HP Envy x360 15 (2021, 15-eu0000) review – this one has a lot to offer

Okay guys, today we have a creativity-oriented machine from HP. It is the Envy x360 15 (2021, 15-eu0000), which as the name suggests, is a convertible. Typically, this notebook can be found sporting an Intel + NVIDIA combo, or an AMD processor with its integrated graphics.

What the “eu” in its name means is that we have the all-AMD version with us today. Unfortunately, HP has gone for the updated Zen 2 chips – Ryzen 5 5500U, and Ryzen 7 5700U. Indeed, they are still multithreaded processors, which deliver a ton of performance at very low power consumption, and great efficiency all around. However, don’t expect to see the groundbreaking figures of the Zen 3 chips.

Other than that, HP is really proud of its color representation, claiming an Average dE of under 2.0, which is right within the standard. While we are going to check these claims, we are happy to see companies trying to use high-quality panels in their devices.

You can check the prices and configurations in our Specs System: https://laptopmedia.com/series/hp-envy-x360-15-15-eu0000/

Contents


Specs Sheet

HP ENVY x360 15 (15-eu0000, eu1000) - Specs

  • AUO AUOA08B
  • Color accuracy  4.8  0.9
  • HDD/SSD
  • up to 2000GB SSD
  • RAM
  • up to 64GB
  • OS
  • Windows 11 Home, Windows 10 Home, Windows 10 Pro, Windows 11 Pro
  • Battery
  • 51Wh, 3-cell, 55.67Wh, 4-cell, Ontrend 32GB USB
  • Body material
  • Aluminum
  • Dimensions
  • 358.9 x 228 x 18.4 mm (14.13" x 8.98" x 0.72")
  • Weight
  • 1.86 kg (4.1 lbs)
  • Ports and connectivity
  • 1x USB Type-A
  • 1x USB Type-A
  • Sleep and Charge
  • 1x USB Type-C
  • Power Delivery (PD), DisplayPort, Sleep and Charge
  • HDMI
  • 2.0b
  • Card reader
  • SD
  • Wi-Fi
  • 802.11ax
  • Bluetooth
  • 5.0
  • Audio jack
  • 3.5mm Combo Jack
  • Features
  • Fingerprint reader
  • optional
  • Web camera
  • HD
  • Backlit keyboard
  • optional
  • Microphone
  • Dual Array Digital Microphone
  • Speakers
  • Speakers by Bang & Olufsen
  • Optical drive

All HP ENVY x360 15 (15-eu0000, eu1000) configurations

#CommissionsEarned

What’s in the box?

Inside the package, you will find some paper manuals, a 65W barrel-style power adapter, and the laptop, protected by an anti-static foil. Additionally, you are treated with an HP Pen.


Design and construction

Presumably, the entire device is made out of metal. Its finish doesn’t really like fingerprints, but it is far better in repelling them, than its glossy screen. In terms of rigidity, there is some flex in the chassis, but the glass display cover definitely helps with the structural integrity of the lid. Ultimately, this laptop is relatively thin and light with a profile of 18.4mm and a weight of 1.86 kg.

Unfortunately, the lid can’t be opened with a single hand. However, obviously, the hinges allow it to go all the way to the back of the device, and it stays flat there, allowing for a more comfortable “tablet” experience. Thankfully, the bezels around the display are pretty thin, and the top one still houses an HD Web camera.

Next, we go to the keyboard, which is one of the most comfortable units on the market today. It has a long key travel, clicky feedback, and decent spacing. However, there is no NumberPad section. Other than that, you can see that a fingerprint reader is crammed in between the right Alt key and the “Left” arrow button.

Surrounding the deck, there is a set of Bang & Olufsen stereo speakers.

And beneath the space bar, you will find the large touchpad with what feels like a glass surface. It provides a great gliding experience, while the tracking is pretty accurate as well.

On the bottom panel, you will find another two speaker cutouts. Interestingly, HP states that there are only two speakers, and the four-speaker cutout allocations seem weird. In addition to that, there is the ventilation grill for cool air intake, while the hot air escapes through a rather large slot on the back.

Ports

On the left side, there is a USB Type-A 3.2 (Gen. 2) port, an HDMI 2.0b connector, a USB Type-C 3.2 (Gen. 2) port, and an audio jack. And on the right, there is the charging plug, another USB Type-A 3.2 (Gen. 2) port, and an SD card reader.


