HP is announcing a wide array of new Windows 11 computers today. The announcement includes a premium convertible laptop in the Spectre x360 16, entry-level devices like the HP 11-inch tablet and 14-inch laptop, and new all-in-ones like the Envy 34 AiO.
The company sent me the HP Envy 34 AiO to check out ahead of the announcement, and I kind of love it. The model the firm sent me includes a Core i9-11900, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080, 128GB RAM, and a 2TB SSD. However, it's a pre-production unit, which means no benchmarks or performance talk.
HP Envy 34 AiO design, display, and camera
The HP Envy 34 AiO is a premium machine, and packs the features you want from an all-in-one. It's got a premium metal build with a minimal look, but the feature-set is anything but minimal.
As you'd expect, there's an array of ports on the back, including four USB Type-A ports, two Thunderbolt 4 ports, HDMI, and Ethernet. The headphone jack is back there too, which is a bit of a pain point. Placing the 3.5mm port on the side would have been smarter.
There are also two USB Type-A ports, one USB Type-C port, and an SD card reader in the stem. Thinking about it, this also would have been a great spot for the 3.5mm audio jack, as there's easy access to it.
The webcam sits in any of eight spots around the PC. It attaches via a magnet, so you can keep it on any side of the HP Envy 34 AiO and point it wherever you want. It's a pretty good camera too. HP says it's 16MP with auto-binning, but you'll find it records 1080p video and can take pictures up to 3MP.
The auto-binning helps with enhanced lighting, something that's meant to make you look better in low-light. Indeed, we've all had that problem in video calls.
Here's another nice bit about the HP Envy 34 AiO. It's got a wireless charging pad in the base. That way, your phone can charge while you're working. Thanks to things like HP Quick Drop and Your Phone, you can still access your phone while it's sitting there charging, although most of this stuff works better with an Android phone.
The display is wide and it's beautiful, with a 5,120 x 2,160 resolution. I didn't do my usual display testing, again because I was asked not to do any kind of benchmarks. This is a pre-production unit, so there might be some tweaks between now and when it ships.
I'll say it's visually beautiful, but I also just want to talk about the size, with its 34 inch measurement and 21:9 aspect ratio. I've always despised ultra-wide screens, opting for a dual-screen setup instead. But this PC is absolutely built for Windows 11.
Windows 11 has a feature called Snap Layouts. It's a way to organize window placement. We're all familiar with snapping windows. That's where you'd drag a window all the way to the left or right to snap it to one side of the screen, or to a corner for it to occupy a quadrant.
Prior to Windows 11, there was no system in place for ultra-wide screens, at least not built into the OS. That's why I used dual monitors, so I could have split-screen on both.
With Windows 10, PowerToys introduced a feature called FancyZones. That's what turned into Snap Layouts when it was built into Windows 11.
As you can see from the image above, you can now choose to snap three windows side-by-side, make the middle one larger, and more. You can also resize them after they're snapped. With Windows 11, Microsoft made ultra-wide monitors legitimate.
Conclusion
The HP Envy 34 AiO is an all-in-one PC that's worth being excited about. In fact, as someone that always feels like an all-in-one could never replace my tower, I'd be pretty happy to use this. And yes, as I just mentioned, Windows 11 is what does it for me.
It's just got everything. It has lots of ports, with a few key ones in the stem (that SD card reader is spot-on). It's also got a wireless charging port in the base, and a beautiful, color-accurate display.
I recommend keeping an eye out for the HP Envy 34 AiO when it launches next month.
HP Envy 34 All-in-One
HP's Envy 34 All-in-One has a 34-inch 21:9 display, a magnetic camera, a wireless charging pad, and more.