Hands On: HP Envy X2 with Snapdragon 835

Today HP and Qualcomm pulled back the covers on the new ARM-based PCs and one of the first devices is the Envy X2. I got to spend a little bit of time with the device and you can get a closer look at the hardware in the video below.

While we can’t do any serious testing with these machines, initially, they felt good for a first run device. What I mean is that they were responsive enough and should hold up well for most of your everyday tasks but don’t expect to be playing high-end games on these types of devices.

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With battery life being stated at 20 hrs and standby time of 30 days, these are some serious claims by Qualcomm and HP. That being said, I’m highly optimistic about future ARM devices and hope that these machines live up to all their promises.

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  • Dan1986ist

    Premium Member
    05 December, 2017 - 6:23 pm

    <p>Hopefully, this means 64 GB of disk storage is the lowest amount used in Windows 10 devices that will be coming out.</p>

  • skane2600

    05 December, 2017 - 6:42 pm

    <p>I'm a bit skeptical about 20 hours of battery life. We'll have to see under what conditions those number apply. It comes with Windows 10 S, but you will be able to upgrade it to Windows 10 Pro? That seems unlikely.</p><p><br></p>

    • Hifihedgehog

      05 December, 2017 - 7:07 pm

      <blockquote><a href="#224501"><em>In reply to skane2600:</em></a></blockquote><p><em>”It comes with Windows 10 S, but you will be able to upgrade it to Windows 10 Pro?”</em></p><p><br></p><p>Yes! This has already been confirmed. To quote Liliputing who received more specifics on timeline and offer details:</p><p><br></p><p><em>“Out of the box, the HP Envy x2 ships with Windows 10 S. But users can upgrade to Windows 10 Pro for free if they do it by September, 2018.”</em></p><p><br></p><p>Source:</p><p>Liliputing dot com</p><p><br></p><p>Windows on ARM allows full Windows, including Windows 10 Pro, to run on ARM. In addition, the OS kernel and much of the DLLs are ported to ARM to increase application emulation performance.</p>

      • skane2600

        05 December, 2017 - 9:21 pm

        <blockquote><a href="#224509"><em>In reply to Hifihedgehog:</em></a></blockquote><p>But can you legitimately call it Windows Pro if it can't run 64 bit Windows applications? I think they need to call it Windows 10 S Pro or something like that to be truthful.</p>

        • MutualCore

          05 December, 2017 - 11:43 pm

          <blockquote><a href="#224533"><em>In reply to skane2600:</em></a></blockquote><p>What are these mythical 64-bit applications?</p>

          • skane2600

            06 December, 2017 - 1:57 am

            <blockquote><a href="#224580"><em>In reply to MutualCore:</em></a></blockquote><p>Perhaps you're unfamiliar with the obscure set of programs called Microsoft Office?</p>

            • utterrott

              06 December, 2017 - 3:03 am

              <blockquote><a href="#224603"><em>In reply to skane2600:</em></a></blockquote><p><br></p><p>To make MutualCore's point a bit clearer, where are these mythical 64-bit-only applications that aren't available in 32-bit?</p>

              • skane2600

                06 December, 2017 - 3:31 am

                <blockquote><a href="#224611"><em>In reply to utterrott:</em></a></blockquote><p>That's a bit like complaining to the shoe salesman that they don't have a Nike Air Vapormax shoe in your size and having him tell you that it doesn't matter because they have it in other sizes.</p><p><br></p><p>64-bit software exists because some users need them. Whether the same software is available in 32, 16, 8, or 4 bit versions is irrelevant. </p>

        • William Kempf

          07 December, 2017 - 9:52 am

          <blockquote><a href="#224533"><em>In reply to skane2600:</em></a></blockquote><p><br></p><p>There's 32-bit Windows Pro already. There's also very few 64 bit applications, and for good reason.</p>

      • MutualCore

        05 December, 2017 - 11:43 pm

        <blockquote><a href="#224509"><em>In reply to Hifihedgehog:</em></a></blockquote><p>Wasn't the upgrade offer only until Dec 31, 2017? </p>

        • skane2600

          06 December, 2017 - 2:47 am

          <blockquote><a href="#224579"><em>In reply to MutualCore:</em></a></blockquote><p>Yes, that was the original story. Perhaps they extended the deadline or changed the rules for the ARM versions.</p>

  • Thr2017

    Premium Member
    05 December, 2017 - 9:38 pm

    <p>My SurfaceRT came with 32gb of disk storage. </p><p>It has around 2gb free</p><p><br></p><p>Windows folder=23gb</p><p> WindowsInstaller=14gb</p><p> WindowsWinSxS=3.8gb</p><p> WindowsSystem32=2gb</p><p> WindowsFonts=0.5gb</p><p> Windows ~ other=2.7gb</p><p><br></p><p>Program Files=1gb</p><p>Page File=0.7gb</p><p>Other=7.3gb</p><p><br></p>