Disassembly, upgrade options and maintenance

This is another year that HP is trying to confuse us with hidden screws. While two Torx-ones are visible at first glance, you need to remove both rubber feet in order to locate the four rest Phillips-head screws. After you undo them, pry the bottom panel with a plastic tool.

This device comes equipped with a 51Wh battery pack.

It’s great to see that the laptop has two SODIMM slots for memory expansion. Additionally, there is an M.2 PCIe x4 slot for storage upgrades.

Last but not least, there is the cooling solution. It sports one beefy heat pipe, as well as a rather long heat sink and two fans of different sizes.


Display quality

HP Envy x360 15 (2021, 15-eu0000) has an IPS panel, model number AUO AUOA08B. Its diagonal is 15.6″ (39.62 cm), and the resolution – 1920 х 1080 pixels. The screen ratio is 16:9, and we are looking at a pixel density of – 142 ppi, and a pitch of 0.18 х 0.18 mm. The screen turns into Retina when viewed at distance equal to or greater than 60cm (24″) (from this distance one’s eye stops differentiating the separate pixels, and it is normal for looking at a laptop).

It has comfortable viewing angles. We offer images at 45° to evaluate image quality.

Also, a video with locked focus and exposure.

HP Envy x360 15 (2021, 15-eu0000)’s display colors can be controlled by an app called “HP Display Control”.

The measured maximum brightness of 377 nits (Native mode) in the middle of the screen and also 377 nits as an average for the whole area, with a maximum deviation of only 5%. The following data is for the Default mode.
The Correlated Color Temperature on a white screen is 6700K – slightly colder and almost matching the optimal for the sRGB standard of 6500K.
In the illustration below you can see how the display performs from a uniformity perspective. In other words, the leakage of light from the light source.

Values of dE2000 over 4.0 should not occur, and this parameter is one of the first you should check if you intend to use the laptop for color-sensitive work. The contrast ratio is very good – 1650:1.

To make sure we are on the same page, we would like to give you a little introduction to the sRGB color gamut and the Adobe RGB. To start, there’s the CIE 1976 Uniform Chromaticity Diagram that represents the visible specter of colors by the human eye, giving you a better perception of the color gamut coverage and the color accuracy.

Inside the black triangle, you will see the standard color gamut (sRGB) that is being used by millions of people on HDTV and on the web. As for the Adobe RGB, this is used in professional cameras, monitors, etc for printing. Basically, colors inside the black triangle are used by everyone and this is the essential part of the color quality and color accuracy of a mainstream notebook.

Still, we’ve included other color spaces like the famous DCI-P3 standard used by movie studios, as well as the digital UHD Rec.2020 standard. Rec.2020, however, is still a thing of the future and it’s difficult for today’s displays to cover that well. We’ve also included the so-called Michael Pointer gamut, or Pointer’s gamut, which represents the colors that naturally occur around us every day.

The yellow dotted line shows HP Envy x360 15 (2021, 15-eu0000)’s color gamut coverage.

Its display covers 98% of the sRGB/ITU-R BT.709 (web/HDTV standard) in CIE1976.

Our “Design and Gaming” profile delivers optimal color temperature (6500K) at 140 cd/m2 luminance and sRGB gamma mode.

We tested the accuracy of the display with 24 commonly used colors like light and dark human skin, blue sky, green grass, orange, etc. You can check out the results at factory condition and also, with the “Design and Gaming” profile.

Below you can compare the scores of HP Envy x360 15 (2021, 15-eu0000) with the default settings (left), and with the “Gaming and Web design” profile (right).

The next figure shows how well the display is able to reproduce really dark parts of an image, which is essential when watching movies or playing games in low ambient light.

The left side of the image represents the display with stock settings, while the right one is with the “Gaming and Web Design” profile activated. On the horizontal axis, you will find the grayscale, and on the vertical axis – the luminance of the display. On the two graphs below you can easily check for yourself how your display handles the darkest nuances but keep in mind that this also depends on the settings of your current display, the calibration, the viewing angle, and the surrounding light conditions.

Response time (Gaming capabilities)

We test the reaction time of the pixels with the usual “black-to-white” and “white-to-black” method from 10% to 90% and vice versa.

We recorded Fall Time + Rise Time = 31 ms.

After that, we test the reaction time of the pixels with the usual “Gray-to-Gray” method from 50% White to 80% White and vice versa between 10% and 90% of the amplitude.


