HP ENVY 15 for 2020 takes on the MacBook Pro 16 with minimalist design, more power

Hp Envy 15 2020 Press
Hp Envy 15 2020 Press (Image credit: HP)

What you need to know

  • The HP ENVY 15 arrives in June.
  • With up to an i9 and RTX 2060 it's an extremely potent laptop.
  • HP sees the ENVY 15 as beating the MacBook Pro 16 for price and features.
  • Pricing starts at $1,350.

HP is announcing its spring lineup of ENVY laptops – the tier right below Spectre. While ENVY is more mainstream, the truth is I find its clean-cut design more appealing than Spectre's flair. This point is made clear with the new ENVY 15, which starts at just $1,350.

For 2020, HP has beefed up the ENVY 15 with up to an Intel 10th Gen Core i9 (H-series) processor, up to an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 (Max-Q design) and 32GB of DDR4 RAM. Toss in a 4K OLED VESA certified DisplayHDR True Black display, and you have a juggernaut that looks clean and simple.

HP is positioning the ENVY 15 against Apple's latest MacBook Pro 16. That is no small feat, either. But it all comes down to specifications, and HP looks to have Apple beat by quite a bit when you max out both machines (though Apple can hit 64GB of RAM and 4TB of storage).

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CategorySpec
OSWindows 10 Pro
Processor10th Gen Intel Core i9-10980HK
10th Gen Intel Core i7-10750H
GraphicsUp to NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 Max-Q
MemoryUp to 32GB DDR4
StorageUp to 2TB PCIe SSD
Display15.6 inches
Up to 4K AMOLED touch
BrightView
400 nits
Ports2x Thunderbolt 3 (40Gbps) w/ SuperSpeed USB Type-C (10Gbps)
2x SuperSpeed USB Type-A (5Gbps)
1x Micro SD card reader
1x HDMI 2.0a
KeyboardFull-size island-style
Backlit
Natural silver
TouchpadHP Imagepad w/ multi-touch gesture support
AudioBang & Olufsen audio w/ dual speakers
CameraHP Wide Vision HD camera
Camera shutter
Dual-array digital microphone
SecurityFingerprint reader
Camera shutter key
Mic mute key
Wireless802.11ax (Wi-Fi 6)
Bluetooth 5.0
Battery83Wh
Dimensions14.09 x 9.32 x 0.73 inches (358 x 237 x 19mm)
WeightFrom 4.74 lbs (2.1kg)
ColorNatural silver
PriceFrom $1,349.99
Expected releaseJune 2020

What is remarkable about the ENVY 15 is just how much thought went into keeping the aesthetics of the laptop basic and functional. Silver keys match the silver deck for a single uniform color scheme. There are even dual, top-firing (deck mounted) speakers powered by Bang & Olufsen, a large Precision trackpad, and a new-style fingerprint reader.

To keep it all cool HP is now using vapor chamber cooling, which should let the Intel and NVIDIA parts reach maximum performance with fewer cycle drops.

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Header Cell - Column 0 HP ENVY 15MacBook Pro 16
Display100% DCI-P3P3
Pixels per inch282 PPI226 PPI
HDRVESA DisplayHDR True Black
VESA DisplayHDR 400
None
Brightness600 nits500 nits
CPUIntel 10th GenIntel 9th Gen
GPUNVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060AMD Radeon Pro 5500M
Ports2x USB-C (TB3)
2x USB-A
HDMI
Card reader
4x USB-C TB3
File sharingHP QuickDrop (iPhone, Android)AirDrop (iOS only)

The display is the significant feature here with a 15.6-inch 4K (UHD) AMOLED as what appears to be the primary display option. That screen is VESA-certified for DisplayHDR 400, 100 percent DCI-P3, and Delta E <2 color accuracy making it excellent for the target "creator" group this laptop is aimed at.

As usual, HP comes in much lower for pricing starting at $1,350 for (presumably) the Core i7-10750H model, though it is not clear how much it maxes out at with the Core i9. Still, that is cheaper than the starting price for the MacBook Pro 16, which is $2,400.

Look to pick up the new ENVY 15 starting in June from HP.com, as well as Amazon, Costco, Office Depot, and other US retailers.

HP also announced three other affordable ENVY laptops today including the ENVY 13, ENVY x360 13, and ENVY x360 15.

Daniel Rubino
Editor-in-chief

Daniel Rubino is the Editor-in-chief of Windows Central. He is also the head reviewer, podcast co-host, and analyst. He has been covering Microsoft since 2007, when this site was called WMExperts (and later Windows Phone Central). His interests include Windows, laptops, next-gen computing, and watches. He has been reviewing laptops since 2015 and is particularly fond of 2-in-1 convertibles, ARM processors, new form factors, and thin-and-light PCs. Before all this tech stuff, he worked on a Ph.D. in linguistics, watched people sleep (for medical purposes!), and ran the projectors at movie theaters because it was fun.