Are there any refreshes for the Envy 15?

I came across an Envy, and it looked really light and cool.

The Envy 15 seems to have good specs,

with the 5830 and i5's or i7's, 4 sodimms (right?) 1080p screen.

The Envy 14, however, seems to be a bit weak..

Is there a special feature in the Envy 14 that I better wait for?

or, is the Envy 15 still a reasonable machine that I could aim for in my trade?

Sorry for bombing the forum with questions,

but as a non-HP forum member, and all these updates with the Envy 14 and 17,

I can't really find the part that explains the refreshes of the Envy 15..

Thanks in advance,

I really want to know if the Envy 14 is a different league than the Envy 15, or if they are in the similar league so that I should wait for the 14 model.

 

They just refreshed the Envy 15 a few months ago, doubt they would update it again so soon

 

Hopefully the Envy 14 touchpad is in another league.

 

Well, the E15 was refreshed almost immediately it came out...and we are adopters went outdated in the blink of an eye...sorta.

The E14 is thicker and heavier, has an optical drive, lesser GPU (5650 vs 5830), smaller screen, lower resolution, and up to i7 Arrandale dual core (AFAIK), has E2E screen, backlit keyboard, mini-display port, HDMI.

The Envy 15 is slightly thinner, and lighter, bigger, has a more powerful GPU and CPU, has more RAM (if using Clarksfield), a much higher res but it is dimmer than the Radiance Display on the 14, has no OD bay, has lesser connections, i7 Clarksfield versions have USB 3.0.

If the Envy 15 is to get anything are the new i7 740QM and 840QM processors and/or some minor tweaks if any, like the backlit keyboard...this is pure speculation though.

Depends on usage which will define if going 14 or 15...

 

I hope they refresh the Envy 15 to fit with the rest of the line, E2E, back light keyboard, but keep the optical drive out. Then I'd get one of those instead... but we'll see.

 

e2e may happen, but it will definitely be heavier, and maybe thicker. don't care about them adding a dvd drive. backlit keys would be nice though.

The Envy 1200 edition is supposed to have an extra vent on the bottom for air flow for the CPU.

 

- Envy 14
* Better battery life (switchable graphics)
* Better overall design (edge to edge screen, non-scratchable bezel, better screen hedges, backlit keyboard)
* Smaller in terms of proportions

- Envy 15
* Better Performance (better GPU + CPU)

 

People who own the Envy say that the bezel is sh*te so if they do refresh it they should do something about the build quality. If they add in switchable graphics, improved touchpad, usb 3.0 in the i5 configurations and the beats triple bass reflex thing they're giving the new Envy's then even better. Pretty impartial about an optical drive, backlit keyboard and e2e, but who knows about the latter two?
I just hope they refresh it by the 19th or something with the build quality they're giving the new Envys' and Pavilions. I'd find it kind of exasperating if the whole HP notebook line is getting a new standardised design/build simultaneously APART from one of the premium Envy's. Especially when all they have to do is pretty much slap on a new top for the keyboard area. I don't know.. we'll see. If not I don't think they'll update it until later in the summer.

 

there is no better performance difference regarding the cpu between the envy line, all of the line support up to i7 quads.

The envy line is supposed to be about latest tech and being sexy, so this is going to be refreshed soon, as always.

 

Yeh I'm waiting for a refreshed 15, I went with a Macbook Pro right now but still want to ad an Envy 15 spec'd out with dual ssd etc. All I want is backlit key's (along with a cleaner look like the 14/17 and new Pavillion got for the pad), and e2e glass. I just couldn't believe they have that pos bezel on the Envy, when my 4yr older HP had a better bezel. At least with E2E glass not only does it look great but there are antiglare screens you can put over that actually enhance the screen and now I have no glare.

 

Although the Envy 14 has downsides:
Heavier
Thicker
The bottom seems like plastic to me (video)
And for some reason the design seems lacking to me.
The cooling doesn't convince, there doesn't seem to be many openings, and we all know the i7 quad gets warm, and such a powerful GPU might too.

The Envy 15 is not perfect either:
The bezel leaves much to be desired.
Cooling is efficient, but latest BIOS cripples it.
Display could be brighter.
Lighter.
Slightly thinner.

I dont criticize the lack of E2E or backlit keyboard, since for me they are added value only. I am a touch typist, so I don't actually see where my fingers are. The E2E would've been welcomed, but it wasn't a deal breaker.

 

I am all for backlit keyboard as long as it doesn't 1.) add thickness (the Envy keyboard is damn thin, not much room.) 2.) Can be turned on/off and brightness adjusted. I wonder how hard a custom mod backlit keyboard would be. Use the same concept as the caps lock/mute/Wifi buttons with the LED built right into the key.

