An okay laptop with 16GB of RAM is better than a nice laptop with 8GB, and this $520 HP OmniBook proves it

Laptop prices are retired of whack. $500 utilized to get you a tolerable laptop, and $900 sewage you a really bully one. They often had akin CPU, RAM, and retention options because that worldly was comparatively cheap; the quality was often successful build value and surface alternatively than power. But RAMageddon has thrown everything off. Even laptops for illustration the $950 Surface Laptop now commencement pinch 8GB of RAM, which isn’t enough. And connected the little end, wherever manufacturers are struggling to compete pinch the $700 MacBook Neo, they’re cutting corners connected storage, CPU, and build value too.

However, 1 low-cost laptop has bucked this and genuinely amazed me. HP’s 16-inch OmniBook 3 is simply a basal productivity laptop that regularly goes for astir $520 astatine Walmart and Amazon. It has Qualcomm’s guidelines Snapdragon X chip, meaning passable mundane capacity and fantabulous artillery life. But it besides has a humdrum screen, mediocre speakers, a run-of-the-mill trackpad, and a integrative build. Pre-RAMageddon, it would beryllium thing to constitute location about.

But 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD successful an okay laptop for astir $500? That counts arsenic bully news successful 2026.

The entry-level OmniBook 3 I tested has an 8-core Snapdragon X processor, 16GB of RAM, 512GB SSD, and a 16-inch 1920 x 1200 anti-glare IPS LCD. And the OmniBook 3 is reasonably portable for a larger laptop pinch tons of ports. It’s hardly heavier than a 14-inch MacBook Pro, and astatine a maximum thickness of 0.63 inches / 16mm it’s decently thin. This large laptop doesn’t feel big. And contempt a integrative chassis and debased value it doesn’t consciousness excessively inexpensive either.

As overmuch arsenic I would for illustration to spot much inexpensive Windows laptops pinch the sleek looks and sturdy all-metal build of the MacBook Neo, I wouldn’t mind if much of them were for illustration the OmniBook 3. Its screen, keyboard, trackpad, and webcam are each astatine slightest passable to decent. There isn’t thing typical here, but dissimilar the Chuwi UniBook there’s besides thing that feels for illustration a punishment.

The 1920 x 1200 / 60Hz surface isn’t high-quality aliases agleam capable to combat the sun erstwhile taken extracurricular (it maxes retired astatine 300 nits of brightness and covers a paltry 62.5 percent of the sRGB colour space), but it isn’t washed retired aliases bleeding ray astatine its edges. The mechanical trackpad has a basal diving board-style hinge, but a assured and decent-feeling kachunk-y click. The 1080p webcam is really reasonably sharp, and it does a bully occupation handling backlight from a agleam model — pinch only a hint of greenish colour cast. But hey, astatine slightest it has Windows Hello look unlocking. And astatine slightest this not-too-large ample laptop has tons of ports and charges via USB-C pinch a very compact 65W GaN charger.

My biggest gripe is the dual speakers (unsurprisingly), which deficiency bass and sound excessively treble-y, but they’re conscionable tolerable capable to unrecorded with. My adjacent biggest is the keyboard (surprisingly). I usually for illustration HP keyboards, but this 1 feels excessively stiff. If you’re the type to hammer your fingers down and you emotion a generously sized number pad you mightiness beryllium fine, but I get much typos than I’m utilized to from keys not registering. I could study to unrecorded pinch it, but I’d still for illustration not to person to.

What I tin wholly unrecorded pinch is the performance. The OmniBook’s 8-core Snapdragon X processor is simply a small slower than the 1 successful the $950 Surface Laptop I tested, but the OmniBook’s day-to-day capacity is amended because it’s not starved for RAM and its larger SSD is simply a small faster. Like different lower-end Snapdragon laptop chips it’s not going to wow you pinch graphics capacity aliases tackle dense contented creation successful Adobe apps, but it’s perfectly capable for mundane multitasking work. Even erstwhile moving respective apps pinch a mates twelve Chrome tabs near open, including a video podcast playing, I didn’t consciousness it slow down the measurement the Surface Laptop aliases Chuwi UniBook, each pinch only 8GB of RAM, did.

And while a Snapdragon spot intends this Windows laptop isn’t perfect for gaming, it does make it awesome connected battery. You tin beautiful easy get astir 12 hours of mixed web usage pinch a spot of euphony aliases video streaming.

It feels for illustration the money went into the halfway specs of the OmniBook 3, and HP conscionable hardly stuck the landing connected the correct compromises elsewhere. As overmuch arsenic I adore the build value of Microsoft’s Surface Laptops, if I were spending my ain money I’d take the OmniBook 3, ne'er interest astir really overmuch RAM is successful use, and prevention complete $400.

If we reviewed the OmniBook 3 a twelvemonth agone I mightiness consciousness different, but it’s been a mini activity of caller aerial to usage thing this inexpensive and mostly think, “Not excessively bad!” Especially coming correct aft I tested the $450 Chuwi UniBook. An worker being issued this laptop for activity shouldn’t consciousness for illustration their IT section wholly hates them. And while I deliberation a MacBook Neo would still beryllium a amended all-around acquisition for a school-age kid, I’d wholly understand redeeming astir $200 to get the OmniBook 3 if a fund can’t beryllium stretched.

My only interest is that the OmniBook 3’s value will spell up for illustration everything else. While location are much sub-$800 laptops coming, and I’ll beryllium testing much very soon, the OmniBook 3’s value — and that of the OmniBook 5 I reviewed backmost successful December — consciousness anomalous correct now. The RAMageddon large wind could yet ruin them for illustration it did galore different laptops and devices. But, for now, there’s immoderate safe harbor pinch this lowly OmniBook.

Photography by Antonio G. Di Benedetto / The Verge