    • SvenJ

      05 December, 2017 - 10:44 pm

      <p><a href="#224537"><em>In reply to Thr2017:</em></a> I'm impressed. Windows folder=23gb, WindowsInstaller=14gb. That's 37gb right there. </p><blockquote><br></blockquote><p><br></p>

      • James Thompson

        06 December, 2017 - 1:44 pm

        <blockquote><a href="#224562"><em>In reply to SvenJ:</em></a></blockquote><p>I believe the folders below that were breaking out the sub folders of C:windows. 23gn taken by C:windows in its entirety, broken out by space taken in sub folders. </p>

  • bbold

    06 December, 2017 - 12:09 am

    <p>Greatly looking forward to anything that Microsoft and OEM's are doing to innovate the pipeline. This could be the start of a game-changer mobile device. Let's support the idea and products. Innovation is always a good thing.</p>

  • madthinus

    Premium Member
    06 December, 2017 - 5:54 am

    <p>My questions are these:</p><p><br></p><p>At the same price point, how does the performance / battery life stake up against an Atom chip. </p>

    • Simard57

      06 December, 2017 - 1:30 pm

      <blockquote><a href="#224627"><em>In reply to madthinus:</em></a></blockquote><p>I want to throw my nuVision across the room when I pick it up and the battery is dead only 1 day after sitting there. IF this can provide the battery performance they claim – hell 1/2 what they claim, I would dance a happy dance!</p><p><br></p>

  • Waethorn

    06 December, 2017 - 9:11 am

    <p>I'd rather see that bezel-less mockup that they showed in the video.</p>

  • mariusmuntensky

    06 December, 2017 - 10:01 am

    <p>If the rumored price is true: 799 it will be DOA. To have at least a chance of at most being considered by anyone, the price should not exceed 299…and about the tablet thing, don't even bother…windows 10 has at most a mediocre tablet experience with none to zero touch friendly UI and that dead app store.</p>

    • skane2600

      06 December, 2017 - 11:04 am

      <blockquote><a href="#224681"><em>In reply to mariusmuntensky:</em></a></blockquote><p>I think it's useful if you need an expensive laptop for running web apps and you need very long battery life (if the life is as advertised). While it would be more familiar to current Windows users than a Chromebook, I think it's usefulness as a "Windows" PC is too limited.</p>

    • Jhambi

      06 December, 2017 - 1:17 pm

      <blockquote><a href="#224681"><em>In reply to mariusmuntensky:</em></a></blockquote><p>Exactly. Why would I pay that much for a crippled Windows device. Most folks already have another tablet for portability.This battle was over a while ago. Don't know why Microsoft keeps looking for a fight.</p>

  • chaad_losan

    06 December, 2017 - 12:40 pm

    <p>HP pen loop review!</p>

  • ayebang

    06 December, 2017 - 12:44 pm

    <p>If it is what they say about this. It means death of Ipad, Pro in particular, for sure. There will be real competition in this market next year.</p><p><br></p><p>When many makers make these tablets and have more choices , then, the mass consumers will know that this is what they want, not just stupid Ipad which cannot do their real work.</p>

    • Steve78

      08 December, 2017 - 8:14 am

      <blockquote><a href="#224770"><em>In reply to ayebang:</em></a></blockquote><p>The average consumer doesn't want or need Windows in any guise. </p>

  • Waethorn

    06 December, 2017 - 1:09 pm

    <p>Get ready for insane mobile data bills when a new build of Windows 10 ships.</p>

  • Waethorn

    06 December, 2017 - 1:12 pm

    <p>Get a convertible Chromebook that supports Google Play apps. Load the Microsoft apps like Edge, Office, and so on, and you have a cheaper, more performant PC that has Microsoft software on it, yet doesn't have the hassles of this one.</p>

  • Michael Babiuk

    06 December, 2017 - 2:11 pm

    <p>I will look forward to your more "in-depth" review of these ARM based Windows 10 laptops at a future date. Until then, I have some "Windows RT" concerns. Specifically:</p><ol><li> Since these are ARM based devices, will Office applications be able to run Visual Basic macros? For example, will Excel run macros created on Intel x86 compatible hardware platforms? I know Windows on ARM runs in emulation mode but if that emulation mode can't run those macros then, IMO, these machines will be DOA for productivity based Office applications.</li><li>In this articles' embedded video, I noted that "room-for-improvement" performance comment regarding browsing YouTube videos. On my iPads – especially my 12.9" iPad Pro model browsing YouTube videos, either using a browser on YouTube's website or thru the dedicated YouTube iOS app – performance leaves nothing to be desired. If this ARM based device from HP can't handle YouTube video browsing or have notable performance constraints such that the user feels "something is lacking", than this product's long term marketing prospects are dim, to say the least.</li></ol>

