Say hello to the brand spankin' new HP Omen Transcend 16, touted as the thinnest, lightest, brightest, and most premium Omen 16 ever. On top of that, it features a new mini-LED display — a first for the Omen.
And that's not all. HP is also rolling out updated Intel and AMD variants of the Omen 16. The company says that the refreshed Omen 16 line is its most powerful Omen 16 yet.
HP Omen Transcend 16
Let's dive into the reasons why the HP Omen Transcend 16 needs to be your next gaming laptop:
1. The display is bright AF. Many of the gaming laptops we review have top-notch specs, but their displays are garbage, making it difficult to see the panel while you're maneuvering characters through dark scenes. The HP Omen 16, however, has a mini-LED display that can reportedly deliver 1180 nits of brightness. This means whether you're indoor or outdoor, you won't be squinting like you're trying to read your doctor's chicken-scratch handwriting.
2. It is the thinnest and lightest Omen 16 ever. This means that HP has to come up with a redesigned cooling solution to keep its powerful internals temperate. The Omen Transcend 16 has Tempest Cooling, which increases airflow by 34% and decreases the chassis' temperature by nine degrees (compared to the 2022 Omen 16).
3. Gen-over-gen gaming improvement is wild. Compared to its predecessor, the HP Omen Transcend 16 has a 119% performance improvement when it tested Cyberpunk 2077. This gen-over-gen improvement is, in part, due to a solution called Omen Dynamic Power, which uses a combination of spatial algorithm and built-in sensors that allocate three times the power between the CPU and GPU, depending on the workload.
4. It has powerful specs that will facilitate your portable gaming needs. The Omen Transcend 16 has a 13th Gen Intel Core i9-13900HX CPU, 16GB of DDR5 RAM, 1TB of SSD storage, Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 graphics, and a 16-inch, 240Hz, 2560 x 1600-pixel display.
5. It has excellent cross-over appeal. Why is it called the HP Omen Transcend 16? Because, according to HP, it transcends the boundaries between your life as a gamer and creator. You love to create during the day and game at night? This laptop lets you seamlessly crossover between two worlds on the thinnest, lightest, and brightest Omen 16 ever.
The Omen Transcend now has a FHD camera with a manual camera shutter, which is great because the trend of blurry, poor 720p webcams needs to die. Other features include Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3, and a 4-zone RGB backlit ceramic keyboard.
As for ports, you'll find two Thunderbolt 4 ports, two USB Type-A ports, one Ethernet port, a headset jack, and HDMI 2.1. This laptop comes with one-month of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate.
HP Omen 16
If you don't care about having the thinnest, lightest, brightest Omen 16, and you place more weight on sweet, sweet power, take a look at the Omen 16, which HP claims is its most powerful Omen 16 yet.
There are two versions. The Intel model comes with a 13th Intel Core i7-13620H CPU, 16GB of DDR5 RAM, 1TB of SSD storage, and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4050 GPU with 6GB of VRAM, an a 16.1-inch, 144Hz, 1920 x 1080-pixel display. Ports include USB Type-C, three Type-A ports, an Ethernet port, a headset jack, and HDMI 2.1.
The AMD model, on the other hand, comes with an AMD Ryzen 9 7940HS chip, 16GB of DDR5 RAM, 512GB of SSD storage, an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 GPU with 8GB of VRAM, and a 16.1-inch, 165Hz, 1920 x 1080-pixel display. It has two USB Type-C ports, two USB Type-A ports, one Ethernet port, one headset jack, and HDMI 2.1.
Both sport four-zone RGB keyboards, the HP's Tempest Cooling solution, a micro-edge display, and a rich audio experience, thanks to the Bang & Olufsen-tuned dual speakers. Like the Transcend Omen 16, the new Omen 16 comes with an FHD webcam with a privacy shutter.
Bottom line
The Omen Transcend 16 laptop will be available on HP and Best Buy in early spring with a starting price tag of $1,669.99. The Omen 16 will be available at the same retailers, during the same time frame, with a starting price tag of $1,299.99.
