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HP Laptop 14: Two-minute review
The HP Laptop 14 is a budget laptop that aims to combine a compact form factor with just enough performance for everyday use. Its appearance won’t exactly set the world alight, especially when it’s finished in the anodyne gray colorway. However, it looks smart enough, with the clean lines and unsullied contours lending a subtle elegance.
Having said that, I was pleased to find the lid hinge operated smoothly and provided plenty of stability. It also allows the display to recline quite far, but stops short of 180 degrees.
The HP Laptop 14 has a sparse selection of ports. The two USB-A ports are welcome, but there’s only one USB-C interface, and it doesn’t support power or display signals (there’s an HDMI port for the latter, at least).
My unit was equipped with an Intel Core i5, which provided adequate performance. It could handle light browsing and productivity, as well as high-quality video streaming — but not much more. With 8GB of RAM on board, the HP Laptop 14 struggled to cope with multiple tabs open, especially when the content involved media, as I experienced frequent stutters and momentary freezes in such instances.
Given the lack of a dedicated GPU, it’s also no surprise that the HP Laptop 14 doesn’t handle games well, either. Cyberpunk 2077 was virtually unplayable, even on the lowest preset. Fortunately, there isn’t much heat or noise when heavy workloads such as this are conducted.
The 1080p display is just about sharp enough for UI elements and the like to appear crisp, but in truth the resolution is starting to feel its age on laptops. Worse, however, is the tendency for shadows or reflections to obscure the visuals if the viewing angle isn’t perfect, which is frustrating.
I was much less frustrated with the keyboard in the HP Laptop 14. The comfortable spacing and light actuation of the keys makes them ideal for quick typing, and although there’s less dampening than I would’ve liked, the resultant harshness wasn’t too detrimental.
The touchpad is also effective, providing a smooth surface and precise inputs. It’s not particularly large, which might hamper navigation somewhat, but for basic use it suffices.
Less effective is the battery life of the HP Laptop 14. It managed just under eight hours in our movie playback test, which puts it on the lower end of the spectrum for laptops of this class. There are many mid-range offerings capable of enduring for a full day and beyond.
The starting price of the HP Laptop 14 might seem very reasonable, but the base spec would struggle with even rudimentary tasks by modern standards. And the more powerful models are still too weak to truly compete with others in the mid-range, which leaves the HP Laptop 14 lagging behind the times.
HP Laptop 14 review: Price & Availability
- Starts from $539.99 / £299 (about AU$585)
- Base spec is cheap
- Expensive higher-spec models
The HP Laptop 14 starts from $539.99 / £299 (about AU$585) and is available now. Interestingly, in the UK, it seems to be marketed under a different name — the HP Pavilion SE — and there doesn’t appear to be an equivalent model in Australia.
The base spec is undeniably cheap for a Windows laptop, especially in the UK, but the Intel Core i3 it’s equipped with is unlikely to offer smooth sailing for modern workloads. The spec I tested isn’t particularly cheap, either, dashing its hopes of being one of the best budget laptops around.
