HP Envy x2 (Qualcomm) Review Check-In: Battery Life
- Paul Thurrott
- Mar 22, 2018
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54
Well, I can say this much already: HP’s Envy x2 battery life claims are quite accurate.
You can catch up on my experiences with the first Windows 10 on ARM PC, the HP Envy x2, via two previous articles, HP Envy x2 (Qualcomm) Preview: Here Comes the Future and HP Envy x2 (Qualcomm) First Impressions. In a nod to the importance of this device, or, more specifically, the Windows 10 on ARM system it runs, I’m going through more than my normal review process. So I’ll be checking in from time-to-time to keep you updated. I know this one is important.
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All first-generation Windows 10 on ARM PCs fall into Microsoft’s Always Connected PC category, meaning that they are portable PCs that offer stellar battery life and up-time, plus always-on connectivity courtesy of integrated cellular data. But the underlying Snapdragon platform, of course, is new. So we have questions. Questions about that battery life and uptime. Questions about performance, especially with legacy (Win32) desktop applications. And questions about compatibility, since ARM-based Windows 10 versions can only run 32-bit apps. (Support for 64-bit Store apps is coming, I’m told, but it’s not clear if support for 64-bit desktop applications is.)
I intend to answer all of these questions, and to do so as accurately as possible. But doing so is a bit convoluted. The Envy x2, like all first-generation Windows 10 on ARM PCs, ships with Windows 10 S. (Future generations will come with some Windows 10 product edition in S mode; probably Home.) Microsoft’s stated belief, which I find dubious, is that most users will choose to stick with that mode. But I need to use Pro to answer some of those questions.
So I have a plan. And it is progressing nicely.
The first question, of course, is about battery life. I’ll be testing this one repeatedly, but I wanted to do the initial test on a clean Windows 10 S install, so I signed in with my Microsoft account, made sure the system and Store-based apps were all up-to-date and kicked it off.
As you may know, I do a Wi-Fi HD video streaming test that I feel hits a nice balance between the real-world (watching videos on flights and in other downtimes is a standard, battery-draining activity) and an artificial benchmark (the videos are streamed, not locally stored). I configured the system as I always do for consistency. And at some time before 2 pm yesterday, I kicked it off.
The videos played all night. When I woke up this morning, they were still playing, and I knew at that point that I’d probably get closer to a manufacturer’s battery life claims than I ever have. When the screen finally turned off at a bit after 8:30, I did some rough math in my head: That’s between 19:30 and 20 hours of battery life. HP’s claim, of course, is about 20 hours.
But I wanted an accurate measurement, and I always use Windows 10’s built-in battery report feature to get it. This requires running a simple command line:
powercfg /batteryreport
If you don’t switch to a different location in the shell, a file called battery-report.html will be generated in C:\WINDOWS\system32.
Well. That’s how it works in “normal” Windows 10. Windows 10 on ARM, as you may recall, has a few limitations. And one of them is that it doesn’t support command line environments like CMD. So when I used Start search/Cortana to find CMD, nothing came up.
But I knew that CMD was hiding in there really. Many of Microsoft’s Windows 10 S/S mode/Windows 10 on ARM limitations are, after all, artificial. So I ran the command line (powercfg /batteryreport) from the Run dialog (WINKEY + R). And sure enough, a command line window flashed on the screen, displaying some text. And then disappeared immediately.
I figured that the battery report had been generated, so I looked for it in its normal location, but I came up empty. I used Start search/Cortana to search for it too, and I again came up empty. (Search was very slow, too, which might be an ominous indication for performance overall.)
Perhaps that command line window had generated an error message. I had to know. So I wrote a command line script (a .CMD) file with just two commands:
powercfg /batteryreport
pause
That second command prevents the script from ending until I hit a key. Which would keep the command line window on the screen so I could read what it said. So I ran it. And got this.
LOL. Oh, Microsoft. You are so cute.
