HP Envy 13t Review: A Multipurpose HP Laptop!

Are you searching to buy a laptop with high-end features? If your answer is yes, then you should read through this HP Envy 13t review.

By Gift Samuel Samson | Updated February 24, 2023 | 13 minutes read

Itechguides’ Take on HP Envy 13t

Summary

The HP Envy 13t is a well-built laptop that offers exceptional performance and great battery life. However, this laptop features an integrated graphics card that is limited to low-end games. Also, to some people, this laptop might be too expensive.

Overall

4

Pros

• Great performance
• Good battery Life
• Exceptional keyboard
• Good speakers

Cons

• Average graphics performance
• Expensive

In this review, I’ll explain in detail the specifications and design of the HP Envy 13t. Additionally, I will analyze its performance in areas like processor, memory, graphics, storage, and battery life.

Furthermore, I will be offering a rating for the laptop in each section based on its performance. Additionally, when reading this review, you will get to discover the pros and cons of the laptop.

After reading this review to the end, you should have a better understanding of the overall performance of the HP Envy 13t.

My Initial Thoughts

The Envy lineup is a lineup from HP that includes a variety of touchscreen and non-touchscreen laptops with various screen sizes and functionalities. Today, we’ll be talking about the HP Envy 13t, which is a laptop from the Envy lineup.

The Envy 13t is the entry-level model in the Envy lineup, and it comes with an Intel Core i7 processor. Furthermore, this laptop includes plenty of high-end features that rival those found in laptops costing more than its price.

Speaking of price, the HP Envy 13t had a starting price of $1,179.99 in November 2021, which was when I published this review. Although this price might seem expensive, considering the features that come with this laptop, it is totally worth it.

Want to find out about these features and the laptop’s overall performance? Well, you will have to read on!

HP Envy 13t Design, Dimensions and Weight Review

When it comes to laptop design, HP has set numerous records over the years. Unfortunately, that is not the case for the Envy 13t.

The HP Envy 13t isn’t groundbreaking in terms of design, but it does look decent. Additionally, for everyday use, the build quality of this laptop is ideal.

The HP Envy 13t has an angular, decent-looking design and is housed in a beautiful silver metal chassis. The fact that the chassis is entirely made of metal means that it is extremely durable.

Furthermore, the matte finish of this laptop effectively prevents annoying fingerprints on the chassis.

However, the HP Envy 13 lacks the eye-catching design found on competing laptops, such as an edge-to-edge screen and a variety of color options. On a positive note, HP stuck to modern trends by keeping the laptop’s bezel as slim as possible. 

That said, the HP Envy 13’s lid features an imprinted HP logo in the middle. This logo gives the laptop a little bit of visual glare.

Additionally, when the lid is closed, there is an hourglass edge on the front lip of the lid that makes opening the laptop easier. Also, the lid features L-shaped back edges that make the rear of the Envy 13t look like the edge of a book.

Opening the Envy 13t’s lid reveals the eye-popping 13.3-inch FHD (1920 x 1280) display surrounded by slim bezels. Moreover, the top bezel houses the laptop’s webcam.

This webcam is an HP Wide Vision 720p HD camera that is great for skyping and conference video calls. However, the webcam does not offer pleasing picture quality and it doesn’t support facial recognition.

Now back to the display, the HP Envy 13t’s 13.3-inch display is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass. This Gorilla Glass protects the display from scratches and hard knocks.

It is worth noting that there is a touchscreen version of this laptop’s display. However, this review is based on the non-touchscreen display model of this laptop.

Having said that, the laptop’s display has an IPS (in-plane switching) technology. This display technology allows the Envy 13t’s display to be visible when viewed from any angle.

Impressively, the Envy 13t’s display is also very bright, it achieves a maximum brightness of 350 nits. Therefore, the Envy 13t is suitable for outdoor use.

About the keyboard, the Envy 13t comes with a standard type keyboard. This keyboard features decently spaced keys that offer excellent key travel.

Hence, you will get a pleasant experience when typing on the Envy 13t. That’s not all, this laptop’s keyboard is backlit, which makes typing in a dark environment easier.

Moving on, below this keyboard, you will find a trackpad. This trackpad is generously sized, has a smooth surface, and is really responsive.

However, the trackpad is made of plastic, which I consider a flop.

Moving on to the speakers, the dual speakers on the HP Envy 13t are located at the underside of the laptop. These speakers produce mixed sound results depending on the music genre you are listening to. 

