HP's Qualcomm Snapdragon-powered Envy x2 now available to order

By Dan Thorp-Lancaster
published

HP's first Snapdragon-powered Windows 10 PC is now available and set to ship in May.

HP's Envy x2, one of the first Windows 10 on ARM PCs to hit the market, is now available to order from HP (opens in new tab). While the Surface-like tablet first went up for preorder in February, it quickly went out of stock and remained so until now.

Available for $999.99, the detachable PC is expected to begin shipping on May 8. For the money, the Envy x2 packs 4GB of RAM, 128GB of storage, and a 12.3-inch 1920x1280 screen. The entire package very much resembles a Surface Pro, with a detachable keyboard and inking support via a provided stylus.

Where the Envy x2 sets itself apart is what's powering it: Qualcomm's Snapdragon 835. The ARM platform allows the Envy x2 to reach an estimated battery life of 22 hours, HP claims. That's in addition to instant-on capabilities and LTE connectivity.

Hands-on with the HP Envy x2 always connected PC

Earlier this year, Qualcomm announced that major mobile operators around the world, including major U.S. carriers, will support Always Connected PCs on their LTE networks. Microsoft and Qualcomm area also working with regional retailers, as well as Amazon, to start stocking Always Connected PCs along with the Microsoft Store.

Windows Central will have a review of the Envy x2 coming soon. But if you're ready to order one for yourself, the Always Connected PC is now available from HP for $999.99.

See at HP (opens in new tab)

Dan Thorp-Lancaster
Dan Thorp-Lancaster

Dan Thorp-Lancaster is the former Editor-in-Chief of Windows Central. He began working with Windows Central, Android Central, and iMore as a news writer in 2014 and is obsessed with tech of all sorts. You can follow Dan on Twitter @DthorpL and Instagram @heyitsdtl. 