Also, can you please provide some reasons why you want this E2E thing? I am having some difficulty with this. It adds weight. It adds thickness. It adds cost. It adds glare (double glare, two reflective surfaces behind each other, sigh). It reduces brightness (even the best glass is always "easily measurably" below 100% transmittance) and reduces quality (glass = imperfect; imperfect = distortion).
The only advantage I see is it makes it look more "hip," or maybe a little nicer/cooler when the laptop is open with the screen is off. Also, it would be easier to clean. But, shouldnt you just be using it with the screen on when it is open? And if it makes it look worsewith the screen on, isn't that a bad thing?
I don't know, I just wouldn't sacrifice display quality, cost, weight, etc. just so my screen is easier to clean. Kinda defeats the purpose of cleaning the screen to begin with (to maintain display quality / viewing experience.) And a little air duster can can take care of that dust in the bezel crevice.

Yes, I know the Envy bezel is not the best with scratches and is a little loose causing it to rattle not giving that nice "MBP thud" sound when closing the laptop. It just seems to me there's a better way to address these then... E2E.

I just have a bad feeling this is a viral (and not in a good way) case of MBP envy (no pun intended)

 

I'm sure most prefer E2E solely due to the problematic bezel alternative. I do, and I have no problem sacrificing what I imagine is nominal weight and an insignificant cost increase.

 

Absolutely.

If it prevents me from having to constantly babysit the easily cracked, scratch prone, rattling, fingerprint magnet I'll gladly suffer an extra pane of glass. The screen degradation is not significant in my opinion and the ultra bright is already outdoor prohibitive. I don't feel like you're losing much but ultimately gaining a lot more in build quality.

 

I'm a decent touch typist, can reach 90-100wpm 95% accuracy if I really try to nail a typing test. BUT I want a backlit keyboard on the Envy 15! Why? Because the top function keys are shifted over, and there's the wifi disable key where f12 should be. To adjust screen brightness it's fn-f2, volume is fn-f9, etc. Bottom line I cannot get used to this keyboard especially with that extra column of keys on the left.

The keyboard on the Dell XPS1340 is second-nature to me, I never have to look at the keyboard yet it is backlit ironically. Fn-up/down arrow to adjust screen brightness, dedicated keys for volume and wifi controls, and the rest of the keys are where they should be.

Whoever designed and approved the design of the Envy 15 keyboard need to be slapped

 

Glass that covers the whole surface is easy to clean, in my opinion. Dirt doesn't get stuck in the edges of the bezel...

 

Thats one of the things I love about my new MBP 13, this thing closes with a thud akin to the "solid" thud sound of say a nice german car when closing the door.

My biggest issue with the bezel is no matter what they eventually collect dust and stuff, I've had plenty of laptops and always used air-dust canes, over even some months stuff starts collecting, the main difference happens to be that the Envy's bezel is designed pry the cheapest they've ever done. iI've had other hp's that had much better/more resistant bezels.

E2E is so easy to clean, and the lid on my 13 is still thin as hell. Glass glares more but like said above its not like you can use the Envy w/o anti-glare outside either, still glares like crazy. Still hoping the 15 gets backlit keys and e2e and the cleaner keyboard of the 14/17 and new Pavillions.

 

Display isn't the number one thing for everybody. And yes it adds more glare, but it doesn't double it. The glass used in E2E isn't just regular glass. What's used is usually a less reflective type.

Either way E2E would be apparently be heaven compared to the disastrous bezel on the Envy 15. Scratches with microfiber cloth, really?!

 

Why isn't anyone talking about the new keyboard layout? Envy 15's stupid "shortcuts" absolutely killed the layout. I'm a decent touch typist but I would constantly hit one of thise keys while looking for tab or shift. And you would have to angle your wrists in this weird way....

Baffled the crap out of me since Envy 13 didn't have that problem.

 

I never really used my 15 enough to notice. I'm not a fan of shortcut keys at all so I'm definitely in agreement with you.

 

I think the refresh will drop them. Just like with the Envy 14 and Envy 17 models. That was a complaint of many Envy owners, especially those who game.

 

I'm fairly certain they will be kept on the Envy 15. They're even being added on to the new dv6's, so it's pretty clear that HP's a big fan of them.

Personally, I don't really mind them, since the Envy's also come with a row of the extra Home / Pg Up Down buttons on the right side, so the media keys actually center out the keyboard, although having the esc and f keys shifted is kinda annoying.

 

You can switch the function keys back to normal through BIOS.

 

Oh I know that. What I meant to say was that I don't like how the f1 key is above the ` key, the f2 key is above the number 1 key, when normally, the f1 key right above the number 1 key, the f2 key is above the number 2 key, etc.

 

They're not on the 17 or the 14... why would they keep them on for the 15? Those keys on the right hand side are standard on many laptops... the media buttons, not so much. The media buttons are much closer to commonly used keys as well, as compared to the far-right column.