I tried the best-looking laptop of 2026, and its battery life was the real surprise

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HP's OmniBook line of laptops gets its fair share of critiques for being a series of capable devices that perform well but don't necessarily push the boundaries on aesthetics. They don't look bad, of course; they're just corporate, predictable, and safe.

At least, that used to be the case. The OmniBook X 14 Flip ... uh, flips the script on all that with a physical form that is premium and stylish, flaunting interesting colorways, a redesigned keyboard, and a gorgeous display. The subtle, two-toned keyboard and chassis are still understated, but now they stand out on a showroom floor among a sea of silver laptops and black ThinkPads.

Also: HP's new OmniBook is a smart buy in this economy - here's what convinced me

I recently tested the 2026 OmniBook X Flip and came to appreciate its build and performance relative to its price -- especially in the current market -- with strong all-around performance and one of the longest-lasting batteries I've tested in 2026.

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Build, hardware, and usability

The OmniBook X Flip 14 is geared toward small businesses, creatives, and professionals who appreciate a premium laptop and gorgeous display at an upper-mid-range price point. It features significantly improved repairability, a smart range of available options, and HP's reliable product name, making for a competitive option in the current marketplace.

There are several configurations available, but I tested a high-end loadout with an AMD Ryzen AI 9 465 processor with 10 cores and a 2.0 GHz base clock speed, 32GB of RAM, and 2TB of storage. Paired with the Radeon 880M GPU, I found it offered impressive, reliable performance that makes for a capable premium jack-of-all-trades laptop that competes with something like a Dell XPS 14.

Also: I tested Lenovo's new modular ThinkPad, and it renewed my faith in repairable laptops

HP certainly geared its branding to support that. Marketing materials reflect a dark, refined color palette akin to luxury sports cars and modernist furniture with subtle accents. The device is available in "Atmospheric Blue" (a deep navy) and an Espresso shade that I actually would choose for myself. Although you probably won't have flashbacks of driving a Porsche Carrera upon bootup, HP succeeds here by delivering a refined build.

Unfortunately, a lot of that sophistication evaporates in the Windows experience, when you're bombarded with upsells for Xbox Game Pass and the wall of clickbait in Microsoft Edge. HP has its own share of proprietary software and popups that demand addressing as well, so once you've customized the OS, it's a lovely user experience.

It all starts with the display, which is a highlight of this laptop's feature set. I reviewed the model with the 2K OLED at 300 nits of brightness, and it's gorgeous, with 95% of the DCI-P3 color gamut and multitouch-enabled edge-to-edge glass. It is, however, very glossy, which should be of note for anyone for whom that's a concern.

Also: I tried HP's $500 MacBook Neo alternative, and it's a better budget laptop in two ways

The display, combined with the AMD Radeon 880M GPU, is well-suited for creative workflows, with respectable performance in my testing in DaVinci Resolve and Photoshop for projects that don't extend toward the highest-end visual requirements.

It also handled gaming very well in my testing. I downloaded Steam and ran a handful of my usual titles on the casual end (No Man's Sky, Civilization VI, and Eve Online), which performed smoothly, even while pushing the graphics settings. Heat could potentially be a concern, however, as the fans do start cranking when it's being pushed.

In the office, the OmniBook X Flip is perhaps a little more capable, with dual USB-C and USB-A ports (one each on both sides, actually), an HDMI port, a headphone jack, and support for Wi-Fi 7. One thing I think is a huge miss here, however, is the lack of a haptic touchpad. That would have elevated this laptop into the top tier for me, particularly at this price.

Elsewhere on the physical build, the keyboard resembles that which I first saw on HP's new EliteBooks released earlier this year, with a zero-lattice design and large, plastic keycaps. The EliteBook had a significantly clickier feel to it, however. While the OmniBook X Flip 14 isn't mushy by any measure, it feels more or less like an average board with the typical amount of key travel. Still, it looks very good, especially with the two-tone Espresso colorway.

Notably, however, I should mention that this laptop does not pass the one-finger test. The 3.09-pound aluminum build is otherwise sufficiently lightweight and sturdy, with very little flex or screen wobble, and HP's dual hinge design is sturdy and sufficient.

The flip form factor

As much as each brand wants to make convertibility a signature selling point integral to its identity, I maintain that the 2-in-1 form factor is just one of many features available in a laptop. There are certainly plenty of users who prefer this form factor, but attempts to market these models as a wholly separate class of devices can only go so far.

In that sense, the OmniBook X 14 Flip is not defined by its convertible nature, even if it is well-optimized for it. For example, the down-firing speakers on either side of the D-cover (the panel with the keyboard) are so discreet that you likely wouldn't notice them unless you knew what you were looking for. This design results in a more minimalist, sleek look, but it also keeps audio front and center while it's in tent mode (instead of projecting audio toward the back of the display panel, which can end up being muffled).

The only problem is that the speakers themselves aren't all that great. They're not bad, but again, they resemble any stock laptop pair in terms of both audio quality and volume.

The cherry on top (of the espresso)

Besides the sleek physical build, gorgeous display, and solid all-around performance, the best feature of the OmniBook X Flip 14 is its battery life. I took it into the office several days in a row, and each day ended with around 50% battery. For an OLED display and this level of performance, it's some impressive longevity.

HP significantly improved the battery life on this year's model of the OmniBook X Flip, nearly doubling the amount when it comes to local video playback: 13 hours on the 2025 model versus 22 hours on the 2026 version.

Also: HP's EliteBook X G2i could be the ultraportable business laptop I've been waiting for

In real-world usage, I found the battery life to be very resilient, not greatly affected by performance settings or display brightness, unlike other battery-efficient machines that require some babysitting from the user to truly optimize. It's also very fast to charge and comes with a 65W USB Type-C GaNMini Wall Charger that looks a lot closer to your phone charger than a laptop power source.

ZDNET's buying advice

The HP OmniBook X Flip 14 is a stylish, high-performing laptop for pros and creatives that falls in the top end of the "thin and light" category. Although you can grab it for as low as $1,399 with the IPS display and an AMD Ryzen AI 5 430, I would recommend opting for the OLED display and sealing the deal for what this laptop is meant to be.

Also: The best HP laptops of 2026: Expert tested and reviewed

The build I tested runs for $2,529 on HP.com and is, strangely, more expensive than the exact same build, but with the even higher-end 3K OLED display, which goes for $2,299. HP told me this is due to pricing agreements that didn't exactly align with configuration availability on the site, which ultimately isn't all that uncommon.

This isn't particularly cheap (especially without the haptic touchpad), but it's not comparatively all that expensive either, especially considering the OmniBook X Flip 14 can do it all (almost) and looks good while doing it.