For those under a budget who still want to go premium, perhaps, HP Envy 13t is their best bet. The laptop which is available for an acceptable price tag of $900 would appeal to many by being light-weight and offering excellent value for money.
With the latest 8th generation Intel processor, and a world-class keyboard for blazing typing speeds, the laptop suits all by offering an attractive metal chassis.
Design
The silver shiny metal chassis provides elegance to the laptop and differentiates it from other cheaper counterparts. The aluminum lid is covered in black, and has a slight incline to it near the hinge, making it all exquisite. Furthermore, the familiar HP logo boasts the glory of the laptop out there in the middle of the laptop lid. For portability purposes, a magnesium alloy was used for the bottom surface.
The keyboard deck is made from aluminum which adds the cherry to the top. Not only this, but the keys are also painted in silver, making it an all silver laptop to appeal to the eyes. The laptop isn’t exactly bezel but they are so thin from the sides, that you won’t probably notice. If the silver color is rather mainstream, you can always opt for a unique “Silk Gold” combination.
As far as the dimensions are concerned, the laptop measures 12 x 8.5 x 0.55 inches, therefore making it easier for you to put it in your bag pack and carry it around all day long. Furthermore, with a weigh of just 2.93 pounds, it won’t be a problem.
Ports
Considering the thinness of the notebook, you would be glad to have some ports, if not all. There are 2 USB 3.0 ports along with 2 USB Type-C ports one on each side of the laptop. The 3.5 mm headphone jack is still there and so is a microSD card reader. There isn’t any dedicated video port, but you can use the USB Type-C port for that purpose along with the port acting as a charging source.
Display
The Envy 13t has a screen resolution of 1920 x 1080, which is Full HD quality. With a touchscreen 13.3 inches display, imagine what you can do on the laptop. Moreover, the laptop was able to cover 106 percent of the sRGB color gamut, which is above par.
Perhaps, brightness levels would be the only thing disappointing about the laptop since the Envy 13t’s panel recorded 248 nits on the brightness meter, which is 15 percent less than the category average.
Keyboard and Trackpad
Perhaps, the major selling point about the laptop would be its world-class keyboard. For students and business professionals who tend to type a lot, the keyboard even with a travel of 1.2 millimeters works wonders for its responsiveness.
The 4.3 x 2.1 inches trackpad might not sound spacious enough, but it was highly accurate and conformed to any gestures performed.
Audio
The audio from the laptop was loud and clear, but for music purposes, you are better off with dedicated speakers.
Battery Life
The major selling point about the laptop is its battery life. It will last you more than a full workday with a whopping 9 hours and 46 minutes while used continuously over W-Fi to surf the web. The category average stands currently at 8 hours and 26 minutes, so this is quite a feat certainly.
Webcam
The Envy 13t has a 720p Webcam which should suffice for casual video-conferencing over Skype, but for business professionals, we would still recommend an external webcam; The images aren’t that sharp and accurate as you would want in a meeting.
Heat
Thankfully, the laptop isn’t a bomb ready to explode. It stayed cool nearly throughout the time, reaching temperatures below 95 degrees Fahrenheit which is comfortable.
Price and Configuration
The base model Envy 13t is priced at an affordable $899. For this price, you are getting a laptop with an Intel Core i5-8250U CPU, 8GB of RAM and a 128GB SSD. While for just $150 more, you also have an option to upgrade to a 4k screen display or SSD space. In case you want the latest 8th Generation i7 model that isn’t expensive either, since for $1,049 you would be getting a 1080p touchscreen, Core i7-8550U CPU, 8GB of RAM and a 256GB PCIe SSD.
Perhaps, if you are looking for a laptop which offers great value for money, then this is it.
