I just tested this MacBook Air alternative with a mesmerizing OLED screen and strong battery life

It’s rare (and kind of weird) to call a laptop “sexy.” But I must admit, opening up and holding the HP OmniBook Ultra Flip 14 did have me feeling some kind of way. Like, I haven’t felt like saying “damn this is gorgeous” about a laptop since the original MacBook Air, and HP’s done it again here.

This is an uber-premium 2-in-1 and the direct descendant of the Spectre line, which shows in this elegant, angular metallic finish that just exudes utilitarian chic. That 3K 120Hz OLED display up top is a true visual stunner with fast, responsive multi-touch, the keyboard and massive haptic trackpad feel great to use, and with over 12 hours of battery life, it’s got some good stamina, too.

…so what’s the problem? Well, ignoring the bloatware one (I’ll talk about that later), two come to mind that I think come from the decision to focus on making the Ultra Flip 14 look as good as it does.

First, the port array is pretty limited. With two Thunderbolt 4 ports, a USB Type-C 3.2 Gen 2 and 3.5mm combo audio jack, you’re restricted here in what you can connect without a dongle to expand. Plus, placing two of these on the back corners does look cool, but it means you can’t slot in any thicker devices like a memory stick without it stopping the screen from unfolding.

And second, the performance doesn’t really live up to the hype created by its dashing looks or the price. The configuration we got weighs in at $1,899 (discounted to $1,449 right now on HP’s website).

But even at this price (and the starting discounted price of $999 — MSRP is $1,449), this puts it in steep competition with the likes of the Asus ProArt PX13 (which is $150 cheaper) and Lenovo’s double trouble of the Snapdragon-armed Yoga Slim 7x or the Intel variant in the Yoga Slim 7i Aura Edition. And lest we forget the Apple-shaped monolith in the M4 MacBook Air that casts a long shadow over this space.

When you’re getting similar or more power for less with similar metallic build quality, that’s a problem. That’s not to say it’s a bad laptop. It’s actually a solid ultraportable work machine. But there are just better bang-for-your-buck options out there that stop this from being one of the best laptops you can buy right now.

HP Omnibook Ultra Flip 14 review: Cheat sheet

• What is it? This is a premium 2-in-1 Windows laptop — ultraportable and ultra premium in design and build quality.
• Who is it for? This is a great premium Copilot+ PC with the luxury stylings for business executives or those who crave something uber premium yet uber portable.
• What does it cost? Currently discounted to a starting price of $999, but the MSRP is $1,449. The model we tested goes up to $1,900.
• What do we like? It’s definitely one of the best-looking laptops of 2025. The stylings are sharp, the OLED display is gorgeous, and HP’s paid attention to ergonomics with a great keyboard and delightful haptic trackpad.
• What don’t we like? Sometimes it feels a little more style over substance, as performance doesn’t quite hit the numbers I’d want for this price tag, the limited port array is awkwardly placed and it is chock full of bloatware.

HP Omnibook Ultra Flip 14 review: Specs

HP Omnibook Ultra Flip 14 review: The ups

For the first couple of weeks of my daily driving the OmniBook Ultra Flip 14, by about the fifth person to really do a double-take and say “that’s a really good-looking laptop,” I realized there’s a lot to like here.

Really ridiculously good-looking

HP just pulled off the “blue steel” on the entire laptop market of 2025 and proved that utilitarian does not have to mean boring. The aesthetics are seriously eye-catching, from its matte black finish (that is surprisingly fingerprint resistant) to the subtle details like the curved front corners and angular back edges, the design team really pulled it out of the bag for this one.

And not only that, but as you can see with the dimensions, they’ve managed to make it thin and lightweight all the same. Make no mistake about it — if design is one of your key motivators in buying a laptop, this will show up the rest of your coworkers.

A gorgeous display

It’s OLED…you know what that means. Rich colors that just melt off the screen, a deep, inky contrast ratio and immersive accuracy that makes this a joy to work on and binge-watch Netflix shows to your heart’s content.

And with a 3K resolution, it’s impressively crispy, too, with a buttery smooth 120Hz variable refresh rate.

Some OLED displays do go brighter than this, but for almost all circumstances, you’re getting an absolute belter here with rapid multitouch for that excellent 2-in-1 experience.

Don’t forget the ergonomics!

And while you’ll like using it in tent mode, the standard laptop mode gets a whole lot of love. For how thin that keyboard is, it feels amazing to type on with nice spacing around the keys and a good tactile thump to each key press.

But bonus points have to go to that ocean of a haptic trackpad. It’s massive and has an immensely satisfying snap to every click, while being gorgeously smooth for all your sweeping gestures.

HP has always been a bit hit or miss in the ergonomics department, but the Ultra Flip 14 is a definitive hit.

HP Omnibook Ultra Flip 14 review: The downs

But as I started to really dig into using the Ultra Flip 14 — stressing it with my busy workload and trying to attach my must-use peripherals — I ran into problems that I don’t get on cheaper laptops with similar specs to this.

Performance underwhelms

Then we move to probably my biggest gripe here. For $1,900, I would expect much more performance than what I got — you’ve got lower-priced machines either matching or exceeding what is possible here.

To its defense, that does mean you’re getting a decent 12-hour battery life according to our own lab testing, but that’s a small benefit when you can get laptops that are nearly $1,000 less that are faster and longer-lasting.

And I believe this comes down to the design. It’s a damn good-looker, but to do this, I think some compromises had to be made performance-wise. Not to say it's a slouch, as it can hang with a lot of the competition in the above table. But when the competition is a couple of hundred bucks shy of what you’re expecting people to pay, that creates a disconnect.

Bloatware aplenty

I don’t need to dwell too much on this section, as pre-installed bloatware is the bane of everyone’s existence (but usually the required byproduct of a company paying to be featured or wanting to market their other products).

The way my laptop came alive in a flash flood of notifications from McAfee, HP Smart and many more made my first contact with this quite the frustrating chore of immediately opening up “add or remove programs” and uninstalling the lot.

Windows 11 does make this a quick and easy process, but that doesn’t detract from the annoyance of it just being a thing.

HP Omnibook Ultra Flip 14 review: Verdict

And that’s the story of the HP OmniBook Ultra Flip 14 — a premium 2-in-1 that makes a great first impression, but stops short of being a must-buy in the long term.

If I could get this chassis, display and ergonomics with a Snapdragon X chip (we’re very close to X2 Elite after all), this could be a game-changer.

But for what we’ve got now, and the price we’ve got it at, this is a solid system, but a prime example of style over substance.