Copilot+ PCs come in all shapes and sizes... and prices. Is it worth spending nearly a whole grand to upgrade from one to the other? That's the question we're going to answer between the HP OmniBook X vs. Microsoft Surface Laptop 7.
The HP OmniBook X is taking the underdog role, while the Surface Laptop 7 crowns itself as the premium contender in this matchup. However, those roles are soley determined on price. When reviewed, they landed on a similar 3.5 stars out of 5, which is solid.
Let's see what a HP OmniBook X vs. Surface Laptop 7 matchup looks like.
HP OmniBook X vs. Surface Laptop 7: Specs compared
HP OmniBook X vs. Surface Laptop 7: Price
If you even thought about purchasing a Surface Pro, you'd see that Microsoft tries to charge you rent just to get a keyboard. A bit of hyperbole, but the Surface Laptop 7 is just as pricey, and that's where the HP OmniBook X has an edge.
For $1,199 (on sale for $899), the HP OmniBook X boasts a Snapdragon X Elite X1E-78-100 processor, 16GB of RAM, a 1TB SSD, and a 14-inch, 2240 x 1400, 60Hz, touch display.
For $1,999, the Microsoft Surface Laptop 7th Edition offers a Snapdragon X Elite X1E-80-100 processor, 32GB of RAM, a 1TB SSD, and a 13.8-inch, 2304 x 1536, 120Hz display.
The OmniBook X can match the Surface Laptop 7's 32GB of RAM with its $1,399 model. You can drop the Surface Laptop 7 as low as $999 with the lower-tier Snapdragon X Plus, 16GB of RAM, and a 256GB SSD. However, the lowest that the OmniBook X gets is $849, featuring all the same features as our configuration except with a 512GB SSD.
The HP OmniBook X not only offers the lowest price for its base model, but it offers more competitive specs for price overall.
Winner: HP OmniBook X
HP OmniBook X vs. Surface Laptop 7: Design
Both the HP OmniBook X and Surface Laptop 7 opt for a rather flat design, but there's a certain edge they have over the other.
Ignoring they're incredibly similar metal, compact designs, the Surface Laptop 7 is more colorful than the OmniBook X. I mean that literally.
The OmniBook X comes in silver and white. The white is nice, but the silver looks like any other laptop. Meanwhile, the Surface Laptop 7 offers black, silver, Sapphire, and Dune color schemes. However, keep in mind those colors become unavailable at the lowest and highest configurations.
They size up differently as well. The OmniBook X comes in at 2.91 pounds and 12.32 x 8.8 x 0.56~0.57 inches while the Surface Laptop stacks up to 3.7 pounds and 11.9 x 8.7 x 0.7 inches.
The HP OmniBook X is lighter and thinner, but the Surface Laptop takes up less room on the laptop and offers a prettier design thanks to its unique colors.
Winner: Surface Laptop 7
HP OmniBook X vs. Surface Laptop 7: Display
I might have well as witness a murder between these two, and it's not about the specs. But the HP OmniBook X does come with a 14-inch, 2240 x 1400, 60Hz, touch display and the Surface Laptop 7 features a 13.8-inch, 2304 x 1536, 120Hz panel.
While the Surface Laptop's display is slightly smaller, it offers a higher resolution and higher refresh rate than the OmniBook X. However, one caveat I will mention is that in my review of the Surface Laptop, I noticed some severe ghosting. You may not have the same issue or it may not bother you, but it's important to note.
The HP OmniBook X covered 80.2 % of the DCI-P3 color gamut and averaged 283 nits of brightness, while the Surface Laptop 7 covered 73.3% of the DCI-P3 color gamut and averaged 568 nits of brightness.
Yeah, the OmniBook X slides by with a higher color coverage, but is that really impressive when it's nearly 300 nits dimmer than the Surface Laptop 7? That's a whole laptop's worth of brightness that even the OmniBook X couldn't meet.
Excluding the fact that the Surface Laptop's display features a ghosting effect, it's the better display. However, if you think you'd be sensitive to seeing a slightly blurred trail behind objects in motion on the screen, then go with the OmniBook X.
Winner: Draw
HP OmniBook X vs. Surface Laptop 7: Performance
So how does the Snapdragon X Elite X1E-80-100 compare with the Snapdragon X Elite X1E-78-100? That's the question we're asking when we pit the Surface Laptop 7 against the OmniBook X, respectively.
On the Geekbench 6.3 overall performance test, the HP OmniBook X scored 12,861, falling short of the Surface Laptop's 14,426.
When the machines transcoded a 4K video to 1080p on our HandBrake benchmark, the OmniBook X finished in 5 minutes and 46 seconds, while the Surface Laptop completed it in 5 minutes and 10 seconds.
Now here's a real rough test. The HP OmniBook X's 1TB SSD transfered 25GB of multimedia files at a rate of 893 megabytes per second. Meanwhile, the Surface's 1TB SSD clocked in 1,116 megabytes per second. 200MBps may not seem like a lot, but when you're working on the lower end of scores like this, every bit counts.
Winner: Surface Laptop 7
HP OmniBook X vs. Surface Laptop 7: Battery life
We all know that the Snapdragon X Elite chips have become the new kings of battery life, but who came out on top between the HP OmniBook X vs. Surface Laptop 7?
On the Laptop Mag battery test — which continuously surfs through webpages over Wi-Fi at 150 nits of brightness — the HP OmniBook X survived 16 hours and 18 minutes. The Microsoft Surface Laptop 7th Edition lasted 15 hours and 44 minutes. It was just 34 minutes, but that put the OmniBook ahead.
Winner: HP OmniBook X
Overall winner: HP OmniBook X
If you're keeping score at home, you'll see that we've come to a bit of a draw, yet I've declared the HP OmniBook X as the winner. Let me explain.
It really came down the display. Yes, the OmniBook X is dim as hell, but I'd rather look at a dim display than a headache-inducing ghosting effect at all hours of the day. If not for the display, the OmniBook X is a hell of a lot cheaper. It's tough to argue that you should pay an additional $800 for a little bit of extra performance and more design colors you might not get.
Don't get me wrong, the Surface Laptop has decent qualities, and if you want a more premium aesthetic out of your laptop along with top of the line performance, then go with the Surface Laptop 7.
But overall, the HP OmniBook X is the better deal.
Winner: HP OmniBook X
