New HP Envy 17 could be the perfect work from home laptop

HP just announced a refreshed Envy 17 laptop with updated internals including a new 10th gen Intel processor and an optional 4K UHD display panel. 

Geared toward creators, the Envy 17 will start shipping in the coming days at Best Buy. Configuration options will be available directly from HP, so let's take a look at the rest of the hardware.

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HP Envy 17: specs

Perhaps the most notable internal update is the jump to a 10th gen Intel (Ice Lake) Core i7 CPU. This is a logical replacement for the less-graphics-friendly Comet Lake CPU of the previous model. 

Speaking of graphics, the Envy 17 will feature up to an Nvidia GeForce MX330 GPU and RAM goes up to 32GB of DDR4 memory.

The variety of storage configurations available in the Envy 17 will make your head spin as it offers dual storage bays with options that include a 16GB NVMe Optane drive, a 1TB 7200 rpm HDD, all the way up to a 1TB NVMe TLC M.2 SSD, and a variety of options in between. Whatever your storage needs, you can definitely put something together that will work.

While it only offers a single USB-C port, the Envy 17 boasts an additional three USB Type-A ports, an HDMI 2.0 port, an SD card reader, and a combo headphone/mic jack. Both the USB-C and one of the USB Type-A ports support the HP Sleep and Charge feature, which will continue delivering power to plugged-in devices even while the Envy 17 is closed.

With regards to battery life, HP is claiming up to 11 hours with mixed usage, 11 hours and 45 minutes of video playback, or 8 hours and 45 minutes with wireless streaming. 

Finally, the Envy 17 has future-proofing on the wireless front thanks to Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5. 

HP Envy 17: Design

The Envy 17 offers a simple and understated design that will neither stand out nor offend. It's a nice silver tone (HP calls it "natural silver aluminum with sandblasted anodized finish") with the keyboard color-matched to the rest of the laptop.

That keyboard is worth talking about because it's a full-size backlit keyboard with a number pad and independent keys for the camera shutter and mic mute, making the notebook a great video conferencing companion. 

Considering its screen size, the Envy 17 is reasonably portable at 15.71 x 10.2 x 0.76 inches and 6 pounds.

HP Envy 17: display

You have a couple of display options available to you on the Envy 17. The default option is a 17.3-inch, full HD (1920 x 1080) IPS multitouch-enabled screen that HP rates at 300 nits of brightness with 100% sRGB coverage.

From there, you can upgrade to a 4K UHD display, which is probably more fitting for the creator audience that HP is targeting. We were blown away by the 4K display in the HP Envy 17 when we last reviewed it, so here's to hoping this one lives up to its predecessor. 

HP Envy 17: price and availability

The HP Envy 17 will launch in a single configuration that includes a 10th Gen Intel Core i7 processor, 12GB of memory, an NVIDIA GeForce MX330 GPU, a 512GB SSD with an additional 32GB Intel Optane NVMe SSD. This model will have the FHD (1920 x 1080) touchscreen display and is available for $1,249.

HP will be adding additional configurations to its own website in the coming days.