HP OmniBook 5 Review: A 16-Inch Touch Laptop That Keeps It Simple

There’s something almost rebellious about a laptop that doesn’t care about looking cool. No glass finishes, no 120Hz OLED, no aggressive marketing promises. Just a big screen, a Ryzen chip, a decent webcam, and the quiet confidence that it can do what you ask, without drama.

The HP OmniBook 5 is that kind of laptop. It doesn’t want to be your gaming rig or your editing workstation. It wants to be your everyday machine—the one you type on, Zoom from, game on (a little), and forget about until it needs to charge.

PROS

• Decent multitasking performance
• Great battery life
• Can handle casual games like Valorant at high FPS
• Responsive full-size keyboard with numpad
• Crisp 5MP IR webcam with privacy shutter and Windows Hello
• Touchscreen adds flexibility for media and browsing
• Includes HDMI port

CONS

• Display brightness is subpar
• 60Hz refresh rate is disappointing
• No microSD card slot
• Charging takes around 3 hours, which isn’t especially fast

After a few weeks of real-world use, I can say this: it’s not flashy, but it shows up. And in 2025, that’s surprisingly rare.

Design and Build

Let’s start with the basics. The design is clean and mature—maybe even a little too understated if you’re into flashier laptops. At 1.79 kg, it’s easy enough to carry around in your backpack. The aluminum chassis feels solid, not plasticky, and HP's newly modernized keyboard layout is easy to get used to. It’s got a full-sized keyboard with a numpad and good key spacing.

One thing I liked? The braided USB-C charger. It’s these small touches that give you a better long-term experience. You also get a Copilot key—more on that later—and enough ports to survive without a dongle: two USB-Cs (with charging and DisplayPort), two USB-As, HDMI 2.1, and a headphone jack. That HDMI port is a clutch if you work with external monitors, as I do.

There’s no microSD slot, though, which is a bummer if you're into photography or want quick storage expansion.

Display

The display is one of the first things you notice, and at 16 inches with a 2K (1920x1200) resolution, it gives you plenty of real estate. The 16:10 aspect ratio is great for documents and code—more vertical space means less scrolling.

But the 300 nits brightness is underwhelming. I often found myself cranking it to full brightness even indoors, and in bright rooms or near windows, it starts to struggle. This isn’t a screen built for outdoor use.

The 60Hz refresh rate also feels dated in 2025. If you’ve used a phone or laptop with 90Hz or 120Hz, this screen will feel a bit sluggish. The touch input is responsive, though, and it’s nice to have a touchscreen for casual browsing or flipping through PDFs.

Performance

Here’s where the OmniBook 5 starts to earn its keep. My unit runs on the AMD Ryzen AI 7 350 chip paired with Radeon 860M integrated graphics, and for daily work, it holds up surprisingly well.

I typically have 30+ Chrome tabs open (I know, I know), multiple Google Docs, Slack, YouTube in the background, and some file transfers. It handles this without any major hiccups. Yes, switching between heavy tabs can cause a second of delay, and sometimes waking from sleep isn’t instant, but it never crashes or stalls outright.

And for light gaming? Surprisingly good. I played Valorant on low settings and got around 200 FPS. That’s solid for a thin-and-light laptop with no dedicated GPU. But keep this in mind: the 60Hz screen means you're not actually seeing those frames in real-time, and screen tearing can be an issue unless you turn on V-sync, which then introduces input lag, not ideal for fast-paced shooters.

So yeah, casual gaming is totally viable, just don’t expect a high-refresh-rate competitive experience.

Battery and Real-World Quirks

Battery life on the HP OmniBook 5 holds up well in everyday use. Based on actual usage patterns and Pure Battery analytics, I’ve been getting around 8 to 8.5 hours of screen-on time, which is more than enough to get through a full workday without hunting for a charger. The tool estimates a full run time of around 9 hours, factoring in some idle time, which aligns well with my multitasking-heavy workflow.

Charging is reasonably quick. With the laptop turned off, it charges fully in just under 3 hours, and with regular use, it tops up in about 3 to 3.5 hours. The charging rate ranges from 22% to 28% per hour, depending on how heavy your background processes are.

One minor annoyance I’ve noticed is that some Chrome tabs occasionally go blank after waking from sleep, requiring a reload. It’s not a dealbreaker, but it’s something to take note of.

Webcam and Audio

The 5MP IR camera on this thing is sharp. I’ve used it for Zoom, Google Meet, and internal calls—it looks crisp even in mixed lighting. There's also Windows Hello support for quick face unlock and a manual privacy shutter, which I always appreciate.

Audio, meanwhile, is… fine. The DTS:X Ultra-certified speakers are good enough for YouTube and basic content. If you’re watching Netflix or listening to music, use headphones for better clarity and bass.

AI Features

Now let’s talk about the “AI PC” part.

The laptop comes with a Copilot key that opens Microsoft's AI assistant, and you ask it whatever you usually ask an AI chatbot. HP also includes their AI Companion app, which lets you query your own files, summarize documents, and extract info via a chatbot interface. I tried this out with folders full of PDFs, and it worked well for summarization.

However, it’s not as polished or powerful as ChatGPT or Gemini. When I asked it to generate a comparison table, it just threw an error. For quick lookups or basic research, it’s handy—but this isn’t the AI revolution just yet.

That said, I like that HP is laying the groundwork. If these tools evolve through updates, this could become a bigger reason to buy.

So, Who Should Buy the HP OmniBook 5?

You’ve probably guessed it by now, but this laptop isn’t built for everyone. That’s okay. What matters is that it’s built well for a specific kind of user.

Perfect For:

• Students who want a solid, large-screen laptop for study, research, Zoom calls, and casual gaming.
• Casual gamers playing titles like Valorant or CS2 who don’t need high refresh rates.
• Freelancers and remote workers juggling Chrome tabs, docs, emails, and occasional calls.
• Anyone curious about AI PCs and wanting to explore those features without overspending.

Not Ideal For:

• Pro gamers or streamers who need fast displays and GPU performance.
• Designers and content creators who require color-accurate screens and Adobe-ready GPUs.
• Outdoor workers or those in bright environments—the screen is just not bright enough.

Verdict

If your priorities are practicality, consistency, and solid day-to-day usability, this laptop checks those boxes confidently. You won’t be bragging about it, but you also won’t be regretting the purchase. And sometimes, that’s exactly what makes a laptop worth buying.