HP Omnibook 3 Review: Redefining the Budget Laptop

In the past, nary of that mattered successful a laptop this cheap. The MacBook Neo changed the rules, proving that plan matters, adjacent astatine this price. To get to this price, however, HP and Apple made precise antithetic compromises. The OmniBook 3 takes the attack of keeping 16 GB of RAM and 512 GB of retention astatine the tradeoff of utilizing a somewhat thicker, integrative chassis. For the close person, that's the close choice.

The thicker chassis besides makes country for immoderate ports. On the near side, you'll find an HDMI, a USB-A 2.0, and 2 USB-C 3.0 ports. The close broadside includes an further USB-A 2.0 larboard and a headphone jack. These USB-A ports are a spot slow, lone susceptible of 480 MB per 2nd speeds, making it lone truly utile for connecting peripherals.

I criticized the MacBook Neo for utilizing a USB-C 2.0 larboard astatine the time, truthful I person to transportation that present too. It's little confusing for users successful this lawsuit since it's USB-A, but I ne'er similar seeing a marque caller laptop utilizing a 25-year aged connectivity standard. Also, I'd overmuch alternatively person an further USB-C larboard connected the close broadside alternatively than the USB-A, if lone conscionable for the quality to complaint from some sides of the device.

HP has said the touchpad has been improved successful this year's model, and it precise good whitethorn be, arsenic I ne'er really tested the 2025 mentation of the Omnibook 3. I did trial the Omnibook 5, however, a laptop I recommended rather a lot, and the prime of the touchpad feels much oregon little the same. It's not the worst I've used, but it's decidedly 1 of the cheapest-feeling components of the laptop. The click isn't overly loud, though, which I appreciate.

The keyboard, connected the different hand, feels precise and clicky. It comes with a numberpad to the right, which means the touchpad can't beryllium centered connected the thenar rests. This is typical, and arsenic overmuch arsenic I'd similar not to person the numberpad astatine all, attempts to halfway the touchpad similar the Acer Swift 16 AI someway marque it worse.