professionals and cons
- Low price ticket
- Excellent battery life
- Sharp 2K OLED
- Muffled audio system
- Low-screen brightness
extra shopping for selections
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The 2026 HP OmniBook 3 is a humble laptop computer. It might not win an award for essentially the most revolutionary design or world-class efficiency, however what it does provide is worth. A lot so, that it has turn out to be certainly one of my favourite laptops of the yr just because HP understood what was wanted to confidently execute that imaginative and prescient.
Additionally: The best HP laptops of 2026: Expert tested and reviewed
It is a low-cost laptop computer that delivers all of the necessities customers need in an on a regular basis PC. It is an amazing possibility for varsity, excellent for workplace and distant work, and it is simple to journey with because of its smooth design. Extra importantly, it proves how impactful Qualcomm’s entrance into the laptop computer market has been with inexpensive, environment friendly gadgets that do not really feel low-cost or underpowered.
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If it is not damaged…
Design-wise, the HP OmniBook 3 sticks to the fundamentals and focuses on being sensible. It measures 14.12 x 9.91 x 0.58 inches and weighs slightly below 4 kilos. Its smooth profile makes it simple to slip into backpacks or messenger baggage, an ideal companion for the street. Because the proverbial cherry on high, it passes the one-finger check with flying colours.
My evaluate unit got here in Glacial Silver with a barely darker grey keyboard. I am not all the time an enormous fan of rubber-capped keys like those on the OmniBook. They usually really feel “mushy”, however that is not the case right here. The keys have an honest journey distance, making certain a snug typing expertise on lengthy workdays.
HP additionally enlarged the trackpad in comparison with the earlier era, giving customers extra room for distinctive hand gestures and smoother cursor management. What’s attention-grabbing is that the trackpad sits barely off-center. This leads to a extra pure hand place since extra of your proper hand can relaxation extra comfortably on the wrist relaxation. The corporate additionally rounded off the sides of the wrist relaxation. You will not have sharp edges poking straight into your wrist.
Brilliant display screen, quiet audio system
The colourful 2K OLED display screen is supported by a litany of visual-enhancing options. As a substitute of going over all of them, I will simply hold forth my favorites.
- The panel covers your entire DCI-P3 shade gamut, enabling it to precisely reproduce a variety of colours.
- It boasts a excessive distinction ratio of 1,000,000:1 to provide photographs with deep blacks alongside wealthy reds, blues, greens, and every little thing in between.
- The show helps 10-bit shade depth, which ends up in smoother gradients and pure shade transitions.
- It even contains Eye Ease expertise to scale back the quantity of dangerous blue gentle emitted.
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Along with all this, HP modified the facet ratio from 16:9 as seen in older fashions to 16:10. That further little bit of house provides customers extra room to work with whereas concurrently shrinking the bezels for a cleaner look. One factor price mentioning is the shortage of a touchscreen possibility.
Many workplace laptops embody contact assist as an alternate management methodology. On this occasion, that is a superb factor. Touchscreens on conventional clamshell laptops usually really feel extra gimmicky than genuinely helpful. My greatest grievance with the show is definitely the brightness. The panel tops out at simply 300 nits, which I discover too dim. Indoors, the show seems advantageous, however beneath vivid lighting or exterior, display screen visibility plummets.
The webcam is first rate general. Coloration steadiness appeared pure, with no bizarre tinting or blown-out publicity. The Full HD IR lens lacks the sharp discovered on extra premium laptops, although it will get the job carried out.
Sadly, the audio system had been one of many weakest facets. HP positioned them on the backside of the chassis, leading to muffled output. Some producers compensate for bottom-firing audio system with audio-boosting software program or superior tuning. HP, nevertheless, did not do this on this occasion. So, multimedia sound is flat and lacks any actual immersion. Just like the digital camera, the OmniBook’s audio system will get the job carried out, however will not go away any actual impression.
Efficiency
My evaluate unit was outfitted with a Qualcomm Snapdragon X X1-26-100 processor, 16GB of DDR5 RAM, and a 512GB SSD: a modest configuration. The Snapdragon X is just not a powerhouse chip, thus inserting the OmniBook 3 comfortably into the midrange class. Beneath is a desk evaluating the benchmarks of HP’s newest machine with these of different fashions in its class. As you possibly can see, the 2026 OmniBook 3 is just not a serious step ahead over older laptops; as an alternative, it retains according to the others.
In real-world use, the OmniBook 3 handles itself very effectively. Most functions ran with out main issues. Workplace work was quick, internet searching felt snappy, and multimedia streaming labored with out concern. Day-to-day efficiency felt persistently clean.
Nonetheless, the Snapdragon X is a (comparatively) new Home windows on Arm chip, that means sure applications could not work with the {hardware} resulting from compatibility points. This isn’t a brand new downside. I attempted working the Google Play Video games beta app to check sure cellular video games in addition to different benchmarks, comparable to 3DMark. Neither of them labored.
This compatibility concern is a minor downside. Positive, there’s a likelihood you won’t be capable of use sure apps, however the majority of mainstream apps work advantageous. I doubt you will run into it on the OmniBook 3 until you exit of your approach on the lookout for incompatible software program or beta applications. Nearly all of software program builders are good at holding their apps updated.
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Battery life is the place the OmniBook 3 actually separates itself from the competitors. It is likely one of the finest battery performances I’ve ever seen on a laptop computer. In my testing, the system lasted an astonishing 28 hours on a single cost. That’s an absurd quantity of longevity, surpassing the superb endurance of the 2025 HP OmniBook 5, which I beforehand thought of the longest-lasting laptop computer I had ever examined.
ZDNET’s shopping for recommendation
The 2026 HP OmniBook 3 is presently accessible on Amazon for round $539, whereas Walmart has it on sale for roughly $505. At a time when even fundamental laptops are tremendous costly, it is refreshing to see a machine that gives this for such a low value. You are getting a light-weight laptop computer with reliable on a regular basis efficiency, a vibrant 2K OLED show, and the most effective battery life I’ve ever skilled on a pocket book.
HP says the OmniBook 3 is obtainable in 5 completely different colours. My evaluate unit got here in Glacier Silver, whereas Amazon and Walmart presently look like promoting the Mica Silver model, which is a darker grey, virtually black.