HP Laptop 14 review: Specs
| Row 0 – Cell 0 |
Base configuration |
Review configuration |
|
Price |
$539.99 / £299 (about AU$585) |
$629.99 / £599 (about AU$900) |
|
CPU |
US: Intel Core 3 100U (up to 4.7GHz, 6 cores) / UK: Intel Core i3-N305 (up to 3.8GHz, 8 cores) |
US: Intel Core 5 120U (up to 5.0GHz, 10 cores) / UK: Intel Core i5-1334U (up to 4.6GHz, 10 cores) |
|
GPU |
Intel UHD Graphics (integrated) |
Intel Iris Xe Graphics (integrated) |
|
RAM |
8GB DDR4 |
8GB DDR4 |
|
Storage |
US: 256GB PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD / UK: 128GB UFS |
256GB PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD |
|
Display |
US: 14-inch HD (1366 x 768), IPS, micro-edge, anti-glare / UK: 14-inch FHD (1920 x 1080), IPS, micro-edge, anti-glare |
14-inch FHD (1920 x 1080), IPS, micro-edge, anti-glare |
|
Ports and Connectivity |
1x USB-C (5Gbps), 2x USB-A (5Gbps), 1x HDMI 1.4b, 1x combo audio; Wi-Fi 6, US: Bluetooth 5.3 / UK: Bluetooth 5.4 |
1x USB-C (5Gbps), 2x USB-A (5Gbps), 1x HDMI 1.4b, 1x combo audio; Wi-Fi 6, US: Bluetooth 5.3 / UK: Bluetooth 5.4 |
|
Battery |
41Wh |
41Wh |
|
Dimensions |
12.7 x 8.5 x 1.3 inches (323.7 x 215 x 32.5mm) |
12.7 x 8.5 x 1.3 inches (323.7 x 215 x 32.5mm) |
|
Weight |
3.1lbs / 1.41kg |
3.1lbs / 1.41kg |
HP Laptop 14 review: Design
- Minimal looks and weight
- No keyboard backlighting
- Limited USB-C functionality
The HP Laptop 14 has a sensible yet sleek style. It doesn’t inspire much excitement, with the dull gray colorway of my unit hardly helping matters, but the subtle elegance of the body becomes apparent the deeper you look. The clean lines and angles, coupled with the absence of any unnecessary contours, all help to elevate it beyond the utilitarian fare often found in this sector.
In keeping with its minimal appearance is the compact form factor. The base and lid are pleasingly thin, and the overall unit is quite light. The materials don’t feel particularly premium though; the plastics are smooth enough, but they lack solidity. Despite trying to look like some of the best MacBooks, the HP Laptop 14 fails to match their formidable construction.
That said, the hinge for the lid offers reassuring stability, preventing the display from wobbling when hammering away on the keyboard and touchpad. The recline angle is quite generous as well, although unfortunately, it doesn’t extend all the way to 180 degrees.
The keycaps feature prominently embossed lettering, so you really feel them under your fingertips. I’m not sure whether this is an intended design choice or merely unrefined design; regardless, I like their tactility, even if they don’t feel particularly premium. However, I was decidedly less impressed with the lack of backlighting, which is an egregious omission for any laptop keyboard in my view.
Despite the truncated layout, you get navigation keys on the right, which helps with productivity tasks. But the lack of a number pad, coupled with the shortened up and down arrow keys, are a hindrance for such work.
There aren’t many ports on the HP Laptop 14, but the essential ones are present. There are two USB-A ports, one either side, which is something I welcome. However, there’s only type-C, and it can’t deliver enough power to charge the HP Laptop 14, or support external monitor connections. At least you get an HDMI port for the latter purpose; it’s an interface that’s an increasingly rare sight on modern laptops.
HP Laptop 14 review: Performance
- Shoddy multitasking abilities
- Non-existent gaming capability
- Poor display viewing angles
HP Laptop 14 benchmarks
3DMark: Night Raid: 8,971; Fire Strike: 2,132
Geekbench 6.5 (Single Core): 2,230; (Multi Core): 5,468; GPU (Vulkan): 11,161; GPU (OpenCL): 9,169
Geekbench AI (Single Precision): 1,741; (Half Precision): 761; (Quantized): 3,583
Cinebench R23 (Multi Core): 5,580
Cinebench R24 (Single Core): 98; (Multi Core): 358
Crossmark: Overall: 1,295; Productivity: 1,373; Responsiveness: 1,132; Creativity: 1,279
Passmark: Overall: 2,904; CPU: 12,395; 2D Graphics: 509; 3D Graphics: 1,985; Memory: 2,217; Disk: 13,797
BlackMagicDisk: Read: 348MB/s; Write: 2,493MB/s
Battery Life (TechRadar movie test): 7 hours and 46 minutes
The HP Laptop 14 was a mediocre performer during much of my testing. It can handle light workloads, such as word processing and streaming video. However, it’s prone to slowdowns and momentary freezes when multiple browser tabs are open, so this isn’t the best machine for those seeking multitasking capabilities.
