What you need to know
- The HP OMEN Transcend 16 is HP's most premium gaming laptop, and now it has a smaller sibling.
- Announced at CES, the Transcend 14 takes a lot of the DNA from the brand-new Spectre x360 14 and repackages it as a compact gaming laptop.
- You get a 120Hz OLED display, Intel Core Ultra inside, and up to an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 to play all the latest and greatest PC games.
- The HP OMEN Transcend 14 vies for the desirable title as the best 14-inch gaming laptop, competing with excellent devices from ASUS, Razer, and Alienware... And it's available to preorder starting today.
The Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas is for all the tech under the sun, but there's definitely a lot of PC gaming hardware and accessories shown during the multi-day event. One of the most exciting announcements for me personally comes from HP, with a brand-new addition to its OMEN lineup. More specifically, this is a new HP OMEN Transcend laptop, marking another attempt by HP to break into the premium PC gaming sector.
Shown off at CES, the HP OMEN Transcend 14 is a compact, powerful 14-inch gaming laptop with Intel Core Ultra inside, an OLED display, discrete NVIDIA graphics, and a svelte and attractive design that comes in two colors. It's an exciting addition to a rapidly expanding market for small gaming laptops, and you can already go and preorder it at HP and Best Buy.
Another 14-inch gaming laptop to drool over
At its core, the HP OMEN Transcend 14 actually appears quite similar to the just-announced HP Spectre x360 14, the company's ultra-premium 2-in-1 laptop. You get the same 14-inch OLED display, for one, which pairs a variable 48-120Hz refresh rate with vibrant and accurate colors, boundless contrast levels, a rapid response time, and VESA DisplayHDR True Black 400 and IMAX Enhanced certification. You also get up to 32GB and 2TB of the fastest RAM and SSD storage, just like the Spectre x360.
On top of that, the OMEN Transcend 14 actually boasts Intel Core Ultra CPUs rather than the more traditional Intel 14th Gen chipsets that most new gaming laptops are opting to stick with. That means greater efficiency to help the OMEN Transcend 14 last all day, as well as a dedicated NPU for AI-specific features and capabilities. Where the Spectre x360 taps out at the Core Ultra 7, however, the OMEN Transcend 14 can be equipped with the beastly 16-core Intel Core Ultra 9-185H for a big boost in power. Intel Core Ultra also grants this laptop upgraded wireless connectivity, with support for Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4.
For graphical duties, the OMEN Transcend 14 starts with an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 for creative work and light gaming, but can be fitted with up to an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 with 8GB of VRAM. There's a respectable number of ports, including Thunderbolt 4, as well as a dual-speaker system tuned by none other than HyperX. Despite all these gaming chops, the OMEN Transcend 14 is still pretty thin (18mm) and light (3.6lbs), and the design is both understated when closed and frankly (in my opinion) wonderful to look at.
You can pick up the HP OMEN Transcend 14 in black or white, but either way you'll get an RGB-lit keyboard. You may believe you'll have to wait to get your hands on a brand-new gaming laptop powered by the latest and greatest Intel Core Ultra CPUs, but the HP OMEN Transcend 14 is actually available to preorder starting today from HP and Best Buy, and will start at $1,499.99.
Yes, the OMEN Transcend 16 got an update, too
If you were interested in a larger gaming laptop, then fret not — The HP OMEN Transcend 16 was also updated, but this is definitely a more traditional refresh rather than a redesign or brand-new product. The Transcend 16 now comes with Intel 14th Gen inside, and up to an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070. There's also an option for a new 16-inch, 1600p, 240Hz OLED display with a variable refresh rate.
The updated HP OMEN Transcend 16 should be available from Jan. 10, 2024 with a starting price of $1,899.99.
Using Spectre x360 DNA to build a better gaming laptop
The HP Spectre x360 14 is one of the best Windows laptops you can buy, so it makes a lot of sense to take from that winning formula. The OMEN Transcend 14 uses the same brilliant OLED display and the same Intel Core Ultra platform for superior efficiency and AI capabilities. It trades a little portability and that 360-degrees hinge for a whole lot more graphical power, and squeezes it all into a design that's clearly built for gaming... But doesn't necessarily scream "gaming laptop," similar to the ultra-premium 32-inch, 4K, OLED OMEN Transcend 32 monitor HP announced today.
The HP OMEN Transcend 14 may have what it takes to be one of the best gaming laptops for those wanting a more portable, multipurpose gaming machine they can also use for work or school, but there are some unanswered questions. How long the OMEN Transcend 14 lasts on a charge and how good it does at staying cool will be the biggest deciders, and learning the truth will require going hands-on with the laptop. If it delivers, though, this may be one of the most fun ways to play all the best PC games on the go.