Furthermore, these speakers are powerful enough to fill a large room without distorting, regardless of the genre of music you’re listening to.

Now for the ports, the available ports on the HP Envy 13t are positioned on the sides of the laptop. Specifically, on the right side, you will find a USB 3.1 Type-A port sitting next to a microSD card slot.

On the left side, however, you’ll see another USB 3.1 Type-A port, a headphone/mic jack, and a Thunderbolt 4 port.

Moving on to the dimension and weight of the HP Envy 13t, this laptop measures 306.5 x 194.5 x 17 mm and weighs 1306.3 g. With this weight, you should be able to carry the HP Envy 13t around with ease.

However, when compared to the Acer Swift 5, the HP Envy 13t weighs more. To be more specific, the Acer Swift 5 weighs 1047.7 g

On a positive note, the HP Envy 13t is lighter than Lenovo Thinkpad T480, which weighs 1580g.

Lastly, I will be rating the HP Envy 13t an eight out of ten in this design review section.

HP Envy 13t Processor (CPU) Performance Review

The HP Envy 13t comes with a powerful Intel Core i7-1165G7 processor. This processor features a base frequency of 2.80 GHz and a maximum frequency of 4.70 GHz.

In addition to that, the processor comes with a cache memory of 12 MB. Moreover, with this processor, the HP Envy 13t should be able to handle essentially any task thrown at it.

Additionally, the laptop should perform well during multitasking. To buttress my point. I will share the laptop’s CineBench R15 test result that I found during my research about its processing performance.

If you don’t know, the CineBench R15 is a benchmark test tool that examines the CPU’s performance of a laptop. Furthermore, the test tool determines how fast or how slow the processor handles tasks.

Therefore, the higher the score on the test, the better the laptop’s processor performance. So, according to the CineBench R15 result, the Envy 13t scored 450 points.

This score is somewhat higher than the category average of 445 points. However, the Samsung Galaxy Book S‘s score of 452 points is slightly higher than the HP Envy 13t’s score.

On a plus side, the Envy 13t has a better score than the Huawei Matebook X Pro, which scored 403 points.

Hence, I will rate the HP Envy 13t an eight out of ten in this processor performance review section.

HP Envy 13t Memory (RAM) Performance Review

In terms of memory, the HP Envy 13t comes with an 8 GB LPDDR4X memory in its single RAM slot. Unfortunately, this 8 GB RAM is onboard, which means it is embedded into the laptop’s motherboard.

Therefore, you won’t be able to upgrade the RAM of the laptop. Thankfully, the laptop is also available with 16 GB RAM.

However, the HP Envy 13t with 16 GB RAM will be a little more expensive than the one with 8 GB RAM. Notwithstanding, I believe with 8 GB RAM, the HP Envy 13t should be able to perform adequately and also multitask with ease.

You may think these are just claims, but I am able to prove them. Specifically, according to my research, this laptop with 8 GB will be able to open about 20 Chrome tabs without experiencing any form of slowdown.

Also, with those Chrome tabs opened, the laptop should be able to juggle between multiple applications with lagging.

To further prove my point, I will now offer a PCMark 10 benchmark test result I found about the HP Envy 13t’s performance. PCMark 10 is a benchmark test that measures the overall performance of a computer.

Furthermore, this benchmark test basically analyzes the performance of the computer when performing real-world computing tasks like word processing. So, based on the PCMark 10 result, the HP Envy 13t scored 4134 points.

Comparatively, this laptop achieved a better score than the Samsung Galaxy Book Pro that scored 3588 points on the same benchmark test. Therefore, the HP Envy 13t offers better performance than the Samsung Galaxy Book Pro.

To conclude this section, I will rate the HP Envy 13t an eight out of ten.

HP Envy 13t Storage Options and Performance Review

The HP Envy 13t comes with a PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD that supports a maximum storage capacity of 1 TB. This review is based on the HP Envy 13t with 512 GB SSD storage.

512 GB of storage space should be enough for most users to store their favorite movies, pictures, apps, and games. However, if you are a storage-hungry user, you may easily upgrade the storage space to the maximum capacity of 1 TB.

According to laptopmag.com, the Envy 13t’s 512 GB SSD will be able to copy 4.97GB of multimedia files in 10 seconds at a transfer rate of 432 megabytes per second. This is impressive, but it was totally expected.

This is because SSD storages are usually fast.