At this point, my plan was to switch to Windows 10 Pro anyway because my next step is to test performance, specifically desktop application performance. And I knew that in switching to Pro, I could also get that script to run. Worst case scenario was that the battery report wasn’t generated and I would have to just say that the initial battery life was between 19:30 and 20 hours. No harm, no foul.
So I selected the “See how” link in that dialog and chose to switch to Windows 10 in the Store.
This process took, literally, seconds. I didn’t even need to reboot. And then I ran the script. This time it worked fine. And it plopped the battery report right on my desktop since that’s where I saved the script.
And no I have the official numbers. I started the battery life test at 1:47:24 yesterday and the system ran until 9:33:01 this morning when it hit 3 percent battery life and went into Connected Standby. Total battery life?
19:45:36.
That this figure is exactly in the middle of my 19:30 to 20-hour guess is kind of fun. But that it confirms HP’s battery life claim is, of course, the real point here. This is ungodly battery life.
To put this in perspective, I looked at the battery life I saw for the PCs I’ve reviewed over the past two years. Before the the Envy x2, the best battery life I’d seen was with Surface Book 2, which delivered 15:19. That is a much bigger machine, of course, and it comes with two batteries. The number two finisher, previously, was the Surface Laptop, at a bit over 13 hours.
With the Envy x2 now running Windows 10 Pro, I will install my standard set of core apps, which I coincidentally just detailed in Living with S Mode: Core Apps (Premium), and see how it goes. But I do have one bit of bad news to offer up-front.
First, because of that 32-bit limitations, some Store apps will not work with Windows 10 on ARM today. And among those apps, sadly, is Adobe Photoshop Elements 15. That app is 64-bit, so even though it is available in the Store, it will not install or run on the Envy x2. So I’ll need to find an alternative for that. I’m curious what other apps I use might be likewise blocked. And, of course, I’m curious about performance overall.
So we’ll see. I’m installing apps as I write this. And will report back again soon.
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Conversation 54 comments
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Stooks
<blockquote><a href="#255492"><em>In reply to kodos78:</em></a></blockquote><p>Just watch Windows Weekly, go to the 59min mark where they demo this machine, it is painfully slow.</p>
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Stooks
<blockquote><a href="#255469"><em>In reply to lilmoe:</em></a></blockquote><p>Wow the downvotes you get for speaking the TRUTH. (at -3 until I up-voted you).</p><p><br></p><p>DOA is right, just like Windows RT.</p><p><br></p><p>Update – just watched the Windows Weekly video, the part with this device (59min mark) and OMG that looks so utterly painful to use any non UWP store app. Leo clicked on the close button for chrome (red X) and it took 30+ seconds to close.</p><p><br></p><p>I would cry if I bought one of those and brought it home….and then quickly return it. I see ZERO use case for this device.</p>
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skane2600
<p>It would be best to test the battery life with a long-running Win32 program as well. That way a potential buyer could evaluate the battery life based on the primary way they intend to use the PC (10S or Pro).</p>
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skane2600
<blockquote><a href="#255563"><em>In reply to paul-thurrott:</em></a></blockquote><p>That sounds like it could be a redundant test. You wouldn't expect the Store app to use any Pro features. People who don't care about battery life while running Win32 apps have little reason to upgrade to Pro IMO.</p>
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skane2600
<blockquote><a href="#255942"><em>In reply to JG1170:</em></a></blockquote><p>"If one doesn't care about battery life, then they wouldn't be considering an ARM-based Windows machine in the first place, right?"</p><p><br></p><p>Which is why testing the battery life while running Win32 apps is so important for anyone who wishes to upgrade to Windows Pro on ARM.</p><p><br></p><p>I'm a little confused about your position, however. Do you believe that only people that are concerned about battery life would buy this or is it your opinion that non-tech people might buy it because you believe they want a computer that shares the best attributes of their smartphone? </p><p><br></p><p>I think most people whose needs are met by smartphones have never been all that interested in computers and won't be buying one.</p>
