The HP OmniBook 5 is a new 14-inch OLED laptop that starts at $699.99. HP announced it on October 1 and says it will reach HP.com and Best Buy in October. However, the footnotes show that the best screen in HP’s pitch will not ship until next year.
What the HP OmniBook 5 offers
HP aims the laptop at students and young professionals. It has an aluminum body that is 11.77mm thin and weighs 1.16 kg, or about 2.6 pounds. The hinge opens flat to 180 degrees. In addition, HP includes two full-function USB-C ports and a compact 65W GaN charger.
Inside, the OmniBook 5 runs up to an Intel Core 7 processor with an integrated NPU for AI features. For video calls, it has an FHD infrared camera with Windows Hello face login and dual microphones. Poly Studio tunes the audio, and the laptop also supports DTS:X Ultra.
Buyers can pick from four colors: Smoke Silver, Starlit Blue, Peony Pink, and Soft Honeydew. Each one comes with a matching tone-on-tone keyboard.
The fine print on the screen and battery
HP’s headline specs deserve a closer look. The company touts “up to a 2.5K OLED touch display” with 620 nits of brightness. According to HP’s own footnote, though, launch models get a 2K OLED panel with up to 300 nits. The 2.5K, 620-nit version is “planned to be available March 2027.”
As a result, anyone buying this month gets a dimmer, lower-resolution screen than the one in the marketing. It is still OLED, which remains rare at this price. Even so, shoppers who want the brighter panel will have to wait about five months.
The battery claim needs context as well. HP promises up to 42 hours, but that figure comes from local video playback. HP ran the test at 200 nits with Wi-Fi on but not connected. In practice, browsing and apps will drain the battery faster. Similarly, models with the Core 7 chip are not due until mid-October.
A crowded $700 field
The OmniBook 5 lands in a busy part of the market. Dell has been pushing its XPS 13 against the MacBook Neo at $599. Meanwhile, Samsung’s Galaxy Book6 starts at $799 with its own 14-inch screen. HP’s answer is an OLED display and a thin, light build for $699.99.
However, HP’s release does not list the base configuration, so check the memory and storage before you order. The company also announced the ProBook 4 for small businesses, which arrives in November with pricing still to come.