PWM (Screen flickering)

Pulse-width modulation (PWM) is an easy way to control monitor brightness. When you lower the brightness, the light intensity of the backlight is not lowered, but instead turned off and on by the electronics with a frequency indistinguishable to the human eye. In these light impulses, the light/no-light time ratio varies, while brightness remains unchanged, which is harmful to your eyes. You can read more about that in our dedicated article on PWM.

HP Envy x360 15 (2021, 15-eu0000)’s screen doesn’t flicker at any brightness level. Thankfully, this enables you to work for extended periods of time, without the risk of further damaging your eyes and brain.

Blue light emissions

Installing our Health-Guard profile not only eliminates PWM but also reduces the harmful Blue Light emissions while keeping the colors of the screen perceptually accurate. If you’re not familiar with the Blue light, the TL;DR version is – emissions that negatively affect your eyes, skin, and your whole body. You can find more information about that in our dedicated article on Blue Light.

Buy our profiles

Since our profiles are tailored for each individual display model, this article and its respective profile package are meant for HP Envy x360 15 (2021, 15-eu0000) configurations with 15.6″ FHD IPS AUO AUOA08B.

*Should you have problems with downloading the purchased file, try using a different browser to open the link you’ll receive via e-mail. If the download target is a .php file instead of an archive, change the file extension to .zip or contact us at [email protected].

Read more about the profiles HERE.

In addition to receiving efficient and health-friendly profiles, by buying LaptopMedia's products you also support the development of our labs, where we test devices in order to produce the most objective reviews possible.

Office Work

Office Work should be used mostly by users who spend most of the time looking at pieces of text, tables or just surfing. This profile aims to deliver better distinctness and clarity by keeping a flat gamma curve (2.20), native color temperature and perceptually accurate colors.

Design and Gaming

This profile is aimed at designers who work with colors professionally, and for games and movies as well. Design and Gaming takes display panels to their limits, making them as accurate as possible in the sRGB IEC61966-2-1 standard for Web and HDTV, at white point D65.

Health-Guard

Health-Guard eliminates the harmful Pulse-Width Modulation (PWM) and reduces the negative Blue Light which affects our eyes and body. Since it’s custom tailored for every panel, it manages to keep the colors perceptually accurate. Health-Guard simulates paper so the pressure on the eyes is greatly reduced.

Get all 3 profiles with 33% discount


Sound

HP Envy x360 15 (2021, 15-eu0000)’s Bang & Olufsen speakers produce a sound of very good quality. Its low, mid, and high tones are clear of deviations.


Drivers

All of the drivers and utilities for this notebook can be found here: https://support.hp.com/us-en/drivers/selfservice/hp-envy-x360-15.6-inch-2-in-1-laptop-pc-15-eu0000/2100286049

Battery

Now, we conduct the battery tests with Windows Better performance setting turned on, screen brightness adjusted to 120 nits, and all other programs turned off except for the one we are testing the notebook with. This device’s 51Wh battery will last you 11 hours and 40 minutes regardless if you’re browsing the Web, or watching videos.

In order to simulate real-life conditions, we used our own script for automatic web browsing through over 70 websites.


CPU options

Currently, this device can be configured with either the Ryzen 5 5500U or the Ryzen 7 5700U.

HP ENVY x360 15 (15-eu0000, eu1000) CPU variants

Here you can see an approximate comparison between the CPUs that can be found in the HP ENVY x360 15 (15-eu0000, eu1000) models on the market. This way you can decide for yourself which HP ENVY x360 15 (15-eu0000, eu1000) model is the best bang for your buck.

Note: The chart shows the cheapest different CPU configurations so you should check what the other specifications of these laptops are by clicking on the laptop’s name / CPU.


GPU options

And since there are no dedicated graphics options, you are “stuck” with the integrated Radeon RX Vega.

HP ENVY x360 15 (15-eu0000, eu1000) GPU variants

Here you can see an approximate comparison between the GPUs that can be found in the HP ENVY x360 15 (15-eu0000, eu1000) models on the market. This way you can decide for yourself which HP ENVY x360 15 (15-eu0000, eu1000) model is the best bang for your buck.

Note: The chart shows the cheapest different GPU configurations so you should check what the other specifications of these laptops are by clicking on the laptop’s name / GPU.

