Everyone has their sweet spot when it comes to portable computing. For one person, an 11-inch laptop might be perfect to carry around, while another might not mind a laptop with an 18-inch display as well. But what about a full desktop computer?
HP this year has come up with a product that combines the best of both worlds, aiming to deliver the practicality of an all-in-one (AIO) computer and a laptop. It’s called the HP Envy Move All-in-One Portable Desktop PC and it’s packed with some interesting hardware choices and software features. This unique device, which can be considered an all-in-one (AIO) is designed for a specific group of users: those who want the power and familiarity of a desktop PC, but also the flexibility of moving it around. Traditional all-in-one PCs are compact, but they’re still stationary and require a constant power connection. The Envy Move aims to change that by going with a built-in battery and a simple solution to carry it with you wherever you need to. But with laptops with folding displays and dual displays already available in the market, does a portable AIO PC make any sense? Read on to find out.
The HP Envy Move is priced at Rs. 1,24,999 in India for the single variant that is available in a Shell White colourway. This model has a 13th-Generation Intel Core i5 processor with Intel UHD Graphics. There’s 16GB of LPDDR5 RAM and 1TB of PCIe NVMe M.2 storage. Inside the retail package, consumers will get the HP Envy Move, a 90W adapter and a wireless Bluetooth keyboard with an integrated touchpad.
HP Envy Move comes with a wireless keyboard
HP Envy Move All-in-One Desktop Review: Design and Display
The HP Envy Move has a dual-tone design which uses textured polycarbonate and mesh cloth materials on the housing. On the front, it speaker system hides under the mesh with the HP logo in chrome. At the back of the desktop is the bigger HP logo engraved in chrome. Above it is a handle by which one can lift the computer. The handle too carries the same colour scheme but its hinge is made up of leather which adds a premium element to it. On the right side, the desktop gets the power port, HDMI 1.4b port, brightness control buttons and a power key. The left side sports a USB Type-C port (10Gbps), a USB Type-A port (10Gbps) and volume controls. It also has a privacy shutter for its webcam at the top. The entire machine weighs 4.1kg, which may not seem like a lot for a desktop machine, but is quite heavy by laptop standards. During our testing, we found it quite heavy to be lifted with the handle.
When it’s not being stored or carried around, the HP Envy Move uses swivelling kickstand feet that take position only when it is kept on a table, which too are made up of polycarbonate. The desktop does feel stable when kept on a table and does not wobble at all. This is good, because HP imagines its users moving this 4kg PC along with them inside their own house when exercising, and even when being used by kids.
Coming to the display, the HP Envy Move is equipped with a 23.8-inch QHD touchscreen IPS panel with a resolution of 2560 x 1440 pixels. HP claims it has a peak brightness of 300 nits which I found to be quite low while using it in a well-lit room.
It comes equipped with a touchscreen display
It isn’t very legible when some light source is redirected towards it. I noticed this mainly when shooting the product for this review. The touchscreen is responsive and I didn’t get any issues on that front but the resolution feels a bit low on this one given the display’s size. I watched a couple of movies on the Envy Move as it targets people who need a machine for entertainment, but the saturation levels were quite disappointing on this one and the sharpness too was a bit low. The QHD display is fine for work and using apps but does not exactly hit the sweet spot when it comes to entertainment as I would have preferred a sharper display.
HP Envy Move All-in-One Desktop Review: Keyboard, Speakers, Touchpad, and Camera
The keyboard that it uses has a built-in trackpad that might feel a bit awkward for users who are buying a desktop and expect to use a mouse and not a trackpad. Yet, the trackpad is responsive and the keys too are tactile and it makes for a compact setup when carrying it from room to room.
The HP Envy Move sports a 5W dual-speaker system that is co-tuned with Bang and Olufsen. This audio quality is good enough for watching movies or even listening to music, but don’t expect this to deliver thumping bass while you watch an action film or bass-heavy music.
The speaker system is enclosed under the mesh material
On the camera front, the HP Envy Move uses a 5-megapixel webcam that has support for Windows Hello and can be used to click images as well. It does use some degree of AI to reduce noise during video calls but the video still doesn’t look sharp enough. The camera is supported by dual microphones for better audio reception.
HP Envy Move All-in-One Desktop Review: Specifications and software
The HP Envy Move does not have a lot of customisation when it comes to its core specifications. The all-in-one desktop comes in a sole variant with 1TB PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD and 16GB LPDDR RAM (soldered) and there are no upgrades available over these. For the processor, the HP Envy Move comes equipped with 13th Gen Intel Core i5 1335U and Intel UHD graphics, no upgrade here either. This can become somewhat restricting for the end consumers but seems fine for a basic home PC with a focus on multimedia and entertainment. The desktop uses the power cord to run but it does come equipped with a 6-cell 83Wh Li-ion battery that can be charged using the 90W adapter.
It comes equipped with a physical switch to block out the webcam at will
The all-in-one can be charged to 50 percent in 45 minutes, which is about the same as my test results. In terms of wireless connectivity, the HP Envy Move has Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3.
HP Envy Move All-in-One Desktop Review: Performance and gaming
This all-in-one can handle most productivity apps with ease, including Adobe Photoshop and even Adobe Premiere Pro to some degree with 1080p edits that aren’t very GFX-rich. While rendering, it does overheat and the fan sound is quite loud. Coming to the benchmarks, I ran Geekbench on which it scored 1,602 for single-core and 3,975 for multi-core. The all-in-one does not support Cinebench R23. The HP Envy Move is not meant for gaming but, I did try a couple of games on it. It’s performance was not too good. Forza Horizon 5 ran fine at around 60FPS at optimal settings but as soon as I ramped up the settings, the frames dropped drastically. This will run casual games fine, but any graphic-hungry game would struggle on this machine, so it’s far from ideal as a gaming machine.
HP Envy Move All-in-One Desktop Review: Battery life
While the HP Envy Move can run through the power cord, its internal battery is particularly useful when either there is a power cut or you have to shift the desktop from one place to another without losing your current state of PC. Despite the battery being the secondary source of power on this machine, it runs for about 4 hours which is quite impressive.
HP Envy Move All-in-One Desktop Review: Verdict
Simply put, the HP Envy Move makes more sense in a home instead of an office. It doubles up well as a secondary display for those who need one because of its battery backup. In theory, it makes for a convenient way to carry on with your work or entertainment viewing, as you move from one room to another.
However, at Rs. 1,24,999 it’s a bit too expensive given the hardware on offer and then there’s the unavoidable fact that it weighs a hefty 4kgs. One would be better off with a large (yet compact) tablet (Android or iPad) for entertainment on the go. Apart from being a lot lighter, these are also less expensive and will last a lot longer because they are more power efficient. There’s also larger laptops like Asus’s Zenbook Duo which offer fold-out displays measuring 19-inches wide (or tall) if a compact workhorse is what you need, but at a slightly higher price (Rs. 1,59,990 onwards).
The HP Envy Move still makes perfect sense if you need a compact all-in-one PC which you will move around your house occasionally because let’s face it, it’s not as light as a laptop. It’s not meant to replace your laptop and it most definitely won’t replace your tablet either. And this means it appeals to a very niche set of users who may find it to be the perfect sweet spot, but more for work and productivity than entertainment.
HP Envy Move All-In-One Portable Desktop PC
Price: Rs. 1,24,999
Pros
- Sturdy build quality
- An on-board battery is a good addition
- The speaker system delivers good sound output
Cons
- Display could be brighter and lacks adjustment
- Not ideal for heavy-work applications
- Basic graphic performance