48 Comments
  • $999 should be followed by a /s tag, but for some reason they are serious with that price.
  • So $999 is ok for a phone but not ok for a far more capable computer?
  • You cannot buy any phone with greater overall performance than a $1000 iPhone, let alone a $200 phone. Every $200 Windows laptop/tablet has better overall performance than this $1000 machine. The price should match the performance. This thing is priced higher than a Surface Pro!
  • Well, it may be an exaggeration to say that $200 Windows PC's outperform this. Most are just barely above "garbage" in that price range. I do agree this is overpriced, though. You can get any of several models with better performance at this price, Surface pro included. What you're paying for here is battery life, though. Some people prioritize that over performance, and although I personally disagree (I'm never away from an outlet for more than a couple of hours), that's a legit coffee. My use case isn't necessarily EVERYONE'S use case.
  • Since when performamce was the main point of this 2-1 device ?
  • The iPhone X (256GB model) where I live costs US $1380 so I don't think it's expensive, Windows ARM will be very successful since its bringing mobile data plans for consumers that want to use Internet everywhere using their laptop/2 in 1
  • See my reply above. There have been LTE options in PCs for years. It really isn't that useful when WiFi is basically everywhere you would want to work.
  • Your use case isn't everyone's. There's plenty of room for options.
  • Is there? I don't think there is room for this device. Again, if LTE was that important, the machines that already have it would be more popular. Battery life is nice, but pointless if the back cannot even do the simple tasks we expect from Windows. I don't know when you would ever recommend this machine over an XPS13 or Surface Pro.
  • Im weak 😂😂
  • It's a premium laptop/mobile device, only it has a Snapdragon.
  • For that price I'd rather get the Surface Pro with a Core i5, 128GB and 4GB of ram which is on sale for $799, regular $999
  • That's nice but others want a lightweight and thin device, cellular connectivity with exceptional battery live and standby times - all of this the Surface Pro is not.
    In addition of course, if you add pen, touch cover and LTE to the Surface we are talking rather $1300+ - which is way more of what HP is asking for.
  • I agree with both of you, I own a SP4 with those exact specs that Tapatio_00 mentions which I bought for £649 with the pen included and paid £49 for the keyboard but, if I could get a device like the Envy x2 for the same price then I would.
  • An upgrade of my Surface 3 would be all that and shouldn't cost much more than what it cost when I got it. Considerably less than $1K, and it has LTE, keyboard and pen.
  • Different use case, clearly. Presentation and features are similar, but compare battery life and LTE use scenarios. This device might look like a Surface but it's a new kind of usage paradigm.
  • Cool. But I'd still rather have this. No reports of screen flicker and HP has worldwide support. Not to mention if you got a defective device, they'd most likely replace or fix it. Good luck on that with Microsoft. And with Qualcomm processors, goodbye sleep of death!
  • Few people want a crippled Windows detachable.
  • You were saying? "HP's Envy x2, one of the first Windows 10 on ARM PCs to hit the market, is now available to order from HP. While the Surface-like tablet first went up for preorder in February, it quickly went out of stock and remained so until now." That mutes the "NO ONE" in your statement
  • Quickly ran out of stock means nothing too.
  • Roasted
  • That's great, except that he didn't say "no one".
  • You forget that Windows on ARM with the Snapdragon 835 WILL run x86 AND ARM software!!!
  • To be precise, it runs ARM64, ARM and x86 software. Therefore you have 3 folders on drive c:
    1) Program Files ->for 64 bit ARM 2) Program Files (x86) -> for x86 and 3) Program Files (ARM) for 32 bit ARM Out of these options 64 bit ARM is native, 32 bit ARM is native+WoW layer and x86 is emulated + WoW layer. So purely technically speaking, Windows on ARM support 3 different instruction sets compared to only 2 for Windows x64 and 1 for Windows x86. You could argue that it is therefore the most featured variant.
  • Great. Now I get to dodge people using laptops in their cars while attempting to drive.
    Always connected = Always distracted.
  • Why would a driver get their tablet out instead of their phone. What even is this comment
  • A driver should be using their phone while driving let alone a tablet!!!
  • The HP Envy X2 was available each single week since its release in March. Its was just that it sold out each week within few hours. I got mine 2 weeks ago, but it was already available the weeks before - i just was too slow.
  • HP must be making a pretty decent margin at $999. I can see how compared to a Surface Pro LTE it undercuts by several hundred and they can justify their asking price. But at the same time HP has announced the Chromebook x2 for $599 also bundled with keyboard and pen (https://press.ext.hp.com/us/en/press-releases/2018/chromebook-x2.html). It is slightly thicker and heavier (8.2mm vs 6.92mm, 1.62lb vs 1.55lb) with a Core Y-series, 4GB RAM, 32GB storage and a higher resolution 2400x1600 screen). Battery life is much lower, rated only for 10hrs with a 48Wh battery (according to this Arstechnica article: https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2018/04/hp-jumps-on-chrome-os-tablet-ban...). I couldn't find a battery capacity spec for the Envy x2 ARM but I would assume it is about the same size, so the ARM processor and lower res screen gives the Envy a huge battery life advantage. Even assuming the storage for the Chromebook is slow eMMC instead of a normal SSD, $400 more for the Envy x2 for LTE, lower res screen and 128GB UFS storage seems steep, especially with the performance sacrifice and WoA limitations. If the Envy x2 was priced at $699 or $799 it would be a much more compelling option, more expensive than the Chromebook but double the battery life, LTE capable, more storage and productive OS.
  • 200$+ is what you typically pay for the LTE upgrade alone (see Surface and iPad). Storage upgrade is another 100$ (again checking with what Microsoft and Apple are asking for storage upgrade). The remaining 100$ you pay for productivity (e.g. Windows Pro License), battery and "Windows Hello IR" cameras i guess. So the 400$ more HP is asking for is not extraordinary to say the least.
  • What does any of that matter when you getting performance that is inferior to even $200 machines?
  • It does matter because you getting performance leaps and bounds better than any 200$ machine and very close to my Surface Pro 3 (i5) provided you are running native Win32 or UWP apps. If you are talking about non-native Win32 or UWP x86 apps - the referenced Chromebook does not run Win32 x86 apps at all - so your point?
  • It runs mobile apps well? That is your explanation? Great. Buy a $1000 Windows PC that can only run the handful of mobile apps available on Windows. You can get the new Surface Pro for that price or an XPS13! You are right that a Chromebook cannot run Windows apps, but they are priced accordingly. This needs to be $399 at most to make any sense.
  • Thanks, i already have a Surface Pro. Its much worse as a tablet, more heavy, thicker, less Akku runtime, it is running hot and has abysmal standby time. Surface Pro is no option at all if you want to use it as tablet. Any more crappy suggestions? You completely ignore the fact that there is not anything else in the price range with these features - except maybe the iPad Pro with LTE for similar price, mind you?
  • Great. $1000 for a tablet with no ecosystem. You can buy an iPad for $329 that has actual software worth running, better build quality, and great battery life. This thing is massively overpriced. There is no getting around that when you are 3x the price of a similar Apple product.
  • Andromeda.
  • So Andromeda will basically be this HP x2 but in a phone form factor (Including a Pen).....I’d pay $999 for that! So the HP is like a trial device for WoA on Andromeda?
  • Not quite. Andromeda is also a software, not just hardware. WOA is part of it based on what is reported by WC.
  • This is cool
  • Have to be crazy to buy this over a Surface...
  • It has some feature which are leaps and bounds better than Surface. How do i know? I have both. Surface as Laptop replacement and HP Envy X2 as tablet. They are both excellent devices for their use-case but do not delude yourself into thinking that the Surface is good as a tablet.
    I have a few x64 apps i need to run, otherwise i would even consider selling the Surface.
  • Overpriced garbage, for 500$ it would be great 😊
  • An iPad "Pro" is overpriced garbage as it can only run iOS apps, this runs ARM, ARM64 AND x86 applications as well as having LTE connectivity.
  • So? What has iPad Pro being an overpriced garbage got to do with this being an overpriced garbage?
  • Except it is too slow to run proper x86 apps and ARM apps are basically non-existent on Windows. The $329 iPad has actual touch software worth using. This thing is way overpriced. It needs to be $299 to have any chance.
  • The question is why to pay for $999 QUALCOMM tablet than cheaper intel one?
  • No sleep of death. Intel hasn't really gotten around to really fixing their connected standby issues.
  • Why pay for either when you can get an iPad for $329?