Results are from the 3DMark: Fire Strike (Graphics) benchmark (higher the score, the better)

Results are from the 3DMark: Wild Life (Graphics) benchmark (higher the score, the better)


Gaming tests

cs-go-benchmarks

CS:GOHD 1080p, Low (Check settings)HD 1080p, Medium (Check settings)HD 1080p, MAX (Check settings)
Average FPS111 fps77 fps55 fps

DOTA 2HD 1080p, Low (Check settings)HD 1080p, Normal (Check settings)HD 1080p, High (Check settings)
Average FPS110 fps73 fps42 fps

Temperatures and comfort

Max CPU load

In this test we use 100% on the CPU cores, monitoring their frequencies and chip temperature. The first column shows a computer’s reaction to a short load (2-10 seconds), the second column simulates a serious task (between 15 and 30 seconds), and the third column is a good indicator of how good the laptop is for long loads such as video rendering.

Average core frequency (base frequency + X); CPU temp.

AMD Ryzen 5 5500U (15W TDP)0:02 – 0:10 sec0:15 – 0:30 sec10:00 – 15:00 min
HP Envy x360 15 (2021, 15-eu0000)2.55 GHz (B+21%) @ 62°C @ 22W2.57 GHz (B+22%) @ 71°C @ 23W2.56 GHz (B+22%) @ 78°C @ 22W
Lenovo IdeaPad 3 (17″, 2021)2.94 GHz (B+40%) @ 67°C @ 25W2.78 GHz (B+32%) @ 72°C @ 22W2.61 GHz (B+24%) @ 67°C @ 18W
Acer Aspire 7 (A715-42G)3.18 GHz (B+51%) @ 62°C @ 36W3.16 GHz (B+50%) @ 65°C @ 35W2.88 GHz (B+37%) @ 62°C @ 25W
ASUS ZenBook 13 UM3253.00 GHz (B+43%) @ 62°C @ 29W2.54 GHz (B+21%) @ 67°C @ 19W2.47 GHz (B+18%) @ 69°C @ 17W

Well, once again, the Ryzen 5 5500U proves to be a cool chip. This allows the Envy x360 15 to be super quiet even during extreme workload.

Comfort during full load

In addition to being quiet, this laptop seems to be really comfortable in terms of outside temperatures as well.

Verdict

When you get a convertible, perhaps one of the two major things you need is to have a good display and a stylus. Well, with this guy, you get both right off the bat.

HP Envy x360 15 (2021, 15-eu0000)’s IPS panel (AUO AUOA08B) has a Full HD resolution, comfortable viewing angles, decently high maximum brightness, and a very good contrast ratio. It covers 98% of the sRGB color gamut, and its backlight doesn’t use PWM for brightness adjustment. Ultimately, the default settings here are great, and our Gaming and Web design profile further improves the color accuracy of the display.

Additionally, you get a good upgrade option setup with two RAM SODIMM slots as well as a single M.2 PCIe x4 slot for storage expansion. Given the fact where most ultrabooks have come thus far, we are happy to see that much expandability.

The battery life here is also on point. When we first saw the 51Wh battery pack, we were expecting it to drain pretty quickly due to the large display. However, we got 11 hours and 40 minutes of both Web browsing and video playback, which is nice.

In addition to that, the input devices feel super comfortable to use, and you get a fingerprint reader. On top of that, the I/O here is good as well, and it has an SD card slot.

Of course, we didn’t expect this device to be perfect (and it isn’t). For instance, the performance is not top-notch, especially considering the fact that this might be your main content-creation device. Not only it has disguised Zen 2 chips instead of the new Zen 3 CPUs, but it also doesn’t push them to their limit. Not that the cooling can’t cope with that. In fact, the cooling solution seemed to be great, and it doesn’t break a sweat with the fans being barely audible even under an extreme workload. However, this results in clock speeds that are lower than what we expect.

And although the chassis looks premium, the base seems to be a bit flexy when twisted.

Ultimately, this is a great machine that has a lot to offer. It has a very good sound system (not on the level of the MacBooks and Dell XPSes of the world though), and its price makes it very appealing. However, we would advise waiting for Zen 3 models to come, although we have no information about this happening.

You can check the prices and configurations in our Specs System: https://laptopmedia.com/series/hp-envy-x360-15-15-eu0000/

Pros

  • Super quiet under heavy load
  • Two RAM SODIMM slots in dual-channel
  • PCIe x4 support and an SD card reader
  • 98% of sRGB coverage and accurate color representation (thanks to our Gaming and Web design profile) (AUO AUOA08B)
  • Very fast fingerprint reader
  • Amazing input devices
  • Optional Pen inside the box
  • Doesn’t use PWM to adjust its brightness level (AUO AUOA08B)


Cons

  • Doesn’t match performance expectations
  • Chassis is a bit flexy

Subscribe
Notify of
guest
0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments