The MacBook Air may have officially met its match

The MacBook Air has dominated the $1,000 price point for the past few years, and the most recent M3 upgrade (and subsequent bump to 16GB of RAM in the base model), has made it even better.

But there’s an unexpected challenger for the crown of best laptops. The HP OmniBook Ultra Flip 14. Don’t get turned off by the name. It’s powered by Intel’s new Core Ultra Series 2 chips, which brings a surprising amount of battery life into play. The OmniBook Ultra Flip 14 may not outright defeat the MacBook Air, but it gets incredibly close.

Specs and configurations

If you go by HP’s list prices, the OmniBook Ultra Flip 14 starts out as more expensive but better-configured than the MacBook Air 13. Its base model is $1,450 for an Intel Core Ultra 5 226V chipset, 16GB of RAM, a 512GB SSD, and a 14-inch 2.8K OLED display (the only option). Upgrading to a 1TB SSD costs $50, and 2TB of storage is a $200 uncharge. At the high end, the OmniBook costs $1,900 for a Core Ultra 7 258V, 32GB of RAM, and a 2TB SSD. However, HP is currently offering $400 off, making for a $1,050 base model and a $1,500 fully configured machine.

The MacBook Air 13 starts at $1,099 for an 8-core CPU/8-core GPU M3 chipset, a 512GB SSD, and a 13.6-inch 2560 x 1664 IPS display (again, the only option). Apple just recently increased RAM to 16GB with the base model for the same price, which is a good thing. Upgrading to an 8-core CPU/10-core GPU M3 and a 512GB SSD brings the price to $1,299, while the high-end model is $2,099 for 24GB of RAM and a 2TB SSD.

The OmniBook Ultra Flip 14 is less expensive than the MacBook Air 13 for a nicely-configured laptop if you can get it on sale. But at list, they’re similarly priced.

Design

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The MacBook Air 13 is perhaps the thinnest laptop available today at just 0.45 inches, and that combined with its simple, elegant design in one of four distinctive colors is what stands out the most. But the OmniBook Ultra Flip 14 is also a gorgeous machine, coming in two colors with rounded edges and unique notches in the rear chassis and display bottom. Both of these laptops are great to look at and hold in hand.

Both are also built well, with all-aluminum constructions that resist bending, flexing, and twisting. In this regard, the OmniBook is slightly better given the MacBook Air’s lid that’s a little too flexible. But, overall, both laptops are examples of how to make quality laptops.

The MacBook Air’s hinge is a bit smoother and lets you open the lid with one hand, while the OmniBook has a more complex and stiffer hinge to accommodate its convertible 2-in-1 functionality. That hinge allows it to be used in clamshell, tend, media, and tablet modes — complete with an active pen for digital handwriting and drawing. So, there’s considerably more flexibility with HP’s 2-in-1.

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Most people will also find these two keyboards to be equally good. They both have large keycaps and tons of key spacing with comfortable, logical layouts. The HP’s lettering stands out more, which is a nod to accessibility. The switches are both consistent and snappy, offering a lot of precision. I prefer the MacBook Air’s Magic Keyboard just the tiniest bit, but I would be more than happy with the OmniBook’s version. Both laptops also have large, haptic touchpads that work extremely well. I’ll give the edge to Apple’s Force Touch haptic touchpad given its Force Click feature that adds some functionality.

Connectivity slightly favors the OmniBook Ultra Flip 14, given that it adds a USB-C port to the two Thunderbolt 4 ports that both laptops offer. You’ll like the MacBook Air’s MagSafe 3 power connection, though, which saves a port for connectivity over the OmniBook. And, HP built in more up-to-date wireless connectivity.

Finally, the OmniBook has a higher-resolution 9MP webcam and it supports the full suite of Microsoft’s Copilot+ PC AI features including enhanced Studio Effects software. The MacBook Air, meanwhile, supports Apple Intelligence, which has fewer features overall and is still rolling out.

Performance

The OmniBook Ultra Flip 14 uses Intel’s latest Lunar Lake chipset, also known as Core Ultra Series 2. It’s a 17-watt, 8-core/8-thread chipset that’s aimed at efficiency and replaces the low-power U-series Meteor Lake chipsets. It features faster Intel Arc 140V integrated graphics that are an improvement but not yet to the level of discrete GPUs. It’s pitted against Apple’s 8-core CPU/10-core GPU that’s aimed at both performance and efficiency.

In our benchmarks, these two laptops are closely matched in multi-core CPU processes, while the MacBook Air 13 is faster in single-core. Also, Apple’s GPU is slightly faster, especially when running creative tasks. That makes both laptops good enough for demanding productivity users, while the MacBook Air would have benefits for creators.

Display

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There’s no doubt that the OmniBook Ultra Flip 14’s 14-inch 2.8K (2880 x 1800) OLED display is better than the MacBook Air’s 13.6-inch 2560 x 1664 IPS panel. The MacBook Air’s display has higher brightness, but that’s it. The OmniBook has wider and more accurate colors and inky blacks. It also runs at up to 120Hz, compared to the MacBook Air’s more pedestrian 60Hz.

This is one area where the OmniBook has a clear advantage. The MacBook Air’s display is very good for IPS technology, but the HP’s display is better. The MacBook Air’s 4-speaker audio is a lot better than the OmniBook’s 2-speaker setup, however, which is worth keeping in mind.

Portability

The MacBook Air M3 is a more portable machine, given its slightly smaller display and its insane thinness. Both laptops weigh about the same, though, and the OmniBook is plenty portable in its own right.

However, Intel introduced Lunar Lake in part to combat the class-leading efficiency of Apple Silicon. The MacBook Air 13 has excellent battery life, including when it’s pushing the chipset hard in things like video editing. While the OmniBook Ultra Flip 14 gets good battery life compared to earlier Windows laptops, it can’t come close to matching the MacBook Air 13 no matter the task.

Two great laptops make for a tough choice

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Sometimes, I compare two laptops and the difference is pretty stark. One is a clear winner. Other times, I love two laptops equally. That’s the case here, where both the OmniBook Ultra Flip 14 and the MacBook Air 13 offer equally good builds, aesthetics, keyboards, touchpads, etc.

The biggest difference between these two excellent laptops is that the OmniBook has a better, faster display and a higher-resolution webcam, while the MacBook Air 13 is thinner and has better battery life. The MacBook Air also has better speakers. Price-wise, the OmniBook is an overall cheaper laptop, especially when on sale (as it currently is), but the MacBook Air has a lower starting price, especially since the upgrade to 16GB. Based on those differences, you can probably tell already which is a better fit for your needs.

Overall, the MacBook Air is probably the safer choice for its better battery life alone, but truthfully, you can’t go wrong with either.