    • skane2600

      07 December, 2017 - 12:51 am

      <blockquote><a href="#224811"><em>In reply to Michael_Babiuk:</em></a></blockquote><p>With regard to item 1: I doubt that the native ARM based Office will support all the automation features of the Win32 version, but I imagine if one upgraded to the "Windows 10 Pro" version from Windows 10 S and installed the Win32 version of Office, the support would be there, but it would probably run slower (assuming of course that the emulation is perfect). </p><p><br></p><p>I'm just speculating, time will tell.</p>

  • Jorge Garcia

    06 December, 2017 - 11:50 pm

    <p>This is a real game changer IMO. Except for gaming and video editing, it's going to be real hard to recommend an intel-based Windows laptop to any "regular" person.</p>

    • skane2600

      07 December, 2017 - 12:08 am

      <blockquote><a href="#225012"><em>In reply to JG1170:</em></a></blockquote><p>Apparently there are no "regular" people who are willing to spend less than about $800 on a laptop. </p>

      • Jorge Garcia

        07 December, 2017 - 1:30 am

        <blockquote><a href="#225016"><em>In reply to skane2600:</em></a></blockquote><p>For being the first ones of the gate, those prices are very good. I expect the price on Windows On Arm laptops to hit the $300 range sooner rather than later, decimating the Intel offerings at those lower price points. Arm PC's are the future of mainstream portable computing. Edge cases will need to keep going with WinTel for a while longer, however.</p>

      • Jorge Garcia

        07 December, 2017 - 1:44 am

        <blockquote><a href="#225016"><em>In reply to skane2600:</em></a></blockquote><p>I have actually contacted high-level execs at HP telling them that if they intend to keep selling laptops to any millennials in the next few years and decades, they need to make their own in-house version of desktop Android (a la Dex) and release variants of all their Windows laptops with that HP-OS installed. They could buy RemixOS or PhoenixOS and save themselves 90% of the work and a whole lot of time. I think it is foolish of them to keep depending on MS to make a computing interface that will appeal to young people moving forward. Win32 is great to nerds like us, but it has hit a wall and there is no way to back out of it…it will become an anchor around MS's neck someday. MS, Wintel, x86…these things will only matter to businesses moving forward, and even that won't be indefinite. Of course those HP execs thought I was a loon, but I don't care…I believe strongly in what I am saying, because at 38 years old, I feel that I am old enough to appreciate what Windows is and does, but young enough to know tat the younger generations WILL NOT voluntarily go "backwards" and adopt Windows now that the whole World has almost gone mobile-first in just a few years. </p>

        • skane2600

          07 December, 2017 - 2:48 am

          <blockquote><a href="#225026"><em>In reply to JG1170:</em></a></blockquote><p>Millennials, like any other generation are a diverse group. It's risky to generalize about the opinions of any group even when one is part of it. </p>

  • Jorge Garcia

    07 December, 2017 - 12:08 am

    <p>The problem with these types of machines is still the OS itself, IMO. Neither MS nor Google nor Apple nails this problem IMO. Only Samsung "gets it". Chrome OS is too much like a full desktop experience for many normal people to be drawn to it. If it was "Android" first, with the ability to morph into a desktop environment IF YOU WANT TO, then that would be very appealing to normal people. MS has a similar problem, they have a full-boat OS that doubles as a very mediocre tablet…I argue that people actually want a highly-useful tablet (mobile) experience that doubles as a desktop interface when you need it to (as opposed to always). Apple's iOS is also lacking in that it still doesn't have the ability to morph itself into a credible desktop environment either. So IMO, only Samsung gets what the problem is and is addressing it properly with their DeX interface/OS. If they run with that ball, they are going to make a product that appeals to a TON of normal people who are tired of the complexity of Windows/ChromeOS, but still may feel the need to interact with a desktop from time to time.</p>

    • skane2600

      07 December, 2017 - 12:29 am

      <blockquote><a href="#225015"><em>In reply to JG1170:</em></a></blockquote><p>If Samsung isn't paying you for all your DeX promotion on this site, they should be. It's not like many other people are talking about it.&nbsp;</p><p><br></p><p>I wouldn't make any investment decisions based on the belief that DeX is going to be the next big thing.</p>

      • Jorge Garcia

        07 December, 2017 - 1:27 am

        <blockquote><a href="#225020"><em>In reply to skane2600:</em></a></blockquote><p>Trust me, I'm no fan of Samsung, I'd rather HP or even MS be doing the DeX (android) platform (under whatever other name..Surface OS?) I don't think Samsung will make a financial dent in any of the big three's shares, but as of now, they are the only ones "cracking this code" the right way in my personal opinion.</p>

  • fanchettes

    08 December, 2017 - 8:28 am

    <p>I know MSFT and partners would like this to take off in the consumer market, but I see WIndows on Arm actually being more of a hit with the business crowd. Battery life alone makes this a compelling choice for road warriors and telecommuters. LTE sound cool for consumers… until you get the cell carriers involved. </p>

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