HP OmniBook Ultra 16 Review ⭐

The HP OmniBook Ultra 16 is a beefy RTX Spark portable workstation for creators and AI professionals that's optimized for local AI workloads.
At-a-glance
Pros

✔️ Excellent performance

✔️ Very good battery life

✔️ Solid gaming machine

✔️ Handsome, professional design

Cons

❌ Incredibly expensive

❌ Big and heavy

❌ Runs incredibly hot under load with very loud fan noise

❌ No unique Windows 11 features, no Copilot+ PC features
Design
The OmniBook Ultra 16 is an imposing black slab of a laptop that seems inspired by the Darth Vader aesthetic. It's all black all around, though HP calls the color Eclipse Gray, and I really like the look and the premium feel of the three-piece CNC-machined aluminum chassis.

The OmniBook's size is partly due to its epic 16-display, of course. But there's more going on here, and it's clear that PC makers are also struggling to make sense of the new RTX Spark platform and its thermal needs. This is where HP differentiates itself from the pack with the OmniBook's trunk hinge architecture, which is inspired by gaming laptops: With this design, the display and its hinges are pushed forward about a half an inch from the rear of the laptop so that nothing will ever block the futuristic-looking exhaust vents that run across its entire width.

But at a whopping 4.9 pounds, the OmniBook is a bear to carry, and it's a full pound heavier than the ASUS ProArt 16 that I'm also reviewing. To be fair, that may not matter much, as RTX Spark computers perform best on power, and anyone using this laptop for local AI tasks, especially, will want to stick near a power receptacle.

HP correctly skipped the numeric keypad and instead floats its full-sized and lattice-free keyboard in the center rear of the bottom deck, straddled between two speaker grills. I love this look, and it's my preferred configuration. But fingerprint oils are a bit of an issue on the wrist rest.

Indeed, just about everything about the OmniBook is classy, from the minimalist branding to the polished and flat sides of the bottom deck. And if you turn it over, you can see another concession to thermals that HP turned into an attractive design element that's also functional: A center raised area with large rubber laptop-wide feet provides room for air to flow and a stable base on which to type.
Display
HP provides OmniBook Ultra 16 buyers with a single display choice, and it's a beauty: This is a 16-inch 3K (2880 x 1800) OLED multitouch panel with a 16:10 aspect ratio, a 120 Hz variable refresh rate (VRR), edge-to-edge Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection, and Low Blue Light and VESA DisplayHDR True Black 1000 capabilities that covers 100 percent of the DCI-P3 color gamut and emits 500 nits of brightness for SDR content and 1,100 nits for HDR.

The display excels at just about everything. I used the laptop mostly for work, of course, augmenting my standard productivity apps with several AI tools and many games...