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Stooks
<p>The question I have for anyone is how important is battery life on a computer/laptop past 8 hours????</p><p><br></p><p>I am sure that some will say it is a MUST HAVE! But I do not think many need that kind of battery life from a computer. From a smartphone yes but a computer no. Maybe yes for a tablet.</p><p><br></p><p>However I am never on battery for more than 8 hours even that is super rare. Maybe 4 times a year at remote sites, working in a small computer room will I be on battery for about 4-6 hours. I have a power brick if I need it. 95% of the my computer usage is sitting at a desk (home/work) where my laptop is plugged in.</p><p><br></p><p>If battery life is the only selling point for these Windows 10 on ARM devices…..they are not going to sell.</p><p><br></p><p>The only review area I care about is the Win32 emulation. What are its limitations (no 64bit apps etc) and how bad is it?</p>
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Stooks
<blockquote><a href="#255544"><em>In reply to Bill_Strong:</em></a></blockquote><p>" What about taking a camping trip over the weekend, and want movies to watch at night. Or you are using howto videos to help gut your first deer, or light your first fire."</p><p><br></p><p>The whole reason to go camping is to NOT bring technology and get away from it. I camp a lot and it is a great way to get the kids off that junk. I also hunt and yes watching a video for my son's to dress a deer was great for them…at the house before we left. In the field I taught them how to do it. Getting your bloody hands all over your laptop/tablet because you are watching a how too video on dressing a deer?????????? Sorry that is a fantastic example of what not to do.</p><p><br></p><p>I travel but mostly in the US so no flight is ever going to be more than 5 hours? I guess with lay overs it could be past 8 hours? Even then I am not on my devices every single second. I might watch a movie on my iPad and then put it away for a while. Also in every airport I have been in there are lots of places to charge things, so if I had a layover I could re-charge if I needed too. Even traveling to Europe I am not on my devices every second. May iPad can easily go 8 hours.</p>
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skane2600
<blockquote><a href="#255562"><em>In reply to paul-thurrott:</em></a></blockquote><p>I can imagine that in a 3rd world country where power is available only for a few hours a week, this might be useful, but I don't see how it's a selling point for most people. </p>
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skane2600
<blockquote><a href="#255940"><em>In reply to JG1170:</em></a></blockquote><p>Sure I can imagine young kids exclaiming "I won't even consider an Android tablet!" Get real. If you don't follow any kind of regimen for charging a tablet the more likely scenario is the kids will start crying because the iPad is discharged. So whether you have an iPad or an Android tablet with better battery life (iOS or Android I don't care), you should charge it regularly if you don't want to be disappointed.</p>
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skane2600
<blockquote><a href="#256397"><em>In reply to curtisspendlove:</em></a></blockquote><p>I agree that some people would be willing to accept the trade-off. Of course your iPad doesn't achieve it's power savings by compromising the iPad experience you're already familiar with.</p>
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Stooks
<blockquote><a href="#255562"><em>In reply to paul-thurrott:</em></a></blockquote><p>I kind of get that, but so you won't charge this device during the week but you will charge all kinds of other devices, phone, watch, BT headset, camera etc.</p><p><br></p><p>My point being is that "Charging" is something everyone is accustomed too. Most do it when they go to bed as most of their devices easily last a day. A day being for most not more than 8 hours on a laptop with out plugging it in. I am typing on my MacBook Pro at work….that is plugged in to power/monitor/keyboard/mouse. I am taking it into the computer room later this morning for a few hours. When I leave today it goes in my bag. At home I put it up on my kitchen desk and plug in the power.</p><p><br></p><p>Yes it would be fantastic if my watch, smartphone, laptop, tablet and headset did not need to be plugged in each day. Most of them can last two days, some over two days but I still plug them in every day.</p>