To further verify the speed of this laptop’s 512 GB SSD, I will now offer a Crystaldiskmark benchmark result. This Crystaldiskmark benchmark result was gotten from notebookcheck.net.

For better understanding, the Crystaldiskmark benchmark test determines the read and write speed of a device’s storage drive. According to the Crystaldiskmark test results, the Envy 13t has a sequential read speed of 556.4 MB/s and a sequential write speed of 764.33 MB/s.

In comparison, the Acer Spin 5 offers a slower read and write speed than the Envy 13t. Specifically, the Acer Spin 5 has a sequential read speed of 522.34 MB/s and a sequential write speed of 309 MB/s.

In conclusion, the HP Envy 13t features a large storage drive that offers brilliant speed. Therefore, the laptop deserves a rating of eight out of ten in this storage review section.

HP Envy 13t Graphics Card Performance Review

The HP Envy 13t features an Intel Iris Xe graphics card. This graphics card is integrated into the processor of the laptop.

Therefore, it shares memory with the processor to perform graphics tasks. As a result, the performance of the graphics card is limited.

Specifically, don’t expect the HP Envy 13t to run graphics-intensive games with this graphics card. However, the laptop should be able to play a few outdated games like F.E.A.R.

Also, games on the Microsoft Store such as Asphalt and Candy Crush should run smoothly on the HP Envy 13t.

That said, now let talk about the 3DMark test result I was able to gather during my research about the HP Envy 13t’s graphics performance. 3DMark is a benchmark test that measures how a device can render graphics.

Based on the 3DMark test result, the Envy 13t with the Intel Iris Xe graphics card scored 3,709 points. This laptop’s score crushes the 2,025 and 2,847 points scored by the Lenovo Yoga 7i and Acer Swift 3 respectively.

In conclusion, the Envy 13t may not be able to play graphic-intensive games, but it performs better than most of its competitors on the 3DMark test. Hence, in this graphics review section, I will be rating the laptop a seven out of ten.

HP Envy 13t Battery Life and Performance Review

A 3-cell, 51 Wh Li-ion polymer battery powers the HP Envy 13t. During my research, I wasn’t able to find the battery life of this laptop battery on HP’s official site.

So, I did some more digging, in which I was able to find a battery rundown test result based on the HP Envy 13t battery life. This battery rundown test involves continuously surfing the internet while the laptop’s brightness is at 150 nits till the laptop dies.

According to this battery rundown test, the HP Envy 13t lasted about 11 hours and 15 minutes, which is very impressive. Comparatively, the HP Envy 13t performed slightly better than the Acer Swift 3 which lasted 11 hours and 9 minutes on the same battery rundown test.

However, the Lenovo Yoga 7i beats the Envy 13t with a whopping 12 hours and 32 minutes battery life. Notwithstanding, 11 hours of battery life delivered by Envy 13t is outstanding.

Therefore, I will be rating the Hp Envy 13t a nine out of ten for its brilliant performance in this review section

Frequently Asked Questions

1. How Long Does The HP Envy 13t Last In Terms Of Battery Life?

The HP Envy 13t prioritizes battery life to guarantee all-day performance even when power sources are not within reach. Hence, the HP Envy 13t is capable of lasting about 11 hours.

2. Can The HP Envy 13t Play Games?

Yes, it can. However, the laptop features an integrated graphics card that can only play a few outdated low-end games.

3. How Much Does The HP Envy 13t Cost?

The HP Envy 13t had a starting price of $1,179.99 when I wrote this review in November 2021.

4. Is The HP Envy 13t Touch Screen?

Not all Envy 13t laptops come with a touchscreen display. The touchscreen is an optional feature.

5. Is The HP Envy 13t Heavy?

The HP Envy 13t isn’t particularly heavy, it weighs only 1306.3 g and measures 306.5 x 194.5 x 17 mm (W x D x H).

My Final Thoughts

The HP Envy 13t is a laptop that offers adequate performance, fast storage drive, Thunderbolt 4 port, and slim bezels. Additionally, the display on this laptop is vivid and bright.

Also, the laptop features an excellent keyboard that offers a premium typing experience. That’s not all, this laptop also offers a long battery life of 11 hours.

Basically, this laptop doesn’t have flaws except for its plastic touchpad and integrated graphics card. Overall, the HP Envy 13t is a brilliant laptop you should get your hands on ASAP!

I hope you found this HP Envy 13t review helpful.

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References and Further Reading