Laptop Review: HP Envy x360 13-ay0078AU (A Great Mid Range touchscreen laptop)

HP Envy x360 13-ay0078AU is part of the 2020 Envy lineup powered by the Hexacore AMD Ryzen 5 4500U which trades blows with 10th gen i7 and one the graphics end Vega 6 is comparable to a low end dedicated graphics (Mx150) however upgradability might be an issue for some but for most the 3200 MHz Dual channel memory and 512GB M.2 SSD should be enough. All this while maintaining a thin and light profile with an amazing display. This is a great laptop for content creators on the move and potential for some light gaming.

Design and Ports

HP Envy x360 13-ay0078AU has a high-quality beautiful looking metallic chassis. The top lid has some flex to it but it’s nothing to worry about. is most noticeable down the center of the lid, but it’s not anything to worry about.

• Ports:

  • 1x 3.5mm combo audio jack
  • Micro SD Card Reader
  • 2x USB 3.0 Type-A
  • 1x USB 3.0 Type-C

Keyboard and Trackpad

The keyboard on the HP Envy x360 13 is a chicklet style keyboard with a dual-stage backlight. The keys are quite firm and feel quite clicky. The trackpad is large (11 cm x 6 cm) feels quite smooth and precise.

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 4500U

The AMD Ryzen 5 4500U through a mid-range processor. The six cores processor comes with 6 Threads and is based on the Zen 2 architecture. The 4500U has a base clock of 2.3 GHz and the clock speed can be turbo boosted to up to 4 GHz. When compared to its previous generation the 4500U is almost 2 times faster and is slightly faster than the 10th Gen Intel Core i7 1065G7.

CPU Specs:

• Base Clock: 2.2 GHz
• Boost Clock: 4 GHz
• L1 Cache: 384 KB
• L2 Cache: 3 MB
• L3 Cache:  8 MB
• TDP: 15 Watts
• Core Count: 6
• Thread Count: 6
• iGPU: AMD Radeon RX Vega 6
• Manufacturing Technology: 7 Nm

GPU: AMD Radeon RX Vega 6 ( Ryzen 4000 Series) 

The AMD Radeon RX Vega 6 is based on the 5th Gen Vega architecture and 7 nm manufacturing process. Performance of the Vega 6 Graphics depends on a number of factors such as the configured TDP (12-25 Watts), Clock Speed, Cooling Solution, and RAM configuration. The integrated GPU greatly benefits from fast dual-channel memory. The AMD Radeon RX Vega 6 (Ryzen 4000 series) graphics are almost 20 percent faster than the last-gen Vega 8 (2000/3000 series). When compared to its Nvidia counterparts the Vega 6 scales above the Mx230 and comes close to Mx150 and Mx330 in terms of performance. 

Display: 13.3 Inches 60Hz FHD Touchscreen (Chi Mei CMN139D)

The FHD panel on the HP Envy x360 13-ay0078AU has a 60Hz Refresh rate and doesn’t suffer from and noticeable issues such as backlight bleeding and PWM flickering is also not noticeable. The display here has excellent color coverage and brightness and is suitable for outdoor use. Touchscreen here is a smooth 10 point capacitive panel and offers a smooth experience.

Display Specs:

• Panel Model Number: Chi Mei CMN139D
• Coverage: 98% sRGB | 62% AdobeRGB;
• Gamma: 2.01
• Pixel Density: 166 PPI;
• Max brightness: 400 Nits;
• Contrast Ratio: 1560:1;
• PWM Flickering: 25000 Hz;
• Response Time: 32 ms;