 (2020)

Besides the two 13-inch ENVY laptops, HP is also announcing the latest ENVY x360 15. As the name implies, this is a similar laptop to the ENVY x360 13, but swaps out a 13.3-inch screen for a larger 15.6-inch one instead.

That comparison carries over to the hardware configuration, which includes that new AMD Ryzen 5 4500U to the Ryzen 7 4700U.

However, unlike the 13-inch, HP is letting users pick if they want Intel's latest chip instead, ranging from the Core i5-1035G1 to the i7-1065G7. In an exciting twist, the AMD version still comes in that super cool "nightfall black", while the Intel model gets a tamed "natural silver".

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Graphics go up to an optional NVIDIA GeForce MX330 (Intel) or Radeon for AMD.

The display gets the same 88 percent screen-to-body ratio with an option for full HD up to 4K AMOLED.

Look for both the ENVY 13 ($1,000) and ENVY x360 13 ($700) to go on sale starting in early May from HP.com and other US retailers. The ENVY x360 15 hits stores also in early May, but pricing start from $700 for the AMD to $850 for the Intel, which is interesting.

Besides these three ENVYs, HP also announced the ENVY 15 (non-convertible). That laptop is set to take on Apple's MacBook Pro 16 and Dell's powerhouse XPS 15. You can read about the ENVY 15 here.