As expected given the modest spec of my unit, high-end gaming is out of the question for the HP Laptop 14. Even with the lowest graphical preset selected, it failed to run Cyberpunk 2077 in any sort of playable state, blighted by copious amounts of stutter and horrendous frame rates as it was. Suffice to say, it’s not going to trouble the best gaming laptop models, but at least there’s little heat or noise generated in the process.
What’s more, the 1080p resolution feels a little outdated on a laptop display this size. The UI elements are crisp enough, and I certainly wouldn’t say it was unpleasant to look at, but when you consider many mid-range laptops now have 2K resolutions and above, the HP Laptop 14 falls behind the competition. The worst aspect of the display, though, is its very limited viewing angles. If it’s not set perfectly, on-screen content will darken to the point of obscurity, or reveal prominent reflections.
On a more positive note, the keyboard of the HP Laptop 14 is largely pleasant to use. The keys have a very light actuation and react quickly, while at the same time having a generous amount of travel. Altogether, these aspects make for easy and snappy typing. The spacing of the keys is comfortable, too. There’s just about enough dampening to reduce harsh feedback, although I did feel the keyboard enclosure compressing inwards as I typed away – a constant reminder of the HP Laptop 14’s subpar construction. Fortunately, this didn’t negatively affect the typing experience.
The touchpad is sufficient, offering smooth and precise inputs for the most part. There were, however, occasions where stuttering seemed to occur, as the inputs of my swipes failed to register properly, which was mildly frustrating. It’s also a little on the small side, but I didn’t find this compromised basic navigation. And while my right thumb palm frequently made contact with the touchpad while typing, such instances didn’t result in any misplaced taps or cursor swipes.
HP Laptop 14 review: Battery Life
- Middling battery life
- Not very quick to charge
The battery life of the HP Laptop 14 is mediocre for this class of laptop. It lasted just under eight hours in our movie playback test – a score many of its rivals can beat. This includes other HP models, such as the OmniBook 7 14-inch, which achieved an astonishing 26 hours in the same test, showing just how high the bar is for modern laptop longevity – though, of course, that’s a much more expensive laptop.
Charging isn’t as fast as other laptops, either. It took over three hours to fully recharge from empty; many of its rivals can achieve the same at least an hour quicker.
Should I buy the HP Laptop 14?
|
Attributes |
Notes |
Rating |
|---|---|---|
|
Value |
The base model is cheap, but I wouldn’t recommend it. Higher spec models are too expensive. |
3.5 / 5 |
|
Design |
The compact form and tidy looks are commendable, but the cheap-feeling materials and limited connectivity options are drawbacks. |
3.5 / 5 |
|
Performance |
Disappointing for the price. The display is also poor at keeping reflections and shadows at bay. |
3 / 5 |
|
Battery life |
Not great; many rivals can outlast it by a long way. |
3 / 5 |
|
Total Score |
The small footprint and minimalist design of the HP Laptop 14 are strengths, but it’s too expensive given the mediocre performance. Many rivals offer better value for money. |
3 / 5 |
Buy it if…
Don’t buy it if…
HP Laptop 14 review: Also consider
How I tested the HP Laptop 14
- Tested for several days
- Used for a variety of tasks
- Ran numerous benchmarks
I tested the HP Laptop 14 for several days, during which time I used it for general browsing, light productivity, and streaming videos.
I also put it through TechRadar’s series of benchmark tests, designed to assess every aspect of a laptop’s performance. I tested the battery life by running a movie on a continuous loop until it shut down.
I have reviewed a large number of laptops across a wide range, from small budget-friendly models to large gaming-oriented behemoths. I’ve also reviewed other computing devices, including tablets, Chromebooks, and desktop PCs.
- First reviewed: February 2026
- Read more about how we test
Read the full article here
