HP boards the MacBook Neo competitor train — OmniBook 5 comes in four colors with Wildcat Lake and starts at $699.99
Every model has an OLED display
HP is the latest to announce a MacBook Neo competitor before the holidays. Its OmniBook 5, starting at $699.99, will use Intel's Wildcat Lake chips and come in a series of colors. What stands out is HP's choice of OLED screens for every model.
Like Apple's Neo and Dell's upcoming 14S, HP is offering four colors: peony pink, starlit blue, smoke silver, and soft honeydew.
| Header Cell - Column 0 | HP OmniBook 5 (14-inch) |
|---|---|
CPU |
Intel Core 5 320 or Intel Core 7 350 |
GPU |
Intel Graphics (integrated) |
RAM |
8, 12, or 16GB LPDDR5-6400 (12GB option planned for November 2026), soldered |
Storage |
256GB, 512GB, 1TB PCIe Gen 4 SSD (1TB planned for November 2026) |
Display |
14-inch, 1920 x 1200, OLED, touch or non-touch. 2560 x 1600 OLED touch planned for March 2027 |
Battery |
60 WHr, 65W USB Type-C GaN charger |
Webcam |
1080, IR |
Weight |
2.56 pounds |
Release Date |
October 2026 |
Starting Price |
$699.99 |
HP is following steps we've seen from Lenovo, which recently announced its colorful IdeaPad Vibe lineup; Dell's XPS 13 and forthcoming 14S; and Acer's Swift Air 14.
The company is promising up to 42 hours of battery life, with the catch that that's measured with local video playback. At 2.56 pounds, it's lighter than the 14S, which measures 2.65 pounds, and the Acer Swift Air 14, which measures 2.62 pounds. The MacBook Neo and Dell XPS 13 are both lighter, but have smaller 13-inch screens.
Starting with an Intel Core 5 320, 8GB of RAM, and 256GB of storage, the system is familiar to others on paper. It's the 1920 x 1200 OLED touchscreen that stands out. The system will start at $699.99.
But that OLED screen does have one catch: the two 1920 x 1200 models at launch will each be rated for 300 nits, which is fairly dim for OLED, which benefits quite a bit from brightness.
Some configurations have clearly been affected by the ongoing component crisis. While 8 and 16GB RAM configurations will be available at launch, a 12GB option is set for November. The same goes for the top-end 1TB storage option. Lastly, the highest-end OLED panel, a 2560 x 1600 touchscreen rated for 620 nits, won't be shipping until March of next year.
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Andrew E. Freedman is a senior editor at Tom's Hardware focusing on laptops, desktops and gaming. He also keeps up with the latest news. A lover of all things gaming and tech, his previous work has shown up in Tom's Guide, Laptop Mag, Kotaku, PCMag and Complex, among others. Follow him on Threads @FreedmanAE and BlueSky @andrewfreedman.net. You can send him tips on Signal: andrewfreedman.01
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habermas I wonder what competitive edge HP imagines themselves to have with this product against the MacBook Neo given that they recycle their cheap junk WUXGA screens with 300 nits brightness at the price point that is similar to the MacBook Neo, which offers 2408x1506 resolution at 500 nits brightness.Reply
In this day and age display panels are the one thing still actually going down in price so the "genius" in HP that decided to cut corners on the screen actually missed the one chance they had to actually surpass the MacBook Neo without compromising the price point significantly.
The advantages offered by OLED over IPS are insignificant at 300 nits brightness. Unlike with IPS, you still have the screen burn-in factor to contend with however. -
PEnns Replyhabermas said:I wonder what competitive edge HP imagines themselves to have with this product against the MacBook Neo given that they recycle their cheap junk WUXGA screens with 300 nits brightness at the price point that is similar to the MacBook Neo, which offers 2408x1506 resolution at 500 nits brightness.
In this day and age display panels are the one thing still actually going down in price so the "genius" in HP that decided to cut corners on the screen actually missed the one chance they had to actually surpass the MacBook Neo without compromising the price point significantly.
The advantages offered by OLED over IPS are insignificant at 300 nits brightness. Unlike with IPS, you still have the screen burn-in factor to contend with however.
Yes, but they made up for that "cheapiness" by including a super generous 256 GB SSD!!
/s -
usertests Reply
The saving grace is that the price will hopefully be slashed by 50-70% in the future, if DRAM/NAND prices fall.LordVile said:Aside from the build quality and performance will not be up to snuff.
This reminds me of those $700 Mendocino laptops.