HP ENVY 13.3" x360 2021, Core i7-1165G7, 8GB, 256GB SSD, Gold

The HP ENVY x360 is a compact 13.3-inch 2-in-1 laptop with a touchscreen and a lightweight design, but it's held back by 8GB of RAM and a small 256GB SSD. The Core i7-1165G7 is fine for basic tasks but below average for its class. At around $1,020, it's hard to recommend unless portability is your only priority and you find it on sale.

The Core i7-1165G7 is a 4-core, 8-thread chip from Intel's Tiger Lake generation. In our database, it lands in the 25th percentile for CPU performance among 2-in-1 laptops, which means it's fine for basic tasks but falls behind newer silicon. Boot times are snappy thanks to the NVMe SSD, and app launches feel quick. But push it with photo editing or heavy multitasking and you'll feel the ceiling. The integrated Iris Xe graphics sit right around the middle of the pack, good enough for light photo work and older games at low settings, but nothing more.

The 8GB of DDR4 RAM is the real bottleneck here. It ranks in the 7th percentile for memory among similar machines, which is rough. Windows 10 plus a browser with a dozen tabs will eat through that quickly. You'll see slowdowns when switching between apps or running a video call alongside anything else. The 256GB SSD is also on the smaller side, ranking in the 25th percentile for storage. You'll want an external drive or cloud storage if you keep a lot of files locally.

For a compact 2-in-1, the portability score is where this thing shines. It's in the 94th percentile for compactness, which means it's genuinely easy to throw in a bag. The 51Wh battery is average, so expect a full workday only if you're careful with brightness and background apps.

Stacked against the Microsoft Surface Laptop 7th Edition, the ENVY x360 feels a generation behind. The Surface has a newer ARM-based chip, better battery life, and a more premium build, though it's also pricier. The Lenovo Legion 5i and ASUS ROG Zephyrus are gaming machines with discrete GPUs, so they're not really direct competitors, but they highlight what you give up by choosing a thin 2-in-1. The Apple MacBook Pro M4 Pro is in a completely different league for performance and battery, but it's also significantly more expensive and not a convertible.

For someone who specifically wants a Windows 2-in-1 with a touchscreen, the ENVY x360's main competition is other HP and Lenovo convertibles in the same price range. The problem is that most of those now ship with 16GB of RAM and larger SSDs by default. The ENVY's 8GB/256GB config feels like a leftover from 2021, which is exactly when this CPU launched.

At $1,020, the HP ENVY x360 is a tough sell in 2025. You can find newer 2-in-1 laptops with 16GB of RAM and 512GB SSDs for similar money, and some of them come with better CPUs. The compact design and touchscreen are nice, but you're paying a premium for the form factor while getting entry-level specs in the RAM and storage departments. If portability is your top priority and you don't need much local storage, it's defensible. Otherwise, the value proposition is weak compared to alternatives like the Microsoft Surface Laptop 7th Edition or even a well-configured Lenovo Yoga.

The HP ENVY x360 is a 13.3-inch 2-in-1 laptop that sits in that awkward middle ground between ultrabook and budget convertible. At around $1,020, it's not cheap, but it's also not trying to compete with the premium flagships. You're getting an Intel Core i7-1165G7, 8GB of RAM, a 256GB NVMe SSD, and a 1080p IPS touchscreen in a 1.31kg chassis. It's the kind of machine someone buys because they want a laptop that can also be a tablet, not because they need raw power.

Is the HP ENVY x360 good for everyday use? Mostly, yes. The 11th-gen i7 handles web browsing, Office apps, and video streaming without breaking a sweat. The touchscreen is responsive and the 360-degree hinge feels sturdy enough for tent mode on a desk or tablet mode on the couch. But that 8GB of RAM is a real constraint in 2025, and the 256GB SSD fills up faster than you'd think once Windows and a few apps settle in.

People searching for a compact 2-in-1 laptop under $1,100 will find this on their radar, but they should know what they're getting. This is a portability-first machine with a decent screen and a processor that's fine for light work. It's not a gaming laptop, not a video editing rig, and not a long-term investment if you like having 40 browser tabs open.

Skip the HP ENVY x360 if you need more than 8GB of RAM, which is most people in 2025. If you run virtual machines, edit video, or keep dozens of browser tabs open, this machine will frustrate you. Gamers should look elsewhere entirely, as the integrated graphics can't handle modern titles. If you need lots of local storage for photos, videos, or large applications, the 256GB SSD will feel cramped fast. Instead, consider a Lenovo Yoga with 16GB of RAM, a Microsoft Surface Laptop 7th Edition for better battery life, or a gaming laptop like the ASUS ROG Zephyrus if you want performance in a portable package.

Should you buy the HP ENVY x360? Only if you find it heavily discounted and you're absolutely sure 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage will be enough for you. For light browsing, email, and streaming, it's a perfectly pleasant machine. The touchscreen is nice, the keyboard is comfortable, and it's genuinely easy to carry around. But the RAM ceiling is a dealbreaker for anyone who multitasks, and the storage will have you juggling files within months.

If you're a student or business user looking for a compact 2-in-1, this machine scores 41.4 and 40.4 respectively in our database, which is mediocre. There are better options at this price point. If you can stretch your budget a bit, you'll get a much more future-proof laptop. If you can't, wait for a sale that brings this under $800, because at full price it's just not competitive.